Georgia Chamber
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Bill Will Benefit Employers and Students
Both employers and students stand to benefit from a bill passed this session that incentivizes employers to provide work based learning opportunities. Sponsored by Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee), HB 402 authorizes insurers to grant up to a 5 percent workers’ compensation rate reduction to employers who offer work-based learning opportunities.
Protecting Georgia Small Business Act Awaits Governor’s Signature
An effort to protect small businesses from onerous federal overreach successfully passed this session and awaits the Governor’s signature. The Protecting Georgia Small Business Act (SB 277), sponsored by Senator John Albers (R-Roswell), clarifies that under state law neither a franchise nor an employee of that franchise can be considered employees of the larger franchisor.
Proposed Overtime Regulations May Impact Employers as Soon as July 2016
On the federal level, the chamber is monitoring the U.S. Department of Labor proposed overtime regulation that mandates overtime pay for salaried workers making $50,400 or less””up from $23,660 a 113% increase. If efforts to block the rule aren’t successful, employers may have to comply as soon as July 2016.
Summit for Workplace Wellness
The Georgia Chamber is working with the U.S. Chamber to host a summit in Atlanta centered around workplace wellness initiatives. Supported by a private foundation grant, the Chamber will bring in guest speakers from the public and private sectors to discuss successful wellness initiatives and ways employers can reduce costs while helping their workers lead healthier lives.
Medicaid Expansion Likely Priority in 2017
A major ongoing initiative at the Georgia Chamber is a comprehensive study of the state’s Medicaid program and its impact on individuals in the “coverage gap,” delivery of healthcare, as well as the impacts on rural doctors and hospitals with an eye toward developing a “Georgia-specific” program to address glaring problems in the aforementioned areas. Recently, House Minority Leader Stacy Abrams referenced efforts to expand…
Governor’s Education Reform Commission Proposals Adopted
The Governor’s Education Reform Commission proposals, which were adopted in December 2015 with the intention of becoming a package of legislation in 2016, is still scheduled to be taken up during the 2017 session. Governor Deal has continued to reiterate his intention to make funding reform a top priority during the 2017 session. Comprehensive funding reform was the largest and most controversial component of the…
General Assembly Passes Bill to Roll Back Testing Requirements for Teachers
The General Assembly passed a bill that rolled back testing requirements and moved away from using testing for teacher evaluations. The bill, SB 364 reduces the number of end of course tests in early grades and also reduces the percentage of teacher evaluations determined by those tests from 50% to 30%. The legislation moves in a different direction from the system adopted in 2013 which…
The Georgia Chamber Of Commerce Launches A Healthcare Access Study
ATLANTA – October 28, 2015 – The Georgia Chamber launched a task force to take an in-depth exploration on ways to improve healthcare access throughout Georgia. This study will pursue sustainable and fiscally responsible recommendations to address challenges that include, the viability of rural healthcare providers and safety net hospitals, recruitment and retention of medical professionals, and the coverage gap that leaves close to 400,000…
Lawsuits Put Georgia Job Growth at Risk
Georgia Chamber leads conversation urging legal reform ATLANTA – September 17, 2015 – The U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform recently released a survey conducted by Harris Poll that ranked perceptions of state lawsuit environments. 75 percent of the companies surveyed (general counsels and senior attorneys) indicated a state’s legal environment is likely to impact important business decisions such as where to locate or expand…
Alabama, Florida and Georgia join forces to fight government overreach
Chambers Support Attorneys General Water Rule Lawsuit against Environmental Protection Agency ATLANTA – July 14, 2015 – Managing water resources in southeastern states has, for too many years, been a contentious and divisive issue. Rarely have there been opportunities for state chambers of commerce from Alabama, Florida and Georgia to unite in support of a water resource management issue that will impact all states equally….