Under the Gold Dome by Oakley G. Perry

This week kicks off the start of the new legislative session! If you’re a politics junkie, you may be like me and try to keep up with everything. For most of us, though, session comes and goes without notice. After all, what do a bunch of lawyers taking 40 days off from their practice have to do with us?

This is not the reality, however. One – they are not all lawyers. But for real, what happens at our state capitol can profoundly impact our local community. Who among us remembers a little storm called Helene? Of course, we remember it, and this session, I expect our legislature to introduce several bills aimed at recovery efforts, emergency preparedness, and maybe even stormwater drainage. How many of our business owners pay for insurance? Hopefully, all of you do. Our insurance costs are through the nose due to deficiencies in our judicial system. Today, Speaker Jon Burns discussed how the House intends to fix these issues. This is something our very own Senator, Blake Tillary, has spoken about. Reforms from our legislature can potentially impact your insurance rates and more.

Part of our role as your Chamber is to advocate for you in these areas. We recognize that you’re busy running your business. You may not have a lobbyist on speed dial. We help fill that gap for our members. How will we do this critical work for our members? Through traveling to our capitol and speaking with legislators on topics that impact you, letting our legislative delegation know where we stand on issues that impact you, and tracking the legislation introduced in both the House and Senate. The latter has already begun. According to the General Assembly’s website, 64 items of legislation have already been filed. Items like H.B. 7 would provide income tax relief for individuals working in high-tech jobs in rural counties. If passed, this could help attract more high-tech jobs to places like Jeff Davis County and incentivize our youth to return to places like Hazlehurst instead of living in Atlanta.

Events like the Georgia Chamber’s Eggs and Issues event allow our team to be in Atlanta to meet with legislators, speak about the issues important to us, and share the story of Jeff Davis County. Chair Denise Darley, Vice Chair Sharon Brown, and I were happy to do that this morning. Our Big House team is dedicated to ensuring you have the best climate possible to live, work, and run your business. If you have concerns about particular pieces of legislation, please get in touch with our office at 912-375-4543.