From the State House to the White House
February 28, 2024 – Issue 07

Greetings from the Cobb Chamber’s Advocacy team. Sit back and enjoy the read – there is a lot of information this issue as lawmakers are working hard to move their bills out of committee since Crossover Day has been teed up for Thursday of next week. Crossover Day is the last day a bill can pass out of its originating chamber for consideration in its original form. However, us old salts know that a bill is never dead until the legislature gavels out Sine Die. Bills that do not crossover on Day 28 often show up in amendments or substitutes to bills that did survive...but we’ll address that in another issue! For now, let’s focus on Week Seven of the 2025 legislative session.

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Small Business Action Need
• Tort Reform Update
• AFY 25 Passes the Senate
• Sports Betting Stalls....Again
• Legislation: Tracking and of Interest
• Cobb’s Own Elected Chief Justice
• Aerospace Day Returns to the Capitol
• Leadership Cobb Brings It Home with Government Day
  
  

FEDERAL UPDATE

As if there is not enough going on at the federal level for businesses to try and track, after numerous delays pending legal challenges, certain small businesses must file beneficial ownership information reports under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) following the latest federal court action lifting an injunction on the Department of the Treasury.  The decision came down on Feb. 18, 2025, by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Smith, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, et al., 6:24-cv-00336 (E.D. Tex.).

Businesses must file by March 21st to be compliant.

For more information on what is required and how to comply, click here to access the CTA website and click here to download the one-page guide document that walks through the steps to comply with the CTA. Both are products of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

To read the notice issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), click here.

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Tort Reform on the Move

Now in the House, SB 68 was referred to the House Rules Committee. The Chairman of the House Rules Committee, Rep. Butch Parrish, created the Subcommittee of Rules on Lawsuit Reform to consider the proposed legislation. The members include:

• Chairman – Rep. Rob Leverett
• Rep. Butch Parrish
• Speaker Pro-Tem Jan Jones
• Rep. Stan Gunter
• Rep. Matt Hatchett
• Rep. Chuck Efstration
• Rep. Mark Newton
• Rep. Al Williams
• Rep. Sam Park
• Rep. Tanya F. Miller
• Rep. Stacey Evans

Speaker of the House Jon Burns stated, “The House is committed to working alongside Governor Brian Kemp to pass meaningful, substantive legal reform this session. Excessive lawsuits and the rising cost of insurance have impacted our citizens, businesses and communities across the state for too long. That’s why Chairman Parrish and the members of this committee will work diligently to give the governor’s proposals fair consideration and pass legislation that returns balance to our courtrooms and stability to our insurance markets—all while upholding the right of our citizens with legitimate claims to be made whole.”

On Thurs., Feb. 27, President Pro Tempore John Kennedy presented SB 68 to the subcommittee and noted that nuclear verdicts cost Georgians over $5,000 per household annually.  He also argued that insurance premiums have been driven by Georgia’s legal landscape, forcing businesses to close, forcing Georgians to travel farther for healthcare and groceries.  The committee meeting was hearing only.  The bill will still require a formal vote by the committee to move back to the full Rules Committee to continue the legislative process.

The second piece of the Governor’s lawsuit reform legislation, SB 69, passed the Senate by 52-0 vote on Thurs., Feb. 27. On Fri., Feb. 28., the legislation was assigned to the House Subcommittee of Rules on Lawsuit Reform for consideration. This continues to be a major priority for the Cobb Chamber, and we applaud the Senate for their support.

Amended Budget Heads to Conference Committee

Wed., Feb 26, the Senate approved its version of the Amended Fiscal Year 2025 budget, HB 67. The Senate added a significant amount of funding to address Hurricane Helene recovery, pulling funds from a variety of different areas of the budget that recommended by the Governor and House. 
Items of interest in the Senate AFY25 budget include:

• An additional $125 million for Hurricane Helene recovery, some of which would be delivered through nonprofits and competitive grant programs, bringing the total for storm damage up to $750 million;
• The Senate agreed with House and Governor’s recommendations for $50 million for school safety grants, which would be almost $70,000 in grants per school this year;
• The Senate agreed with House and Governor’s recommendation to include $500 million to shore up the State Employees’ Retirement System;
• $5.75 million to fund Next Gen 911;
• The Senate agreed with House and Governor’s recommendation to refund $250 per individual and $500 per married couples who pay state income taxes;
• Transportation:
• $500 million for freight and logistics
• Additional $800,000 for rail upgrades
• Additional $15 million to local governments for road and infrastructure projects
• $53 million for the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (Gov: $60 million; H: $37.5 million)

A full list of the House and Senate differences can be tracked here. The Senate’s approval of the budget sets up the process for the House to disagree and the appointment of conference committee to iron out the differences.

Wanna bet? Not in the Senate...

On Feb. 27, the Senate Regulated Industries Committee considered SR 131 by Sen. Carden Summers, which proposes amending Georgia’s constitution to legalize sports betting and casino gaming. The bill gives the legislature the authority to create a gaming commission that would regulate and tax sports betting and casino gambling activities.  The General Assembly would create a system for issuing at least eight casino gaming licenses.  Sports betting and casino gambling would be taxed at a rate of 20 percent of gross income, and the tax revenue would be deposited into the newly created Georgia Gaming Proceeds Fund.  The first $2 billion would be evenly distributed to Georgia’s county governments, and at least 5 percent of the proceeds above that amount would go to addiction prevention and treatment programs. After the hearing, a majority of the committee members voted against the measure, stalling out yet another attempt to legalize gambling in Georgia.

A Few Tax Credit Bills We Are Tracking:

Bills of Interest – Updates and Newly Introduced

SB 28 by Sen. Greg Dolezal
A priority of Lt. Governor Burt Jones, the ‘Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025’ would require state agencies to complete a top-to-bottom review of all agency rules and regulations every four years. Agencies would be required to account for the economic impact of all proposed rules and provide economic reports to the General Assembly when major rules are proposed that would cost individuals, businesses, and/or local governments more than $1 million over five years. State agencies would also be directed to reduce compliance and paperwork burdens on small businesses when feasible. The legislation also empowers legislators the ability to request a “Small Business Impact Analysis” for pending legislation. The measure passed the Senate 33 - 21.
Referred to the House Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee

SB36 by Sen. Ed Setzler
Entitled the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, aka RFRA, this legislation would restrict state and local governments from burdening a person’s exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability. The bill’s language mirrors a federal RFRA law that does not currently apply at the state or local levels and passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 27 moving on to Senate Rules for consideration prior to Crossover Day.
Legislation resides in Senate Rules

SB 79 by Sen. Russ Goodman
Another priority of the Lt. Governor, the Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act would establish stiffer criminal penalties for fentanyl-related offenses. It would remove fentanyl from Georgia’s current statutes relating to possessing, selling, distributing, manufacturing, and trafficking opiates and create a separate schedule of offenses specific to fentanyl and its related substances. Current possession penalties start at 1 gram, but this bill would include fentanyl mixtures with any other drug and consider the entire weight of that mixture under the fentanyl schedule. The legislation passed the Senate 50 to 3, and now heads to the House for consideration. 
Referred to the House Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee

SB 236 by Sen. Kenya Wicks
Legislation relating to eligibility for enrollment under the “Quality Basic Education Act.” This legislation would provide that certain students whose parents or guardians are on active duty in the United States armed forces are eligible for enrollment in the public school of the attendance zone in which they intend to reside regardless of whether they have entered into a lease, purchased a house, or otherwise secured housing within such attendance zone.
Legislation resides in Senate Rules

SB 264 by Sen. Russ Goodman
This legislation creates the Georgia Resilience Office under the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency. The purpose of the office shall be to plan for and coordinate state-wide resilience and disaster recovery efforts, including coordination with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, stakeholders, and nongovernmental entities. In the bill, critical infrastructure is defined as publicly or privately owned facilities, systems,  functions, or assets, whether physical or virtual, providing or distributing services for the benefit of the public, including, but not limited to, energy, fuel, water, agriculture, healthcare, finance, communication, or any other vital public service.
Referred to the Senate Public Safety Committee

HB 597 by Rep. Sandy Donatucci
Entitled the Fire and Emergency Services Support Act, this legislation would provide a tax credit for certain contributions made by taxpayers to certain local fire rescue foundations.
Referred to the House Ways and Means Committee

HB 611 by Rep. Thomas Lumsden
Legislation which would require publicly owned treatment works to seek information from industrial users relating to the manufacture or use of Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS.)
Referred to the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee

HB 613 by Rep. Tyler Paul Smith
Legislation relating to Department of Administrative Services, so as to provide for preferences in certain public works construction contracts to a contractor or subcontractor participating in a registered apprenticeship program. Public works construction contracts include any contract exceeding a total expenditure of $1 million that involves construction, reconstruction, improvement, rehabilitation, installation, alteration, renovation, demolition, or otherwise providing for any building, facility, or physical structure of any kind for any department, board, bureau, commission, office, or agency of the state government.
Referred to the House Committee on Governmental Affairs

HB 635 by Rep. Marcus Wiedower
This legislation is related to the State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors. This legislation revises and clarifies qualifications for licensure as a residential or commercial general contractor, revises provisions relating to examination of applicants, and revises provisions relating to the refusal to grant a license, revocation of a license, or other disciplinary action of the board.
Referred to the House Regulated Industries Committee

HB 637 by Rep. Terry Cummings
This legislation is a piece of Cobb County specific legislation which revises the requirement of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners to hold a public hearing before the Commission is authorized to spend over $100,000 to employ an independent consultant or conduct an independent study. The legislation would move the required amount for public hearings from $100,000 to $200,000.
Referred to the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee

HB 655 by Rep. Scott Hilton
Legislation which renews a tax credit for postproduction expenditures, increases the annual aggregate limit, provides for an additional credit if certain qualified expenditures are incurred in certain rural counties, provides for qualified productions and expenditures, and allows the credit with respect to special venue projects.
Referred to the House Ways and Means Committee

Georgia Supreme Court Justice Peterson Elected as New Chief Justice

Tues., Feb 25th, the current Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court Michael P. Boggs announced his resignation effective March 31st of this year. In his letter to Governor Brian Kemp, Chief Justice Boggs stated that he “will be forever grateful to Governor Nathan Deal and the citizens of Georgia for affording [him] the privilege to serve.”

Justices from the Georgia Supreme Court voted on Thurs., Feb. 27 to elect Presiding Justice Nels S.D. Peterson to serve as the new Chief Justice of the court. Currently the longest serving justice on the bench, Peterson was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court in 2017 and was elected to full six-year terms in 2018 and 2024. Justice Peterson is a graduate of Kennesaw State University and Harvard Law School, and lives in Cobb County with his wife and two children. He is an active member of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. Justice Peterson has been a longtime friend of the Cobb Chamber, and we congratulate him on his election to Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.

Aerospace and Defense Day at the Capitol

Wed., Feb. 26 marked Aerospace and Defense Day under the Gold Dome. Georgia is home to a robust aerospace industry, encompassing more than 800 companies, including an estimated 320 aerospace manufacturing firms, more than 120 MRO facilities, and over 70 airline and charter operations that employ more than 200,000 Georgians. Aerospace products are Georgia's #1 export and the state's 2nd-largest manufacturing industry, generating an estimated annual economic impact of $57.5 billion.

Cobb’s own Lockheed Martin and Kennesaw State University joined the representatives from the aerospace industry and higher education community to educate lawmakers on this growing economic development sector. KSU is home to the Aerospace Engineering program in the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Lockheed Martin, home of the C-130 and the center wing of the F35, participated in a panel to lawmakers highlighting the work they do in Georgia with a special emphasis on the growth of the infamous Skunk Works® program in Advanced Development due in part to the General Assembly supporting SB 6 in 2021. 

Bring it Home – Leadership Cobb ‘25 Government Day

What should have occurred on Jan. 22 thanks to the ice and snow south of Atlanta that shut down the state finally came to fruition on a make-up date this week. Mon., Feb. 24 brought most of the 2025 class of Leadership Cobb to a series of meetings hosted at the Nathan Deal Judicial Complex.

What is becoming an annual treat for the class, a political discussion with radio and TV personalities Brian Robinson and Fred Hicks representing the left and right was moderated by AJC Reporter Greg Bluestein. Fireside chats with Secretary of State Brad Raphensberger and University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue were hosted by committee members. The class also visited with the Georgia Supreme Court Justices Verda M. Colvin, Shawn Ellen LaGrua and Nels Peterson in their courtroom. After lunch, the group moved to the state capitol where they toured the House and Senate Chambers while meeting with local legislators who were not tied up in committee meetings.

Next Week at the Capitol

Mon., March 3 – Legislative Day 26
Tues., March 4 – Legislative Day 27
Wed., March 5 – Committee Work Day
Thurs., March 6 – Legislative Day 28 – CROSSOVER DAY
Fri., March 7 – Legislative Day 29

If you have any questions about the Cobb Chamber Government Affairs Committee, the Cobb Chamber legislative priorities or legislative advocacy in general, please reach out to Amanda Seals, Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Government Relations.