GBAN Legislative Update - February 24, 2017

Walt Farrell

Published February 27, 2017

Archive

Action Alert
House Bill 192, sponsored by Rep. Beth Beskin (R – Atlanta) is a Chamber scorecard measure aimed at protecting fair, reasonable decision making by corporate boards and directors from frivolous lawsuits.

This legislation is vital for businesses across Georgia. Without passage of this measure, Georgia’s legal and business climate will be severely diminished; forcing businesses to locate elsewhere.

Please follow this link to contact your state House member and ask them to support HB 192 as introduced, and to encourage their colleagues to bring it to a vote on the House floor.

You can watch Rep. Beskin speak to the importance of this legislation, here.

Legislative Calendar
Monday, February 27 will be legislative day 25. The General Assembly will not be in session Thursday, March 2. The calendar will run through Friday, March 3 for legislative day 28, Crossover Day.

Legislation of Interest
House Bill 134: Sales and use tax; special district mass transportation; provisions
Status:  Support - Bill Author: Representative Bubber Epps (R – Dry Branch) - HB 134 allows for greater flexibility in the administration of single count T-SPLOSTs and grants cities the authority to bond their T-SPLOST projects, which will aid local officials in developing a transportation network necessary to attract business growth and support their citizens’ needs. - HB 134 passed out of the House on Thursday, February 23. You can view the vote, here.

House Bill 192: Banks, trust companies, and corporations; responsibilities and standard of care of directors and officers; change provisions
- Status: Chamber Scorecard – Support
- Bill Author: Representative Beth Beskin (R – Atlanta) - HB 192 aims to return to an environment that facilitates reasonable decisions by corporate directors and officers. It also encourages companies to incorporate in Georgia, thereby creating opportunities for further economic growth. - HB 192 is still being held in House Judiciary. - See more at our Call to Action above.

House Bill 199: Income tax credit; interactive entertainment companies; change certain provisions
- Status: Support - Bill Author: Representative Trey Rhodes (R – Greensboro) - HB 199 gives a tax credit to interactive entertainment companies - Further tax credits are available if the original production was completed in Georgia, and outside Atlanta or Savannah. - HB 199 passed out of the House on Friday, February 24. You can view the vote, here.

Senate Bill 6: Georgia Regional Transit Council; definitions; membership; powers; duties; create
Status: Support - Bill Author: Senator Steve Gooch (R – Dahlonega) - SB 6 Seeks to create a statewide regional transit council to address regional solutions to issues of infrastructure, particularly transit. - SB 6 passed out of the Senate on Wednesday, February 22. You can view the vote, here.

Facebook Live – Education
Thank you to everyone who joined us last Friday for our live discussion with our staff experts on education reform in Georgia. You can watch our conversation here.

Political Engagement
The Georgia Chamber Political Affairs Council looks forward to engaging with pro-business candidates in the upcoming April 18th special election to fill the vacancy for State Senate District 32. Qualifying ended today (2/24/17) with a total of eight candidates, which can be found here. All candidates will run on one ballot and if no one individual earns over 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held between the top two contenders on May 16, 2017.

If you have any questions about the Political Affairs Council or would like more information regarding the Chamber’s political engagement efforts, please contact Chelsey Ruppersburg at cruppersburg@gachamber.com.