Legislative Priorities

Business Climate & Fiscal Policy

• Support current tax incentives that facilitate capital investment and job creation, including the Georgia Job Tax Credit and the tier system
• Support tax policies that make Georgia attractive for statewide workforce growth while avoiding undue shifts in tax burden
• Target crime and enhance public safety through investments and policy solutions, and through partnerships with law enforcement entities at the local, state and federal levels
• Support legislation that establishes a clear standard that business and property owners can follow as they implement procedures to protect their employees and customers
• Support policies that diversify housing options and incentivize development of workforce housing
• Oppose policies that increase regulations and costs on housing development
• Support investments, programs and policies that facilitate entrepreneurship and innovation in Georgia’s hub communities
• Support changes to the civil justice system which reduce lawsuit abuse, thereby reducing insurance, freight and raw material costs

Talent & Workforce Development

• Promote policies that bolster the full work force talent pipeline in partnership with K-12 education, technical and higher education, and the business community
• Support policies that increase access to funding for in-school youth, technical and higher education training
• Support policies that increase awareness and access to higher education options for Georgians and DACA recipients
• Support the expansion of occupational licensing opportunities for qualified, license-seeking individuals
• Support policies that leverage opportunity populations, bolster the work force and facilitate economic mobility
• Support the strengthening and expansion of career planning resources for students and young professionals
• Support career planning programs which highlight opportunities that exist in local economies
• Expand public support of Pre-K slots to increase access to early learning education

Health Care

• Support policies that expand Georgia’s health professions pipeline, including appropriate licensure reform to grow Georgia’s health care work force and increase investments in programs that support Georgia’s high-demand health care industry
• Support initiatives and investments that expand access to care and strengthen regional health care delivery
• Support efforts to enhance Georgia’s trauma care network

Infrastructure

• Support studying the benefits of extending I-185 through Albany and the extension and expansion of Georgia Highway 300 through Albany
• Support programs and policies that expand Georgia’s ability to move goods and services to end users across the state, particularly increasing the level of public investment in the assets that support these critical functions
• Support legislation that assists in deploying privately funded technological infrastructure advancements that connect communities across the state
• Bolster the creation and implementation of public-private partnerships to further all infrastructure improvements
• Support initiatives to strengthen community and economic infrastructure at the local level including, but not limited to, small business, education and work force opportunities

Defense

• Support policies, investments and partnerships that strengthen Georgia’s defense communities
• Support policies and programs that incentivize a strong work force that includes defense personnel, veterans, military retirees and military families
• Support policies that ease defense family transition into the state, including promoting licensure portability, school choice options and occupational licensing reform for military spouses
• Support statewide coordination of Georgia’s defense communities, including through the Georgia Joint Defense Commission, as well as incentives that ensure the security and stability of current and future defense operations at installations, training centers and other entities supporting Georgia’s defense communities

Natural Resources

• Preserve and enhance access to high-quality, affordable water supplies for businesses and communities in the Albany Area and Southwest Georgia

Funding Priorities

• $17.2 million for design, construction and equipment for Albany Technical College’s Criminal Justice Demonstration Center and campus-based Georgia VECTR Center to support workforce needs for law enforcement and upskill military veterans and their families for civilian re-entry, respectively. Co-located with the demonstration center, VECTR Center will provide accelerated programs in high demand and strategic industries tailored to abbreviate the process of receiving post-secondary certificates and degrees by recognizing the extensive training veterans receive during their military service.
• $7 million for construction of the Billy C. Black Building at Albany State University to improve operational efficiencies and support student success factors by relocating key student experience-related offices and academic programs out of the 100-year flood plain.

Additional Federal Priorities

• Support policies, investments and partnerships that bolster Georgia’s Hub communities
• Support policies, appropriations and partnerships that facilitate readiness and capabilities at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany
• Support policies that incentivize a strong work force that includes defense personnel, veterans and military families
• Protect business owners from profit-based litigation that uses the threat of lawsuits to extort payments
• Support smart immigration policy reforms to support workforce demands, boost economic growth, create jobs and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship
• Support policies and legislation that provide equal tax treatment of brick-and-mortar and online retailers
• Support policies that encourage growth and modernization of telecommunications and energy infrastructure
• Support policies that expand access to and improve affordability of high-quality health care services
• Ensure agricultural producers are operating on a level playing field as they compete with growers around the globe • Ensure fair, non-retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exporters

Download the Albany Area Chamber’s 2024 Legislative Priorities