NEWS
The Georgia State Senate passed SB 68, (33-22) the omnibus bill in Governor Brian Kemp’s comprehensive tort reform package, last Friday. Gov. Kemp and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and their teams worked overtime leading up to the vote, including agreeing to a last-minute floor amendment to secure the needed votes to get the bill across the finish line on the Senate side.
As for members of our local Senate delegation, both Sen. Ben Watson and Sen. Billy Hickman supported the bill and spoke in favor during the debate. Sen. Derek Mallow spoke against the bill and voted against it.
Now the bill moves over to be considered in the House of Representatives. Our Chamber joined with more than a dozen other local chambers to sign onto a letter supporting HB 361, This bill increases Georgia’s Military Retirement Income Exclusion to 100 percent, allowing us to better compete for keeping service members here in our region as they prepare to transition out of the military and into a second career.
According to Kiplinger’s, Georgia is the 4th most expensive state for retired military service members, due in large part to the state income tax owed on retirement income. In fact, 38 states do not tax military retirement income at all, including all of Georgia’s neighboring states.
In addition to helping meet our workforce needs, the economic benefits of keeping or attracting veterans and their families in Georgia is substantial as they invest in their communities, contributing to overall economic growth. As the state continues stepping down the overall income tax rate, this more immediate step will target competitive workers and support Georgia employers.
Also this week, SB 12, which designates that only the custodian agency of public records are subject to a public records request (and not government contractors), passed out of the Georgia Senate (49-0). SB 12 now heads to the House for consideration. We are also continuing to closely watch a $501 million state investment in our region’s water systems.
The budgeted amount was included in the Governor’s recommendation and stayed in the House version of the amended budget. Senate appropriators are working on their version of the amended budget now, and we remain hopeful that this investment will be supported by the full Senate.
