Board of Directors Updated on Legislative Accomplishments and Workforce Initiatives

Members of the Chamber’s Board had a full agenda this week at their March meeting, which was particularly focused on some great outcomes from this year’s session of the Georgia General Assembly. Two key pieces of legislation for Augusta’s business community have passed both the House and Senate. House Bill 880 will support military spouses new to Georgia by providing accelerated license portability from other states and effectively provide for employment from day one. Currently, persons seeking reciprocal licensing with Georgia when licensed in another state often takes months to process leaving military service members and their families with only one income and at time when families need the most in resources due to relocation. Senate Bill 496 extends historic tax credits to a horizon of 2030 and expands the amount of tax credit available on both historic homes and other historic structures to more accurately reflect market conditions. It was mentioned that House Bill 1180 which is currently awaiting further Senate action, is also important to Augusta because of its importance on tax credits for the film industry. With session ending this Friday, the Chamber will continue to closely watch what happens in the waning days of legislation moving over the finish line.  In other updates, the Board was informed of a new grant received by the Chamber which is funding expanding employability boot camps for adult workers with free certifications for OSHA 10 and Forklift Safety and access to 1 and 2 semester diploma programs in high demand careers with Augusta Technical College. It was noted that the Chamber is partnering with member First Step Staffing on the initiative which specializes in second-chance hiring. Also reported was the Chamber’s round 2 grant proposal with the Families and Workers Fund Challenge grant which seeks to provide communities with high concentrations of clean energy jobs with catalytic resources.