2024 Legislative Breakfast Program by Augusta Metro Chamber

2024 Legislative Breakfast

Wednesday, December 11th

First Baptist Church of Augusta

Today’s Program

Welcome Dennis Trotter, Chairman, Board of Directors, Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce; Founding Partner, Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate

Invocation

Breakfast

Keynote

Delegation Panel

Q&A

Representative Karlton Howard

Commissioner John F. King, Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner

Chairman Representative Brian Prince, Moderator

Representative L.C. Myles Jr.

Representative Mark Newton

Representative Lynn Heffner

Senator Harold Jones II

Senator Max Burns

Representative Karlton Howard

Closing Kerry Bridges, East Region Executive, Georgia Power

Special Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor for Today’s Breakfast

Keynote Speaker

Commissioner John F. King Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner

Before becoming Commissioner, King spent his career in law enforcement, beginning as an Atlanta police officer in 1985 and culminating as Chief of Police for the City of Doraville While at the Atlanta Police Department, he worked various assignments including Red Dog, Organized Crime/Intelligence, and received the Chief’s Blue Star in 1987 for being injured in the line of duty as a result of a criminal attack with a firearm His career also includes assignments to both FBI and DEA as a Task Force Agent

A native of Mexico, King made a meaningful impact by building bridges among Doraville’s diverse populations and implementing youth education and crimeprevention programs in his role as Chief of Police. Recognizing the international composition of Doraville’s community, King made it a priority to hire bilingual police officers, place multiple languages on police cars, and ensure effective translators and public defenders were employed at the City Courthouse. Commissioner King’s initiatives include Anti-Gang education programs for elementary school students and parents. He worked with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to establish an education program for prospective small business entrepreneurs and worked with state, county, and local leaders to implement a safety and speed reduction program targeted to Buford Highway to reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities. Commissioner King is also a member of Leadership DeKalb. In addition to his former roles in the Atlanta and Doraville Police Departments, King retired as a Major General in the U.S. Army following his final assignment to NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. King was the former Commander of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and has deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa. He served as the Military Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Interior for Security for Afghanistan, who oversaw an agency of over 96,000 police officers. While serving on Active Duty and the National Guard, King earned numerous awards for his achievements. King received the Combat Action Badge for his service in Iraq and the Combat Infantry Badge for service in Afghanistan. Other awards and decorations include Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (2) Award, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, El Salvador Gold Medal for Achievement, and the Afghanistan Barial 2nd Degree Medal. King received his Bachelor’s of Arts degree in criminal justice and public administration from Brenau University and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He graduated from Harvard University Senior Executives in National Security and Syracuse University National Security Decision Making Course. Commissioner King was a graduate of class #229 in the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA, and also a graduate of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange program to Israel (GILEE).

2025 Augusta Legislative Delegation

Brian Prince, Delegation Chairman

State Representative, District 132 brian.prince@house.ga.gov

Capitol Address

18 Capitol Square SW 409-G CLOB

Atlanta, GA 30334

Phone: (404) 656-0116

District Address P.O. Box 142 Augusta, GA 30919

Phone: 706.364.4230

Harold Jones II - Senate Minority Leader - Elect

State Senator, District 22

harold.jones@senate.ga.gov

Capitol Address

604-A Coverdell Leg. Office Bldg

Atlanta, GA 30334

Office: (404) 656-0265

Max Burns

State Senator, District 23

maxburns@senategagov

Capitol Address

327-A CLOB

Atlanta, GA 30334 Office: (404) 463-1376

Lee Anderson

State Senator, District 24

lee.anderson@senate.ga.gov

Capitol Address

325-B CLOB

Atlanta, GA 30334

Office: (404) 656-5114

Rob Leverett

State Representative, District 123 rob.leverett@house.ga.gov

Capitol Address

508-A Coverdell Leg. Office Bldg.

Atlanta, GA 30334

Office: (404) 656-0213

District Address 2717 Willis Foreman Road Hephzibah, GA 30815

District Address PO Box 203 Sylvania, GA 30467

District Address 160 Louisville Road Grovetown, Ga 30813

District Address

P.O. Drawer 399 Elberton, GA 30635

Gary Richardson

State Representative, District 125 garyrichardson@housegagov

Capitol Address

601-F Coverdell Leg Office Bldg Atlanta, GA 30334 Office: (404) 656-0254

L.C. Myles Jr.

State Representative Elect, District 126

District Address PO Box 154 Evans, GA 30809

Mark Newton

State Representative, District 127 mark.newton@house.ga.gov

Capitol Address

401-D State Capitol

Atlanta, GA 30334 Office: (404) 656-7855

Karlton Howard

State Representative, District 129 karltonhoward@housegagov

Capitol Address

511-G Coverdell Leg Office Bldg

Atlanta, GA 30334 Office: (404) 656-6372

Lynn Heffner

State Representative, District 130 lynnheffner@housegagov

Capitol Address

409-E Coverdell Leg. Office Bldg. Atlanta, GA 30334 Office: (404) 656-0116

Rob Clifton

State Representative Elect, District 131

District Address

PO Box 5713 Augusta, GA 30916

2025 Priorities

Housing Opportunity

Like many states across the country, Georgia currently faces a shortage of housing opportunity and affordability. This issue significantly impacts Georgia’s ability to attract and retain population as well its ability to continue to build a superior labor force and economic opportunity for all Georgians. There is an urgent need for state and local policy makers to study the impacts of state and local regulatory costs that substantially increase the cost of housing including zoning, land use and impact fees and modernize incentives and policies that create a diverse inventory of housing stock.

Development Authorities

Local Development Authorities across Georgia and their missions to retain and influence job growth and business expansion are critical entities if Georgia is to continue its designation as the number one state with which to do business. We encourage state policy makers to consider that efforts to regulate and provide for accountability for the powers local development authorities hold should be largely entrusted to the local communities they serve.

Ft. Eisenhower Cyber Center of Excellence

Military installations across Georgia represent significant employment and economic impact. In the Greater Augusta Region, Ft. Eisenhower is the largest single employ er and plays an important role in our nation’s defense, particular in the areas of communications training, cyber security and intelligence. In particular, the need to ensure Ft. Eisenhower is supported by a transportation network proportionate to its ever-increasing employment levels is a high priority including the development of the new proposed interchange at I20/Lewisville Road

Augusta University

A new research building at Augusta University will provide state-of-the-art facilities and resources to foster innovation and scientific discovery. The project would span multiple phases. The University System of Georgia (USG) has approved $13.3M in their FY 2026 budget for the project design. The project total will be approximately $146.2M. We support the continued growth of Augusta University and its impact on the state of Georgia.

Licensing and Certifications

Occupational licensing has grown exponentially, today comprising nearly 25% of the US workforce, compared to only 5% nearly 60 years ago. According to the Institute for Justice Research, Georgia’s licensing laws for lower-income occupations rank as the 14th most burdensome in the country. We encourage state policy makers and regulatory departments to ensure modernized and efficient services as well as lower barriers to the portability of licensing and certifications.

Film Tax Credits

Georgia has become a state of choice for film production. Careful consideration must be given to any proposed changes in existing incentives that will provide Georgia with continued growth in this sector. Fair and equitable use of tax credits for films produced in all parts of the state are particularly important to the Augusta Region which has seen significant economic impact of this industry.

Augusta Technical College

Augusta Tech is an important part of our regional educational infrastructure As the college continues to grow and offer a wider variety of vital educational opportunities, it is important that funding to support its many missions keeps pace Technical education is an important driver of meeting our local workforce needs, especially in high demand careers As the Augusta campus continues to meet its mission, it is important that facilities meet the broad geographical needs of the region as well as prioritize, with its facilities, first-in-class educational opportunities and experiences to attract students We support the appropriations needed to expand Augusta Technical College’s campus and in particular, the proposed Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Technology facility.

Public K-12

Georgia must ensure it continues efforts to prioritize funding across all districts as part of its annual budget process. Efforts to increase graduation rates and enhance learning experiences, especially in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math should be an important priority for our state. The expansion of the CTAE Career Pathway programs will greatly aid students in preparing for jobs in highest demand as will the efforts of local school districts to specifically align educational opportunities to the specific needs of a regional workforce. The Chamber supports policy that offers financial resources at the K-12 level for student work-based learning and apprenticeships and programs which aid and accelerate a newly emerging workforce.

TIA (TSPLOST)

The Augusta Region has greatly benefited from the ability to utilize local sales tax dollars to fund local transportation needs and will continue to maximize the opportunities that the Transportation Investment Act of 2010 provides. A successful referendum in 2020 now ensures that the Augusta 13-county region will self-support growing infrastructure needs locally, through 2032. It Is important, however, that the region continues to benefit from fair and congressionally authorized state and federal transportation funding to that of levels across the state.

Technological Developments in Transportation

In acknowledging the evolution of automotive technology, Georgia is well positioned to support an emerging electric vehicle industry and can serve as an influencer on policy that adapts new transportation technology. The Chamber supports efforts to ensure that state and local communities are well positioned with new infrastructure opportunities that facilitate this evolution.