On Jan. 14, hundreds of Georgia political and corporate leaders kicked off the 2025 legislative session at the annual Georgia Chamber’s Eggs and Issues breakfast.
The morning may have started with an icy 6:30 a.m. networking session, but the room of Georgia’s most powerful still buzzed with energy. Attendees packed into a ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center, its longtime venue. Last year, the Chamber moved to the more spacious Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 2025 returned to a more traditional location.
As elected officials and business executives snacked on Chick-fil-A provided breakfast, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens provided remarks. He used familiar refrains, calling the city a “group project” and recognizing Hartsfield-Jackson Airport as the world’s busiest airport.
But most of the crowd was waiting for the annual speech from Georgia’s Governor, which would lay out top legislative priorities for the year ahead. In many ways, the breakfast sets the stage for major moves in 2025.
Hours later, Governor Brian Kemp took the stage to formalize his focus for 2025: infrastructure and tort reform.
Georgia has been sitting on about $16.5 billion in undesignated reserve funds — but Kemp’s proposed infrastructure project will put a $1 billion dent in the money.
At last year’s breakfast, Kemp announced more than $2 billion into road and sewer projects. This year, he’s keeping up the work. The governor laid out a spending plan of $530 million in investment in freight and logistics transfer station infrastructure, $250 million in local road building grants, and $250 million to waste and water system projects.
But Kemp’s focus for the year ahead is his ongoing work on tort reform. For decades, Georgia Republicans and some business owners have rallied around a rewrite of the civil litigation. The governor alleges people abuse current tort rules by filing unnecessary lawsuits for medical malpractice and product liability.
The governor only teased the details of his tort reform plans at breakfast. Last year, the administration gathered data on the impacts torts have on the legal environment. He says the data has now been gathered and discussed.
“I will soon be unveiling a robust legislative package that will bring balance to our proceedings and parity with our neighbors,” Kemp said.
The reform will likely make it harder to sue businesses in Georgia for malpractice. Georgia Chamber of Commerce President Chris Clark said, “It’s what is right for Georgia small businesses.”
In essence, the rewrite would protect business owners from civil litigation that could force a payout. Twenty years ago, state legislators passed one piece of tort reform that created a $350,000 payment cap on civil suits. It was later overturned by the state Supreme Court.
“Every local or regional chamber in this room has a critical role to play this session to make sure we finally get this done,” Kemp said to the crowd. “I’m asking you to engage earlier and harder than you ever have.”
The direct plea is part of the unwritten goal of Eggs and Issues — access.
On paper, the early morning meeting lays out legislative goals. In practice, it’s a meeting of the minds. Executives from companies like Norfolk Southern and Georgia Power sit alongside municipal governments. Political leaders have direct access to hundreds of business leaders and vice versa. In between speeches, they mingle over coffee. At major announcements, they applaud and give each other standing ovations.
Managing Principal at consulting group Everest Global Management Myrna White said from the corporate side, it’s a room where people can meet key policymakers, local municipal leaders and elected officials.
White, who worked at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for decades, has been a regular attendee of the event.
“It’s just a marvelous place to make the kinds of connections that will keep you informed,” White said.
