Georgia Governor Brian Kemp laid out his legislative and budget goals for the upcoming year at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs n’ Issues breakfast on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday.
The annual event serves as the official kick-off to the state’s legislative session, with the Chamber of Commerce and state officials gathering to lay out state economic and social priorities for the year.
Kemp took the stage to preview his legislative agenda ahead of his 2024 State of the State Address on Tuesday, which includes the state budget plan. At the chamber breakfast, Kemp committed over a billion dollars to transportation infrastructure and millions to state medical schools. He also targeted unions across the state.
The governor slammed against the “war on opportunity declared by the Biden administration,” stating his pride in Georgia’s status as a right-to-work state. The right-to-work laws in Georgia make it illegal for an employer to require that employees join a union.
He went on to call the 2023 six-week-long strike, likely a reference to the United Auto Workers strike, a move by “partisan activists” that cost $9 billion in economic losses. Kemp said those individuals aimed to bring the free market to a “screeching halt.”
To “require transparency” from unions in Georgia, Kemp said he wants to introduce legislation that would require employees of businesses that receive state incentives to unionize with a formal election. Currently, businesses don’t require an election to accept unions.
Data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that only about 4.4 percent of Georgians are in a union.
Kemp said he aims to bring opportunity across the state and ensure that Georgia is the “best place to start, grow, and operate a business.”
One of his focus areas is insurance, where he aims to introduce laws that will stabilize premiums for Georgians and the insurance market.
Kemp also looked towards community and transportation infrastructure to encourage economic development. The governor said he allocated $1.5 billion in additional state funds for the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The projects will directly go towards commuter and freight-focused projects. The funds, Kemp said, will accelerate GDOT’s existing project pipeline and establish a new program focused on freight infrastructure progress. An additional $200 million will go to the Local Maintenance Improvement Grant, which will go towards local road projects.
Kemp said Georgians also deserve to be able to live in the same community where they work, adding an additional $50 million in the 2024 budget to the Workforce Housing Fund that bankrolls local development and housing authorities across the state. He also added $6 million in base funding for the 2025 budget.
Chamber and state officials also stressed that the state’s healthcare industry needs to be bolstered, with rural Georgia facing major disparities in its number of physicians. Georgia Chamber of Commerce data showed there is a physician rate of 107 per 100,000 residents, compared to 354 physicians per 100,000 residents in the state’s “hub” counties.
To bring in more healthcare professionals, Kemp announced a $178 million commitment to build a dental school at Georgia Southern University and $50 million to build a medical school at the University of Georgia. Currently, UGA students can attend a four-year medical program through a partnership with the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.
“With these new assets on the way, we will further address the growing need for health care professionals in our state,” Kemp said.
