Kemp promotes Georgia’s economy outside the Cobb Chamber

April 11 – CUMBERLAND – Before the Cobb Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Gov. Brian Kemp touted the state’s economy, citing its achievements in economic development, its low unemployment rate and its fiscally conservative budgeting.

State laws require Georgia to have a balanced budget. The state has a AAA credit rating and entered the legislature with a budget surplus of more than $6 billion from fiscal 2022.

With all that extra money, Kemp and the Republican-led legislature passed measures to return funds to taxpayers, such as:

“With the policies we’re seeing coming out of Washington DC, which continue to drive 40-year high inflation and high prices across the board, my goal really was to go into session to work with the General Assembly to encourage hard-working.” Helping Georgians and families can struggle through that,” Kemp said.

Speaking at the Coca-Cola Roxy, just a stone’s throw from Truist Park, Kemp mentioned Monday night’s Atlanta Braves game when a 10th-inning walk-off home run gave the team a win over the Cincinnati Reds.

“Just like the Braves, the economy of Georgia continues to win,” the governor said.

As evidence of those accomplishments, he said the state has announced about 150,000 new jobs and $60 billion in new investment since taking office. Approximately 3,800 of those jobs and $337 million of that investment were in Cobb County. And those numbers, he noted, only include projects in which the state has been involved — not the organic economic growth that’s also occurring.

Former Cobb chamber leader Rob Garcia said that during the pandemic the governor “has protected us, but has done so in a way that has kept our state open and thriving.” In his successful reelection bid last year, a key theme of Kemp’s campaign was his record of allowing Georgia businesses to reopen earlier than other states.

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Jay Cunningham, owner and president of Superior Plumbing, cited Georgia’s being named the best state to do business for nine straight years. This ranking comes from Area Development Magazine, a publication that focuses on business site selection and relocation. When determining the ranking, the magazine takes into account factors such as tax rates, energy costs, property availability, workforce development, the regulatory environment, tax incentives and a competitive labor market.

“Imagine getting the Super Bowl in a year and then a second year… The #1 state to do business in is very similar. Every other state is trying to get what we have and they still can’t take it,” Cunningham said.

Amid signs the US could be headed for a recession, Kemp said the state is also preparing for a potential downturn.

“It’s something I want you to know I take very seriously and have been doing for the past few years and something I’ve reminded lawmakers about that we must continue to prepare for,” he said.

Georgia, the governor said, budgeted conservatively. It also has a “strong pipeline” of economic development projects that will see it through a potential recession.

In addition to the economy of the state, the governor also announced several items that were passed in this year’s legislature, such as:

— The Safe School Act, which will provide public schools with $50,000 school safety grants;

— $2,000 teacher pay increases;

— Full funding of the HOPE grant;

— expanding access to temporary family support services for pregnant women;

— anti-trafficking legislation;

— Minimum sentencing requirements to crack down on gang recruitment.

The governor stayed away from some of the more contentious issues at the session, such as a law he signed that bars Georgians under the age of 18 from undergoing sex-affirming hormone replacement therapy or surgery and a bill creating an oversight board for the prosecutors and attorneys Georgia would create general.

He also didn’t mention a private school voucher bill he supported that died in the State House after rural Republicans combined with Democrats to kill it, nor a mental health reform package he supported that failed to pass the Senate.

“As previously mentioned, we were named the #1 state for business for the ninth year in a row,” Kemp said near the end of his roughly 16-minute speech. “And that just doesn’t happen by accident. … Our people in this state are so resilient. We’ve seen this during COVID and a lot of other crazy things that have been going on in this world over the last five years. But that’s because of you, we’re having this success and I just want you to know that we’re going to keep fighting.”