Advocacy
For 11 years, Georgia has been the number one state for doing business, and the Cobb Chamber prides itself on being a key partner in this success. Recognized as one of the most influential business advocacy organizations in the state and one of the top chambers in the nation, the Cobb Chamber brings the community and its leaders together to create jobs, strengthen the economy, and provide a thriving environment for its citizens.
The Cobb Chamber looks forward to collaborating with you on the 2025 State Legislative Agenda, which aims to advance a vibrant and prosperous economy by enhancing the business climate and quality of life for Cobb County, the region, and the state. This agenda addresses critical concerns from our 2,700-member organizations, most of which are small businesses representing over 18,000 business leaders across the county. Your support on these issues is crucial to our success, and we thank you for your continued service to the great state of Georgia.
To keep our business environment competitive, we support the call for lawsuit reform. In its most recent Lawsuit Climate Survey, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) ranked Georgia 41st out of the 50 states in the fairness and reasonableness of our litigation climate. Georgia ranks 7th highest in tort costs per household and 9th highest in tort costs as a share of GDP.
Economic Development and the recruitment/retention of quality jobs is a significant focus of the Cobb Chamber. Workforce development, existing industry expansion, entrepreneurial support, research, and development tax credits, and cultivating a business-friendly environment for employers and their employees are key priorities for our organization. We support legislation that continues to grow our tourism industry. We support the continuation of tax credits that enhance our business climate.
We encourage state-level efforts to ensure we are in the most competitive position possible for future growth through sound, inclusive, pro-business, job-creating legislation. The Cobb Chamber supports common-sense public policies that remove regulatory barriers to growth and support tax incentives and economic development policies for industries that produce quality jobs. At the same time, we oppose policies or legislative measures that negatively impact our business climate. We support current state law that allows for transparency and accountability of third-party online marketplaces to protect consumers and our local businesses.
The connectivity of our businesses to their workforce, suppliers and customers is a defining issue for Cobb and the Atlanta region. We believe infrastructure, transportation, and mobility investments are critical to the long-term stability and the future success of our county, region, and state. We also view it as a partnership, and our local, state, and federal governments are making significant investments to provide matching funds to move critical projects forward.
We support infrastructure of the future, which includes the modernization of telecommunications such as the expansion of broadband, shared autonomous mobility on defined networks, energy infrastructure, the use of smart technology along our corridors, and continued efforts to expand the state’s freight and logistics industry. We support the efforts of the state to provide an electric vehicle (EV) charging stations network that is convenient, reliable, affordable, and accessible for all users.
In partnership with our three Community Improvement Districts (CIDs), we support a state budget increase for the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (GTIB) which helps fund critical transportation infrastructure projects not only in Cobb County but across the state of Georgia. The Cobb Chamber supports continued funding of GDOT’s Major Mobility Investment Program (MMIP) which will continue to address major congestion relief projects such as the I-285 and I-20 West interchange as well as the further extension of the region’s managed lanes on I-285. Additionally, we encourage the further exploration of regional transit connectivity and funding options.
To ensure the continued development of a qualified workforce for our region, necessary investments in our educational infrastructure must continue. We support a fully funded enrollment-based formula that will enable our education system to offer education from Pre-K to doctorate degrees. This comprehensive availability of educational opportunities is a vital economic driver for the expansion of existing business and new business growth.
In Cobb County, our two public Pre-K-12 systems are regarded highly by families and national experts, and indeed, both the Cobb County School District and the Marietta City School System consistently have higher graduation rates and scores on key subject areas than most of our peers across the state. We support bond projects and state investments in higher education that enhance the mission of Chattahoochee Technical College, Kennesaw State University, and Life University.
Upskilling and workforce development are significant factors in corporate expansions and relocations, and we are staunch advocates for college and career academies in both school systems. We support licensure reform to meet our workforce needs by placing skilled individuals in industry positions.
Healthcare is a growth industry in the U.S. and Cobb. Our members consist of healthcare providers, bioscience, manufacturers and pharmaceutical research and development companies. Our SelectCobb economic development strategy has identified both bioscience and healthcare services as growth opportunities for the county.
We support gains made in healthcare coverage through the pandemic that enhance health equity, and support liability protections for providers. We support the continuation of tax exemption for not-for-profit community hospitals and improved reimbursement levels for all Medicaid providers, including public health and primary care physicians seeing the patients most in need. In addition, we support the state’s current Certificate-of-Need (CON) process. We support measures aimed at holistically strengthening the workforce development pipeline for the health care industry to alleviate the severe shortage of physicians, nurses, and health care workers across the state.
As an integral part of our national security, readiness, and responsiveness, Dobbins Air Reserve Base is home to the 94th Airlift Wing, the 22nd Air Force Headquarters, the Georgia National Guard Headquarters, Navy Reserve Center Atlanta, units of the Army Reserve, Marine Reserve, and Civil Air Patrol. It hosts many civilian partners, including Lockheed Martin and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). Dobbins has more than 5,000 assigned military members, including all branches of the military, and is the servicing installation for more than 400,000 eligible beneficiaries in the greater Atlanta region, including retirees from all branches of service.
The Chamber encourages the Governor, state leaders, and the Georgia Joint Defense Commission to continue providing necessary support for all Georgia bases and communities and taking steps now to prepare for any potential threats to all our bases and place the state in a position to be a net gainer of missions. We support the continued expansion of license reciprocity for our service members and their spouses. We also support state incentives that enhance and expand our aerospace industry.
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