Legislative Leaders and Economic Development Professionals Meet for
Legislative Update

GEDA 2023 January Legislative Leaders Meeting

McGuire Sponsel’s Credits & Incentive team in the Southeast last week attended Georgia Economic Development Association (GEDA) Legislative event where Economic Developers (groups) joined to hear updates from lawmakers. At the event, lawmakers confirmed that Georgia does not have Credits & Incentive legislative updates slated for this year’s session. Still, McGuire Sponsel recognizes that current credits and incentives programs such as Jobs Tax Credit and Quality Jobs Tax Credit, have helped the state of Georgia establish the state’s impact by topping Area Development’s Best States for Doing Business for nine consecutive years. With the continued partnerships that the state of Georgia, utility companies, and communities continue offering to grow businesses, the state of Georgia can continue successfully recruiting businesses across all industries.

Throughout the event, a topic legislators addressed centered around workforce development. Businesses continue to struggle to hire skilled workers and have similar trouble hiring enough qualified individuals to fill open roles. During the GEDA event, multiple legislators spoke on the importance of workforce development. Lieutenant Burt Jones spoke to the room full of economic development professionals saying that a primary focus needs to be investing in the K-12 and the Technical Colleges to support all the businesses locating in Georgia. From McGuire Sponsel’s experience, we have heard that more and more companies are having trouble hiring skilled workforce. We look forward to the partnership the Georgia lawmakers and economic developers can bring to support businesses like the firm’s current and prospective clients.

Furthermore, a prominent proposal from The Senate Development Authorities & Downtown Authorities Study Committee will give additional creditability to the State of Georgia and local communities whenever a company is considering locating in Georgia. Development Authorities are at the forefront of recruiting prospective companies into Georgia, and they are led by board members and directors who are local officials and stakeholders within the community. The new proposal from  legislators will  require Development Authorities  to go through additional training, performance audits, and maintain in-term membership for their Boards. Additionally, part of the proposal is to request GEDA to establish best practices for Development Authorities to utilize better professional procedures to help align key community stakeholders and the State of Georgia. Our team of experts partner with city officials and economic development professionals every day to help maximize value for our clients.

Overall, McGuire Sponsel is excited to help our clients who are looking to invest in Georgia.