The Georgia Chamber of Commerce (GCOC) has launched the Georgia Initiative,
positioning the group to proactively address statewide issues of concern to businesses.
Michael Garrett, president and CEO of Georgia Power, says the chamber will "continue to
tackle business issues like tax reform and civil justice reform. But we're also going to broaden
our scope. "We've created the Georgia Initiative to allow us to do somethings we haven't done in
the past,"says Garrett, the Georgia Chamberchair-elect for 2009. "We're going to focus on the
environment, transportation,education issues – all those things that are important to economic
development. When prospects look at states, they look to see what groups like the Georgia Chamber
are doing to address those issues."
George Israel, president and CEO of the chamber, says GCOC has raised about 70 percent of the Georgia Initiative's $7.5 million target. Those funds would be allocated to support five key strategies over the next five years:
1. Provide proactive leadership on key statewide business issues (including expanded lobbying
capabilities): $2.5 million
2. Strengthen technology and communications capacity (including media relations, phone banks
and polling): $2.5 million
3. Become the leading voice for business on education and workforce readiness: $750,000
4. Identify solutions and initiate educational programs to reduce health costs for business:
$750,000
5. Promote a healthy state economy to retain existing business and attract new investment
and jobs(including promoting overseas trade): $1 million
Israel says fundraising has gone so well that GCOC is raising the goal to$8.5 million. The
additional $1 million would largely go toward the fifth strategy – increased involvement in
international relations and encouraging foreign trade.
Charles Tarburton, assistant VP of Sandersville Railroad, says the vision behind the
initiative is "to transform the Georgia Chamber into a more proactive advocate for business. We
want to give it greater capacity to communicate in key policy areas that are important to
business."
Tarburton, who will chair GCOCin 2008, emphasizes the initiative is"being phased in as we
speak." Hesays transportation, water quality,health care, education and quality of life issues are
" all legs of the stool that make up economic development.If this state fails to address anyone of
these issues, then economic development is more challenging. If we successfully address these
issues,we will only meet with success in economic development," he adds.
"The Georgia Initiative provides an opportunity for the chamber to become even more involved
in statewide issues that are most important to the business community,"says Edward Heys, deputy
managing partner at Deloitte & Touche.
Heys says the chamber asked the Georgia business community what critical issues the state
faces and where the chamber should provide leadership. The chamber is putting together task forces
to address those issues, with business leaders heading the committees. Heys says the campaign
brings both financial and leadership resources to bear on key issues.
How it all began
The roots of the Georgia Initiative began two years ago. "We needed to reestablish the
Georgia Chamber "following financial problems and declining membership in the early 1990s, Israel
says. With membership exceeding 4,000 and the chamber on solid footing, the question was:
"How do we move to the next level?" The chamber polled its members and interviewed more than 80 key
business leaders to put together the issues and strategies behind the Georgia Initiative.
Effective lobbying was one concern for the members. "We want to get to a point on proposed
legislation where, if we're opposed to something, we could stop it," Israel says. "Also, sometimes
being proactive is even more challenging than reacting to other group's proposals. It took us three
years to get tort reform passed."
Garrett says the chamber has done an excellent job with the resources it had. But the group
is starting to tackle tougher, broader issues like transportation and water quality. "It's just
going to take more resources to do what we need to do in the future," he adds.
Israel says the chamber must be able to initiate legislation, protect its gains and consult
with state leaders on proposals that affect the business community. For example, the chamber is
examining recent General Assembly tax reform proposals.
"Right now, business is paying 40.2percent of all state and local taxes,which equals about 4
percent of the gross state product," he says. "We don't want that to increase."
Some of the Georgia Initiative funds would go into technology upgrades, such as updating
GCOC's Web site to add streaming video and teleconferencing capabilities. The current staff of 25
could also grow.
In August, the chamber hired an expert on water quality who will work with other groups and
state officials to develop "a workable,manageable water plan," Israel says. "With the water wars
going on, we know that eventually this could be litigated before the Supreme Court. We'll be on
firmer ground with a management plan. Water is a critical issue that could choke economic
development."
A variety of issues
Transportation also presents a variety of challenges, with many recent proposals to increase
funding focusing on the metro Atlanta area. "We certainly recognize that the metro area is the
economic development engine that drives the state," Israel says. On the other hand, "you've also
got to recognize there are problems in other parts of the state. We've also got to get the people
of Georgia to recognize that transportation problems in Atlanta affect them as well."
Similarly, shipping through the Savannah port is expected to climb from the current 900
million metric tons to more than three billion metric tons over the next seven years. "They need
alternative truck routes and enhanced rail to get some of the containerized traffic off I-16,
I-75and I-85," Israel says. "Take the number of 18-wheelers you see now carrying containerized
freight and triple it, and you can see the need for solutions."
GCOC also has been asked by various stakeholders and state officials to take a stronger role
in such areas as workforce readiness and workforce certification; health insurance and health care
reform; and supporting international trade.
"Since Georgia is the fourth fastest growing state in the nation, we need an entity like the
Georgia Chamber to ensure that we maintain quality of life we have here, that Georgia is friendly
to business, and that we're able to attract the business and industry we need to create the jobs
we've got to have," Garrett says.
With another 3.5 million residents expected to move to the state by2030, Garrett says "the
state has to continue to do the things it needs to do to continue this quality of life.Those are
issues that no one community can deal with alone. It must deal with them as one Georgia."
"In my opinion, the Georgia Chamber has already been an effective voice for the business
community," Heys says. "The initiative's success in raising funds and resources speaks to how the
community is rallying around the Georgia Chamber as the organization that can address these
important issues."