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Lawmakers hope to tackle workforce challenges, invest in high-demand careers
Students train to work in high-paying manufacturing jobs requiring advanced skills in the robotics lab at Ogeechee Technical College. (Credit: Technical College System of Georgia).
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the weeks leading up to the 2024 legislative session, State Affairs is taking a look at key issue areas likely to lead to proposed legislation and lively debate at the Statehouse. Our latest story focuses on workforce-related legislation.
Employers in Georgia are ready to expand their businesses but are hard-pressed to find adequately trained and qualified applicants, while many would-be professionals find themselves hampered by the state’s often burdensome licensing requirements and inefficient licensing boards. That’s a problem in a state where 1 in 6 jobs requires an occupational license.
Legislators working across several study committees last year have come up with plenty of ideas to get more Georgians trained and into good-paying, high-demand jobs. Here are some of their recommendations.
Expand the pipeline of training for high-demand careers
The Senate Study Committee on Expanding Georgia’s Workforce heard from manufacturers, health care providers, logistics and construction companies, small business organizations and regional economic development officials last year. They chronicled how gaps in their skilled workforces are counter-productive and costly.
Meanwhile, representatives from many of the same industries ballyhooed some of the partnerships between employers, state universities and technical colleges (and even some high schools) that are creating training opportunities and career tracks offering high-demand, high-skilled, lucrative jobs.
Lawmakers want to support more of what’s working in 2024. In their final report issued last month, the Expanding Georgia’s Workforce committee recommended increasing tuition reimbursements for students pursuing high-demand careers, and also enacting legislation to develop a program to transfer credits between University System of Georgia schools and Technical College System of Georgia schools in high-demand career paths.
Defining exactly what high-demand careers are is part of the challenge — multiple state department lists include jobs ranging from nurses, teachers, and truck drivers to electrical engineers and web developers — and so the joint study committee on Dual Enrollment for Highly Skilled Talent at Younger Ages made nailing down that definition its first priority in its final report.
The report also calls to streamline and develop more partnership agreements between local school systems, technical schools, state universities, and local employers. The committee would like to see more college-age students as well as 15- to 18-year-olds (in dual enrollment programs) learning not just in-demand skilled trades as welding, automotive tech and aeronautical engineering, but advanced skills such as computer coding, robotics and manufacturing automation, skills that will get Georgia’s new and expansion-minded employers such as Rivian, Hyundai and Qcells deeper into production.
The dual enrollment study committee also recommended providing more funding for technical college instructors and high school counselors, who are key players in dual enrollment and accelerated career pathways programs.
Reform the occupational licensing process
Georgia doesn’t make it easy for some people pursuing professional careers to get the license or credential they need to get to work, and several groups of legislators, state officials, industry leaders and advocates have weighed in on what should change in occupational licensing.
Both the Expanding Georgia's Workforce study committee and the Occupational Licensing study committee in the Senate want to see more flexibility in licensing requirements (both educational and experiential) of some professional boards, including those who regulate nurses, truck drivers and people in construction trades.
They’d also like to see Georgia get up to speed with other states in developing more universal recognition or reciprocity agreements so that experienced professionals coming in from out of state, foreign countries, or the military — including doctors and other health care professionals — can have their credentials recognized and accepted more quickly.
Because many of the 43 professional licensing boards housed in the Secretary of State’s office are significantly backlogged in approving license applications and renewals due to low staffing and slow-moving, inefficient technical processes, the Occupational Licensing study committee’s final report also recommended providing more funding to the ongoing overhaul of the SOS licensing portal, as requested by the secretary of state’s Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling.
Reduce barriers to employment for people with criminal records
Senate Bill 157, which would remove barriers for some people with a criminal background to obtain or retain a professional license, sailed through the Senate last session but did not get a vote in the House. The legislation would direct licensing boards to create and clarify guidelines as to how the type, age and severity of criminal offenses should be considered when determining a person’s eligibility to work in certain industries. It would also create a pre-clearance process so applicants can find out if they’re likely to be approved or denied a license before investing time and money into professional training.
Its passage is recommended by the Senate Occupational Licensing study committee.
“While the conviction of certain offenses should prevent someone from obtaining a license in some fields, the goal is to help people who have made mistakes by giving them the opportunity to remain in the workforce as productive members of society without being precluded from working in industries where a previous conviction has no relation to the field of profession,” said bill sponsor Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, who is also a member of the study committee.
Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and most of the bipartisan workforce-related study committees in both chambers are in favor of the bill, which would address a key part of the state’s workforce shortage. According to the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, 65,000 licensed jobs are unfilled in Georgia’s health care, child care, elder care, transportation and finance industries. About 40% of Georgians — 4.5 million people — have a criminal record.
‘Red Tape Rollback’
Reforming the occupational licensing process and opening up more jobs to people with criminal backgrounds are two elements of the ‘Red Tape Rollback’ initiative that Jones announced last November. Endorsed by Senate leadership and prominent Georgia business leaders, Jones’ plan also includes legislation that will expand the definition of a small business in Georgia from 100 to 300 employees, which could make more businesses eligible for tax relief incentives while reducing some regulatory requirements.
The rollback’s backers also envision empowering members of the General Assembly to request and conduct economic analyses of proposed legislation and agency regulations that impact small businesses prior to implementation.
Address the shortage of child care options
One factor impacting economic development statewide is the chronic shortage of child care workers and providers across the state. Many people who’d like to join or get back into the workforce can’t do so due to the lack of quality, affordable child care providers and pre-K programs in their communities.
Early education advocates want the Legislature to increase state investment in the Child Care and Parent Services program, which subsidizes the cost of child care for low income families and children with special needs. Only 15% of eligible children in Georgia currently receive such subsidies.
Others, including the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, want legislators to use the ever-growing unrestricted lottery reserve to boost the pay of pre-K workers, particularly assistant teachers whose base salary is $20,190, according to the Department of Early Care and Learning.
The House Working Group on Early Childhood Education, which heard a good deal of testimony on the challenges to employers and workers posed by the child care crisis, hasn’t yet issued its final report and recommendations.
In October, Rep. Jan Jones, R-Milton, speaker pro tem of the House and chair of the working group, said she and the group’s members would make recommendations for funding pre-K programs prior to the 2024 legislative session, which begins Jan. 8.
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House speaker Jon Burns hires new communications director
House speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, announced today that he has hired a new communications director. Kayla Roberson, who has served as press secretary at the Georgia Chamber for the past year or so, will now oversee all external communications, media relations and strategic messaging for Burns.
“I’m excited to welcome Kayla to our team,” Burns said in a statement. “Kayla has an excellent background, deep skill set and strong work ethic, and we’re excited to have her on board to continue getting our message out and sharing the House’s priorities ahead of and into the next session.”
A double major in political science and journalism at the University of Georgia, where she graduated in 2022, Roberson interned for U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Republican in north Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, and worked as a consultant for GOP political candidates before joining the Georgia Chamber.
“I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to work under the leadership of speaker Burns,” Roberson told State Affairs. “Whether it’s improving education opportunities, putting money back in the pockets of hardworking Georgians, creating jobs or supporting our rural communities, speaker Burns always prioritizes doing what is best, and what is right, for Georgia.”
Political strategist Stephen Lawson, who has held the top communications role for the speaker since last December, announced he’s joining Dentons, where starting today he’ll lead the global law firm’s public affairs efforts.
Have questions or comments? Contact Jill Jordan Sieder on X @journalistajill or at [email protected].
Global bird flu disrupts Georgia exports, costing chicken producers millions
ATLANTA — A global bird flu that has rapidly spread from birds to dairy cows, milk supplies and humans has cost untold millions of dollars in lost export business in Georgia, the nation’s leading poultry producer, officials with the state Department of Agriculture and poultry industry said.
Georgia has had only three reported cases of H5N1 avian influenza since it reemerged in 2022. The last of those cases was resolved in November 2023 but ramifications of those outbreaks continue to have a big effect on the state’s ability to export chicken and chicken parts, such as chicken feet, to different countries, including China, one of Georgia’s biggest export markets for chicken feet.
In 2022, frozen chicken feet, for example, accounted for more than 85% of all U.S. poultry exported to China, according to Farm Progress, publisher of 22 farming and ranching magazines.
The $30 billion poultry industry is Georgia’s largest segment in its No. 1 industry — agriculture.
China has also placed a ban on the import of chicken products from 41 other American states. The ban on Georgia products went into effect Nov. 21, 2023. Efforts to reach the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. were unsuccessful.
Georgia Poultry Federation President Mike Giles estimates the state’s loss at “well into the millions of dollars.”
“It’s a significant amount in a significant export market for us,” he said. “Poultry paws [feet] immediately lose value because of the loss of demand.”
The ban has forced Georgia poultry producers to find alternative markets for their products that would normally be headed to China.
“Some are sold domestically, some are frozen and stored, hopefully to find markets later on, and some go to other countries,” Giles said.
This isn’t the first time China has banned U.S.-produced poultry products due to a bird flu outbreak. The country instituted a ban in January 2015 which lasted until November 2019 — even though U.S. poultry products were deemed free of the disease by August 2017.
After that ban was lifted, China’s appetite for American-produced chicken products became voracious.
In 2022, U.S. producers shipped nearly $6 billion in poultry meat and related products (excluding eggs) to over 130 countries. China has emerged as the second largest destination for U.S. poultry exports, increasing from $10 million in 2019 to a record $1.1 billion in 2022, according to Southern Ag Today.
Chicken paws, for instance, are eaten in many Asian countries, including the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Korea.They can also be found on Chinese dim sum menus throughout the U.S. and are also popular in Jamaica, Trinidad, Russia and Ukraine in everything from soups and curries to fried snacks.
Three Georgia counties have reported H5N1 outbreaks since 2022. The most recent case was late last year. Henry, Sumter and Toombs counties each reported one case of H5N1 bird flu. Those outbreaks are resolved, poultry and state agriculture officials say.
“When HPAI cases are found in any state, that state is given a designation that could lead to foreign countries halting trade on poultry products from that state,” Georgia Department of Agriculture spokesman Matthew Agvent told State Affairs.
Not since 2016 has the United States experienced such a fast-moving case of the H5N1 avian influenza. In the last two months, the virus has spread in parts of the United States from birds to dairy cows, some milk supplies and humans. Two people — a Texas dairy worker and a prison inmate in Colorado who was killing infected birds at a poultry farm — are reported to have caught the virus, according to news reports. The outbreak is the largest in recent history, impacting both domestic poultry and livestock as well as wild birds and some mammal species.
State officials are continuing to monitor the national outbreak and its impact on Georgia.
Georgia’s poultry & egg industry: At A Glance
Annual economic impact: $30.2 billion
Percentage of the Agriculture industry: 58% *
Jobs: 87,900
Counties involved in poultry & egg production: 3 out of 4
National ranking in chicken broiler production: No. 1
Daily production of table eggs: 7.8 million
Daily production of hatching eggs: 6.5 million
Pounds of chicken produced daily: 30.2 million
Pounds of chicken produced annually: 8 billion
Number of chicken broilers processed each day: 5 million
Counties involved in poultry & egg production: 3 out of 4
Source: Georgia Poultry Federation; The Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development, University of Georgia, Ag Snapshots 2024; Georgia Poultry Federation.
Have questions? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
Is it safe to eat chicken and eggs and drink milk? Answers to your most pressing questions about the latest bird flu outbreak
A two-year-old strain of bird flu has heightened concerns in Georgia and the rest of the country after the virus recently spread to dairy cows. Here’s what you need to know about the virus and its impact on Georgia and the rest of the country. What are the symptoms of this flu in humans? Eye …
Kemp signs bills on education, health care, taxes
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a slew of bills over the past week or so, including the private school voucher bill long sought by Republicans and a bill that will ease regulations over the construction and expansion of medical facilities in rural areas.
His bill-signing events were clustered into themes: education, health care, military members, human trafficking and Georgia’s coastal communities.
Education
Among the education-related bills Kemp signed was Senate Bill 233, also known as the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, which provides the families of Georgia students enrolled in underperforming school districts with $6,500 scholarships that can be used toward private school or homeschooling expenses, including tuition, fees, textbooks and tutoring.
“Georgia is affording greater choice to families as to how and where they receive their education, while also continuing our efforts to strengthen public schools, support teachers, and secure our classrooms,” Kemp said, and thanked leadership in the House and Senate for prioritizing passage of the bill, which had failed in a close vote in 2023.
Democrats and many public education advocates who opposed the bill argued it will drain resources from public schools and primarily benefit students from wealthy families.
Kemp also signed Senate Bill 351, sponsored by nine Republican senators, which will require social media companies, as of July 1, 2025, to verify their users are at least 16 years old unless they receive approval from a parent.
House Bill 409, sponsored by Rep. Lauren Daniel, R-Locust Grove, directs school systems to consider not having bus stops where a student would have to cross a roadway with a speed limit of 40 mph or greater. The bill also increases the penalty for passing a stopped school bus to $1,000 from $250.
Kemp noted that Ashley Pierce, the mother of Addy Pierce, an 8-year-old who was fatally struck by a motorist as she boarded her school bus, “passionately advocated for and was instrumental in the passage of this legislation.”
Senate Bill 395, sponsored by Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Gwinnett, states that no school visitor or personnel can be prohibited from possessing an opioid reversal drug such as Narcan and directs schools to maintain a supply. It also allows opioid antagonists to be sold in vending machines and directs certain government buildings to maintain a supply of at least three doses.
Senate Bill 464, also sponsored by Dixon, creates the School Supplies for Teachers Program to financially and technically support teachers purchasing school supplies online. It also creates an executive committee of five voting members within the Georgia Council on Literacy and limits the number of approved literacy screeners to five, one of whom must be available to schools for free.
Health care
The governor chose his hometown of Athens as the venue to sign several bills aimed at improving health care in rural and underserved communities.
Among them was House Bill 1339, sponsored by Rep. Butch Parrish, R-Swainsboro, which revises the Certificate of Need process by which the state determines if and how new medical facilities can be built or expanded. The bill provides for several new exemptions, including psychiatric or substance abuse inpatient programs, basic perinatal services in rural counties, birthing centers and new general acute hospitals in rural counties. It also raises the total limit on tax credits for donations to rural hospital organizations to $100 million from $75 million.
Senate Bill 480, sponsored by Sen. Mike Hodges, R-Brunswick, establishes student loan repayments for mental health and substance use professionals serving underserved youth in the state or in unserved geographic areas disproportionately impacted by social determinants of health.
House Bill 872, sponsored by Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville, chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, expands cancelable loans for certain health care professionals to dental students who agree to practice in rural areas.
Senate Bill 293, sponsored by Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, reorganizes county boards of public health and opens the qualifications for the CEO of each county board of health to include either licensed physicians or people with a master’s degree in public health or a related field.
Military members and veterans
Kemp on Wednesday focused on bills to improve military recruitment and provide more work opportunities for veterans and military family members.
House Bill 880, sponsored by Rep. Bethany Ballard, R-Warner Robins, allows spouses of military service members to work under a license they hold in good standing in another state while under the supervision of an existing Georgia medical facility or provider.
Senate Bill 449, sponsored by Sen. Larry Walker, allows military medical personnel to practice for 12 months while a license application is pending, including working as a certified nursing aide, certified emergency medical technician, paramedic or licensed practical nurse. The bill also creates a new advanced practice registered nurse license and makes it a misdemeanor to practice advanced nursing without a license.
Human trafficking
The governor on Wednesday was accompanied by first lady Marty Kemp and other members of the GRACE Commission for the signing of an anti-human trafficking package. It includes Senate Bill 370, which adds certain businesses to the list of organizations that must post human trafficking notices, including convenience stores, body art studios, businesses that employ licensed massage therapists and manufacturing facilities.
Sponsored by Sen. Mike Hodges, R-Brunswick, the bill also allows the Georgia Board of Massage Therapy to initiate inspections of massage therapy businesses and educational programs without notice and requires massage therapy board members to complete yearly human trafficking awareness training.
House Bill 993, sponsored by Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, creates the felony offense of grooming of a minor and creates new penalties for offenses relating to visual mediums depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
House Bill 1201, sponsored by Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, allows human trafficking survivors who received first offender or conditional discharge status to vacate that status for certain crimes, as long as the crime was a direct result of being a victim of human trafficking.
Coastal communities
Earlier today in Brunswick, Kemp signed legislation impacting Georgia coastal communities, including House Bill 244, which amends the laws around how wild game can be hunted and how seafood dealers operate, and House Bill 1341, which designates white shrimp as the state’s official crustacean.
Taxes
Earlier this month Kemp signed several bills related to taxation, including House Bill 1015, sponsored by Rep. Lauren McDonald, R-Cumming, which lowers the state income tax for tax year 2024 to 5.39%, accelerating a multiyear drop in state income taxes that started at 5.75% in 2023 and will continue through 2029.
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget estimates the tax cut acceleration will save Georgia taxpayers approximately $1.1 billion in calendar year 2024 and about $3 billion over the next 10 years.
Kemp also signed House Bill 1021, sponsored by Rep. Lauren Daniel, R-Locust Grove, which increases the state’s income tax dependent exemption to $4,000 from $3,000.
House Bill 581, sponsored by Reps. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, and Clint Crowe, R-Jackson, enables a constitutional amendment (House Resolution 1022) to let voters decide whether counties can provide a statewide homestead valuation freeze, which limits the increase in property values to the inflation rate.
The governor has until May 7 to sign or veto bills passed during the legislative session that ended on March 28. Those he takes no action on will automatically become law.
Legislation signed by Kemp is posted on the governor’s website.
Read these related stories:
Have questions, comments or tips on education in Georgia? Contact Jill Jordan Sieder on X @journalistajill or at [email protected].
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