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State’s trucker shortage expected to be key transportation issue this session
Traffic along Snapfinger Road in DeKalb County.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the weeks leading up to the 2024 legislative session, State Affairs is taking a look at key issues likely to lead to proposed legislation and lively debate at the Statehouse. Our latest story focuses on transportation.
The amount and value of goods moving through Georgia is among the highest in the country, but the state’s trucking industry is facing challenges with fewer drivers and a lack of affordable insurance — key issues that could anchor debate on transportation concerns during this legislative session.
In 2022, trucks transported 629 million tons of freight in Georgia valued at nearly $1 trillion dollars, according to TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit. By 2050, that value is expected to grow by 96% as more freight is moved over Georgia roads.
America will need 1.2 million truck drivers over the next decade to replace those who retire and to fill jobs expected to be created to meet growing industry demand, according to the American Trucking Association.
In the last year alone, Georgia has had more than 25,000 job openings for tractor trailer drivers, according to Daniela Perry, vice president of the Georgia Chamber Foundation, the chamber’s research arm.
Trucking companies throughout Georgia and the nation are having a hard time finding and keeping truck drivers. While hauling freight is lucrative, it also costs money to train drivers and it’s risky and fraught with liability — factors that have led to a shortage of drivers.
Tort cases, especially direct-action lawsuits, are hurting the trucking industry. A direct-action lawsuit allows an injured person to directly sue the insurance company of the person at fault.
Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King told lawmakers in August that Georgia’s trucking industry depends on the state’s ability to find affordable insurance. He urged them to end direct action, saying it would be the surest way to provide relief to the industry.
State lawmakers plan to address the trucking shortage — and the causes behind it –– during the next legislative session which convenes Monday.
The Senate Study Committee on Truck Driver Shortages last month released its recommendations to help the trucking industry attract and retain drivers. The recommendations were compiled after four months of testimony and hearings across the state from people and experts in the trucking industry.
Here are some of the 16 recommendations:
Repeal the direct action statute. Aside from Georgia, only three other states — Louisiana, Wisconsin and Kansas — have direct action statutes, insurance commissioner King noted. Neighboring states don’t allow it and the trucking industry is the only industry in Georgia where insurance companies can be named as defendants in direct action cases.
Grant Smith, a partner with the Atlanta law firm of Dennis, Corry, Smith & Dixon LLP, told the study committee that direct action lawsuits have led to “significantly higher verdicts and fear” in the trucking industry. Smaller trucking firms frequently consider leaving the state because of the statute, Smith said. Trucking executive Steve Syfan told the study committee his family-owned business is projected to pay $2.3 million in liability insurance alone in 2024.
Study Committee member Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes opposed repealing the statute in her minority report. The Democrat was the only one on the five-member study committee to vote against repealing the statute.
The statute “is not causing or exacerbating a truck driver shortage,” Islam Parkes told State Affairs. “There is no established relationship showing that it's because of direct action that we have these truck driver shortages.”
In fact, Islam Parkes said, direct action “helps regular Georgians find remedies when they're wrongfully injured. I think it's a good tool for hardworking Georgians. God forbid you get hurt on the road.They need to receive the compensation they deserve to live a fulfilling life after being hurt.”
She also stressed that “the direct action statute does not change the amount insurance companies must pay for the value of these injuries. It just prevents truck drivers and trucking companies from hiding from the lawsuit and leaving Georgians helpless with no recourse or remedy under the law.”
Work with Georgia’s congressional delegation to combat the amount of federal regulation placed on the trucking industry. This would address the difficult application process and insurance requirements people face trying to enter the trucking industry .
Help the Department of Driver Services increase efficiency in administering commercial driver’s license tests and add more third-party tests for commercial driver’s license road skill tests.
Find potential opportunities to create dual enrollment programs that lead to internships. This would enable young people to get miles so that they can become insurable drivers.
Urge Georgia’s congressional delegation to commission and finance a study by the appropriate federal agencies to examine the ramifications of shifting to an hourly wage system.
Increase funding for truck driver training programs and tuition assistance, especially for older students who are not recent high school graduates.
Work with the Georgia Department of Transportation to expand public truck parking options. There are 27,000 truck parking spaces in Georgia. Private parking such as Flying J’s and Love’s account for 94% of the spaces while public parking such as rest stops or weigh stations make up the rest. Parking is one of the top five concerns nationally among truck drivers — some 98% report problems finding safe parking. The average truck driver spends 56 minutes of available drive time each day looking for parking. That wasted time amounts to a $5,500 loss in annual compensation, or a 12% pay cut, according to Matt Markham, deputy director of planning at the Georgia Department of Transportation. Difficulty finding parking often leads to trucks parking on exit ramps, shoulders of the road and other unauthorized locations.
Revise applicable code ordinances regarding warehouses and facilities for truck drivers to include facilities for overnight stays.
Urge the Department of Corrections to consider implementing a commercial driver’s license training program for inmates.
Despite her opposition to repealing the direct action statute, Islam Parkes favors the rest of the recommendations, which she says are likely to end up in some form of legislation. She’d also like to see the trucking industry attract more young people, especially those between the ages of 19 and 24, and more women.
“We put a lot of hard work into this. We've heard a lot of testimonies,” said Islam Parkes. “So I feel like there's a lot of good information here for us to proceed and craft legislation that would definitely help increase the number of truck drivers we have on the road.”
Have questions? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
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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].
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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.
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Have questions, comments or tips on education in Georgia? Contact Jill Jordan Sieder on X @journalistajill or at [email protected].
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