The 2025 legislative session is underway in Georgia and Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has laid out his agenda for business and education.
Speaking at the annual Eggs and Issues Breakfast, sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Kemp pointed to policies that have the state ranked number one for business, according to a news release from his office.
Kemp referred to the more than 193,000 jobs created in the last five years, along with $90 billion in private investments, thanks to the partnership with the state Chamber, as well as others across Georgia.
Kemp said this is the time to remain focused on creating jobs, attracting investments, education, and workforce development.
“We have made great strides in job creation and diversifying our economy, but we cannot allow workforce development to fall to the wayside,” he was quoted. “It was at our second annual Workforce Summit last year that I unveiled this new initiative, which aims to develop an educated and skilled workforce aligned with our state’s current and future industry needs. We plan to accomplish this by aligning our education pathways to access high-demand, high-skill, and high-wage careers.”
He highlighted the High Career Demand List and Georgia MATCH as two programs attacking the need to create a trained, skilled workforce.
However, one challenge remains, the so-called “Demographic Cliff.” That is a decline in high school graduates tied to a declining birth rate both in Georgia and nationwide.
“That is why my administration will be proposing the Top State for Talent Act this session to: incorporate Georgia MATCH into the individual graduation plans of our students beginning in the 9th grade; align our existing, career-tech and academic credentials with the high-demand list we’ve unveiled; increase opportunities for matriculation from high school to postsecondary programs in those high demand fields; and finally, to include a return on investment analysis measuring the effectiveness of our secondary and postsecondary programs that are aligned with the high demand career list.”
Kemp also announced a push for major investments in infrastructure, including $530 million to improve the state’s freight and logistic transportation. The importance of those improvements was a message Chris Clark, President and CEO of the state Chamber, brought to Augusta during his 2024 New Georgia Economy Tour. He said over the next 25 years it will take $84 billion to improve and upgrade transportation infrastructure to handle population growth and transport goods and services.
Finally, Kemp told the business leaders he is committed to meaningful tort reform legislation during this legislative session.
“That data has now been gathered and following multiple roundtable conversations on the impact our current legal environment is having on our economic growth and healthcare needs, I will soon be unveiling a robust legislative package that will bring balance to our proceedings and parity with our neighbors,” he promised.
As the 2025 Legislative Session began on Tuesday, Kemp held a news conference where he focused on education. He wants to build on the $3.7 billion he has committed to education since he took office.
“I’m proud to say that this year, we will build on those investments by fully funding our classrooms and adding an additional $10.3 million for local schools for pupil transportation. As many school districts have experienced growth over the last several years, this new funding will ensure they can transport students to school without having to cut into other parts of their budgets,” he said.
Also high on Kemp’s list was funding to beef up security at schools across the state. Kemp pointed to the Sept. 4, 2024, mass shooting at Apalachee High School near Winder as proof that schools still need help.
“Since I took office, we have provided more than $185 million in one-time school security grants, which equal to roughly $80,000 per school,” he said. “All of us remember the horrific tragedy last year. With that in mind, I am proposing an additional $50 million in one-time school security grants, which will bring the total grant amount for the current fiscal year to over $86,000 per school, for a total of $158 million statewide.”
Kemp also wants to improve the student-to-school-counselor ratio as well as provide funding for crisis counseling training.
