COVID-19’s Impact on the Legislative Session

And that is a wrap for the longest legislative session in Georgia history…40 days but the last day was not until Friday, June 26th. This legislative session was unique to say the least as legislators dealt with COVID-19, a Saturday session, riots, large budget cuts, elections mid-session, and debates on hate crimes, election laws, and gambling legislation.

When the legislators returned to the Capitol on June 15, 2020, for Day 30 of the session, one thing was clear. Nothing was the same as it has been in the past. Hallways were shut off to anyone other than legislative staff, social distancing was enforced in both chambers with the House resorting to voice votes, and committee meetings being held by zoom. Lori Godfrey Executive Vice President While the only legislation required by law to be passed each session is the State’s & Chief of Staff Government and budget, there were a number of bills that popped up that had not been in play prior Regulatory Relations to the state of emergency related to COVID-19. One of those priorities related to providing a limit of liabilities for business and health care providers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. SB 359 was assigned to the House Special Committee on Access to the Civil Justice System. Language from the original Senate bill was deleted and language was inserted into the bill to provide for these protections. A large and diverse group of small businesses, health care providers, and trade associations (including CBA) worked with legislations to come up with the language of this bill. The final bill was a result of numerous negotiations by all interested parties. While the bill may not be perfect, it was a huge step in the right direction. On June 25, 2020, around 10PM, the Committee passed the bill with the changes that had been made. On the final day of the session, the bill passed the House with a vote of 104-56, which was a vote mainly along party lines. The bill then went back to the Senate for them to agree or disagree with the changes that were made in the House. The Senate voted 34-16 to agree with the House substitute. Now, the bill goes to the Governor for signature.

What does this bill mean for you and your banks?

The Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act (the “Act”) which provides businesses with certain protections against liability arising out of the “transmission, infection, exposure, or potential exposure of COVID-19.”

For more information regarding the Act, together with a sample disclaimer for your review and consideration,

click here.

Now more than ever, it’s important for Georgia’s community bankers to have a strong voice and influence in the shaping of our industry. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or John McNair regarding any legislative issues your bank may have.

Chip Dorminy has been farming for 50 years. He is growing corn, cotton and peanuts this year. He is pictured here with 3 of his grandchildren (Abi, Ford, and Davis) and a few of their farm family pets.

With over $75 billion in economic impact every year, agribusiness is Georgia’s leading industry. With long growing seasons, a favorable climate, and over 9 million acres of operating farmland in the state, Georgia is prime for growing and producing valuable agricultural commodities.

The state leads the nation in production of chickens, peanuts, pecans, blueberries, and rye. According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, many companies – including Pilgrim’s Pride, Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, and Tyson – source their products directly from Georgia farms and operations.

In this issue, CBA will showcase the monumental impact Georgia’s community banks play in agribusiness in the state. You will read about several banks as they discuss the lines of agriculture they support and learn about the challenges, opportunities, the future of Ag lending and also learn about the farmers themselves. Also, of importance, we asked how CBA can help support this valuable sector.

• Georgia ranks 14th nationally in gross receipts for farms with over $10.2 billion in gross farm receipts. This includes a value for crop production of 2.8 billion and a value for animals and products production of 6.05 billion. • In terms of Value of agricultural sector production, Georgia ranks 15th nationally with $10,229,739 in agricultural production, accounting for 2.5% of the nation’s total agricultural production.

Source: USDA Economic Research Service; Farm finance indicators, state ranking, 2018.