Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | TIMES-GEORGIAN

by Corey Burres | Feb 19, 2021

Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | TIMES-GEORGIAN

A measure that would increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $4.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers.

House Bill 114, introduced by Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, would increase the annual tax incentive for adopting a foster child from $2,000 to $6,000. According to a fiscal note from the Department of Audits and Accounts, the proposal could decrease state tax revenues by $400,000 in fiscal year 2022 and grow to up to $1.5 million by fiscal year 2026.

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Corey Burres, vice president of communications for the nonpartisan think tank Georgia Center for Opportunity, said “foster care and adoption are crucial parts of” creating “flourishing communities.”

“These bills are a great first step forward in helping the thousands of Georgia kids waiting to be adopted each year,” said Burres, who also is a respite foster care parent. “We hope to see the foster community empowered through the current legislative session, so all of Georgia’s children can flourish – no matter their circumstances.”

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Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | HENRY HERALD

by Corey Burres | Feb 19, 2021

Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | HENRY HERALD

A measure that would increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $4.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers.

House Bill 114, introduced by Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, would increase the annual tax incentive for adopting a foster child from $2,000 to $6,000. According to a fiscal note from the Department of Audits and Accounts, the proposal could decrease state tax revenues by $400,000 in fiscal year 2022 and grow to up to $1.5 million by fiscal year 2026.

…

Corey Burres, vice president of communications for the nonpartisan think tank Georgia Center for Opportunity, said “foster care and adoption are crucial parts of” creating “flourishing communities.”

“These bills are a great first step forward in helping the thousands of Georgia kids waiting to be adopted each year,” said Burres, who also is a respite foster care parent. “We hope to see the foster community empowered through the current legislative session, so all of Georgia’s children can flourish – no matter their circumstances.”

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Lawrenceville organization gets money for coronavirus help | AJC

by Corey Burres | Feb 15, 2021

Lawrenceville organization gets money for coronavirus help | AJC

A Gwinnett County resource to help residents struggling through the coronavirus pandemic just got a boost in funding.

The Lawrenceville Response Center, which opened last April, this month received more than half a million dollars in additional funding, including money from the city and the county…

The response center partners with a number of organizations, including the Lawrenceville Co-Operative Ministry, Georgia Center for Opportunity, Lawrenceville Employment Assistance Program (LEAP), Families First, and the Gwinnett Housing Corporation.

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CBO: $15 minimum wage would lead to 1.4 million lost jobs | THE HIGHLAND COUNTY PRESS

by Corey Burres | Feb 10, 2021

CBO: $15 minimum wage would lead to 1.4 million lost jobs | THE HIGHLAND COUNTY PRESS

A $15 minimum wage would result in 1.4 million jobs lost and disproportionately hurt younger workers and those with less education, a new Congressional Budget Office report says.

President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and other Democrats have proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, more than double the current federal minimum of $7.25 an hour…

The Georgia Center for Opportunity, which advocates for those in poverty through free-market solutions, said the negatives of such a large minimum wage hike outweigh any benefits.

“Workers need immediate help, but doubling the federal minimum wage when Georgia small businesses are closing left and right is not the right answer,” Buzz Brockway, GCO’s director of public policy, said in a statement. “Recent data have shown us that unilateral minimum wage hikes hurt low-income, low-skilled workers the most. What’s needed for low-income Georgia workers is more than a temporary fix: What’s needed is practical training and credentialing to help them ‘upskill’ into better-paying jobs and careers.”

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New federal budget report boosts $15-an-hour minimum wage | GEORGIA RECORDER

by Corey Burres | Feb 9, 2021

New federal budget report boosts $15-an-hour minimum wage | GEORGIA RECORDER

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in a report Monday found a gradual increase to a $15 federal minimum wage by 2025 would reduce poverty, add $54 billion to the deficit over a decade and increase pay for millions of low-income workers.

The report could help Democrats make a strong case for including a gradual federal minimum wage increase in the $1.9 trillion relief package put forth by the Biden administration…

“Workers need immediate help, but doubling the federal minimum wage when Georgia small businesses are closing left and right is not the right answer,” said Buzz Brockway, the Georgia Center for Opportunity’s director of public policy and a former Republican state lawmaker from Gwinnett County.

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Broadband expansion gives Gov. Kemp rural toehold | 11ALIVE

by Corey Burres | Feb 9, 2021

Broadband expansion gives Gov. Kemp rural toehold | 11ALIVE

Internet access in rural areas has been a problem for years – the pandemic only magnified the challenges. The issue could make or break Kemp’s re-election next year…

“It’s tied directly into economic development,” said former state Rep. Buzz Brockway, who now leads the Georgia Center for Opportunity. “That could be a real economic boon to rural Georgia in years to come. But a lot of that is predicated on having good internet access.”

For Gov. Kemp, it’s also about giving back to a constituency that helped elect him. Though Democrats won statewide races last year, the map still shows Republican red prevailing in rural Georgia. Putting high speed internet in rural Georgia is good business. For Kemp, it’s also good re-election politics.

“His strategy for winning (in 2018) was to do really well in rural Georgia, and he did,” Brockway said. “That provided the margin for him. And he’s going to have to rely on that again.”

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