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Found 7 matching documents.
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Small Business Development Committee · February 3, 2026
House Small Business Development Committee, February 3, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee heard from three Georgia Self Storage Association representatives about their businesses, customers and operating costs. Presenters described storage use during moves, family changes, disasters and financial hardship, along with local employment and community involvement. One presenter asked lawmakers to consider valuing self-storage property for local property taxes using building cost minus depreciation rather than rental income, citing uncertainty in tax assessments. Members asked about occupancy, demand for new facilities, climate-controlled storage, industry data, unpaid rent, auctions and buying or selling facilities. Presenters said demand and pricing vary by market and described efforts to help customers retrieve belongings before auction. The chair expressed interest in learning more about the property-tax proposal. No legislation was presented for action, and no vote was recorded.
Yep. And I have some concerns about that. Yeah. And, and it's, it's that result of population growth. It's, it's a great problem that the population is growing, but with that growth comes the need for some services. Okay. Last question. Last question, but please just a minute. Just one more. Just so... I, uh... and I'm just trying to educate myself. What...
Yeah. And, and just an additional stat across, you know, our thousands of units across the state of Georgia, what go to auction is less than half of a percent of units. Um, and at, at that point, our, our managers are incentivized to work with the, um, with the individual. Look, they made the choice to come in and to store their belongings. Those belongings...
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Small Business Development Committee · February 24, 2026
House Small Business Development Committee, February 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee heard a presentation from Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE) and testimony from two business clients. ACE’s president and CEO described loans, free coaching and other support for small businesses, including rural businesses, and asked members to consider additional state budget support. The president said ACE had provided about $295 million in lending over its lifetime and offered loans from $15,000 to about $1 million. Representatives of Coffee Man and Blinds By Noon described how ACE financing and advice helped their businesses expand and maintain payroll. Members asked about eligibility, coaching, collateral, repayment terms and interest rates. ACE’s president said rates ranged from 8% to 12% and that ACE could refinance borrowers unable to move to bank financing. No bills were taken up, and no votes or funding decisions were recorded.
He told me later on that I was hoping that this deal was gonna fail. So we-- I did everything possible so it wouldn't happen. So I keep being a CFO and this and that. So, uh, then the, later on, uh, I, uh, uh, uh, we, we've been-- I was exclusive shutter provider for Home Depot. Then I, I asked them, and I asked them, and I asked them, "Listen, we need to...
Uh, had, I had hot tea that morning with my wife. The phone rang out of the blue. A, an angel from ACE called and said, "We're gonna deposit $50,000 to your account." What account number do you want to deposit to? Anyway, but for a small businesses, it's difficult to deal with crazy banks. They're out of control. If you have any power, don't give them any,...
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Small Business Development Committee · March 17, 2026
House Small Business Development Committee, March 17, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee heard presentations from the Georgia Association of Realtors and the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors about housing affordability, housing supply and commercial real estate. Speakers discussed property taxes, insurance, interest rates, permitting delays and the difficulty of converting older offices into housing. The association outlined support for permitting changes, home inspector licensing, homeowners association oversight, property tax relief and manufactured housing tax changes. The association opposed a proposed limit on large investors’ homeownership and described a tax-based alternative. Members asked about rising housing prices, options for buyers and the outlook for commercial buildings. A visiting legislator also discussed housing supply and financing for homebuyers. No motions, amendments or votes were recorded before adjournment.
And then Senate Bill 406, which is in House Judiciary at 8:30. This is Matt Brass's HOA bill. So I'm sure you have a lot of HOAs, you have heard HOA complaints, a lot of, uh, in the more metropolitan area. Um, there are some perfectly fine HOAs who you will never hear anything about because they show up and they do their job. And then there are some really...
So, uh, 406 is a really common sense balanced approach, I think, um, at going after HOAs, some rogue HOAs, but still respecting the good ones who are doing a good job. And then Senate Bill 463 by Senator Greg Dolezal is about institutional investors. So institutional investors has been a interesting issue for us because if you remember last year we came...
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Small Business Development Committee · March 10, 2026
House Small Business Development Committee, March 10, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee heard presentations on small-business support and the restaurant industry. The Georgia Micro Enterprise Network supported HB 863 and SB 207, describing access to government contracts and occupational licensing as opportunities for entrepreneurs. Members also questioned the organization about its loans, repayment results and credit-check policies. The chair requested repayment figures, which the witnesses did not have available. Representatives of the Georgia Restaurant Association and a restaurant operator described rising food, labor, insurance and credit-card processing costs. Members discussed cash payments, processing alternatives and tax treatment of tips. No bill votes or amendments were recorded.
And that hasn't changed because it's just a shift in the market now. So while I think it's great, um, that people are, are making more money, that still impacts the bottom line of restaurants. And I think a lot of restaurants have pivoted, you know, with the use of AI. There's a lot of new AI coming out too that will help take place of some of the needs of...
It kills me because it's, you know, that's not ethical. That's not what should happen. But as a result of these frivolous claims, what we're seeing is a super high increase in our insurance costs. Um, our costs went up 38% one year, 38% in liability class in one year. Um, last year, just the liability cost for our company went up 21% and we had no claims....
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Small Business Development Committee · February 17, 2026
House Small Business Development Committee, February 17, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee heard small-business owners and National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) representatives discuss health insurance costs, vehicle-dealer oversight, state purchasing, licensing and construction permits. An NFIB representative described HB 863 as encouraging agencies to direct purchasing toward small businesses. Witnesses supported HB 1110, describing a tax credit intended to help small employers contribute toward employees’ health coverage. Members also heard about Henry County Chamber of Commerce mentoring and business-support programs. A contractor requested simpler permitting procedures, while a committee member warned that weakening requirements could reduce protections for property owners. The chair said further conversations would take place after the meeting. No bill votes or amendments were recorded.
So because I do, um, mostly interior construction, I deal with permits. And, um, home improvement, it ha- really has been up since COVID, since the onset of COVID, and we continue to build less and less homes. And so the construction is, um, is up, thankfully for me. Most of what I'm going to speak about is probably pertains more to the bigger counties,...
Um, first off, I would say that there are a lot of people operating out there, I'm sure you know this, that are not, um- Uh, GCs, um, and licensed GCs. So, um, and, and there's no really enforcement, no stopping it. Um, if they... I had a, um, contractor who was helping a customer and he, um, the neighbor called, reported him, and they shut down the work....
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Small Business Development Committee · February 10, 2026
House Small Business Development Committee, February 10, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee heard presentations on research-based startups and access to artificial intelligence (AI) tools for small businesses. A Georgia Research Alliance representative described support through researcher recruitment, equipment, grants and loans. A MapHabit co-founder described personalized picture-based guides intended to help people with disabilities or memory loss complete daily tasks, then answered questions about access, training and payment. An entrepreneur working with Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center proposed community AI labs, repurposing surplus computers and seeking data-center contributions to support small businesses. Members asked about data-center benefits, practices in other states and equipment reuse. The chair called for follow-up on the AI lab proposal, and the Georgia Research Alliance representative expressed interest in participating. No bills were taken up and no votes were recorded.
We just-- We may have to start something up." And so we did. Uh, we went to the different AI labs at Georgia Tech, millions of dollars of equipment and computing, and they would politely let us in but say, "You can't bring small businesses here, right? Unless it's academic research, student or professors, we, we can't have you touch this equipment. Imagine...
And so I think Georgia can lead in this space. We have monthly meetings of what, what are called Gen AI, generative AI. These are the creative people, the movie producers and the-- In our meetings we started in June with fifteen people. We'll now have seventy to eighty people on a regular basis once a month coming. These are people who buy for Netflix,...
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Small Business Development Committee · January 29, 2026
House Small Business Development Committee, January 29, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee approved HB 704, which the sponsor described as replacing monthly reports on state architectural and engineering contracts with annual reporting on Open Georgia. Members debated whether less frequent reporting would reduce transparency and whether the bill should explicitly require a searchable dashboard. An amendment requiring reporting twice a year failed, 10 to 14. The bill passed, 15 to 10. The committee also heard business presentations arranged by the Georgia Chamber Foundation. A witness for Goud Management Group discussed state contracts, legal costs, tax credits and support for small-business participation. A witness for Compact Industries described assistance from state and business organizations, requested training for online marketplace work and better ways to introduce products to state buyers, and discussed tariffs. The chair deferred questions for the business presenters until after adjournment.
We will make sure that this happens every time. Oh, good. Oh, good. But the other thing I wanna also point out is the vote last year was unanimous. Uh-huh. Yes. It was unanimous. But anyway, all right, we've got... If you, if you will, we're gonna get the Georgia Chamber Foundation up here for a second. Um, where is my notes?
Yes, sir. What are we changing? Nothing. It got held up in rules, so it came back to us. Oh, but Rules sent it back to you. Well, you know, it, we didn't make it out of Rules, so it never made a vote to the floor. And so at the end of session last year, all the bills that were in Rules went back to their committee. Okay. So what we're doing is- Mm-hmm ......
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