Georgia Must Advance Red Tape Rollback Act to Provide Relief for Small Businesses

It’s been more than a month since the Georgia Senate passed a crucial measure to provide regulatory relief for Georgia small businesses, but as the Legislature begins its final week of the session, the measure is still pending in the House. The Red Tape Rollback Act (SB 28) advanced out of the Senate with a 33-21 vote in favor on February 24. A House Committee passed a substitute of the bill almost two weeks ago, and time is running out to get the bill over the finish line this session.

Among the bill’s many favorable changes, it would create a clear process for state policymakers to request a small business impact analysis for any bill introduced in the legislature. Having analysis specific to small businesses will be an important tool for legislators as they consider bills during the session and ensure that small businesses don’t get overlooked as the economic impact of legislation is discussed.

Even more importantly, the bill will mean direct regulatory relief for small businesses in the state. SB 28 would require state agencies to consider the economic impact of proposed rules, and the costliest rules—those with implementation and compliance costs over three million dollars for a five-year period—must be submitted to the legislature for approval. Subjecting regulations to legislative review, particularly in times of divided government, will mean that bad and more costly regulations are unlikely to withstand the review process. From a checks and balances/constitutional standpoint, this is also a positive change by potentially reining in rogue state agencies.

Also positive for small businesses, SB 28 would create a process for state agencies to periodically review all existing regulations over a four-year cycle and consider the costs, benefits, and alternatives of each rule, with public input. Agencies that have already taken steps to decrease regulations by 10 percent over the course of the cycle would be exempt from the review process, meaning the regulatory burden will decrease over time.

Quantifying the impact of pending legislation and regulations, particularly on small businesses, is likely to lead to better policies, with a more limited economic impact overall. The regulatory review process for all existing regulations is a crucial change for forcing agencies to consider less costly alternatives and to get defunct and bad regulations off the books. Together, these changes will be good for free enterprise in Georgia by lowering the compliance burden small businesses must deal with. With just a few days left this session, it’s vital that legislators advance SB 28 and send it to Governor Kemp’s desk.

Labor Union’s Long History Of Abusing Zoning Processes

Unite Here and Worker Power routinely employ these bully tactics to force businesses to give in to their costly and abusive demands:

Inglewood, CA – In 2015 the LA County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO opposed development of a new football stadium that would bring the Rams back to LA. After the Rams ownership received zoning approval for a new stadium site, the union blocked the process until the developer agreed to use union jobs in construction and after the project was complete. Union leadership explicitly agreed to pull their referendum petitions if the developers signed a written agreement with the union. The union made its motives even clearer by simultaneously supporting a proposed stadium in nearby Carson for the Chargers and Raiders because that developer had promised union jobs from the start.

San Bruno, CA – In 2016 hotel and restaurant workers union Unite Here Local 2 launched an effort to block development of a hotel because the developers refused to guarantee the staff would join their union. The hotel site was previously owned by the city, and the union attempted to trigger a referendum on the city’s sale of the land to the developer. The city refused to certify the petitions because the decision was administrative and later won a lawsuit blocking the referendum.

West Hollywood, CA – In 2019, West Hollywood Measure B would have blocked development of a new building for a private social club, retail and office space. The Arts Club project was spearheaded by Gwyneth Paltrow and other investors, but it was opposed by Unite Here Local 11, a hospitality union. The developer told the union it was planning to staff the club with non-union workers, so the union decided to hold the development hostage as a result and trigger the referendum. While the referendum ultimately failed, more than a million dollars was spent as a result, and the threat to future developments was clear.

Beverly Hills, CA – In 2023, Unite Here Local 11 blocked development of a new hotel in Beverly Hills. The union again led the effort to put two separate measures on the ballot that rescinded approval of the hotel’s development under the guise of group called “Citizens for Responsible Development Beverly Hills.” Both measures were passed by fewer than 100 votes, blocking the project until the union could extract more concessions out of the developer.

STOP California Labor Unions from Bullying Arizona Businesses

One such Arizona business is Axon, the company that makes Tasers & Body Cameras

In November of last year, the Scottsdale City Council voted 5-2 to approve the Axon Global Headquarters Campus rezoning after a lengthy five year long public process. This process included extensive citizen involvement, from start to finish.

Following the approval by the city council, a California based union, Unite Here Local 11, meet with leaders from Axon and gave them an ultimatum: Unionize or we will come after you.

Axon did the right thing and refused to be threatened by the Union. Unfortunately, true to their word, Unite Here Local 11 and its political arm, Worker Power came after them. Worker Power funded the collection of roughly 26,300 of 27,000 petition signatures needed to refer the council rezoning decision to the voters in 2026.

Unite Here and Worker Power have a long history of employing these despicable tactics:

LEARN MORE

This is a clear abuse of the referendum process. Local businesses, not just Axon, should be able to confidently rely on the actions of a city council – those elected by the citizens to represent them in these matters – and trust that out-of-state interests won’t be permitted to abuse our laws to score political points.

Without legislative action, Axon, a publicly traded company based in Scottsdale since 1993, will be forced to move their Global HQ to another state that wants 5,500 highly compensated employees (Axon expects to pay $400 Million in payroll to Arizona employees this year). If Axon leaves, it will take all of its employees including Axons R&D and manufacturing facilities (and of course, the jobs).

Tell you legislator to do the right thing. Stand up to Unions and protect local businesses!

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR

AXON IMPACT REPORT

2025 Staff Retreat

Katie Hobbs’ Arizona Promise: More Government Jobs

During her 2025 State of the State Address, among her many exaggerations, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs made the dubious claim that “since [she] became governor, we’ve created[1] nearly 200,000 jobs.” This claim was suspect at the time, and the recent release of Arizona’s latest monthly employment data confirms just how misleading it really was. At the time of Hobbs’ address, available data showed that Arizona had added around 128,000 jobs total since she took office, 36 percent lower than the 200,000 Hobbs took credit for. In fact, you’d have to count all the way back to March 2022 (nine months before Hobbs took office) to capture 200,000 new jobs in Arizona.

When Hobbs addressed the Legislature, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) hadn’t yet released the December jobs data, so it was technically possible—though highly unlikely—that the state added nearly a year’s worth of jobs in a single month and Hobbs’ team had an early peek. The December data proved this was not the case, when Arizona added 3,400 jobs, not the more than 20 times that, which Hobbs needed for her claim to be true. Alarmingly, the state unemployment rate rose in December for the fourth straight month and fifth out of the last six months. While the national rate was stable over that same period, Arizona’s unemployment rate rose half a percentage point and Arizona, despite being slightly lower than the national average, is now in the bottom half of states.

Importantly, with the December jobs report, two full years of employment data are now available, marking the halfway point of Governor Hobbs’ term. The data raise significant red flags and confirm several alarming trends about Arizona’s employment market that we have written about in the past.

First, what does the data say about 2024? Last year, total nonfarm employment grew by just 1.7 percent. This annual growth rate is the second worst for the state since 2011, behind only 2020 in the peak of the COVID pandemic. Private sector growth was even lower and marked the second worst since 2010 (again, behind only 2020). Health care and social assistance jobs accounted for around 52 percent of new private sector jobs, despite making up only 16 percent of Arizona’s private sector.

Meanwhile, other key industries struggled. The state lost almost 3,000 construction jobs last year, one of only 10 states to do so, and ranked 44^th overall. In her State of the State, Governor Hobbs proudly proclaimed that Arizona is “the top market in the nation for manufacturing expansion.” Last year the state lost 1,200 manufacturing jobs and was tied for 30^th among all the states. In fact, since Hobbs took office, manufacturing is the second worst performing major industry, with 2,200 jobs lost.

One key theme throughout Hobbs’ first two years was the growth of government jobs, which rightly earned her the nickname “Katie Government Jobbs.” More government growth in 2024 meant Hobbs oversaw the largest two-year government jobs boom since 2008.

Perhaps more alarming is that 2024 saw government jobs grow faster than the private sector, continuing a trend set in Hobbs’ first year.

This marks back-to-back years of government outperforming the private sector for the first time since 2007-2009 and only the third occurrence in the last 25 years. Whereas the previous two instances occurred in the midst of national recessions, under Katie Hobbs government jobs exploded to their highest level ever while the national economy was stable. Had private sector jobs grown at the same pace as government jobs under Katie Hobbs, Arizona would have 32,000 more private sector jobs and a nearly one-point lower unemployment rate.

Katie Hobbs focused her State of the State on “the Arizona Promise,” while misleading about her jobs record. If the Arizona Promise means that “everyday people can find opportunity, security and freedom,” and “through hard work and perseverance, you can build a good life for yourself and your family,” as Hobbs said, then her policies must ensure that all Arizonans prosper, not just those who work for government. That prosperity will only come by embracing free enterprise and unleashing the potential of all Arizonans to participate in the economy and take control of their own livelihood as consumers and even business owners themselves.

[1] Hobbs has used this peculiar phrasing in the past, and it’s still unclear what she means by we or what role she thinks she had in the creation of jobs in the state, since government (generally) can’t create jobs.

New CFFEA/State Armor Report: China taking aim at U.S. states for subversion

In case you missed it, a new article in the Washington Times highlights a comprehensive report from Citizens For Free Enterprise Action and State Armor, “Threat Assessment: The CCP Threat and How State Leaders Can Protect Our Country and Citizens”. The report details how the Chinese Communist Party is attempting to subvert the United States through state and local influence opperations. The report also presents actions state leaders can take to protect their citizens from CCP threats.

Below you will find excerpts from the article. The Threat Assessment can be viewed in its entirety here.

Washington Times: China taking aim at U.S. states for subversion, new report warns

Bill Gertz
1/29/2025

The People’s Republic of China is focused on subverting the United States through operations at the state and local level, and greater efforts are needed to counter the danger, according to a report made public Wednesday.

…

Former Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, head of Citizens for Free Enterprise and author of one of the sections of the report, said state governors are becoming better educated about subversive Chinese activities and are working with their legislatures to meet the challenge.

“Our goal with ’Threat Assessment’ is to sound the alarm for state leaders and give them a playbook and tools so they can take action to protect their states from CCP threats,” Mr. Ducey said. “This is a drum that we intend to continue to beat.”

…

Mr. Ducey, the former Arizona governor, said local officials need greater support and information from federal law enforcement and intelligence officials to neutralize Chinese operations that include offers of economic development.

“If the goal is to promote state economic development, there are far better ways to benefit your state and community than by acting as an unwitting participant in the [China’s] influence operations,” Mr. Ducey said.

Governors should develop strategies to bring back critical production in their states and attract foreign direct investment from trusted nations “that share our values and not adversaries that are trying to engineer our downfall,” he said.

Mr. Ducey was in office when in 2020 the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) agreed to spend $12 billion on a microchip plant in Arizona. they’ve punished some of these corporations that have made really poor, woke decisions.

Kemp State of the State: Keeping Georgia A National Leader On Free Enterprise

ROSWELL, GA – Citizens for Free Enterprise released the following statement in response to Governor Kemp’s State of the State Address.

“Under Governor Kemp’s leadership, Georgia has become a national beacon for free enterprise and opportunity,” said Citizens for Free Enterprise Executive Director JP Twist. “Georgia has already been named the number one state to do business — and Governor Kemp’s tort reform would be a game changer, solidifying Georgia’s free enterprise reputation. Whether it’s cutting taxes, bringing new jobs to the state, or expanding opportunity for hardworking Georgians, one thing is clear: Georgia is open for business.”

Hobbs State of the State: 3 Years of the Same Issues, Lack of Leadership

PHOENIX, AZ – Citizens for Free Enterprise released the following statement in response to Governor Hobbs’ State of the State Address.

“Katie Hobbs delivered another State of the State speech that was short of ideas that truly embrace the spirit of free enterprise,” said Citizens for Free Enterprise Executive Director JP Twist. “Each year, it’s the same issues all over again. She said she would support small business, then she vetoed a bill to crack down on organized retail theft. She said she would address water, then she defunded WIFA. She said she would address housing, then she adopted a policy making it harder to build new homes. The reason why her third State of the State sounds so much like her first two is because she hasn’t made meaningful progress on the key issues facing Arizona.”

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