ATLANTA (November 27, 2019) | Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry) was recently named Legislator of the Year by the Rural Jobs Coalition, a nonpartisan organization that supports small, rural businesses and advocates around the country for policies that benefit rural economic growth.
Sen. Walker was chosen as Legislator of the Year for spearheading the Senate’s passage of the Georgia Agribusiness and Rural Jobs Act (GARJA) and for championing policies that help drive job creation, revitalization of small businesses and economic opportunities for rural communities across the state.
“If we want our small businesses to grow throughout Georgia – especially in our rural communities – we have to support their growth through access to affordable capital,” said Sen. Walker. “I am a strong advocate of our small businesses, and I will work hand-in-hand with our rural communities through GARJA and other programs, to encourage job creation and revitalization.”
The GARJA was passed during the 2017 Legislative Session as a program that uses tax credits to incentivize private sector investment in a revolving loan fund that provides growth capital for small businesses in rural Georgia. These loans are available to agribusiness, businesses dealing with healthcare, transportation, technology or other areas as deemed appropriate by the Department of Community Affairs. You can read more about the program here, and you can find the language of the bill here.
# # # #
Contact:
Elisabeth Fletcher, Communications Specialist
elisabeth.fletcher@senate.ga.gov