ATLANTA – A four-lane highway will soon connect Moultrie to Valdosta and, more importantly, Interstate 75. 

It’s the sort of transportation access that Darrell Moore with the Colquitt County Development Authority likes to highlight when courting new industry. 

But sometimes it’s the workers who need the coaxing. For that, Moore works with local businesses to offer incentives that might make relocating to an agricultural community more attractive to business executives and others. 

Now, state lawmakers want to help with that. 

A group of legislators has proposed offering a tax incentive to people who move to rural counties whose growth has become stagnant or where populations are dwindling. 

“It’s something we can market and try to sell,” Moore said. 

The perk would be available for those who move to communities – such as Colquitt County – that have seen less than 5 percent population growth in five straight years and have less than 50,000 residents. That works out to be just over 100 counties.

The newcomers would receive a one-time 10-year income tax deduction up to $50,000. That would increase to $100,000 if local governments join in and offer a property tax break. 

“The purpose of all of these is to try to reverse the migration trends that we’re seeing,” Rep. Jay Powell, R-Camilla, who co-chaired the House Rural Development Council, said last month when the panel’s slate of proposals was unveiled. 

The plan is designed to attract doctors, lawyers and other higher-paid professionals to communities that are watching their tax base shrink, although the tax break would be available to anyone. 

It’s one of dozens of ideas recently endorsed by the council, which was formed last session in hopes of crafting a plan to spark the kind of economic vitality seen in the state’s urban areas. 

This uneven prosperity in the state has placed the woes of rural Georgia at the center of politics under the Gold Dome, where legislators will reconvene this Monday – the same day the state’s beloved University of Georgia Bulldogs take on the Crimson Tide for the national championship title. 

“We are trying to focus on how we can reverse that trend, some what,” said Rep. Jason Shaw, R-Lakeland. “Not to slow things in the metro areas, but to see some of that growth happen in every part of the state, no matter what your zip code is.”

Rep. Jason Ridley, R-Chatsworth, whose home county – Murray County in north Georgia – would qualify, said he wants to ensure that such a plan will be fair to everyone, including existing residents.

“I want to dig further into it,” he said this week, referring to the proposed tax break.

But something has to give, he said. Most of the state’s job growth has occurred in the urban cores, primarily Atlanta. 

“The whole point is to make it to where our kids here have same opportunity,” Ridley said. “They don’t have to move to downtown Atlanta to work. We can still keep them here and make these areas grow by retaining them.” 

Proponents of what is being called the Rural Relocate and Reside program will also need to win over the powerful leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge. 

“I want to hear their reasoning behind it before I make a commitment one way or the other,” he said Thursday.

‘Battleground’

The focus on rural Georgia comes on the heels of the 2017 session, which saw several measures aimed at lifting the fragile communities in the outer reaches of the state. 

But this year, lawmakers are shooting for more comprehensive plans. For example, both chambers will offer sweeping plans for tackling the spotty broadband service in rural areas, with both leaning on taxpayers.

About 16 percent of Georgians have no access to broadband service. Attempts to spur greater deployment last year collapsed. 

The stars appear to be lining up now, though. The legislative session comes as the primaries heat up for several key statewide races, including the top prize – an open governor’s mansion. 

A term-limited Gov. Nathan Deal is serving his final year in office. Several candidates seeking to replace him have tailored their message to rural Georgians. 

“I believe people are realizing that rural Georgia is sort of the battleground area, that whoever can carry rural Georgia is going to be in a very good position to win statewide races,” said Sen. Ellis Black, R-Valdosta. 

“That’s going to give us some advantage trying to get some legislation through that would benefit rural Georgia,” he added. 

But some ideas will still face the usual roadblocks – namely, financial constraints. Ralston told reporters Thursday that he is wary of any plan to increase broadband access that relies on state dollars. 

“My preference would be to incentivize, to the extent that we can, the private carriers to undertake this investment,” Ralston said. 

“We’re limited in terms of how much money we can spend on these things, recognizing that broadband in rural Georgia, I think, is really kind of at the heart of all of the efforts to revitalize and bring jobs back to rural Georgia,” he added. 

The Senate, meanwhile, hasn’t released the details of its legislative plan for rural Georgia.

Healthcare

One healthcare plan would broaden the practice authority of some nurses who work in rural counties, where medical professionals are often scarce. 

Another proposal would free the state to pursue a Medicaid waiver that would allow for a pilot project funded through a block grant. 

Still another strategy would open up the state’s certificate of need program, which limits the number of health care services in any one area. This approach would keep that protection in place for smaller communities while also giving them the option to operate as a “micro hospital.” 

Any one of these on its own is enough to stir up a spirited debate. 

“I just think we have to be extremely careful right now with rocking the financial boat for any hospital, no mater where they are,” said Sen. Dean Burke, R-Bainbridge, who is also a hospital administrator at Memorial Hospital and Manor, referring specifically to the certificate of need issue. 

“I agree that we have to come up with some new models for rural counties that either don’t have a hospital or economically can’t support one in this new world in lower reimbursements,” he said. “But is that the answer?” 

The legislative session begins Monday and will wrap up in late March or early April, depending on the calendar that legislators set next week. Legislators have until Crossover Day, which typically falls about two-thirds into the session, to send a measure over to the other chamber for a bill to have the best chance for passage.

To learn more about bills legislators are carrying, visit www.house.ga.gov or www.senate.ga.gov.

The SunLight Project team of journalists who contributed to this report includes Thomas Lynn, Alan Mauldin, Will Woolever and Charles Oliver. Editors are Jim Zachary and Dean Poling. To contact the team, email sunlightproject@gaflnews.com.