February 26, 2019

The Honorable Brian P. Kemp Governor, State of Georgia 203 State Capitol Atlanta, GA 30334

Dear Governor Kemp,

For nearly a century, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (HJAIA) has been a driving force energizing metro Atlanta’s and Georgia’s economy. As the busiest airport in the world for 21 consecutive years, it is the most potent single factor in Georgia’s steady and relentless rise to global competitiveness. HJAIA is the foundation for Georgia’s ranking as the best state to do business for six years in a row.

It’s no accident that for the 15th year in a row, HJAIA has been crowned the most efficient airport in the world. It is the direct result of decades of visionary City of Atlanta leaders relentlessly executing a bold vision of innovation. Even its critics acknowledge HJAIA is an invaluable resource to the economy of the State of Georgia. It’s the envy of regions across the United States and throughout the world.

The Regional Business Coalition (RBC) is comprised of metro Atlanta’s 16 largest chambers of commerce, and represents over 10,000 businesses and one million employees. It is the unified voice of metro Atlanta’s business community, and was formed in 1998 in response to a dangerous threat to metro Atlanta’s competitiveness- poor air quality and non-conformity with the Clean Air Act. State and regional leaders worked together to overcome that threat and move Atlanta and Georgia forward.

Today, we face a new threat to our regional economic vitality: SB 131. While RBC believes Georgia’s leaders should seek to help improve HJAIA’s long track record of excellence, we also believe it’s dangerous to rush SB 131, or any bill, through the legislative process without prior, thorough consideration of its consequences. The takeover of HJAIA prescribed in SB 131 has not received that scrutiny. The public hasn’t had even a single week to review it and consider its implications.

SB 131 is scheduled for its first hearing in committee this week. Its purpose is to create a new state authority, charged with a takeover of HJAIA operations. The ensuing legal battle will unleash a storm of uncertainty, acrimony and a host of other unintended consequences. This

will severely destabilize Georgia’s economic development efforts and send a chilling message to companies and prospects considering Georgia for expansion and investment.

RBC shares the commitment of state leaders to keep Georgia the best state in the nation in which to do business. That requires stability in how our regional transportation infrastructure operates. Making HJAIA the object of a legal tug-of-war would have incalculable negative impacts on our economy. SB 131 deserves more research and vetting than is possible during our current legislative session.

Therefore, we urge members of the Georgia Senate, House of Representatives and the Executive branch to suspend their efforts to advance SB 131 this year, pending further study and collaboration with the City of Atlanta and other stakeholders.

After the session concludes, we offer our assistance to you, members of the , City of Atlanta, Federal Aviation Administration, Georgia’s business leaders and other stakeholders to convene a dialogue on how best to address the concerns of Senate leaders.

Respectfully,

Betty Willis, 2019 Chair Regional Business Coalition

cc: Lieutenant Governor Senator , Chairman, Transportation Senator , Vice Chairman, Transportation Senator , Secretary, Transportation Senator Butch Miller Senator Gloria Butler Senator Senator Senator Senator P. K. Martin, IV Senator Lindsey Tippins Senator Josh Rowan, MBP Dean Collins, Axis Infrastructure, LLC A.J. Robinson, Central Atlanta Progress Pamela W. Carnes, Cherokee Chamber of Commerce Jeremy Stratton, Clayton Chamber of Commerce Sharon Mason, Cobb Chamber of Commerce

Katerina Taylor, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Sara Ray, Douglas County Chamber Colin Martin, Fayette Chamber of Commerce Kali Boatright, Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce Kit Dunlap, Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Dan Kaufman, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce David Gill, Henry County Chamber of Commerce Dave Williams, Metro Atlanta Chamber Candace Boothby, Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce Stacy Hamby, Paulding Chamber of Commerce Y. Dyan Matthews, South Fulton Chamber of Commerce Carmenlita Scott, the ATL Airport Chamber Bryan Batson, Southern Company Gas Steven Labovitz, Dentons Joe Brownlee, Georgia Power Company Tom Heard, Cherokee Co. Water & Sewerage Authority Lisa Smith, Georgia Power Company E. Charles Reed, Jr., Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP Mitch Rhoden, Futren Jim Rhoden, Futren Trevor Quander, Atlanta Gas Light/Southern Co. Gas Chris Pumphrey, Douglas Co. Development Authority Deyanna Jones, Comcast Bob Reeves, Accounting Resources Kim Schnoes, Peachtree Planning Corp. Jeff Petrea, Georgia Power Company Trey Ragsdale, Kaiser Permanente Raymer Sale, Jr., E2E Resources Leonard Moreland, Heritage Bank Wayne Lowrey, United Community Bank David Werner, Delta Air Lines Angie Fiese, Gas South Chris Stephens, Coweta-Fayette EMC David Kent, Cancer Treatment Centers of America Don Barbour, AT&T Deon Tucker, Georgia Power Company Walter Vinson, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Brian Kingston, ABM Aviation Shelley Lamar, Corporate Environmental Risk Management