Amendment to be offered in the Senate to HB 218 will be somewhat of a disappointment for development authorities in the Other Georgia.

Today state Senate leader Eric Johnson plans to offer an amendment that reduces the breadth of HB 218. Recruiting projects conducted by local development authorities would not be covered. But big-ticket recruiting projects by the state, and any project that involves an alliance of state and local agencies, would still be covered.

The change, while disappointing, will not be fatal for new projects. Many projects that local development authorities pursue involve working closely with state agencies.

But not always. Many times we are working with what we call "existing industry," this being local industries or businesses, and their expansion is just as important -- more important in the actual number of new jobs created yearly in the state -- as the location of a new industry in the jurisdiction.