ATLANTA— The Georgia Retail Association (GRA) named state Representative Tom Graves as the 2009 “Legislator of the Year” at its annual legislative conference and meeting on Monday, June 1, 2009. Graves received the honor for his work on House Bills 481 and 482, the Jobs, Opportunity and Business Success Act of 2009 (JOBS Act).
“The Jobs Act was designed to help the state’s businesses survive in difficult economic times,” said John Heavener, President of the GRA. “While HB 481 was vetoed by the governor it included a number of key provisions for the state’s retailers. One important provision of the bill would have ended the requirement of having merchants estimating their sales tax obligation in advance of collections, and remitting those sales taxes revenue before they were ever realized. In these days of tight credit and small or negative profits, cash flow is compromised by the existing law. Georgia is one of the few states that has this unusual requirement.”
Authored by Graves during the recent legislative session, the JOBS bills provided state tax cuts, eliminations and credits to Georgia businesses that created jobs for out of work Georgians. The state House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the JOBS bills in an effort to create, expand and attract jobs for Georgians.
“Tom Graves clearly understands how revenue is raised – it is through sales and profits, and his efforts to enact HB 481, which was vetoed by the governor, would have helped keep existing companies in business and allow new companies to start-up in these difficult times,” according to the Georgia Retail Association.
“It’s an honor to be named the Georgia Retail Association’s Legislator of the Year,” said Graves. “I’m a small businessman and I know the way to attract jobs and produce economic recovery here in Georgia is to put people back to work through an expanded private sector, not an expanded government.”
Graves received the “Legislative Entrepreneur of the Year Award” by the Freedom Works Foundation for his tireless effort to stem the tide of expansive government and reduce the tax burden on Georgians, the “Champion of Georgia Cities” award by the Georgia Municipal Association and most recently honored by the 9th District Republican Committee as the “2009 Legislator of the Year” from the 9th Congressional District of Georgia.
* Attached are a press release from the Georgia Retail Association and a picture from the award ceremony. In the picture are Bill Bregar, President of Loss Prevention Systems and Chair of the Georgia Retail Association Board of Directors, Representative Tom Graves, and Representative Ron Stephens, (R-Savannah) previous winner of the award *
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Representative Tom Graves is in his fourth term representing House District 12, which includes portions of Bartow, Gordon, and Pickens counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2002, and currently serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Motor Vehicles Committee. He also serves on the Health & Human Services, Transportation, and Ways & Means committees.
Graves grew up in White, Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia, where he earned a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance. Graves is a small businessman, past member of the Gordon County Board of Elections and an active member of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce. He is married to Julie, a native of Marietta, and the couple has three children, JoAnn, J.T., and Janey. They attend the Belmont Baptist Church in Calhoun.