ATLANTA – The Georgia Chamber of Commerce has selected State Representative Kevin Levitas (D-Atlanta) as a 2010 Legislator of the Year. The Chamber gives this award annually to members of the Georgia General Assembly who go above and beyond on behalf of the state’s business community during the legislative session.
“I am honored that the Georgia Chamber of Commerce would consider me for their Legislator of the Year Award,” said Rep. Levitas. “Since first being elected to state office, I have tried to draw from both my legal background as a former prosecutor and my business experience working in my family’s business to introduce and pass legislation that improves Georgia’s judicial and economic systems. I am humbled to know that these efforts have resonated with the state’s business community.”
Levitas authored a constitutional amendment, passed during the 2010 legislative session, to help modernize Georgia employment law, making it fairer to employers and employees alike. Levitas’ measure would, if approved by the voters this November, prevent judicial overreaching by prohibiting courts from unfairly nullifying private employment contracts.
Also during the 2010 legislative session, Rep. Levitas, known as “the honorary farmer from DeKalb,” served as Co-Chairman of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee on Consumer Protection Investigation and Oversight. The subcommittee was formed following a deadly salmonella outbreak in 2008 and tasked with evaluating all aspects of the production, distribution, delivery and safety of consumer products, including, but not limited to, agricultural products in the state of Georgia.
As a result of his work with the subcommittee, Rep. Levitas authored the SAFE Act to help ensure that food processors are held accountable for providing safe food to consumers. Governor Perdue signed the SAFE Act into law on Tuesday, May 25, 2010.
Other honorees selected for the Georgia Chamber’s Legislator of the Year award were Representatives Rich Golick (R-Smyrna) and Lynn Smith (R-Newnan) and Senators Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) and David Shafer (R-Duluth). Rep. Levitas was the only Democrat selected this year.
“We are proud to recognize these individuals, each of whom worked to ensure that, despite the state’s budget challenges, important issues such as transportation, education, water, taxes and health care were addressed during the 2010 legislative session,” said Haydon Stanley, Chair of the Georgia Chamber’s Government Affairs Council.
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s primary mission since its founding in 1915 has been advocacy on behalf of business at the state and federal level. With the leadership of the organization’s 400+ member Government Affairs Council, comprised of government affairs professionals from throughout the state, the Chamber speaks on behalf of Georgia business and industry, focusing on quality of life and economic issues critical to the state’s future.
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Representative Kevin Levitas represents the citizens of District 82, which includes portions of northeast DeKalb County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006 and serves on the Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Judiciary Non-Civil, Science and Technology, and Transportation Committees.