Legislative Session Newsletter: January 26, 2022
What Happened Last Week
On Tuesday, January 18, my colleagues and I returned to the State Capitol for a highly anticipated “budget week.” Each year, the Georgia General Assembly is required by the state’s Constitution to pass a balanced budget, and the House and Senate typically devote the second week of the legislative session to this very important process. During budget week, the House and Senate Appropriations committees held a series of joint budget hearings over the course of three days. To kick off the state budget process, Governor Brian Kemp gave opening remarks on Tuesday and presented his formal budget recommendations for the current and upcoming fiscal year budgets. We also heard from the state’s lead fiscal economist and other state agency heads, each of whom provided valuable insight into the vast budgetary needs of our state government.
On Saturday, I traveled to Perry, GA for the Rural Recovery Rally to join the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse in presenting the new Georgia Recovers license plate
What’s Happening This Week
After last week’s budget hearings, we are back in session this week as the legislative session really starts to pick up. This week, subcommittees will hash out the details of the budget, while other committees are starting to meet to hear proposed legislation
On Monday, HB 841 – the bill that calls for a referendum on East Cobb cityhood – went back to committee for changes. It will likely be brought to the floor in the next week.
On Tuesday, I dropped legislation to address the ongoing contract disputes between health insurance companies and our hospital systems.
On Thursday at 2:30, there will be a subcommittee hearing on HB 840 – a bill to call for a referendum on Vinings cityhood. You can watch the hearing here.
Update on Cobb County School Board and County Commission Maps
On January 8th, Speaker Ralston sent a letter to the House indicating that he intended for this map-drawing process to follow the local legislation model
We have worked to produce fair maps – we have considered public feedback, we have taken feedback from the Republican members of the delegation, and come up with maps that the majority of the delegation supports
Last Tuesday, January 18th, we held a virtual open house to present the maps we plan to propose. We answered questions and collected public feedback in order to try make this process as fair and transparent as possible.
On Friday, January 21st, the Cobb Republicans ran an ad in the MDJ that they planned to present their own maps. No one has seen these maps and they have not taken any public comment. If they are to present their own maps, this would go directly against the Speaker’s earlier guidance.
The Cobb delegation is meeting Wednesday to officially vote on the maps we have worked on and then drop it as legislation. You can read more about this here.
I will continue to send out updates as this process continues
What to Watch For Next Week
On Monday, January 31st at 7pm, I will be holding a virtual town hall meeting to update the constituents of HD 40 on all that is happening during this legislative session. Click here to register.
Bills to Watch This Session
HB888 and SB 226 - Attacking Our School Curriculum
HB841 - Incorporating the City of East Cobb
HB 840 – Incorporating the City of Vinings
SB324 & HB854 - Incorporating the City of Buckhead
As your voice at the Capitol, I always appreciate hearing directly from my constituents back home, especially about issues or policies that could impact our county/counties. My Capitol office number is at 404-656-0109, and my direct email is [email protected].
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