Back in Session

The Georgia General Assembly is back in session, and I am excited to work with fellow lawmakers to ensure a better, brighter future for the communities we represent and our state.

As always, we have a full plate of legislative initiatives to discuss and debate. In addition to consideration reforms in education, criminal justice, and taxes, we will also begin considering proposals for casino gambling, medical marijuana, and Medicaid Expansion.

Follow me on Facebook to keep up with all the excitement in the State House!

State of the State

As tradition has it, the governor delivers his “State of the State” address on the second day of the legislative session. This year, Governor Deal appeared before the House and Senate to highlight Georgia’s strengthens and identify areas for improvement.

Thanks to smart, steady leadership, Georgia weathered the Great Recession and is moving in the right direction. By budgeting conservatively, we have grown our Rainy Day Fund to $1.43 billion. By ending the sales tax on energy for manufacturing, we have brought over 22,000 new manufacturing jobs to our state. Our unemployment rate continues to drop as Georgia businesses grow and expand, as new companies move their corporate headquarters south. It’s no surprise that Site Selection Magazine named Georgia the #1 State for Business for the second year in a row.

As Georgia continues to grow at an encouraging pace, we must have a trained, skilled work force ready to enter into employment. From expanding Strategic Industries Workforce Development Grants to continuing to tweak criminal justice reforms from the last several years, Governor Deal made several recommendations to prepare Georgians for jobs of the future.

A large part of Governor Deal’s legislative initiatives this year revolve around education reform. The Governor ticked off a laundry list of recommendations including pay raises for teachers, more instructional days, an end to teacher furloughs, a new funding formula for schools, and a new approach to standardize testing. As an educator, I look forward to reviewing his proposals in depth and offering my perspective to the conversation.

Balancing the Budget

Following the Governor’s speech, he presented legislative leaders with his proposed Amended Budget for fiscal year 2016 and proposed General Budget for 2017. Budget hearings are now underway, and we will begin the long process of creating and passing a balanced budget that reflects our priorities and Georgia values.

First Lady Deal in Thomasville

First Lady Sandra Deal will be at The Bookshelf in Thomasville (126 S. Broad Street) on Monday, January 25, at 3 pm to promote and sign her new book, “Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion.” The event is free and open to the public. I hope you’ll pay her a visit with a South Georgia welcome!

My Legislation

HR 1048 – Girl Scouts; 100th anniversary; honor

HB 748 – Thomas County Magistrate Court; impose and collect county law library fees as part of court costs; provide

HB 744 – Crimes and offenses; sexual contact between school personnel and students; prohibit

HB 763 – Sales and use tax; exemption regarding certain food and food ingredients; remove sunset

HR 1029 – State YMCA of Georgia and its Center for Civic Engagement and “Y” Club programs; sponsor Youth Assembly; commend

HR 1030 – Sauls, Mr. Roy Randall; condolences