Legislative Session Newsletter: February 9, 2022
What Happened Last Week
The Georgia General Assembly is well into the 2022 legislative session, and we resumed our work at the State Capitol on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. This was our fourth week of session, putting us at more than a quarter of the way through the legislative session. As we continued the process of voting on local redistricting maps, I had my first committee hearings for Economic Development and Tourism, and Banks and Banking.
[link removed] [[link removed]]On Tuesday, Rep. John Carson and other Cobb Republicans introduced HB 1154 – their Gerrymandered Cobb Board of Commissioners map that intentionally draws Commissioner Jerica Richardson out of her district that she just won last year. This is another shameful attempt by Republicans to cling to power in Cobb County as the shifting demographics no longer favor them.
On Thursday, I and other Cobb Democrats held a press conference on the steps of the capitol to shed light on the anti-democratic practices of the House Republicans to take county redistricting out of the hands of local delegations. They are targeting Cobb, Gwinnett, and Augusta/Richmond County – three of the state’s largest counties where Democrats have worked very hard to flip seats and win control of their local delegations.
[link removed] [[link removed]]Later that morning, the House voted down party lines to pass HB 873, the Republican bill that circumvented the Democratic controlled local delegation of Gwinnett County to establish the new Gwinnett Board of Commission maps.
This effort by the house GOP is a direct attack on the voters in Cobb, Gwinnett, and Augusta/Richmond. They are sending a clear message that they believe that Republicans should be able to choose their voters rather than voters choosing who represents them. As chair of the Cobb delegation, I will continue to fight and do everything in my power to make sure that we pass maps that fairly represent the people of Cobb County.
Bipartisan Legislation That We Passed This Week:
HB 385 [[link removed]] – Addresses teacher shortages, allowing retired teachers to come back to work while still receiving their state retirement benefits
HB 752 [[link removed]] – Psychiatric Advanced Directive; Ensures that Georgians have the power over decisions regarding their mental health care in a way that best suits their needs and desires
HB 867 [[link removed]] – Truth in Prescription Pricing for Patients Act; A bill that would lower the cost of prescription drugs
HB 478 [[link removed]] – A bill that will help prevent wrongful convictions in criminal trials
HB 624 [[link removed]] - Provides an additional superior court judge to the South Georgia Judicial Circuit
HB 907 [[link removed]] – Specifies the date for a special election to present a question to voters on sales and use taxes, under certain circumstance
[link removed] [[link removed]]What's Happening This Week
On Monday, we dropped the local Cobb maps that we believe most fairly represent the people of Cobb County.
*
HB
1248
[[link removed]]
–
Cobb
Board
of
Education
*
HB
1256
[[link removed]]
–
Cobb
Board
of
Commission
We have taken public feedback and reached out to all members of the local delegation, the county commission, and the school board to ask for feedback
Meanwhile, the Governmental Affairs Redistricting and Elections Special Subcommittee held a hearing Monday afternoon to discuss the Republican drawn Cobb maps. You can watch a recording of that hearing here. [[link removed]]
Today at 9am, I presented HB 1003 to the Insurance Subcommittee on Life and Health, my bill to address contract disputes. You can watch the committee hearing here [[link removed]] .
Bills to Watch This Session
*
HB888
[[link removed]]
,
SB377
[[link removed]]
&
SB375
[[link removed]]
-
Attacking
Our
School
Curriculum
*
SB324
[[link removed]]
&
HB854
[[link removed]]
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Incorporating
the
City
of
Buckhead
*
SB226
[[link removed]]
-
Removing
Books
from
Libraries
*
SB319
[[link removed]]
-
"Constitutional
Carry
Act"
*
SB345
[[link removed]]
-
Undermining
the
COVID-19
Vaccine
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 counties. My Capitol office number is at 404-656-0109, and my direct email is [email protected].
Volunteer [[link removed]]
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