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.

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 – Addresses teacher shortages, allowing retired teachers to come back to work while still receiving their state retirement benefits

HB 752 – 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 – Truth in Prescription Pricing for Patients Act; A bill that would lower the cost of prescription drugs

HB 478 – A bill that will help prevent wrongful convictions in criminal trials

HB 624 - Provides an additional superior court judge to the South Georgia Judicial Circuit

HB 907 – Specifies the date for a special election to present a question to voters on sales and use taxes, under certain circumstance

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 – Cobb Board of Education
HB 1256 – 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.

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.

Bills to Watch This Session

HB888, SB377 & SB375 - Attacking Our School Curriculum
SB324 & HB854 - Incorporating the City of Buckhead
SB226 - Removing Books from Libraries
SB319 - "Constitutional Carry Act"
SB345 - 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].

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