Capitol Recap from Sen Larry Walker: Week Seven

By: Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry)

As the Senate comes to a close this week, there is only one full week of legislative days remaining before we arrive at Legislative Day 28, known as Crossover Day. This significant milestone in the legislative session marks the final day for bills to pass in their respective chamber in order to be considered for final passage on Legislative Day 40. Senators have been extremely busy working to advance their legislation before this deadline and committees have met at rapid pace this week to hear and act on as many bills as possible. A total of 11 bills passed out of the Rules Committee and were brought to the Senate floor for a vote this week, and I am pleased to provide you with updates on a few of them.

Senate Bill 110, known as the “Back the Blue Act,” legislation I was proud to sponsor, passed in the Senate with unanimous bipartisan support. As I have previously mentioned, SB 110 would provide financial support for Georgia’s sheriff’s departments by establishing a voluntary “check off” on auto insurance premium invoices to allow Georgians to conveniently donate $3 to enhance law enforcement compensation and benefits. Theses donations would be collected by insurance companies and remitted to the Georgia Department of Insurance, where the Insurance Commissioner would annually distribute the donations, equally, to the Sheriff of each county to be used for deputy and jailer compensation. Keeping Georgians safe is a priority of my Caucus, and Georgia’s Sheriffs, as each county’s chief law enforcement officer, have a Constitutional duty to protect our citizens. It was an honor to work alongside Lt. Governor Burt Jones to successfully pass this legislation out of the Senate, and I will keep you updated as to our progress with his bill as it has now moved across the hall to be considered in the House.

I am also pleased to report the passage of House Bill 18, the Amended Budget for the remainder of the 2023 Fiscal Year. Each legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly is tasked with the constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget. While the Amended Budget only accounts for adjustments to our appropriations for the remainder of this fiscal year, HB 18 contains significant changes reflecting major priorities of which I want to make you aware. Specifically, the amended budget recognizes a revenue surplus of $2 billion that we want to return to hard working Georgians.  The Amended Budget accomplishes this return of taxes in two ways, $1 billion in homeowner property tax relief grants and $1 billion in state income tax rebates. A Senate priority for the past several years has been an end of “hoteling” of foster kids by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), and we included additional funding in the Amended Budget to enable DFCS to fulfill this priority.  Upon its passage in the Senate, HB 18 was immediately transmitted back to the House for consideration of the Senate’s revisions to the bill. I intend to provide you with updates as the amended budget moves closer towards the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.

I would also like to take the time to provide you with a few updates on additional pieces of legislation that I am sponsoring this session. Senate Bill 106 seeks to establish a three-year pilot program administered through the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) aimed at providing remote patient monitoring for expectant mothers under Medicaid. Known as the “Healthy Babies Act,” SB 106 aims to address the growing concern of maternal and infant mortality across the nation, and more specifically, in Georgia. 53% of counties in Georgia have little or no access to maternity care with roughly 60 counties operating without a licensed OBGYN. It is my hope that with this legislation, we will be able to give expectant mothers living in rural parts of the state access to the necessary care and assistance they need. As a new grandfather, ensuring this legislation is properly vetted and perfected to best serve Georgia’s mothers has become a personal goal of mine. I am pleased that SB 106 was favorably reported out of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services with a unanimous vote and now awaits Rules selection for a vote on the Senate floor. I look forward to providing you with additional updates on this critical legislation as we progress through the legislative process.

Each week, we continue to welcome more visitors under the Gold Dome. This week, I had the pleasure of welcoming a group of students with the Future Farmers of America (FFA) Organization to the Senate Chamber. With more than 700,000 students engaged in the FFA program on the local, state, and national level, I was honored to present the Georgia FFA State Officers with Senate Resolution 18, which recognized February 21, 2023 as “FFA Day” at the State Capitol. Agriculture continues to lead Georgia’s economy serving as the fabric that allows Georgia to uphold the standard as the number one state in the nation to live, work, and raise a family. These young Georgians are the face of the future of the agriculture industry. It was a pleasure to welcome them to the Senate alongside my colleagues, Sen. Russ Goodman (R – Cogdell), Sen. Freddie Powell Sims (D – Dawson), and Sen. Lee Anderson (R – Grovetown).

Next week, the Senate will convene for Legislative Days 24 through 27. Crossover Day will fall on the following Monday, March 6. We have a full week of committee meetings and floor sessions ahead of us. I look forward to continuing to work alongside my fellow Senators as we quickly approach the home stretch to Sine Die. As always, if I can ever be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to reach out. It is an honor to serve you here in Atlanta.

Sen. Larry Walker serves as Secretary of the Senate Majority Caucus. He also serves as Chairman of the Insurance and Labor Committee.  He represents the 20th Senate District, which includes Bleckley, Dodge, Dooly, Houston, Laurens, Pulaski, Treutlen and Wilcox counties.  He may be reached by phone at 404.656.0095 or by email at larry.walker@senate.ga.gov.