The Holland Report - 2023, Week 5

Sara Fuchs

Another week of session is in the books! We completed Days 13-16 of our allocated 40, and are getting ever closer to Day 28, Crossover Day, this year scheduled for March 6th. This is the last day that bills can cross from the House to the Senate (and vice versa). The past few years have been relatively quiet under the Gold Dome, with limited guests, but we are very much back to business as usual. On Thursday, we had 4-H guests in green, and legislators wearing red for Sickle Cell Awareness, which led to a festive holiday feel on the floor of the House.

Thursday was also Okefenokee Swamp Day at the Capitol! We were visited by a dancing alligator, advocating for HB171, the Okefenokee Protection Act.

CALL TO ACTION!
In support of the Okefenokee Protection Act? It is assigned to the House Committee on Natural Resources & the Environment. You can email the chair, Rep. Lynn Smith, asking for a hearing, and the members of the committee, asking them to vote yes on the bill. Here is their contact information:

lynn.smith@house.ga.gov, vance.smith@house.ga.gov, rick.townsend@house.ga.gov, debra.bazemore@house.ga.gov, debbie.buckner@house.ga.gov, joe.campbell@house.ga.gov, john.corbett@house.ga.gov, viola.davis@house.ga.gov, buddy.deloach@house.ga.gov, robert.dickey@house.ga.gov, karla.drenner@house.ga.gov, matthew.gambill@house.ga.gov, carl.gilliard@house.ga.gov, leesa.hagan@house.ga.gov, david.huddleston@house.ga.gov, derrick.mccollum@house.ga.gov, lauren.mcdonald@house.ga.gov, kimberly.new@house.ga.gov, jesse.petrea@house.ga.gov, clay.pirkle@house.ga.gov, richard.smith@house.ga.gov, marcus.wiedower@house.ga.gov, maryfrances.williams@house.ga.gov, noel.williams@house.ga.gov

This week, we conducted the inaugural meeting of the Joint Atlanta House & Senate Delegation. We heard from Dr. Ingrid Thompson-Sellers, who recently began her tenure as the first female president of Atlanta Metropolitan State College. We also heard from Kenyatta Mitchell, the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs with the City of Atlanta, discussing their legislative priorities.

With Rep. Kim Schofield, Vice Chair of the Atlanta Delegation.

COMMITTEE REPORT

The Higher Education committee met this week. We conducted hearings on the following bills:

HB122 , allowing the creation of the Georgia Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE), which establishes and maintains the Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan Trust Fund and qualified tuition programs.
HB130, which provides for student loan repayment for peace officers.
HB163, which provides for student loan repayment for medical examiners employed by the Division of Forensic Sciences of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
HB185, which provides for HOPE Inclusive Postsecondary Education (IPSE) grants.

Did you miss my Joint Legislative Town Hall this week with State Senator Jason Esteves? Watch it below!

Join me for my next Listening Session, February 26th, 4-5 pm!
Pre-register for the Zoom link
FB event link

If you haven’t already, please browse my website, betsyforgeorgia.com.

As your Representative, your concerns are important to me. Please contact me at betsy.holland@house.ga.gov or 404-656-0116 with questions, concerns, or solutions you may have regarding legislation or other happenings in District 54.

To stay updated, follow me on Twitter and Facebook, and follow the Georgia House of Representatives @GAHouseHub on Twitter. Additionally, in-depth information regarding current bills, Georgia's annual and supplemental budgets, committee meetings, and livestreams from the General Assembly can be accessed via www.legis.ga.gov.

I encourage you and your family to visit our State Capitol and my office, where all constituents are welcome. I look forward to connecting with you!

My office is located at:
18 Capitol Square, SW
409-B, Coverdell Legislative Office Building
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.