The Holland Report - 2023, Week 8

Sara Fuchs

Almost two years ago, the first bill suggesting that the community of Buckhead de-annex from the City of Atlanta dropped in the hopper in the Georgia House of Representatives. For decades, the idea floated around our community but had never seen any legislative action. During the summer of 2021, I brought up the potential City of Buckhead as I met with community stakeholders, faith leaders and business people. The responses were split down the middle - half thought it would never get anywhere, half were worried. Everyone I spoke with thought it was a bad idea.

That brings us to the 2022 legislative session - twin bills appeared in the House and Senate . These bills proposed slicing off a piece of Atlanta to incorporate a new city, something that had never happened before in the history of our state. We dug into the research to understand the implications of such a split - severing 20% of Atlanta's population along with 40% of the city's tax revenue would be devastating to the state's capital city. Furthermore, we began to understand the disastrous implication for our public school children who would no longer be eligible to attend APS schools but also faced being students in a Fulton County school system unprepared to absorb 5,000 new students. And the complicated issue of bond responsibility meant that the entire state's credit rating could be impacted. In 2022, the City of Buckhead City bills did not advance out of committee in either chamber. At the time, Lt. Governor Duncan and Speaker Ralston stated publicly that they had no interest in taking up the measures.

Fast forward to the 2023 legislative session, and new, more complicated bills were introduced in the Senate to create a City of Buckhead City (SB113 and SB114). This time, however, leadership in the Senate had changed. As promised, Lt Governor Burt Jones assigned the bills to committee and pushed for them to be voted out. The bills received a floor vote on Thursday. Some lawmakers - the bill's sponsor, Randy Robertson, and Ed Setzler (perhaps best known for sponsoring Georgia's abortion ban) called for giving the people of Buckhead the right to vote, even if the bills were flawed. Others, like Republicans John Albers & Frank Ginn and every senator actually representing Buckhead (Senators Esteves, Halpern and McLaurin) urged their colleagues to vote no, given the legal, constitutional and practical impact of the bills. When a vote was called late in the day Thursday, SB114 failed by a measure of 23-33. Every Democratic senator and 10 Republicans voted no.

*The moment that the Senate vote is revealed on the board.*

Where do we go from here? It's highly, highly unlikely that a City of Buckhead City measure could gain traction this session. There is no House version of the bill, and the Senate roundly defeated the measure this week. What we can do now is focus on how to strengthen our community, the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia to answer some of the concerns raised during the City of Buckhead Cityhood movement.

Concerned about public safety? We're passing several measures in the legislature right now designed to improve public safety, support law enforcement and create better access to mental health resources which improve safety and reduce homelessness in our communities. What can you do? If public safety is your number one concern, consider applying for Fulton county's Court Watch Program or the APD's Citizens Police Academy. If you want to focus on other areas of quality of life, consider getting involved with your neighborhood civic association and engage with the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods. If you want to focus on long term solutions around poverty, education, job creation and public health, we should talk! Those are the areas that we're working to impact at the state level that will most improve our community in the future.

Some good bills passed this week out of the House!

HB 520 builds on the Mental Parity Act championed by Speaker Ralston, which passed last year. It provides groundbreaking mental health support by addressing a shortage of mental health providers and streamlining the way agencies share information about patients. Republican Rep. Todd Jones & Democratic Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver co-sponsored the bill.

HB404, the Safe-at-Home Act, provides greater protections for tenants, requiring landlords to provide rental homes “fit for human habitation.”

HB155 makes it easier for spouses of firefighters, law enforcement and healthcare professionals to get licensed when they move to our state. This is an innovative way to increase recruitment in these fields.

HB298 excuses mothers of children six months old or younger from jury duty.

HB406 sets the stage for building a network of federally funded EV charging stations along major highway corridors, including at convenience stores.

In other good news, SB88 - Georgia's very own Don't Say Gay bill - was tabled in the Senate Committee of Education & Youth, effectively killing it for this legislative session.

Bills to Watch

I'm resting up this weekend, because Monday is Crossover Day - the last day of the legislative session for a bill to pass out of one chamber if it wants to be heard in the other before Sine Die. On this day, we typically take up dozens of bills and stay in the chamber into the wee hours. While we'll have LOTS of bills to vote on, I'm keeping an eye on two in particular that seem to have supporters and detractors in both parties. HB380 legalizes sports betting under the Georgia Lottery Corporation. HB189 increases the weight limit for trucks on state highways. The bill was amended from all trucks to just those carrying agricultural products. Both Florida and South Carolina have the same weight limit (90,000 lbs), but the weight limit could be very damaging to our already crumbling infrastructure.

Join me & Sen. Josh McLaurin (SD6) for a legislative update after Crossover Day! What bills passed? What bills didn't? And what bills might be resurrected before Sine Die?
Pre-register for the link on Zoom.
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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.

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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.