Topic: Legislature | Page 6 Of 13 | The Georgia Sun

📅 The Gist: State Representatives Jordan Ridley and Charlice Byrd have scheduled a town hall meeting in Woodstock to discuss the upcoming 2024 legislative session and gather community feedback.

Town Hall Alert: Woodstock’s Chance to Shape State Laws

by Thom ChandlerJanuary 5, 2024January 5, 2024

ATLANTA – Legislative Democrats and social services advocates have long complained that Georgia doesn’t spend enough money to meet the educational, health-care, and public-safety needs of a growing population. But there’s something different about the latest fiscal numbers that prompted the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) to release a 15-page report Oct. 31

Representing You

Georgia’s $16 Billion Tax Surplus Sparks Controversy

by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News ServiceNovember 3, 2023November 3, 2023

A federal judge Thursday rejected this congressional map Georgia Republicans drew in 2021. ATLANTA – A federal judge Thursday rejected both the congressional and legislative redistricting maps Georgia’s Republican-controlled General Assembly drew two years ago and ordered new maps prepared in time for next year’s elections. In a 516-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones

Your Government

Federal Judge Tosses Out Georgia’s New Voting Maps

by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News ServiceOctober 26, 2023October 26, 2023

📅 The Gist: On November 1, the Senate Committee on Ethics will convene to discuss proposed legislation related to absentee ballots and Georgia's voting systems.

Representing You

Georgia Lawmakers Are About To Discuss Absentee on Request Ballots

by Thom ChandlerOctober 23, 2023

Lt. Col. William “Billy” Hitchens ATLANTA – Pay raises of $11,000 for state law enforcement officers during the last two years still haven’t solved recruitment and retention challenges for a Georgia State Patrol forced into a bidding war. “Agencies are competing over an ever-decreasing pool of candidates,” Lt. Col. William “Billy” Hitchens III, deputy commissioner

Crime

Georgia state troopers want higher pay

by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News ServiceSeptember 15, 2023September 15, 2023

(The Center Square) — While one Georgia state senator wants a special session to potentially act on the district attorney prosecuting former President Donald Trump, another says it's impossible.

Your Government

Georgia Senators Spar on Special Session Over Trump Indictment

by T.A. DeFeo | The Center SquareAugust 31, 2023October 10, 2023

White volvo semi truck on side of road

What is Georgia Doing About the Trucker Shortage?

by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News ServiceAugust 25, 2023October 10, 2023

State Sen. John Albers ATLANTA – The Georgia Senate is working to come to grips with the ramifications of the growth in artificial intelligence (AI) technology for public policy. Two Senate committees announced plans Monday to hold a joint hearing on AI this fall. The Public Safety and Science and Technology committees will take up

Your Government

Georgia Lawmakers Want to Tackle the Growth of Artificial Intelligence

by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News ServiceAugust 21, 2023October 10, 2023

Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns ATLANTA – Finding enough money to attract and retain state law enforcement officers promises to be the top priority for a Georgia House “working group” on public safety that held its first meeting Tuesday. House Speaker Jon Burns, who formed the committee earlier this year, read a passage from Georgia’s

Crime

Bigger Paychecks, Better Public Safety: Georgia works to tackle state patrol officer shortage

by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News ServiceJune 27, 2023June 27, 2023

ATLANTA – Who knew a kid in Georgia is supposed to have a permit to set up a lemonade stand at the end of their driveway? That won’t be the case come July 1, however, thanks to the General Assembly. Gov. Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 55 on Wednesday, a bipartisan measure that will allow

Oops… Children in Georgia needed a permit to have a lemonade stand. But not anymore

by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News ServiceMay 4, 2023May 4, 2023

What Georgia’s new reading laws mean for your child

by Rebecca Grapevine | Capitol Beat News ServiceApril 22, 2023April 22, 2023

ATLANTA – After sailing through the Georgia House of Representatives, a close vote in a Senate committee blocked the progress of a bill aimed at reducing some prescription drug costs for consumers. The “Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Patients Act” would have passed on prescription drug rebates to some Georgia patients at the cash register.

How small business interests kept you from having lower prescription prices in Georgia

by Rebecca Grapevine | Capitol Beat News ServiceApril 13, 2023

Despite agreement among lawmakers and advocates that Georgia needs more quality affordable housing, the General Assembly this year took few steps to address the shortfall.

Representing You

Georgia Lawmakers Fail to Tackle Affordable Housing

by Rebecca Grapevine | Capitol Beat News ServiceApril 7, 2023

Gov. Brian Kemp exercised his veto pen Tuesday less than a week after the General Assembly adjourned for the year.

Kemp vetoes bill that would have given lawmakers power over college tuition

by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News ServiceApril 4, 2023April 4, 2023

The push by a large coalition of Georgia legislators to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining failed this session even before legislators could vote on a panel to study ways to protect the diverse wildlife refuge.

Your Government

Georgia lawmakers failed to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining

by Stanley Dunlap | Georgia RecorderApril 3, 2023April 3, 2023

The final day of the Georgia Legislative session comes with many traditions, like throwing fistfulls of paper, wearing seersucker suits in early spring and, in recent years, failing to pass a bill to allow for medical cannabis.

Your Government

Georgia lawmakers have finished for the year. Here’s what they did and didn’t do

by Ross Williams | Georgia Recorder, Jill Nolin | Georgia Recorder and Stanley Dunlap | Georgia RecorderMarch 30, 2023September 24, 2023

Georgia lawmakers have signed off on legislation allowing hospitals to start police departments using certified law enforcement officers, similar to the approach many colleges take.

Crime

Do Georgia hospitals need their own police departments?

by T.A. DeFeo | The Center SquareMarch 29, 2023March 29, 2023

Man in white tank top and blue denim pants with leaf blower outdoors during daytime

Representing You

Representing You: Georgia Lawmakers Champion Gas Leaf Blower Bill

by Ross Williams | Georgia RecorderMarch 28, 2023October 10, 2023

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