ATLANTA (March 26, 2010) – The Georgia Senate today voted in favor of protecting teachers’ salaries by passing Senate Bill 515, the Educators Salary Protection Act, by a margin of 35-11. The measure, sponsored by Senator Preston Smith (R-Rome), seeks to protect Georgia teachers from additional furlough days.
ATLANTA (March 24, 2010) – In response to the rash of high profile “smash and grab” burglaries across the state of Georgia, the Georgia State Senate today unanimously voted in favor of Sen. Preston Smith’s (R-Rome) legislation to create a new crime for these burglaries that are taking a financial toll on Georgia’s retail industry.
ATLANTA (March 19, 2010) – Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) is championing the cause to protect Georgia teachers from additional furlough days. He has introduced the Educators Salary Protection Act to prevent school systems with more than 6 percent funding in their reserve accounts from furloughing teachers, when funding is readily available to prevent the furloughs. The state has exhausted a reserve account of almost $1.8 billion over the last two years. Most of the reserve funding went to education spending.
ATLANTA (March 5, 2010) – Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) has been named the 2010 Legislator of the Year by the Georgia Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (GSASC) for his work this session to reform Georgia’s health care system using consumer and patient-focused solutions. Smith was honored during the center’s semi-annual meeting in Atlanta, which brings together professionals in ambulatory surgery centers from both Georgia and South Carolina.
As chairman of the legislative oversight committee on the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) today announced the release of the committee’s report that reviews the council’s standards, programs and budgets. The committee meets throughout the year and is made up of four members from both the Senate and House.