Author: Emily Leonard

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.

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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.   

By: Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry)

We have completed week six of this year’s general assembly session, and the pace of activity has dramatically increased. The Senate has been hard at work passing a total of 17 bills this week, the most that have been considered thus far in the 2023 Legislative Session. Committees continue to operate at full speed as the workload continues to pile on. Bills we took up on the floor this week dealt with combatting crime and gang activity, increasing penalties for human trafficking offenses, cracking down on invasive telemarketers, expanding the workforce, and more.

As I previously mentioned, gang violence, terrorism, and human trafficking was a common theme in the Senate this week as several bills were passed covering these areas, some with bipartisan support. Senate Bill 44, known as the “Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act,” and sponsored by Governor’s Administration Floor Leader, Sen. Bo Hatchett (R – Cornelia), would establish a mandatory minimum sentence for individuals who are partake in gang activity. Specifically, this mandatory minimum sentence would apply to individuals who have knowingly recruited a minor to participate in gang activity or any gang related crime. It is no secret that Georgia has experienced a rapid increase in gang violence and crime within our state lines. What is even more concerning is when the violence spreads to the point of impacting Georgia’s children. Often times, gang activity involves hardened criminals. These individuals have no regard for the safety and security of minors and under no circumstance should these acts of violence be tolerated. Since his first term, Gov. Kemp has made it abundantly clear that gang violence and crime will not be tolerated in Georgia. I imagine this will be the first of many measures taken up this legislative session that address the Governor’s top priority to crack down on violent criminal gangs and do all that is necessary to keep Georgians safe. I am proud to support this legislation and look forward to seeing it on the Governor’s desk in the coming months.

On a similar note, legislation to address concerns related to human trafficking was brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Senate Bill 42, sponsored by Sen. Mike Hodges (R – Brunswick), another Senate Floor Leader for the Governor, seeks to increase penalties associated with the failure to properly comply with the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline. Like Gov. Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp has spearheaded the fight against human trafficking throughout her service to Georgia. SB 42 would further penalize those who fail to properly report incidents of human trafficking to the resource center’s hotline. Again, these measures are necessary and imperative when it comes to ensuring the safety and security of our citizens.

I am eager to provide you with an update on Senate Bill 110, the “Back the Blue Act.” On Wednesday, SB 110 was heard and properly vetted in the Senate Committee on Insurance and Labor, a committee as you know, I have the distinct honor of chairing. The committee had the opportunity to hear from Mike Mitchell with the Georgia Sheriff’s Association as he offered his full support of the legislation on behalf of the Sheriff’s Association. SB 110 ultimately seeks to show support for our sheriff’s departments in Georgia as they are often the first line of defense when it comes to keeping our communities safe. I am pleased to report that SB 110 was favorably reported out of committee and will now make its way to the Rules Committee. I look forward to hopefully presenting this bill on the Senate floor in the near future.

While the General Assembly remains hard at work, the legislative session also serves as a time for many visitors and honored guests to get a glimpse of the action under the Gold Dome. This week, I had the pleasure of welcoming a group of students from Bonaire Middle School’s Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) organization to the Senate Chamber. The group was joined by their advisor, Mrs. Michaela Fitzwater, who teaches Family and Consumer Sciences at Bonaire Middle School along with my son, Mr. Wade Walker, who teaches 8^th Grade Georgia History at Bonaire Middle School. It was a pleasure to welcome these young leaders to the Georgia Senate. I am proud of their interest in state government and the workings of the General Assembly, and I applaud the community involvement and service work of FCCLA chapters here in Middle Georgia. Also this week, the Senate welcomed members of the Georgia Farm Bureau organization to celebrate Georgia Farm Bureau Day at the State Capitol. The Georgia Farm Bureau is Georgia’s largest and strongest voluntary agricultural organization with thousands of members eager to serve farming families. Agriculture remains the driving force behind Georgia’s thriving economy and because of this, it’s vital that we continue to show our support to Georgia’s farmers, and farming industries. It was a pleasure to recognize members of Georgia Farm Bureau in the Senate chamber.

As the Senate has now reached the halfway point of the 2023 Legislative Session, I anticipate the workload will only grow as we quickly approach Crossover Day. I look forward to continuing to provide you with updates from the Capitol and as always, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office if you have any questions or concerns regarding legislation. It is an honor to serve the 20^th Senate District here in Atlanta.

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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.