By: Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry)
The 10th week under the gold dome has come and gone, leaving us just five legislative days and two weeks away from the end of the 2018 Legislative Session. With the pressure on to review and vote on as many House bills as possible, you can bet that our days and nights here will continue to grow longer as we work to pass legislation that will positively impact Georgians.
This week, we heard 22 bills and resolutions on the Senate floor, one of the most influential being House Bill 769 which would create the Rural Health System Innovation Center that would fall within the State Office of Rural Health. Before I explain more of what this piece of legislation does, I would like to thank everyone who worked to make this bill possible. A majority of this session has been spent on vetting and passing legislation that will further increase the quality of life throughout the state’s rural regions, one of those key issues being health care. HB 769 would establish a grant program that would work to create incentives for physicians to practice in rural areas and would allow for a tax credit on donations that are made to rural hospitals. In addition, one of the biggest things this piece of legislation would do is expand remote order pharmacy entries in rural hospitals. We see a shortage of professionals across the health care field in rural Georgia, but especially in the pharmacy practice. Loosening the restrictions on these professionals allows them to serve a greater number of people in a timely manner. This is a great bill and one that I truly believe will make an impact on health care in Georgia. I look forward to the Governor’s signature and seeing what strides we can make in the right direction for access to those who need and deserve it.
Another one of the bills we heard this week, HB 422, deals with the establishment of a Veterans Service Foundation which would be tasked with looking into grants, goods and services that could benefit veterans, as well as promote Georgia’s veterans homes and cemetaries. As our veteran population increases, it’s important to secure funding to better serve those that live here and promote our veteran friendly status to encourage more veterans to move to our state.
In addition to these bills, one of the most heartwarming bills to come through the Senate this session received passage on Thursday. House Bill 831 creates the Employment First Georgia Council which would adopt a Competitive Integrated Employment policy for individuals with disabilities. By passing this piece of legislation, the state of Georgia will join many other states in forging a path that creates jobs for the disabled population, as well as creating educational awareness and opportunities. This bill is a wonderful piece of legislation that will help to foster relationships and jobs for people with disabilities and positively effect the lives of employers, employees and customers.
Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you. If I can ever be of service to you, please do not hesitate to let me know.
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Sen. Larry Walker serves as an Administration Floor Leader. He represents the 20th Senate District, which includes Bleckley, Laurens, Pulaski Counties and most of Houston County. He may be reached at his Atlanta office at 404.656.0081 or by email at larry.walker@senate.ga.gov.