Highlights from the House — Rep. Shaw Blackmon

The Georgia House of Representatives returned to the Gold Dome for the third week of the 2023 legislative session on Monday, January 23. This week brought forth our first legislative floor votes and saw many House committees begin the legislative process. Members of the General Assembly also came together for a joint session to hear Governor Brian Kemp deliver his fifth annual State of the State address.

State of the State

Thursday, January 25, Governor Kemp gave his fifth State of the State address covering accomplishments from the last year while highlighting hopes for the next. Governor Kemp noted the progress we have made over the last few years and made clear that economic development, education, access to quality healthcare, and public safety are top agenda items for the current legislative term.

Governor Kemp intends to continue his efforts in bringing quality investments as he recently announced many new economic development projects set to be the largest in Georgia history. These projects will bring more than 20,000 jobs to various regions of the state, most especially in rural areas.

The governor also announced his plans to dedicate an additional $1.9 billion in the current and upcoming budgets solely for educational needs, including fully funding the Quality Basic Education formula.

Governor Kemp went on to outline his healthcare policies, which include the proposed allocation of more than $4.5 million in the state budget for loan repayment programs to recruit and retain health care workers in Georgia.

Rounding off top policy agenda items is that of Public Safety where the Governor plans to push for legislation that would increase penalties for individuals who work to recruit children into gang violence.

If you want to learn more about Governor Kemp’s initiatives for the upcoming session, I encourage to delve further into his full address available online through Georgia Public Broadcasting.

House Action

In addition to hearing the State of the State address, we welcomed various special groups to the House Chamber.

On Monday, the Consul General of the Republic of Korea, Yoonjoo Park, joined us to honor of Korean American Day. The consul general noted our strong partnership, highlighting that more than 100 Korean companies are in our state, producing more than 15,000 jobs.

Tuesday was special as we recognized the Georgia National Guard and their service to our community. Georgia’s 15,000 guardsmen are always ready to serve and protect, whenever needed, and it was an honor to pay tribute to these fine men and women.

Committee Service

In addition to our general floor session, our committee meeting schedule has also picked up. Committees within the General Assembly are incredibly important as this is where the legislative rubber meets the road. All bills introduced must be properly vetted through the committee process before making it to the House floor for a full vote. If passed, the legislation then moves to the Senate side to begin their committee process. 

Committee meetings are live streamed through the General Assembly website. We encourage you to follow along with any issue of which you find of interest. Very thankful to continue service on the following House Committee as these committees greatly impact our district: Ways & Means – Chairman, Appropriations – Ex-Officio, Governmental Affairs, Insurance, Rules, Small Business Development, Special Rules, Technology, and Infrastructure Innovation.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us anytime. Please be on the lookout for our weekly updates for the remainder of the legislative session! Our priority is to ensure we are representing our district views appropriately and the only way to do so is by hearing directly from you. Thank you for allowing us the honor and pleasure of serving our home under the Gold Dome. May God bless you and yours and may he continue to bless our district and the great state of Georgia as work towards simple, smart and effective government.

HHJ News