Highlights from the House

Greetings from under the Gold Dome!

I am pleased to report that after nearly four weeks, our special legislative session concluded on Monday, November 22, just before the Thanksgiving holiday. While there, we managed to fulfill our federal duty in reworking our state’s district maps according to the 2020 census reports.

During the third week, our House body gave final approval to Senate Bill 1EX which updates the map for the 56 state Senate districts. Likewise, the state Senate successfully passed our presented House map for the 180 state districts through House Bill 1EX. Following passage of the district maps for the Georgia General Assembly, we then set our sights on examining the proposed maps for Georgia’s U.S. Congressional districts.

Like our state district maps, the 14 congressional districts comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the traditional principles of redistricting which includes taking into consideration our population growth over the last decade. After our House and Senate leadership jointly released the proposed congressional map, each body introduced separate bills in their respective chambers. Following the map proposal, the House Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment Committee held multiple hearings to hear public opinion before the bill was put up for full consideration on the House floor. We are thankful to the citizens who took time to take part in the process, giving us valuable input and feedback regarding the proposed map.

Following these hearings, the Georgia House passed SB 2EX, the last piece of legislation needed which needed passage in order to conclude this special session. All legislation related to the redistricting process has been sent to the governor for his consideration. If the bills for the legislative and congressional maps are signed into law, they will be implemented by election officials for the next election cycle in November 2022. You can view the new legislative and congressional district maps on the nonpartisan Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office’s website under the “Proposed Plans.”

In addition to our redistricting work, we also managed to tackle other legislative matters through house votes. When the General Assembly was called into special session for the redistricting process, Governor Kemp also charged us with considering other necessary legislation in response to the pandemic. As such, we passed House Bill 7EX this week to provide an Internal Revenue Code update that corresponds with the American Rescue Plan Act. We also adopted House Resolution 3EX to change several executive orders which allowed the state to suspend motor and diesel fuel taxes during the petroleum shortage this summer.

Following our near four weeks on Capitol Hill, it was great to be able to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends. Over the next few weeks, we now set our sights on the upcoming 2022 Legislation Session, which will kick off the second Monday of January. If you are interested in what issues will be up for discussion, I encourage you to look at General Assembly pre-filed legislation, which can be found at www.legis.ga.gov. It is also important to remember that all bills, which were introduced during 2021 are still up for discussion. As always, if you need anything at all, please feel free to reach out to our office directly. Thank you for allowing me the honor of serving as your voice under the Gold Dome as we work towards simple, smart and effective government. May God bless and keep you this holiday season and may he continue to bless the great state of Georgia.

HHJ News