Week Two Recap
On Monday of this week, I was honored to be the guest of the Lake Lanier Convention & Visitors Bureau and Stacey Dickson at the State of Tourism Breakfast presented by Georgia Travel Association and the Georgia Dept of Economic Development. Commissioner Pat Wilson of the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Tourism Economics CEO Adam Sacks were our speakers, highlighting the current state of the tourism industry in Georgia. Both Wilson and Sacks presented keen insight into national and Georgia tourism industry trends, showing that Georgia has been quite fortunate to reap the benefits of increased tourism levels over the last few years. Following this event, Gainesville City Councilman Zack Thompson joined me on the House floor for a tour of the Capitol and House Chamber. It’s always an honor to have folks from Gainesville join me!
Tuesday found me attending my first committee meeting of the 2017 session: the Game, Fish & Parks committee met to hear in-depth updates from all divisions of the Georgia DNR. Committee Chairman David Knight was kind enough to introduce me to the group as the newest member, and gave me the opportunity to speak to my fellow committee members to give a brief bio of myself.
Wednesday was quite the busy day. Per tradition, we invited the Senate, members of the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals to the House Chamber. Chief Justice P. Harris Hines of the Supreme Court of Georgia delivered the annual State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Legislature in the House Chamber. He reminded us that the mission of judges is to interpret the laws fairly, clearly, consistently and in a prompt and impartial manner. Justice Hines recognized last year’s successes, specifically in criminal justice reform, and informed us of this year’s goals, such as those of probation reformation and adjusting the accessibility to legal representation for all.
Chairman Ron Stephens (R – Savannah) came the well during session to introduce House Bill 158, known as the “gaming resort” bill. From the bill’s filing, HB 158 will “provide for the creation, membership, appointment, and duties of the Georgia Gaming Commission and authorize the licensing of up to two destination resorts in this state.” While this bill will certainly garner much attention and discussion, it is nothing new to the House of Representatives. Some form of gambling / casino bills find their way to the floor every year. I will be holding a town hall session in the near future to address this issue and gather input.
Thursday was an important day as we passed House Bill 43 (also known as The Amended Fiscal Year 2017 Budget). The original 2017 fiscal year budget, which set state spending at $23.7 billion, was passed during the 2016 legislative session, but to recognize any discrepancies between the projected estimate and actual revenue obtained, the legislature must also pass an amended state budget mid-way through the fiscal year. Language from the bill explains it best: “A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend an Act making and providing appropriations for the State Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2016, and ending June 30, 2017, known as the “General Appropriations Act,” Act No. 517, approved May 2, 2016 (Ga. L. 2016, Volume One, Appendix, commencing at page 1 of 145), so as to make, provide, and change certain appropriations for the operation of the state government and its departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, institutions, and other agencies, for the university system, common schools, counties, municipalities, and political subdivisions, for all other governmental activities, projects, and undertakings authorized by law, and for all leases, contracts, agreements, and grants authorized by law; to provide for the control and administration of funds; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.” The vote resulted in the passage of HB 43 with a vote of 173 – 1.
Following Thursday’s session, I attended a lunch and learn dedicated to ethics and ethical behavior. This lunch was hosted by the House Ethics committee, and invited Legislative Council and Executive Director Stefan Ritter of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. Quite the informative session to help me better understand what can and cannot be done while in office.
One of the exciting opportunities afforded us is to invite students to serve as pages during the session. I am honored to have Sara Laine join me during the session as a page. Sara is a student at Lakeview Academy and will be an invaluable resource to help the day flow well. I was able to have she and her mother join me for a tour of the House Chamber and a photo opportunity.