Members of the Georgia Legislature, local government officials, and area residents gathered at Cornelia City Hall Thursday to watch Governor Brian Kemp sign ten bills into law.
“We’re going to be signing a lot of bills that are local in nature today,” Kemp said. “A lot of times, you don’t really get to see this [signing process], but they [the new laws] have big effects at local levels. They’re a big part of what your senators and representatives are doing.”
The governor came to Cornelia at the invitation of District 10 State Representative Victor Anderson (R-Alto). They were joined by other area lawmakers, including Stan Gunter (R-Blairsville), Steven Meeks (R-Screven), Stan Gunter (R-Blairsville), Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville), and Chris Erwin (R-Homer), and Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia).
The bills Kemp signed into law held significance in Northeast Georgia, ranging from laws to help local governments safely discuss cybersecurity weaknesses to honoring the memory of a Union county citizen who lost her life at a dangerous intersection.
While some Georgians came to support the bills and resolutions, Kemp signed into law; others attended to show their concerns with Georgia’s controversial new voting law. While the protesters were peaceful and did not disrupt the bill signing, their signs reading “Jim Crow voting laws” and “Voter suppression in Georgia is un-American” stuck out among the crowd. Kemp responded to the protestors present, saying, “that bill makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat in Georgia.”
