Rep. Terry Rogers (R-Clarkesville) represents Georgia House District 10. His district includes portions of Habersham and White Counties. Rogers is one of Gov. Nathan Deal’s House Floor leaders for the 153rd Georgia General Assembly.
During the third week of the Georgia General Assembly’s 2015 legislative session, we passed one of the most important pieces of legislation of the year: the 2015 amended fiscal year budget (AFY 2015). This budget, which is a mid-year adjustment was first introduced by Governor Deal at last week’s Joint Appropriations hearings. Since then, it has been carefully reviewed and edited by the Appropriations committee and the House version was voted on and passed unanimously on Thursday, January 29. Now it goes to the Senate for their review.
The House version of the AFY 2015 budget is very similar to Gov. Deal’s initial budget proposal. The amended budget includes an addition of $276 million in “new” funds, with 70 percent of that going towards education. Of the new education dollars, $128.5 million will go towards K-12 enrollment growth and $35 million will be added for local school systems to expand their wireless broadband internet connectivity. The House version of the budget also designates $7.4 million for equalization funding grants that will provide additional funds to K-12 systems that qualify based on per student wealth rankings. Higher education was also set as a budget priority, with funds designated for new engineering and military scholarships and the creation of the Georgia Film Academy. Lastly, the amended budget also includes $750,000 to support the Governor’s newly created Education Reform Commission. I am happy to see our state continues to put money into our school systems, as our children are our most precious resource.
While investing in our children’s education is a primary focus, there are also several significant additions for economic development in our state. As we make certain that Georgia remains the number one state in the country to do business, our version of the budget appropriates $20 million in grants towards job-creating economic development projects through the OneGeorgia Authority, as well as $20 million for Regional Economic Business Assistance grants. OneGeorgia and Regional Economic Business Assistance are two of our state’s most effective economic development tools for attracting new jobs to Georgia. In addition, $4.5 million will go to support routine maintenance in the Department of Transportation. By financing transportation and economic development projects such as these, we can continue to try and bring more job opportunities to our area.
In addition to passing the amended budget, we also took time to recognize some outstanding citizens across our state. On Monday, January 26, the House celebrated Georgia National Guard Day in honor of our brave Georgians in uniform. Dozens of airmen and soldiers visited the State Capitol and were recognized for their accomplishments and sacrifices. We also had the privilege of witnessing a new member of the Georgia National Guard be sworn by our colleague and WW ll veteran, Representative John Yates. It’s an extremely good feeling to see the spirit of service these soldiers represent for our state and country.
As we move into the next couple of weeks, the pace will really pick up as bills come through committees and on to the House floor, but as always, you are my main focus. I’d love to hear from you. If you have concerns, questions, or problems , please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 404-656-0177, or better yet, if you’re in Atlanta come by for a visit. It is my honor and and privilege to be your Representative.
