Last day for bills to ‘cross over’ from one chamber to the other at the Georgia legislature
On Tuesday, February 21, the House reconvened for another week under the Gold Dome where we were hard at work drafting, discussing and passing legislation to address important issues facing our state. With an important deadline coming up later this week, we worked longer hours thoroughly reviewing key pieces of legislation and passed several bills on the House floor.
This Friday, March 3, we are scheduled to complete legislative day 28, otherwise known as “Crossover Day.” Crossover Day is the deadline for legislation to be passed out of one chamber and sent to the other in order to remain eligible for consideration for the session.
With this deadline in mind, we will be working even longer hours to make certain key legislation moves through the House chamber.
READ: What to expect on Crossover Day at the Georgia Legislature
With all the pressure and time demands, it’s easy to get frustrated, but I can honestly say that certain legislation passed last week made it all worthwhile. It was a week devoted to helping many Georgia families.
HB 250 streamlines foster care regulations
One of the first measures that passed the House was a bipartisan bill to provide support to Georgia’s foster parents and foster children. House Bill 250 passed unanimously and allows foster parent applicants and caregivers, who are early care and education program employees and who have received satisfactory background and fingerprint records checks within the previous 24 months, to submit this evidence to the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) in order to satisfy the department’s records check requirements.
This bill streamlines regulations and was introduced because an early child care teacher, who had recently passed a background check, was unable to care for a child in foster care because the teacher’s background check was not completed through DFCS. HB 250 allows greater flexibility for these checks and I’m proud to have been one of its sponsors.
HB 159 reforms Georgia’s adoption laws
Another measure that unanimously passed the House chamber was House Bill 159, legislation that would modernize and reform Georgia’s adoption laws. This bill was long overdue, as these laws were embarrassingly behind the times.
This bill includes several substantial improvements to our state’s current, outdated adoption code and would align Georgia’s adoption process with other states, and because HB 159 would simplify the process, children will more quickly and efficiently be united with their forever families.
The bills sponsor, Representative Bert Reeves and his working group, deserve special recognition for their efforts, as they worked tirelessly to create new families in Georgia. It was a very special moment for me when I proudly cast a YES vote for this bill as I’ve seen firsthand through friends the wonderful results of adoption.
HB 237 supports private funding to support public education
Improving education in Georgia is one of the General Assembly’s top legislative priorities each session, and as such, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill this week that is intended to help our state’s low-performing schools.
House Bill 237 would provide a way for individuals, corporations and communities to financially assist Georgia’s low-performing schools by establishing the Public Education Innovation Fund Foundation. Under this bill, the foundation could receive private donations from taxpayers to award grants to public schools to fund academic and organizational innovations to improve student achievement, with priority given to low-performing schools.
HB 237 not only promotes partnerships between businesses, nonprofit organizations, local school systems, and public schools for the purpose of improving student achievement, but also provides a simple way for taxpayers to assist schools that may need support.
Keep in touch
This week will be one of the busiest weeks of the legislative session. I’m looking forward to updating you on the results of Crossover Day, but in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if we can be of any help. I can be reached in Atlanta at 404-651-7737 or locally at 706-754-0706. If it’s easier, email me at [email protected]. As always, I’m honored and humbled to represent you, and I’d like to thank you for giving me that privilege!
About the author: Rep. Terry Rogers (R-Clarkesville) represents Georgia House District 10 which includes Habersham and White Counties. He was first elected to office in 2011. Rep. Rogers currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Georgia House Economic Development and Tourism Committee as well as of the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee. He is a member of the Appropriations, Defense and Veteran Affairs, Rules, Regulated Industries and Human Relations and Aging Committees of the Georgia House. Rogers also represents Governor Nathan Deal as a House Representative to the Legislative Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee and House Speaker David Ralston on the Georgia World Congress Center Oversight committee. Rogers is an Administration Floor Leader for Governor Deal.
