Kemp highlighted his plans for this year’s legislative session during the State of the State address he delivered Thursday afternoon. Some of those topics included education, rural healthcare and constitutional carry– issues that directly impact Northeast Georgia.
District 10 State Representative Victor Anderson and District 50 State Senator Bo Hatchett, both freshman lawmakers from Habersham County, say they support the governor’s conservative agenda. Hatchett is one of three Senate floor leaders who will help steer Kemp’s agenda through the legislative process.
Both lawmakers represent their home county with Anderson also representing a portion of White County. Hatchett’s district includes Banks, Franklin, Habersham, Rabun, Stephens, and Towns plus portions of Hall and Jackson counties.
Anderson and Hatchett, who are both running for re-election this year, shared their views on pending legislation with Now Habersham during sit-down interviews at the state Capitol following the governor’s address on January 13.
Public education
Kemp has said that he plans to make education a top priority during this legislative session. In his address, the governor said that this session could be “historic” for public education.
“I believe, by working together, this legislative session will be a historic one for education in our state,” Kemp said. “Because building a safer, stronger Georgia starts with putting students and parents first.”
Kemp discussed pay raises and additional funding to Georgia educators and those working in public schools. He says that his amended 2022 budget recommends a one-time $2,000 supplement for full-time public school educators and administrators, and a one-time $1,000 supplement for bus drivers, nutrition staff, nurses and part-time employees.
Kemp says in his proposed 2023 budget, he would add $425 million to “fully fund our schools and completely restore all austerity cuts to education funding in our state that were made during the pandemic.”
“I was a product of public school education and I commend teachers for challenges that they faced throughout the pandemic,” Hatchett said. “I’m very supportive of public schools and the education that they provide for our children.”
Gov. Kemp decried critical race theory, as well as shared his plan to pass and sign a “parental bill of rights,” which would further protect parental involvement in what students are being taught, seeing and have access to in the classroom.
“I look forward to working with members of the General Assembly this legislative session to protect our students from divisive ideologies, like critical race theory, that pit kids against each other,” Kemp said. “I also look forward to working with the House and Senate to pass, and sign, a parental bill of rights in our education system and other pieces of legislation that I strongly support to ensure fairness in school sports and address obscene materials online and in our school libraries.”
Anderson says that while Habersham County hasn’t faced the issues other regions in the state have with discussions of critical race theory or controversial material in the classroom, he says pushing a parental bill of rights through the legislature will keep it that way.
“We haven’t had the issues that happened in other parts of the state and even in other states related to the parents being involved with their children’s education,” Anderson said. “It doesn’t hurt to have that emphasis, because it ensures going forward that other parts of the state will be run like Habersham has been run. Habersham’s board of education and our teachers are doing an excellent job.”
MORE: Kemp targets critical race theory, transgender sports participation
Rural healthcare
Kemp also touched on rural healthcare, something the Northeast Georgia community has faced the struggles surrounding first-hand.
“As we lower insurance premiums, it’s equally vital that we have doctors for Georgians to see for care,” he said. “Physicians and nurses are in short supply across the country, but especially in rural Georgia.”
The governor said that his budgetary proposals include $1 million worth of funding to expand education for healthcare workers at colleges and universities, expanding nursing programs in the University System of Georgia for up to 500 students annually over 5 years, and funding the Technical College System to serve up to 700 additional students annually.
With those investments, Kemp hopes to expand the state’s healthcare workforce to include more than 1,300 additional healthcare workers.
Rep. Anderson says the house is fortunate to have representatives in the house with nursing and hospital administration backgrounds to guide them through passing legislature to tackle problems relating to rural healthcare, staffing and Medicaid expansion that will impact Habersham Medical Center.
“It is a significant topic,” Anderson said. “We’re fortunate because we’ve got medical doctors, we’ve got people with nursing backgrounds, we have people with hospital and medical administration all resources that are working to try to tackle those problems.”
Constitutional carry
“Constitutional carry,” or the ability to carry a gun without carrying a permit, will be another hot-topic this legislative session. Gov. Kemp brought up during the State of the State address that he believes constitutional carry will help Georgians feel safer in their communities.
“Most people in our district are strong supporters of the second amendment, and I am too,” Hatchett said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to do everything I can, like I said when I was campaigning, to protect that. “This is just one more step that I think puts Georgia out front in our stance in protecting the second amendment.”
Critics have expressed fears that constitutional carry could make it easier for people with violent histories to get access to guns. Rep. Anderson strongly disagrees, saying it would have “no impact” on gun access.
“It does not affect the ability nor the process of purchasing or acquiring a firearm,” Anderson said. “That will still be the same. There will still be background checks, there will still be certain circumstances where certain individuals still will not be able to get firearms. You’re not going to be changing nor lessening the requirements to attain a firearm weapon. All you’re going to be doing is allowing law-abiding citizens to carry that weapon on their person without having to have a piece of paper.”
Anderson says no matter what legislation is passed on limiting or expanding access to guns, crime and violence will still happen. He says that shouldn’t limit law-abiding citizens exercising second amendment rights.
“I think that most of us conservatives, and particularly in Northeast Georgia, what we have is a constitutional right granted to us by the second amendment that the more restriction on it is an infringement,” Anderson said. “Domestic violence is going to happen. Crime is going to happen. People are going to be trying to hurt other people, regardless of if you took every gun in the world away, it’s still going to happen.”
