Editor’s Note: The following legislative update is from Rep. Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia) who represents the 10th State House District of Georgia. The District includes portions of Habersham and White counties. Anderson presently serves on the House Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee, Governmental Affairs Committee, and State Planning & Community Affairs Committee. He also chairs the study committee on annexation and cityhood issues. You may contact him at victor.anderson@house.
Greetings from under the Gold Dome!
Monday, January 24, brought the third week of the 2022 legislative session. As we gathered to tackle our legislative business on the House floor, our committees and subcommittees were hard at work, hosting over 30 meetings in the last few days. Healthcare, economic development and local legislation took center stage last week as we passed a number of bills out of our House chamber. Below is a quick update of what we accomplished during our third week under the Gold Dome.
As always, I will be updating you weekly on all happenings concerning your government at work. If you have concerns or questions regarding legislation, I ask that you reach out to our office directly. Thank you for allowing me the honor and privilege of serving our home under the Gold Dome. May God bless you, and may He continue to bless the great state of Georgia.
Healthcare
Did you know that one in three Georgians suffer from mental health issues? Mental health has been at the forefront of our work over the last several years as lack of resources has given cause for concern.
Last week, Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) introduced House Bill 1013 which incorporates many recommendations made by our Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, established in 2019. If passed, this bill would make comprehensive reforms to our state’s mental health care delivery system. Provisions of HB 1013 are as follows:
- Increased patient access through expanding the list of practitioners able to treat patients.
- Expansion of telemedicine options
- Requires insurers to cover certain mental health services.
- Ensures mental health parity for providers and patients so that mental health coverage is equal to physical health coverage.
- Strengthens the state’s mental health workforce development initiatives by providing service cancelable loans for mental health/medical professionals who work in pediatrics, psychiatry, mental health, and substance abuse care.
- Expands the state’s transparency and accountability requirements for consumers, as well as enhance resources and tools for frontline responders and local communities.
Following the bill’s introduction, this legislation was assigned to the House Health & Human Services Committee who will be vetting the bill in their committee in the coming days.
Want to learn more? Click here for last week’s press conference regarding HB 1013.
In addition to this bill’s introduction, our recently formed, Mental Health Policy Caucus, also held its first meeting. This bipartisan caucus will work to create a vision to transform mental health and substance abuse care for Georgians.
Economic Development
The House also gave final passage to House Bill 383 that would prohibit the state from participating in commercial discrimination against businesses that operate in Israel.
House Bill 383 was carried over from the 2021 legislative session, recently seeing passage in the state Senate after policy updates and clarification of the bill’s intent. After agreeing to the Senate changes, this bill now makes its way to Governor Kemp for his final approval.
Israel is one of our top economic trading partners, and this bill reaffirms our commitment state’s commitment to protecting and supporting our relationship with Israel.
Local Legislation
Did you know that all local delegations work together to promote regional legislation for the protection and betterment of various parts of our state? This legislative action comes through the form of “local bills.” Throughout this busy week, we also voted on a number of local bills on the House floor, as well as one bill related to cityhood.
Our public website allows citizens to easily track and check on bills and resolutions as they move through the legislative process, and I encourage to check this regularly to see which bills will impact our district.
Adjournment Resolution
Last week, we also voted to adopt an adjournment resolution to determine our legislative calendar for the remainder of the 2022 session. Our last day, Legislative Day 40, is scheduled to take place Monday, April 4. That means we have only nine weeks to complete our ambitious legislative agenda. You can view this adjournment resolution and our full legislative calendar here.
