Rep. Terry Rogers (R-Clarkesville) represents Georgia House District 1o. 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.
PICKING UP THE PACE We returned to the Capitol on Monday, February 9 for the fifth week of the 2015 legislative session. Many bills are beginning to make their way out of committee, and we quickly got to work voting on several pieces of legislation. We kicked off our fifth week by passing House Bill 57 dealing with solar power. This legislation, which passed unanimously, makes it easier and more affordable for Georgians to install solar panels by allowing individuals to fund installations through third-party financing plans. With this option to finance, more homeowners and small business owners can avoid financial barriers and pay for the use of these systems over time. If approved by the Senate and Governor Deal, this will provide citizens with more energy options and possibly the opportunity of lowering their power bills.
The House also passed a measure improving the quality of life for Georgia’s rapidly expanding senior citizens. House Bill 86 creates the Georgia Adult and Aging Services Agency, which will take on the responsibility of improving services, and ensuring that services are properly and effectively administered to meet the needs of older adults and people with disabilities. Creating this new agency allows the state to better focus its services on those individuals dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia, which affects almost every family in Georgia. This important bill ensures that our seniors receive the full care and attention that they deserve, and I look forward to seeing this legislation go forward.
We also continued to focus much of our attention this week on Georgia’s education system and its students. As I’ve written in previous weeks, education is a top priority, and the unanimous passage of HB 91 in the House this week confirms that. This legislation makes it easier for some deserving students to obtain high school diplomas. HB 91 retroactively allows former high school students who failed the Georgia High School Graduation Test, an assessment that was phased out in the 2011-2012 school year, the chance to receive a diploma. Although the graduation test has not been used as a graduation standard for several years, it still remains a barrier for some who attended high school when graduation was partly contingent on the passage of this test. HB 91 allows those students who met all other requirements for graduation to petition their local school board where they were last enrolled to obtain a degree from their high school. HB 91 will tremendously benefit these individuals by giving them the option to pursue further education and help them succeed in Georgia’s workforce. I hope that this legislation can help many citizens across the state obtain the degree that they have rightfully earned.
I’ve heard from a number of folks in the district about the concerns of non-certified school system employees, specifically bus drivers and cafeteria workers, no longer receiving the opportunity to purchase health insurance. During the passage of the supplemental budget, the House sent a very strong message to the Department of Community Health that this was not acceptable. We’ve asked them to explore the reason behind the cost increases in the insurance and to explore ways of making certain these very valuable folks remain insured. We’re working hard to make certain this situation is resolved in a positive manner.
Finally, transportation continues to be the major focus of this session. Although a number of transportation bills have been introduced, this issue is still working a work in process and it is constantly changing. As the session progresses, I’ll be writing more about the options that we are seeing that can help solve this major issue. My main concern remains that we make certain to come up with a productive and effective plan, which will protect our rural areas and holds costs to a minimum. As always, you are my main focus. If you have concerns, questions, or problems , please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 404-656-0178, or better yet, if you’re in Atlanta come by for a visit. I’m honored and privileged to represent you.
