This week was our busiest yet here at Georgia’s Capitol as we worked long hours to discuss and pass legislation before we reach Crossover Day on February 29th. Crossover Day is observed the 30th legislative day of session, and serves as the last day for legislation to pass the chamber in which it originated in order for it to ”crossover” to the opposite chamber for consideration. Any bill that does not receive a passing vote in its original chamber will not move forward in the legislative process and must be re-introduced next year.
The last two weeks have been full of legislative action for your state Senate. Since my last update, we have passed many significant pieces of legislation. One of our top priorities at the Capitol is education. I was pleased to support Senate Bill 364, which gives local school systems the flexibility to reduce the number of teacher classroom assessments and reduce the number of standardized tests for students. This will allow for our teachers to spend less time on testing and evaluations and more time with students in the classroom. This bill passed the Senate unanimously.
The Senate also passed Senate Bill 312, regarding the HOPE Scholarship, which raises the minimum scholarship payment to $2,000 per semester for scholarship recipients and also states that scholarship recipients can be awarded up to one-hundred percent of the cost of tuition at lower cost schools. This bill will enable some students in our state to attend college who previously did not have the opportunity due to a lack of financial support.
The Senate also took a stand last week in favor of our religious freedom in the state by passing House Bill 757. This bill will protect our religious rights and the rights of our faith-based organizations from discrimination resulting from their view on marriage. This bill will protect clergymen from conducting religious ceremonies that conflict with their religious views. It is important that we stand up for our fundamental right of religion in our great state.
Over this past week, I recognized FFA Day at the Capitol by sponsoring Senate Resolution 887. Georgia’s FFA chapter is composed of nearly 39,000 current members, which makes it the third largest FFA association in the nation. Georgia FFA State President Avery Duncan, from Franklin County, joined me in the Senate Chamber on Tuesday to thank my fellow colleagues for supporting the organization. We were also honored to be visited by new University of Georgia Head Football Coach Kirby Smart and Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin as guests in the Senate chamber. It truly is a humbling experience to represent Northeast Georgia during these special times at the Capitol.
It is always an honor to have visitors from District 50 here at the Capitol and I encourage you to attend as many public events as possible. As the legislative session continues, I look forward to working on your behalf. If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to reach out to my office at 404.463.5257 or by email at [email protected].
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sen. John Wilkinson serves as the Chairman of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee and Vice Chairman of the Education and Youth Committee. He represents the 50th Senate District which includes Banks, Franklin, Habersham, Rabun, Stephens and Towns counties and portions of Hall and Jackson counties.
