Recess Doesn’t Mean Break Time

This week the legislature was in recess, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t working! Georgia’s Constitution limits the length of the legislative session to 40 days, which isn’t really long enough, so we take “breaks” to concentrate on committee work. Even though I’ve been working for two weeks, we’ve only used four Legislative Days!

The legislature uses the week of the MLK holiday to present an overview of the Governor’s proposed budget. This week I attended these budget hearings. During my previous service in the House of Representatives, I served on the Appropriations Committee, so I know the huge impact the budget has on the priorities and values of our State.

The budget hearings are an opportunity for Heads of Departments to showcase their accomplishments and briefly outline their priorities. As with any committee, the hard work of moving money around to redefine priorities happens in Committees throughout the session, and this process has only just begun.

Constituents Matter Most

This week I met with constituents around the district. I did a lot of this during the campaign, but now, as a Senator, I represent everyone. It’s important to make sure all voices are heard.

Here’s a “snapshot” of who I have been meeting with and what I took away.

The Waiting List for Disabilities Services: Families are struggling with the Medicaid waiver process to access critical services for their adults and children with developmental disabilities. Advocating for people with disabilities has always been a priority of mine. Georgia is 45th in the nation in funding to support people with disabilities, so there’s a lot of work to be done. I have already visited with numerous parents who have children with disabilities. Medicaid Waivers allow for in-home support, but for decades there have been long waiting lists (now called “Planning Lists”). At the budget hearings, the Department of Community Health acknowledged that applying for services should be easier for families, and listed as one of their priorities “Continuous Process Improvement.” What I am hearing from parents is that applications are extremely cumbersome, so I will work with the Department to help them achieve this goal.

Technical Education in Georgia: Several constituents have asked me to ensure that more Georgians have access to Technical Schools. Did you know that Georgia has 22 Technical Schools, and that 17 high-need diploma programs are free under Hope Grants? This is a step in the right direction, but I’m concerned about the shifting of costs from tuition to “fees” which aren’t covered by the Hope Grant. On a positive note, this week I had the opportunity to sign a letter of support for the construction of an additional technical school in south DeKalb county. I will continue to work on these and other issues through my service on the Senate Higher Education Committee

K-12 Education in Georgia: Finally, I spent time with several local school councils. It is clear to me that our schools are suffering from budget cuts – billions of dollars of lost revenue over the last decade. School overcrowding, stagnant teacher and support staff pay, and lost revenue from private school vouchers, tax abatements and annexations are all creating pressures to serve more students with less money. Georgia has failed year after year to update its school funding formula, and until we do that and begin to pay back over a decade of under-funding, we cannot responsibly say we have “fully funded” our public schools.

Celebrating MLK in Lynwood Park, Brookhaven

I began the week honoring MLK Day with members of the historic Lynwood Park community in Brookhaven. Lynwood Park is a historically African-American community that has undergone dramatic changes in recent years due to gentrification and changing demographics in the area. I was so moved by the wonderful memories current and former residents shared and their deep connection to Lynwood despite these changes. It reminded me that economic progress can be a double-edged sword for communities like Lynwood that stand to lose a part of themselves as neighborhoods grow and evolve. Addressing income inequality and supporting policies that promote housing affordability remain a top priority.

Announcements

— As we continue to get my Senate office up and running, we’ve realized how much work it is to cover a district that’s three times larger than the House District I represented. I’ve heard from several supporters that they’d like to help, so this week we identified a couple of new volunteer roles, including helping us keep up with local news and events in your area (more details and sign up here) and serving as a volunteer photographer (details and sign up here). We’d love to have you join the team.

— The Senate page program is a terrific one-day opportunity to help kids, ages 12 to 17, experience our state legislature first-hand. To learn more, visit the Senate page program web page and if interested, follow the instructions for how to apply. Send the application to my assistant, Anna Boggs at Anna.Boggs@senate.ga.gov, and she’ll get it to the Senate page office. They will take it from there.

Next week, we are back in session Monday through Wednesday and then off again for the Super Bowl weekend to help alleviate traffic downtown.

Please stay in touch.

–Sally

Welcome to “Sally’s Senate Snapshot,” my regular correspondence to keep Senate District 40 constituents up-to-date on what’s happening at the Gold Dome.

Week 1 was one of ceremony and start-up. We elected Senate leaders like the President Pro-Tem who will fill in for the Lt. Governor when he cannot preside over the Senate, all of the newly elected and re-elected Senators were sworn-in, and we attended the Governor’s State of the State address. We also spent time getting my office up and running. When you call my Senate number (404) 463-2260, you’ll speak to my new administrative assistant, Anna Boggs, who also works for Sen. Tonya Anderson. Anna is a veteran Senate staffer, so she will be as helpful to you as she already has been to me.

Between all the pomp & circumstance, we got right to work. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

• I was honored to be sworn-in to serve the people of Senate District 40 with my husband Jay and sister Anne at my side. It was a momentous moment of shared expectations and hope.
• The Senate voted on new rules that govern how we operate. Unfortunately, we were given virtually no time to review the rules before the vote, and my colleagues and I had serious concerns about a rule change that puts a 2-year time limit on filing sexual harassment claims against Senators, and a ban against filing complaints once a Senator becomes a candidate. We also had questions about a new rule that limits free speech in and around the Senate chamber. The Democratic Caucus and one Republican Senator asked for more time to review and discuss the rules, but we lost the vote to the majority who approved the new rules.
• We received our committee assignments. I will serve on the Higher Ed, Ethics, and Natural Resources committees. With two kids about to enter college, I feel the pain of college affordability along with many of you and I hope to find some solutions through the Higher Ed committee. The Ethics committee will consider bills related to a new voting system for Georgia, one of my top priorities. The Natural Resources Committee will allow me to learn more about our environment and how our natural resources impact Georgia’s economy.  
• Leadership opportunities did not get doled out equally. Women and people of color are underrepresented on committees that consider the most bills and overrepresented on those that only consider a small number of bills. Republican leaders even reduced the powerful Judiciary Committee that considers bills related to our legal system by two seats to prevent two new highly-experienced and decorated female lawyers from participating. I was proud to watch my female colleagues from both sides of the aisle make very strong statements objecting to Republican leaders overlooking their talent and expertise.
• Speaking of women, I was elected to co-chair the Women’s Caucus, the only bipartisan, cross-chamber caucus in the General Assembly. There are more women serving in the Georgia General Assembly than ever before thanks to women who volunteered and voted in record numbers. We now have a big responsibility to come together to focus on and address the needs of women. We plan to kick off the caucus later this month.
• We began drafting my first piece of legislation in the Senate —  to repeal the wildly unpopular Campus Carry bill that Governor Deal signed in 2017. Gun safety is one of my top priorities and I continue to hear from teachers and students that they feel less safe with this law in effect. The Capitol is a gun-free environment. Our students and teachers deserve the same sense of security as our lawmakers.
• I signed on to several bills including SR 18 requiring the Secretary of State to be replaced if he/she qualifies to run for another political office, to prevent the very unethical practice of a Secretary of State overseeing his/her own election. I also signed SB 27 to allow TSA workers to draw unemployment benefits during the federal government shutdown to keep our airports running smoothly and safely during this very difficult and disruptive time for our federal workers and our country.

We are not in session next week so that we can attend hearings for Governor Kemp’s proposed budget — I’ll update you on that next week. The Governor did highlight certain budget priorities in his State of the State address which I support, such as raises for teachers and state employees, school safety grants, and extra funds for high school mental health counselors. His commitment to Medicaid expansion, however, was lacking details, so I will be paying close attention to the Senate Health Sub-Committee of Appropriations next week.

Our official legislative session will begin again on Monday, January 28th.

The best way I can represent you is to hear from you. Please feel free to contact or come by my office any time. My Senate web page is still under construction, but you can find my email address and office location there. My Senate office phone number is (404) 463-2260.

Yesterday the Lieutenant Governor and the majority party leaders released the list of Senate committee assignments. Today, the women of the Senate responded.

When asked about why there was so little gender diversity in the committee leadership, Lt. Gov. Duncan claims that they actually have increased the number of women chairs from 2 to 4.

It’s important to note though that there are 27 committees, so even with this doubling of women chairs, we are still only 15% of the total leadership, and three of those four committees see very few bills. These are essentially “fake” committees where they pack Democrats, women, and people of color, to dilute their influence by not letting them do any legislative work. For example, “Special Judiciary”, chaired by a woman, handled just six bills in the last two years, while “Judiciary” handled 135 during that time. Women also chair “Science and Technology” and “Interstate Cooperation”, which handled just seven and three bills each.

Thousands of Georgians voted this past election to bring more diverse and progressive candidates to the State Senate. We are disenfranchising millions of voters when we prevent their legislators from playing a role in how bills that impact their communities are heard.

And that’s something I want to change. I will be serving on the Higher Education, Ethics, and Natural Resources Committees. I promise to do what I can wherever I can to support greater diversity in my committee work, and to look for opportunities to allow others to leverage my roles to stop suppression of progressive voices.

–Sally