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A Public Service Message: Verify your Voting Information! February 24th is the registration deadline if you want to vote in the Democratic Presidential Primary election on March 24th. Even if you are registered, be sure to verify that your voting status is “Active” and your information is correct. Three legislators learned last week that despite […]
Putting on the Brakes The legislature has burned through 12 of its 40 legislative days, and has passed very little legislation. The problem is the budget, but it’s more than that — it’s a constitutional crisis of the balance of powers between Georgia’s legislative and executive branches. At the core has been the refusal of […]
A Comedy of Errors, But The Show Goes On The Republican leadership has been slow to release bills to the Senate floor, which allowed me time to focus on the work my district sent me to do. I filed two bills: SB 339, A Medicaid Public Option: Modeled after Georgia’s successful Peachcare for Kids program […]
The Battle of the Budget The Georgia General Assembly traditionally holds budget hearings the second week of session, but the tone of these hearings was far from normal. The Budget Battle started last fall when the Governor ordered 4% cuts to the budget the legislature passed last year. Speaker Ralston responded by calling the entire […]
Already Making Sausage Otto von Bismarck is famous for his quote, “If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either being made.” Because bills filed in 2019 carry over into 2020, the 155th Georgia General Assembly wasted no time in getting the sausage-making going again. Changing the Sausage Recipe Bills that lack the […]
Gearing Up Welcome to Sally’s Senate Snapshot 2020! It’s an enormous election year with so many important offices to fill, not the least of which is the Oval Office. But we must remember that what we’ve done together the last three years to increase civic engagement is just as important to our democracy as what […]
In the season of budding leaves, final exams, and tax returns, I want to pause for a few minutes to thank you for sending me to the Georgia State Capitol to be your voice. I am profoundly appreciative and honored to have been given that responsibility, and I hope that I rose to the challenge. […]
Tuesday is Sine Die The last day of the 40-day legislative session is called Sine Die, Latin for “without a day,” meaning that the body adjourns without appointing a day to return. Sine Die is the trickiest day of the session, as bills sent over to the House begin returning back to the Senate with […]
Do We Deliberate or Rubber Stamp? I’ve always loved the idea of Georgia’s part-time citizen legislature. Our legislators serve for three months and then go home to resume their respective careers. This allows for a diverse group of people with everyday life experiences — farmers, funeral home directors, grocery store owners, car salesmen, real estate […]
Today was an emotionally draining and challenging day for me and for so many women watching in the Senate gallery and online. We listened to hours of speeches from both sides of the aisle about HB 481, the so-called “Heartbeat Abortion Ban.” You can learn more about the bill here. If you are pro-choice and […]