UNDER THE GOLD DOME

WEEKS 7 AND 8

Helping Georgia's Families

We passed legislation that would allow the state to return up to $1 billion in undesignated income tax revenue back into the pockets of Georgia taxpayers for a second year in a row. Similar to legislation from last year and proposed by Governor Brian Kemp, House Bill 162 would provide a one-time tax refund through the Amended Fiscal Year 2023 budget to every eligible taxpayer for the 2022 tax year. The one-time tax refunds would range from $250 for single filers, $375 for head-of-household filers and $500 for married couples filing jointly. Georgians will surely benefit from these extra state funds, and I look forward to examining other ways we can support families and individuals for the long run.

Additionally, we unanimously passed House Bill 167 to help parents with child support orders make good on their outstanding payments. In Georgia, parents who fail to pay their child support will have their driver’s license suspended until they pay the full outstanding amount. Due to these license suspensions, there are currently thousands of Georgia parents who cannot drive themselves to work to earn money to make their child support payments.  Under this legislation, these individuals would be able to petition the court to apply for one of these limited driving permits, and judges could revoke the limited driving permit if the parent abuses the permit or fails to make child support payments. HB 167 has the full support of the Georgia Department of Human Services’ Division of Child Support Services, and this bill would help ensure that parents are able to earn the money they need to support their children. 

Education

The House also passed House Bill 147, or the Safe Schools Act, to address how Georgia schools prepare for acts of violence on campus.  Under this bill, schools would be required to submit their school safety plan to GEMA/HS. Additionally, the bill would require schools to conduct intruder alert drills by October 1 of each school year and report to GEMA/HS when these drills are completed. Finally, students would be required to participate in these drills, but schools could allow a parent/legal guardian to elect for their child not to participate. The goal of this legislation is to improve school safety and preparedness and reduce incidents of violence and gang activity on school grounds.

Next, we passed House Bill 440, which would allow public and private schools to keep lifesaving medications on hand for students who have diabetes. HB 440 would allow public and private schools in Georgia to stock and administer glucagon, a medication used to treat severe hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, in people with diabetes. By allowing schools to stock glucagon, this bill would improve access to treatment for students who have a diabetic emergency at school.

I enjoyed meeting so many constituents last week at the Capitol. It's always a pleasure to see people from home!

As we move through the legislative session, I encourage you to reach out to me with your thoughts and opinions about legislation, including the state budget. Your feedback is crucial to developing good, sound policies for our state, and I look forward to discussing my legislative goals for this session with you. I can be reached at (404) 656-0325 or bethany.ballard@house.ga.gov.

We are excited that the Page Program is back! If your child (ages 12 - 18) would like to be a House Page, please click the link below. Each House member is only allotted 5 pages per session, so please make sure to apply early.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your state representative for the 2023-2024 legislative term.