Under The Gold Dome
Interstate Cooperation
On Monday we had our first meeting of the Interstate Cooperation Committee, where we voted on HB 818. This bill would extend the deadline to join onto an already existing Article V Convention compact from 2021 to 2031. I voted no because, though the compact designates that this Article V Convention would be restrained to a “Balanced Budget Amendment," there is no reason to believe this is how it would work in practice. I fear that any such convention could be used to totally reform the constitution to the desires of the most influential and to the detriment of the majority of people.
The bill passed out of Committee 8-5.
Tech for All
Rep. Dar'shun Kendrick hosted Tech for All Day this week, with a focus on cyber security and protecting Georgia citizens from cyber security crimes. We were joined by Mr. Roy Hadley, a cyber security attorney who serves as outside counsel to the City of Atlanta and was called in to help the city respond to the 2018 massive security breach. Also , as a part of Tech for All Day, legislators got a chance to hear from a Facebook representative on how to best use the platform to reach our constituents.
GLBC Legislative Agenda and Heritage Dinner
In a press conference this week the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus met to discuss our legislative priorities and the State budget. Chairwoman Rep. Karen Bennett said it best when she said, “We must join our colleagues across both parties to address these concerns and work to find solutions to balance our budget without jeopardizing [these] critical services. The press conference concluded with an invitation to the 2020 Heritage Dinner, to be held on February 27th.
House Appropriations Health Subcommittee
Thursday afternoon I attended the hearing for House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health. There we heard from organizations and agencies about the effects the budget would have in areas such as mental health, preventative care, early detection, maternal mortality and more. After hearing from each agency, I addressed the committee on how important it is to invest in prevention and early detection as it will not only save the State money, but will also save lives and give us a little more time with our friends and family.
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