The 2016 legislative session is now underway. Starting on the second Monday in January of every year, the Georgia General Assembly is called to order to take up the issues of their constituents, and pass a balanced budget to fund our state government for the next fiscal year.

The session gaveled in on January 11, 2016 with pomp and circumstance to swear in special officers in the Senate chamber, confirm Senate leadership and set out the Senate’s legislative goals. The Senate is committed to the economic development of our state, which is one of the best states in the country to live, work and raise a family.

Every time a credit card, debit card or gift card gets swiped, it triggers a set of transactions that — more likely than not — will get processed by a company on the Georgia 400 corridor. Estimates from 2014 say that nearly $5 trillion dollars’ worth of transactions were processed in what is called “Transaction Alley.” This important sector of financial service companies processes roughly 70% of payments for the entire country. It also accounts for a 60% share of the global payment processing marketplace.

In just a few short weeks, the 2016 legislative session will be at hand. The General Assembly will gavel into another 40 days of work for the people of Georgia. Before diving into the issues that will be front and center during 2016, it is important to reflect on the year that is coming to a close.

Our state continues to recover from the lows of the Great Recession. The Governor announced that revenues continued to improve this year over last, as part of the consistent increase over the past several years. At this writing, revenues are up 9.4% over last year. This is a strong indication of the increase in business activity and consumer spending, which is necessary to drive the long term economic growth we all want to see in Georgia. Some of these great economic growth areas include the healthcare, IT, TV/film production and automotive industries. Georgia will continue to be a great place to do business.

Today’s military looks very different than it did just a few years ago. Technology has evolved so rapidly that the look and feel of our nation’s service men and women have had to change along with it. With the addition of U.S. Army Cyber Command to Fort Gordon, more active military personnel will call our state home. This great honor for our state means that Georgia will be where more and more active, reserve and eventually retired military personnel live, work and raise their families.

However, there are hundreds of thousands of active duty soldiers stationed overseas on various bases, installations, operations or embassies. These brave men and women are a long way from home. Many are a long way from their families, with no guarantee that they will be able to contact them for a while.

This year alone, movies starring Tom Cruise, Michael Keaton, Vin Diesel, Kristen Stewart and Steve Martin all spent time shooting scenes in Cherokee County. These films are a portion of the thriving television and film industry in Georgia, which generated a $6 billion economic impact for the state in Fiscal Year 2015, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

In early July, Lt. Governor, Casey Cagle, announced that I will chair a special study committee to investigate and eventually recommend ways additional revenues can be supplied to Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program. Officially titled the “Senate Preservation of the HOPE Scholarship Program Study Committee,” our objective is to look at alternative ways Georgia students can continue to receive substantial technical and university tuition awards for years to come.

Every day, your data is under attack. Hackers from all around the world are chasing your credit card information, social security number, date of birth, and other identifying data. Several high profile data breaches have spent weeks in the news, cost millions of dollars and cast a bright light on the need for more rigorous cyber security, in both the public and private sectors.

It is the responsibility of government to protect the data it requires from citizens to get a driver’s license, access state programs or receive other benefits. Every time data is submitted to the government, there is an unspoken contract that the information will be securely stored and shielded from attempted cyber theft.

As the calendar moves into the summer months, new laws are going into effect. The Georgia General Assembly works hard during our time in the Capitol to pass laws that are good for Georgia and the future of those that live in it.

Senate Bill 89, called the “Digital Classroom Act,” sets a guide for local education authorities to begin the transition to primarily digital instruction materials. With the rise of smartphones and tablets, it is in the best interest of our students to see these devices as windows into information, education and knowledge. By 2020, students in the 3rd grade will be learning in digital classrooms featuring rich multimedia examples and texts. The long-term cost savings are also in the benefit of school systems and the state. This bill is good policy for students, tax payers and highly-skilled workforce in Georgia’s future.

With the legislative session all wrapped up, there are some great bills for all of Georgia being signed into law by the Governor. Bill signing ceremonies are happy occasions for so many people. Legislators, constituents and advocates for the law gather around the Governor for a moment to celebrate improving the lives of Georgians.

During each year’s legislative session some bills, like the budget, are sent directly to the Governor to be signed immediately upon approval from the legislature. Others sit on his desk to be examined in further detail allowing the necessary state agencies time to prepare for implementation. The list of bills officially becoming law is continuing to grow because the Governor has a limited window of time to sign or veto legislation. Legislation that the Governor does not act on will become Georgia law at that time.

At the end of the 2015 legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly took action on a number of important issues. The Senate focused a lot of time and effort to the protection of Georgia’s children from difficult, life-threatening physical and developmental medical conditions. The Senate also led a new reform package to combat the sexual exploitation of children in our state.

For years, the Senate has said that children diagnosed with autism need early treatment and care to help them with their social development. Often times these children are brilliant but fall behind in their early grades never to regain the levels of achievement of students their same age. After it is signed into law, children diagnosed on the autism spectrum will have access to the early behavioral intervention and development.

The Georgia Senate is in the midst of considering a variety of issues to make Georgia the best state to live, work and raise a family. Removing burdensome regulations on business, streamlining government, keeping Georgia’s budget balanced and providing our children with a high-quality education are priorities for our state legislature.

The Senate has passed a number of bills over to the House prior to the Crossover Day deadline, which is legislative day 30, for their consideration. In the final 10 days of the session, the Senate will review the House Bills that have crossed over to the Senate. Both chambers must approve a bill before it goes to the Governor’s desk for his approval.

The 2015 Legislative Session began on January 12, 2015 and marked the beginning of the first term of the 153rd Legislative Session. Legislators have completed 11 out of 40 days in which we must discuss, vet, and pass legislation to be considered by Governor Deal for 2015. Since gathering with my colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives, we have been discussing and debating important legislative issues facing our state. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues to pass legislation that continues to improve Georgia and make it a great place to live, work and play.

Since the Republicans became the majority in the General Assembly 12 years ago, we have done a great job of reducing the size and scope of government. Agencies are working with fewer people and fewer tax dollars. For example, 10 years ago GDOT had 10,000 employees; now, they have 3,900 employees. Our motor fuel dollars have also declined due to an unsustainable funding model. Eight years ago, GDOT collected $1.3 billion in state motor fuel taxes (7.5 cents a gallon). Now, GDOT collects $1 billion, a $300 million decrease in eight years. Why has this happened? Cars are getting better fuel economy and electric vehicles sales have increased while they do not pay motor fuel taxes.

The 2015 Legislative Session will begin January 12, marking the beginning of the first term of the 153rd legislative session. Legislators will have exactly 40 days to discuss, vet, and pass legislation to be considered by Governor Deal for 2015. We have a number of potential topics on our legislative agenda that are likely to arise throughout the session.

The cold weather is here, melodies of holiday music are faintly beginning to play in the background while grocery shopping, and we are nearing the end of another great year of living and thriving not only in Cherokee County but also throughout our state.

We are fortunate to live in a county with a high quality of life; our children receive valuable educations from esteemed teachers, we feel safe, and our economic climate is continuing to thrive. However, around this time of year, it is important to sit back and realize what really makes our community so special.

This is the time of year when many of us will learn from our employers how much more it will cost to retain health insurance next year. From premiums to co-pays to out-of-pocket expenses and deductibles, costs are expected to continue to climb for each of us, thanks to Obamacare.

In recent years, the Cherokee County School District (CCSD) has sustained a quality of education that is to be envied by the rest of the state. By offering a wide variety of education paths combined with hard-working, passionate teachers, Cherokee County is excelling in providing students with the necessary resources for success.

During the legislative session, leadership in the Senate and the House of Representatives saw fit to create the Joint Study Committee on Critical Transportation Infrastructure Funding to evaluate how to improve and expand our current and future transportation infrastructure.

Our major competitors, Texas, Florida and North Carolina, are out-spending Georgia on their economic development efforts. I believe having the money and resources are important, but the strategy to target certain job sectors and geographic areas are equally important.

In the last 40 years, we have experienced unprecedented growth in the metro Atlanta region. We have grown in Cherokee County due to our excellent schools and high quality of life. Because of the explosive growth and the cumbersome bureaucracy in building roads, we have gotten behind and are now in the position where we are losing our competitive advantage from an economic development standpoint.