This year, the General Assembly was able to find common ground and pass legislation that will positively impact Georgians for years to come. We helped to protect our military men and women and their families, supported our growing education system, protected the sanctity of life and kept our state on a fiscally responsible path. Our state remains one of the best places in the nation to pursue a quality secondary education, own a business and raise a family.
The HOPE Scholarship is an incredible resource for higher education. It also acts as a powerful driver for the economic development of Georgia. House Bill 798 updates the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship eligibility to better include students who didn’t graduate from an eligible high school or home study program. To receive the scholarships, these students must meet minimum standardized testing scores and other academic requirements.
To better protect our children, we passed HB 905. It enacts new reforms for child abuse laws throughout the state. Some of the reforms include the creation of Child Advocacy Centers to work with the community and law enforcement to protect children, issue a fine for operating a Child Welfare Agency without a license and will allow immunity for anyone who reports possession of illegal materials or images depicting child abuse if they notify law enforcement within 72 hours of ownership. All of these provisions are targeted at specific issues in our communities regarding the safety and protection of Georgia’s children.
We also approved final changes to Senate Bill 308, which will create the Positive Alternatives for Pregnancy and Parenting Grant Program. Under the direction of the Department of Public Health, the program will award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide pregnancy and parenting support services. The bill prohibits an organization receiving a grant from performing, promoting or acting as a referral for an abortion.
Two bills that I introduced also received final passage this session. SB 307 updates the definition of acceptable advertising on highway billboards to include the multimedia, digital signage. SB 346 allows the Georgia Department of Transportation the ability to forego an Environmental Effects Report if the project has passed environmental and historical preservation standards. Because of the commitment and foresight from the General Assembly, Georgia has the ability to invest in transportation infrastructure improvements and repairs across the state. Under existing law, as a part of the approval process, each project is required to comply with six state environmental standards. These standards remain in place so that the environment will remain protected. We’ll just be expediting the project by 8 months by eliminating extra paperwork. This change will get our transportation dollars to work in a more efficient way, saving taxpayer
dollars.