Rep. Eddie Lumsden has sent out his week 4 update from the Georgia Capital. This week has seen a good number of House bills sent to the Rules Committee where they can be called for a vote on the House floor. Gov. Kemp unveiled his “teacher pipeline” plan to ease the burden of the shortage of teachers. The recently announced reform adoption and foster care program in Georgia looks to increase training and resources for caseworkers as well as lowering the adoptive age for families from 25 to 21, among other things. House Bill 304, or the “Georgia Made Medical Manufacturing Act.”, seeks to incentivize the production of medicine and medical devices within our state to limit our dependency on other states or foreign countries for critical supplies that aid in the fight against COVID-19.You can read Rep. Lumsden full update below

Members of the Georgia House of Representatives returned to the Gold Dome on Monday, February 1, 2021, and kicked off the fourth week of the 2021 legislative session. We convened for four days in the House Chamber, and the pace picked up this week in our committees. As such, many House bills passed out of their respective committees and have been sent to the Rules Committee, where they are now eligible to be called for a vote on the House floor. Also this week, Governor Brian Kemp rolled out more of his legislative initiatives for this session.

            Gov. Kemp unveiled his major “teacher pipeline” legislative package to recruit, prepare, mentor and retain the best teachers for our classrooms. Through legislative measures, Gov. Kemp intends to boost the educator workforce by allowing retired teachers to return to work full-time in communities with the greatest shortage of teachers. To further address teacher shortages, the governor’s legislative proposal would ease certification requirements for veterans to become teachers and give veterans first priority when enrolling for teacher preparation programs. This plan also seeks to increase the number of minority teachers in classrooms by partnering with historically black colleges and universities to recruit minority educators. Further, Gov. Kemp’s plan would ensure that future teachers are better prepared at the university level with more reading-based instruction, as well as prioritize mentorship in the classroom instead of spending too much time on reviews. Bills associated with this legislative package should be filed in the near future, and I will update you on this legislation as it makes its way through the House and Senate.

The governor also recently announced a legislative package to reform adoption and foster care in Georgia. The first bill, House Bill 114, would increase the state’s tax credit for families that adopt from foster care from $2,000 to $6,000 per year for five years. Gov. Kemp’s legislative package also includes House Bill 154 to make it easier for close relatives to adopt children out of foster care by lowering the age an individual may adopt from 25 to 21. Finally, Senate Bill 28 would increase training and resources for case workers that would allow our juvenile court system to better determine the safety needs of children, including those in foster care. SB 28 would also ensure that all reliable information is made available to the court in order to make decisions that are in a child’s best interest, such as whether placing a child in a new home is actually the best course of action. In recent years, the House has championed adoption reform legislation, and I look forward to building upon that work as we examine these bills.

On Friday, Gov. Kemp rolled out House Bill 304, or the “Georgia Made Medical Manufacturing Act.” This key initiative for the 2021 legislative session seeks to incentivize the production of medicine and medical devices within our state to limit our dependency on other states or foreign countries for critical supplies that aid in the fight against COVID-19. The Georgia Made Medical Manufacturing Act is modeled after Georgia’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Tax Credit, which was passed by the House during the 2020 legislative session last June. HB 304 would increase the amount of credit available under the state’s Jobs Tax Credit to incentivize job creation and investment in the medical equipment and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries. This legislation is the next step to ensuring Georgia businesses can operate safely this next year, and my colleagues and I will review this legislation once it has been assigned to a House committee when we return for week five of the session.

While we are busy at work at your State Capitol, we are also closely monitoring the state’s high demand for COVID-19 vaccines. As of this week, Georgia has shipped all of its Moderna allocations and has administered nearly 70 percent of the state’s current vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna). On Wednesday, Georgia hit a major milestone with its vaccination efforts as we surpassed the one million vaccination mark, and more than 500,000 Georgians who are 65 and older have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. To ensure that the state’s supply of vaccines can be administered more efficiently, Gov. Kemp recently signed an executive order to allow more medically trained professionals to safely administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Gov. Kemp also announced that Georgia’s weekly vaccine allocation from the federal government will bump up to more than 154,000 starting this month. The governor reported this week that two million Georgians are eligible for the vaccine, including health care workers, public safety officers and residents who are 65 and older and their caregivers. To learn more about the 1A+ phase of Georgia’s vaccine distribution and other important COVID-19 facts, please visit https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-vaccine.

Georgians are certainly facing challenging times, and my colleagues and I will continue to keep this in the forefront of our minds as we consider legislation throughout the session. As we begin to vote on more legislation in our committees and on the House floor, I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns you might have about bills that come before us. Your comments are always very important to me, so I hope to hear from you soon. You can reach me at my state capitol office at 404-656-7850 or through email at Eddie.Lumsden@house.ga.gov.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.

 

Eddie Lumsden