WEEK 5 | FEB. 14 It’s week 5 at the Capitol this week, and there has been a lot of action on issues and topics that impact House District 170, from sports to CUVA to more updates about Tort Reform. This week, we passed several bills on the House Floor for the first time this year, making progress on a range of priorities. While this week was certainly our busiest yet, we recognize that the pace will only continue to speed up as we move closer to Crossover Day. With Crossover Day, Legislative Day 28, quickly approaching, it’s a critical time for bills and resolutions to clear their respective chambers and progress through the legislative process. Learn more about what has been happening the last two weeks below.  FY25 Amended Budget Last week, the FY25 Amended Budget was passed by the House. The Senate will now review the budget and provide its recommendations. Per Georgia’s constitution, it must pass a balanced budget each year, so this will be of priority to get done in the next few weeks.  Tort Reform A lot of movement was made on the Tort Reform bills in the last two weeks. They were passed through committee and are now headed to the full Senate Chamber.  What is tort reform? It is a set of changes to the civil justice system that limit people’s ability to file lawsuits and the amount of compensation they can receive.  Why does it matter to you? If you are for tort reform, it can help prevent frivolous lawsuits and lower insurance costs. Disaster Relief Hurricane Relief Bill HB 223 was passed out of the Ways and Means Committee unanimously to work toward helping Georgia farmers and timber owners recover from Hurricane Helene. HB 223 Information Judge Clay Tomlinson can to the Capitol to testify for the Judges Bill (HB 55). Pictured (L to R): Rep. Chas Cannon, Rep. John Corbett, Rep. Jaclyn Ford, Judge Clay Tomlinson, and Speaker Burns. HB 55: Alapaha Judicial Circuit; superior court; provide for an additional judge. HB 55 passed out of committee with a 166-1 vote from the House. Now, it is headed to the Senate to be read and voted on. A reminder of what this bill is: This bill will save counties (Atkinson, Berrien, Clinch, Cook, Lanier) in the Alapaha Judicial Circuit taxpayer dollars as it will provide faster processing of cases, thus reducing jail time and financial burden on the counties. HB 55 Information SB 1: Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act This legislation is in motion to protect the integrity of female and male sports, respectively, and provide generally for competitively fair and safe student participation in middle school, high school, and college sports. It prohibits males from participating in interscholastic and intercollegiate competitions on teams designated as female; and prohibits females from participating in competition on intercollegiate teams designated as male. SB1 Information HB 268: Safety, health, and well-being of students and school communities This bill aims to provide for the safety, health, and well-being of students and school communities; create an Office of Safe Schools within the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency; provide technical assistance for local school systems to develop policies and procedures for their threat management teams; and develop a state-wide behavioral threat management operational process. HB 268 Information Agriculture and Consumer Affairs New legislation was introduced by this committee for a few different topics:  HB 91: Veterinarian Licencing to combat the lack of large animal vets in Georgia HB 117: Origin Labeling for Seafood HB 163: Labeling of Lab-grown meat HB 398: Authorize production and sale of cottage food items with certain exemptions, requirements, and disclosures HB 424/SB 144: Pesticide “Failure to Warn” Labeling  Natural Resources and Environment Several topics were discussed in the Natural Resources and Environment Committee.  HB 143: Water resources; water-measuring devices for farm use of surface and groundwater. Agriculture has show to have used less water than meters are reading. This bill is to streamline metering and be less restrictive.   Rural Development Rural Communities are the heart of our district! Learn more about these two bills focused to help rural communities thrive.  HB 51: Authorize to finance and perform certain duties in connection with projects relating to natural gas facilities and expand the lines available to help with power needs in rural communities.  HB 262: Grant program for the purpose of acquiring and installing backup generators. This bill supports the need for backup generators at rural hospitals. This was spurred by the impacts of Hurricane Helene this fall.  Collins Riddle (middle) with her dad, Tyler Riddle (left), and Speaker Burns (right) in the gallery. As always, thank you for your support. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments during this legislative session. – Jaclyn Ford Check out Constituents at the Capitol below! ⬇️   HD 170 Constituents at the Capitol    Berrien FBLA Stoney Cooper and FCCLA Emmi Warren. Tift Co. School Nutrition Reps Tiffany Jones and Shakia Rance during School Nutrition Day at the Capitol. Recognizing Berrien FCCLA group in the gallery during FCCLA Day at the Capitol. Tift Co. Farm Bureau Group during Georgia Farm Bureau Day at the Capitol. Mother Leanne Culbreth from St Anne’s Episcopal Church/Tifton. Tift Young Farmers on Young Farmer Day at the Capitol.