Legislative Study Committees
Friends,
As many of you know, the Georgia Constitution limits the regular sessions of the General Assembly to forty legislative days.
These annual sessions begin in January and generally last until early April.
While many describe our legislature as “part time”, I know how hard my colleagues work year round to serve Georgia. One of the main ways we serve outside of our regular session is through the meeting of Study Committees and working groups.
While several of these are meeting over the next few months, I wanted to take time over the next few weeks to share a little bit of background on them.
The Joint Study Committee on Dual Enrollment for Highly Skilled Talent at Younger Ages was created by SR 175, and is a joint House and Senate Committee co-chaired by Representative Matt Dubnik of Gainesville and Senator Matt Brass of Newnan. This Study Committee was created to examine existing dual enrollment opportunities, while identifying solutions yielding more such opportunities with a focus on credentialing and workforce development.
As our workforce needs continue to grow in Georgia, this subcommittee will look into alternate paths for Georgia’s students to develop the skills needed to enter the workforce.
Chairman Dubnik will be joined by House members Bethany Ballard of Warner Robins, Rick Townsend of Brunswick, and Stacey Evans of Atlanta, and is expected to meet around the state between now and the December 1st due date for its report.
The Joint Study Committee on Service Delivery Strategy was also created by SR 175, and will be co-chaired by Representative John LaHood of Valdosta and Senator Frank Ginn of Danielsville.
Service Delivery Strategy is a law that defines a process for negotiation between cities and counties to most efficiently provide services for their shared constituents. Chairman LaHood will be joined on the Committee by House members including Brian Prince and Dale Washburn.
The Georgia Municipal Association and the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia have already been working with the Study Committee to identify issues with the current system so that our Committee can work to develop solutions.
Meetings are expected to begin in September, occurring in north Georgia, south Georgia, and at the Capitol, with a report due by December 1st.
These are just two examples of the great work my General Assembly colleagues are doing during the interim period between sessions. I look forward to sharing more about our interim work with you in future weeks.
In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out with questions about my work as your Representative or as Speaker of the House, or with your thoughts about new opportunities in Georgia. You can contact me at 404.656.5020, Jon.Burns@house.ga.gov, or on Facebook at www.FB.com/JonBurnsGA. If you wish to sign up for my weekly emailed newsletter, visit https://www.friendsofjonburns.com/home to sign up.