STATE CAPITAL UPDATE REP. KEN PULLIN

Legislative Update - Week Four

Rep. Pullin on the floor this week.

Tuesday, February 4, marked the start of a very busy fourth week of the 2019 legislative session. The pace of the session is picking up, and this week brought about notable progress as my colleagues and I convened in the House Chamber for four legislative days and voted on the first bills and resolutions of the session. This week, the House passed several pieces of legislation on the House floor, including important measures like the Amended Fiscal Year 2019 budget and an adjournment resolution that sets the legislative calendar for the remainder of the session.  Additionally, I sponsored House Bill 159 for the City of Molena.  This will move mayor and city council elections to 4 years instead of 2, which will help save the city money because they won't have to have council elections every year.

Aid for South Georgia

A critical item in the HouseAFY 2019 budget includes an additional $10 million for emergency disaster relief to aid our farmers in southwest Georgia who were devastated by Hurricane Michael last October. Our House Appropriations subcommittees came together to include this funding in the AFY 2019 budget to bolster loans for our farmers. This additional funding builds upon the $55 million that was appropriated to the Georgia Development Authority (GDA) during the 2018 special session in November. Since then, the GDA has received 412 loan applications, totaling more than $100 million in assistance requests. Of those 412 applications, 124 have already been approved, and nearly all of the $55 million has been used to secure loans. Southwest Georgia landowners lost $1.6 billion in agriculture commodities, $763 million in forest products and $63 million in agricultural related equipment, and this additional funding will continue to bring much needed relief to hard-working farmers in southwest Georgia. I commend the GDA and the Department of Agriculture for their quick response and helping to secure these loans in less than eight weeks to help our southwest Georgia neighbors.

School Safety

The House version of the AFY 2019 budget prioritizes the safety and well-being of children at school and state facilities in Georgia by appropriating $69.4 million toprovide school security grants of $30,000 for each of the 2,314 school facilities. These school security grants will establish new safety measures for Georgia schools, including charter schools, college and career academies, GNETS facilities and the three state schools.

Chief Judge Christoper Edwards  Griffin Judicial Circuit

Chief Judge Christoper Edwards was at the Capitol this week for the passing of House Bill 28, which I co-sponsored.  A new judge will be appointed by Governor Kemp in January of 2020. This will to add a 5th judge to the circuit. We have a huge backlog of cases in our district, and this additional judge will help get those cases settled faster.

Libby Pullin Under the Gold Dome

Of all the visitors from home this week, I have to admit, my daughter, Libby, was my favorite. It was a treat to have Libby with me on Friday for the day. I am so proud to be her dad.

Junior League in the Capitol

It was great meeting with Rebeka Hect and other members of the Junior League this week! I was proud to recognize them on the floor of the House on Thursday.

4-H

4-H from Upson and Pike came to visit on Thursday. There is nothing I enjoy more at the Capitol than having our young adults come and visit. What a great group!

Upson County Senior Center

It was an honor to host a group from the Upson County Senior Center. The men and women are actively involved in the political process and I was grateful for the opportunity to meet with them and hear their concerns.