Busy Week

It was another busy week under the Gold Dome in Atlanta as the Georgia General Assembly completed legislative days 16-19. The pace of session has picked up drastically as we continue to do the people’s business.

In addition to passing legislation and recognizing upstanding Georgians, I held my second Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee meeting on Tuesday. Committee meetings are essential to the democratic process and I take immense pride in working with my colleagues to properly vet each bill that comes through my committee.

With 2015 Legislative Session in full swing, I would like to share with you some of the highlights of the past week:

This week we passed several pieces of legislation designed to the benefit service men and women serving in our nations’ military. On Tuesday, we unanimously passed Senate Bill 18, a bill that will allow the Technical College System of Georgia to accept previous military work experience for academic credit. The brave men and women who serve and protect our country deserve the opportunity to apply the knowledge they acquired through their service.

In addition to helping those who have already served in the United States Military, we passed SB 58, a bill that will support the dreams of high school students who wish to obtain military training while earning a college degree. SB 58 will create the Georgia Leadership and Service Act, a bill designed to encourage exceptional high school seniors who show leadership capabilities to join the ROTC program at any institution in the University System of Georgia.

This bill will allow every member of the General Assembly, the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor to recommend a student, who meets the requirements, for admission into an ROTC program.

We passed a resolution proclaiming May 6-12, 2015 as the 40th anniversary observance week of the ending of the Vietnam War. The Senate stood in solidarity as they honored Vietnam War veterans and their families with a moment of silence. More than 228,000 Georgians served during the Vietnam War and we must never forget their sacrifices for the freedoms we hold so dear.

February 19, 2015 was recognized as Georgia Farm Bureau Federation Day at the State Capitol. The Georgia Farm Bureau Federation, with more than 300,000 members, is Georgia’s largest agricultural organization and is dedicated to promoting the agricultural industry throughout the state. Agribusiness is the single greatest contributor to our state economy and I was proud to stand with so many farmers under the Gold Dome.

We also declared February 19, 2015 as University of Georgia Day at the State Capitol and congratulated the University on its 230th anniversary. As a graduate of UGA, it was an honor to stand with my fellow legislators as we celebrated the first state-chartered university in America’s history. UGA educates more than 35,000 students and leads the nation in providing an exceptional education at an affordable cost. This is truly one of my favorite days at the State Capitol and I look forward to welcoming my fellow bulldawgs back next year!

My colleagues and I will return to the Gold Dome on Monday, Feb. 23 for day 20 of the Legislative Session. I remain committed to supporting policies that promote business growth and get Georgians back to work. It remains a pleasure to serve you, the constituents of the 25th Senate District.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 404.656.0082 or via email at burt.jones@senate.ga.gov.