The 2021 Georgia Legislative Session has begun, and elected officials are tackling some serious issues even as the session is still in the infancy stage.
State Representative Greg Morris of reported Monday that despite the pressures from COVID-19, Georgia’s economy continues to show signs of improvement. According to Rep. Morris, tax collections in December were up 7.7 percent over the same time last year.
Gov. Kemp is focusing heavily on education of public schools. Morris reports that under Gov. Kemps budget plan, in fiscal year 2021-2022, tan extra $1.2 billion would be allocated for Georgia Schools. In addition, the governor’s plan calls for $27.2 billion in state spending for things such as public safety, providing healthcare to 2 million Georgians, building roads and bridges, an increase in Georgia State employees’ salaries and increased pensions for retired state employees.
In regard to the COVID-19 CRISIS, REP. Morris said he expects that the state will receive 120,000 does o vaccine per week, with 40,000 does automatically going to the long term care facilities. The other 80,000 does are allocated to enrolled vaccine providers that are administering the vaccine to healthcare workers, law enforcement, First Responders, and seniors age 65 and older. He noted that he expects the next phase for the vaccine will be offered to teachers and other essential workers.
And finally there’s election reform being discussed under the Gold Dome in Atlanta. While Rep. Morris said he is leery of making any predictions, he reports that there are items being discussed including requiring phone Identification to obtain an absentee ballot, ending no excuse absentee ballots, abolishing drop boxes for ballots, and shortening the length of early in-person voting. Speaker of the House David Rolston has appointed a special legislative committee to study and recommend election law changes. That stand-alone committee will be chaired by Rep. Barry Fleming of Columbia County.
As always, Rep Morris welcomes concerns and questions from his constituents. He can be contacted via his cell phone at 912-293-+0725 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
