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Greetings! Today is Legislative Day 34 - we have six legislative days left. We have had a relatively calm session since Cross Over on February 29, with the House Chamber, passing many bills for several days unanimously or close to it, and listening to good-bye speeches from departing colleagues.
But now is the time for High Alert, where in committee, bad legislation gets tacked on to good legislation, with little notice, and no testimony allowed. If you can take time to be an advocate, please Take Action today on these items!
In this Issue:
- Town Hall Thursday March 14th
- Take Action:
- SB 233 - Vouchers
- HB 1170 - Eliminating puberty blockers
- Georgia Water Coalition Priorities
- Georgia Justice Project Priorities
- Chaplain of the Day
- Senior Exemption in DeKalb - deadline April 1st!
- In the Community
- At the Capitol
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Town Hall and Listening Session Focusing on Education and Public Safety this Thursday!
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State Representative Becky Evans and DeKalb School Board member Deirdre Pierce will host an education and public safety town hall and listening session on Thursday, March 14, 2024, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the DeKalb County Police South Precinct in Atlanta.
Major DeLoach from the South DeKalb Police Precinct will also be present at the event.
A livestream will be offered for those unable to attend in person. Sign up here to register for the livestream.
WHAT: Education and Public Safety Town Hall and Listening Session
WHEN: Thursday, March 14, 2024
6 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: DeKalb County Police South Precinct
Community Room
2842 H F Shepherd Drive
Decatur, GA 30034
We hope you can join us!
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Take Action to Keep Public Dollars for Public Schools!
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We have learned that a vote on private school vouchers is expected in the House Education Committee tomorrow.
Details on changes to be made to the bill, which was defeated last year by six votes, are slim.
However, from what we have learned, the bill is actually worse than the bill voted down last session. The bill steals from the poorest students in the poorest schools to pay for more privileged students to attend private schools.
Proposed changes to the bill appear also to make eligible students from families that make 400 percent of the federal poverty line, $124,800 for a family of four.
The backers of private school vouchers may be holding proposed pay raises hostage in exchange for yes votes.
BILL SUMMARY
From GBPI, full bill analysis linked here
The Georgia Senate recently passed a bill that would funnel public state dollars to private schools. Senate Bill 233 would create a promise scholarship account (PSA), another name for a voucher, for families to pay for private school tuition or qualified education expenses with funds from the state government.[1] The bill would set aside $6,500 per academic year into a “consumer-directed account.” A family’s acceptance of these funds would act as a refusal of federal protections for students with disabilities and state laws for an adequate public education, such as background checks for teachers.
Private schools that receive these funds would not have to be fully accredited, and teachers in these schools would not have to have a bachelor’s degree. Participating children’s guardians may also use the PSA for other qualified education expenses like private transportation or tutoring services. Contested expenses would be reviewed by a panel of parents whose children are receiving this PSA. The entire program would be run out of the Georgia Student Finance Commission.
TAKE ACTION by writing to Education Committee members and other Representatives HERE
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Take Action to Protect Privacy and Respect for our Personal Health Care!
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The Reverend Andi Woodworth, from the Neighborhood Church, was our House Chaplain of the Day this past Monday. She is seen here speaking to us how God wants us to love ALL of us, ALL of us, with Speaker Jon Burns looking on. Thank you to Rep Draper for inviting Rep Woodworth - this was probably the first transgender Pastor of the Day at the House - although that never got mentioned at the rostrum! I worshipped at Neighborhood Church with my friends Lila and Allen Bradley this past Sunday, and I loved the welcoming hospitality Rev. Woodworth and her co-pastor Anjie and their members provided.
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Unfortunately, the acceptance of Reverend Woodworth as our Chaplain of the Day does not reflect the true values of many of our colleagues at the Capitol.
In the Senate Youth and Education committee yesterday, last minute anti-trans legislation was added to a good bill providing Narcan in Georgia's public buildings.
Bill to provide overdose remedies in Georgia’s public buildings hijacked to ban puberty blockers
You can TAKE ACTION by writing members of the Senate Rules Committee. Here is what Georgia Equality recommended:
I'm writing to urge you to oppose the amended version of HB 1170 that now includes an immediate ban on prescribed puberty delaying medications used by healthcare providers in the treatment of gender dysphoria. It would also remove the language adopted last year in SB 140 that exempted adolescents currently on hormone replacement therapy, thereby halting care for those patients.
The provisions immediately halting care were not debated and the implications of interrupting current medical care are extremely dangerous.
We all want what's best for our kids. That's why it's so important for parents to make decisions about the health care that is right for their families and allows their kids to grow up healthy and safe. This amendment puts politicians between parents and providers, and could ban access to essential medical care for transgender young people.
This amendment was pushed through committee with no legitimate medical organizations or impacted Georgians able to provide testimony.
Every major U.S. medical and mental health organization–including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Federation of Pediatric Organizations and American Psychological Association–supports access to medical care for transgender young people and adults. Families deserve privacy and respect when it comes to personal health care decisions– decisions that should be left between families and medical providers, without political interference.
In a 2023 poll, 66% of likely Georgia voters opposed state government attempts to overrule parents' decisions to obtain healthcare for their transgender teenager, including medications to regulate the onset of puberty.
This amendment endangers transgender youth, their families, and the medical community as a whole by putting politics above expert medical recommendations. I urge you to oppose this harmful amendment.
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Take Action to Protect the Okefenokee and other Georgia Water Coalition Priorities!
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You can make a difference for clean water. Georgia’s beaches, rivers, streams, lakes and well water need protection.
Take Action on these Key Legislative Items!
- Save the Okefenokee
- Stop Dumping of Industrial Food Waste
- Don't Privatize our Salt Marshes
- Protect our Water from Coal Ash
By going HERE!
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Take Action to Give a Second Chance and Unlock Opportunity!
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HB 909 will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday and needs your calls to move it forward. HB 909 will improve Georgia's First Offender Act (FOA) so it delivers on its intended promise by making sure that First Offender cases are not available to the public if someone successfully serves the FOA sentence.
The FOA was enacted in 1968. Background checks have changed significantly in the last 50 years, but the FOA has not kept up. Too many people continue to have their FOA cases show up on background checks for jobs, housing, and education--after having been told by the courts and attorneys that it will be kept private. HB 909 will require restriction and sealing of FOA cases at sentencing so that FOA records are kept private as intended.
Click the link below to call committee members. Once you enter your address; the script/talking points and contact info for the committee members will appear. |
Also, Did you know that 1 in 6 jobs in Georgia require an occupational license, 1 in 4 for the highest demand professions? Having a criminal records risks denial for a license, even if it is old, pardoned or expunged.
Take Action through the Georgia Justice Project to advocate HERE
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What is the Theology of Democracy? How Can we Listen to the Voice of God in Every Person?
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On Friday, March 8th, my Pastor, David Lewicki, was our Chaplain of the Day, and his daughter Margaret, who is an 8th grader at Beacon Hill, also came with him. This was only my second time in the past 6 years to host a Chaplain, and I was so happy Reverend Lewicki could come. We are pictured here with Speaker Burns. I hope you will listen to my introduction of Reverend Lewicki, and his powerful message of the theology of Democracy - and how we all honor the voice of God within one another when we listen to one another. Take a listen! And if you are looking for a church home, please let me know, or just show up at North Decatur Presbyterian.
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Are you Eligible for a Senior Homestead Tax Exemption? Deadline is April 1st!
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I loved speaking with the Delta Kappa Gamma Lambda DeKalb chapter of Teachers about what is going on at the Capitol with Education!
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So great to connect with Dana Lloyd and her wife, and listen to the preaching of Jay, about Elijah in the cave, God speaking to us, "I am with you", and meeting Kylan Pew, Director of Restorative Practices
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Marching with Reverend Mary Anona Stoops from my church, for the Poor People's Campaign - Everybody's Got a Right to Live!
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So great to worship at Haygood Methodist with Stephanie and Chris Marinac - another great neighborhood church!
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I was delighted to honor Dr. Alice Bussey as my awardee for the Yellow Rose Servant Leader Award, sponsored by the Georgia Women's Legislative Caucus! What a tremendous gathering of women!
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Thank you to Georgia WAND for hosting us at the Capitol. Special Kudos to Glenn Carroll of Nuclear Watch South, who is retiring after years of advocacy.
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Thank you to Rep Inga Willis for hosting this amazing group of Paideia young women community leaders at the Capitol! And great to meet the newish Head of School, Tom Taylor!
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We love our Librarians in DeKalb! We are fighting against SB 390, which defunds our libraries!
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Thank you to the Recovery community in Dalton who came to advocate for the bill to increase access to Narcan in our schools. This bill will save lives!
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Thank you to the DeKalb School Board and Superintendent Horton for coming to the Capitol and meeting with us about legislative priorities!
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Great to be with DeKalb Police Chief Ramos and Senator Kim Jackson on DeKalb Day at the Capitol! Chief Ramos thanked me for sponsoring a bill for investigative traffic officers - we didn't get in passed this year but we will work on it for next year!
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That's all for now! It is a sprint to the finish for the next 6 legislative days. Sine Die, our last day, is Thursday, March 28th. Stay tuned for more potential alerts.
It is my honor and privilege to serve as our State Representative. Please let me know if I can be of service to you.
Sincerely,
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Representative Becky Evans
Georgia's 89th House District, DeKalb County
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