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Greetings! I am excited to be back for my third term! I am thankful to be back at the Capitol, working for you! We have a new House Speaker, Jon Burns, and 44 new colleagues, with three more to come after Jan 30 elections - 47 new members out of 180. 24 New Democrats out of 79. So lots of beautiful new faces and new beginnings in this biennium! Today, Monday, January 23, is the Fifth Legislative Day, out of 40.
In this issue:
- DeKalb Delegation Town Halls
- Swearing In
- Our Team
- Page Program
- Budget
- Housing
- In the Community
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The Capitol was especially beautiful at sunset, with patriotic bunting, on Inauguration Day, Jan 12, when Governor Kemp and the state wide Constitutional Officers were sworn in!
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DeKalb Delegation Pre-Session Town Halls
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Thank you to those who attended the Jan 5 virtual or Jan 7 in person Pre-Session DeKalb Delegation Town Halls. The lack of affordable housing, SPLOST, public safety, Cityhood, changing election runoff were key issues you brought to us. The link to watch the Virtual DeKalb Delegation Town Hall is HERE
Passcode: Z4A=27xL
We are waiting on the video of the DeKalb Delegation Town Hall on January 7th from DeKalb County TV. Please let me know HERE if you want the link to be sent to you. It will also be posted on the DeKalb House & Senate Facebook page.
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Thank you to my amazing husband David for his support!
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On Monday, Jan 9 I am grateful that my husband David joined me on the House Chamber Floor to be sworn in for my third term. I am humbled and honored to continue to serve. Two years ago during COVID no guests were allowed, and four years ago our three adult children joined me at the Capitol. So much has changed in the past four years - we struggled through the sickness and isolation of the pandemic, our country and our state survived an attack on our democracy through two elections, we celebrated new journeys for friends and family, and two of our children moved out of state. I am thankful for the resilience of my fellow Georgians and look forward to continuing to work to improve the lives of all Georgians.
After being sworn in, our chamber voted for our new Speaker, Jon Burns, and Speaker Pro Tem, Jan Jones, by acclamation. The atmosphere on the floor was celebratory. You can read more here: OPINION: Georgia lawmakers avoid new McCarthyism, so far.
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Early Monday January 23, the Women's Legislative Caucus honored Speaker Jan Jones, for serving as Georgia's first female Speaker of the House. I have enjoyed serving as Secretary of the WLC the past two year, and I will be rotating off for the 2023/24 session.
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Excited to serve with these new colleagues: Representatives Karen Lupton and Long Tran, fellow members of the Dekalb Delegation, and Lisa Campbell, my longtime friend and former Druid Hills neighbor, who serves in the Cobb delegation.
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Rep Jasmine Clark and her daughter Jada - Jada has grown up so much in the past four years!
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I do not know what in the world I was laughing about, but you can tell we were having a good time - this is with my seatmates, Rep Werkheiser and his wife, and Rep Washburn and his wife Donna.
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Day 2 - Vote on House Rules
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However, when we returned on Wednesday, the members of the Georgia House Democratic Caucus all voted NO on the Rules of the House, which are distinctly written to protect the majority. I am speaking about my concern and disappointment over the new rule that prohibits people from videoing testimony in committee hearings.
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On Wednesday evening, the Governor hosted a State Dinner at the Capitol. It is the first time this has been done, and a nice gesture of hospitality. It was a lovely catered event, only for legislators, state constitutional officers, and Supreme Court Justices, and one guest, and a special evening of fellowship.
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At the dinner I was glad to connect with these wonderful new colleagues: Representatives Saira Draper, Tanya Miller, Phil Ololeye, and Omari Crawford. Reps Crawford and Draper will serve with me in the DeKalb Delegation, and Reps Miller, Olaleye, and Draper will serve with me in the Atlanta Delegation.
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Kiddada Grey is thankfully returning as my Chief of Staff!
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Maysa Osman is our new college intern!
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I am grateful that Kiddada Grey is returning as my Chief of Staff. You can contact her at Kiddada@beckyevans.com to make an appointment with me, share your legislative or community concerns, and invite me to events.
I am also delighted that Maysa Osman is my new college intern - she emigrated from Sudan with her mother and brother in 2016, graduated from Clarkston High in May of 2022, and is a freshman at Georgia State University. She is an inspiration to me! You can contact her at intern@beckyevans.com. Thank you to the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition for helping match Maysa with me.
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I am glad to announce that the House Page program for middle school and high school students has returned. However, there are some changes. The program will be all day, pages will not deliver messages, and we are limited to five pages - before COVID legislators could have ten. Since our district is so close we will likely have more applications than slots. So please submit your applications by Monday, January 30, and we will get back to you. I will try to find a few more slots from out of town colleagues.
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A Record Budget and a Big Question
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This past week we were not “in session”, but we were at work at the Capitol, for Joint Budget Hearings. The Budget is the only bill we are required to pass every year, and it is a moral document, demonstrating the values of our state. Public Education and Healthcare make up over 70% of our budget.
Thanks to a robust state economy and job growth, Governor Kemp presented his recommendations for a record $32.5 billion budget for the amended FY 2023 and for FY 2024. Throughout the week, we also heard directly from state agency leaders regarding their budgetary requests, as well as the state economist, who provided a comprehensive overview of Georgia’s economic forecast for this year.
Highlights include:
- $1 billion for a $250-$500 tax refund and
- $1.1 billion for a property tax relief program that will provide, on average, $500 for every homeowner.
- $745 million in 2023 and more than $1.1 billion in 2024 for K-12 funding.
- $566 million to provide $2,000 raises for all state employees, including teachers.
The Big Question - We have over $6 Billion in surplus funds - $3 Billion of that will go to income tax refunds, homeowner homeowner property tax relief and to fill the gas tax hole from the suspension of the gas tax this past year. With the Rainy Day reserves being full, the big question is - what is the best use of investing all, some or most of the other $3 Billion, ideally without adding significantly to the annual budget? I am hopeful that we will make a big investment in Housing. More on that later.
Your can read more here:
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Speaker Jon Burns has also named all committee chairs in the House. Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin) will lead Appropriations and Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) will again chair Ways and Means, Rep. Richard Smith (R-Columbus) will again chair Rules and Rep. Robert Dickey (R-Musella) will again chair Agriculture.
Rep. Butch Parrish (R-Swainsboro) will lead the new Special Committee on Healthcare with oversight of all health policy, while Rep. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville) will chair the Health committee and Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) will chair the new Public Health committee. Rep. Stan Gunter (R-Blairsville) will chair Judiciary and Rep. Chris Erwin (R-Homer) will chair Education. I am pleased that Chris Erwin is chairing Education - he is a former school superintendent and knows the challenges our schools face. You can find all committees here.
I will continue to serve on the Education, Public Safety and Homeland Security, Economic Development and Tourism, and Intragovernmental Coordination committees.
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Housing - Georgia Needs More Safe and Affordable Housing
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We have a critical shortage of safe and affordable housing in Georgia. David and I are proud to be longtime DeKalb county homeowners. But it used to be a lot easier to buy a home in DeKalb County. Home ownership is fantastic and a pathway to generational wealth for many, but let’s be clear that both owners and renters invest EQUALLY in DeKalb County. Both are vital. We need both. We need to INVEST in both.This session I am fighting hard to:
- expand The GA DREAM Program for first time homeowners,
- dedicate more funding to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which has the authority to hold funds that do not lapse, so we could use surplus funds that could be spent over several years
- dedicate more funding for supportive housing for persons with chronic behavioral health problems
- create more tax incentives for safety and insulation to help reduce risks and skyrocketing utility bills for our neighbors who rent.
- in DeKalb, increase Senior Homestead tax exemptions that have not changed in over 30 years so that seniors can age in place
To learn more:
Housing will be a hot topic this session. I welcome your feedback. What do you want me to know? Write me at Becky@beckyevans.
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I was so happy to be with my good friend Jamie White, from the Monterrey community, at the Ecumenical Service at the Capitol the day before Session began. Jamie is the aunt of my colleague, Representative Gloria Frazier.
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Grateful to catch up with the Decoding Dyslexia advocates at the Wild Hog Supper! We need to make sure that there is funding for the Dyslexia screening state-wide this year!
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Thank you to Rep Michelle Au, who arranged for legislators to tour the DeKalb Avenue of MercyCare, which provides healthcare to the indigent. Sister Jane Geretz, Chief Mission Officer, tells us about the history of MercyCare. This newly updated facility is seeing more patients after the closing of Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center, and has the capacity to open more services, if the state can help with funding.
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Thank you to Emory President Fenves and his wife Carmel for hosting legislators and Emory alumni who are state employees in leadership positions to dinner at the Lullwater House. David and I were excited to meet Emory's new- to- us Provost, Ravi Bellamkonda and his wife Lalita Kaligotla.
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Work Project with DeKalb Habitat for Humanity on MLK
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Thank you for all the amazing volunteers who worked hard to clear the land for this new Habitat build site near Arabia Mountain High School! Please take a moment to watch this video!
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Thank you for taking the time to read this all the way through! I am working on scheduling two Town Halls coming soon - stay tuned! Please let me know if I can be of service to you. Legislative Day 5 is Monday, January 23rd.
Yours in Service,
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Representative Becky Evans
Georgia's 83rd House District, DeKalb County
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