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Spring Greetings! It has been four weeks since Sine Die, and it is time for me to get this newsletter to you! This marked my fifth year in our State House, and it is my honor and privilege to be working for you at the People's House. I have welcomed and felt your prayers for patience, humility and love and they have sustained me in this work. Thank you.
In this newsletter:
- Town Halls
- Best of Times, Worst of Times, and Miles to To Before I Sleep
- Budget Highlights
- My Yes and No Votes on Legislation
- In the Community
- Upcoming Community Events
- Donations
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Thank you those who attended our Legislative Wrap Up April 20 Town Hall at Decatur First Baptist in person or virtually!
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If you missed it, you may watch the Town Hall virtually HERE. The Town Hall starts at minute 16.35. There's lots of good stuff about the ins and outs of politics and background stories from Senator Parent, Rep Oliver, Rep Crawford and me. Thank you to Decatur First Baptist for providing the videographers and hosting the event!
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Join me at May 9th Town Hall in Ellenwood?
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I am also excited about holding a Legislative Session Wrap-Up with Representatives Angela Moore and Saira Draper at the County Line Library in Ellenwood on Tuesday, May 9th at 6:30pm.
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I hope you can join us on May 9th!
- Submit your questions HERE
- Register for livestream access HERE
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Best of Times, Worst of Times.... And Miles to Go Before I Sleep...
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I have had a hard time wrapping my mind around how to describe this legislative session. What comes to mind foremost is a memory of my new colleague, Rep Inga Willis, speaking from the well ( I can’t remember what bill she was speaking to) - quoting Charles Dickens - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” and also quoting Robert Frost’s “I have miles to go before I sleep, I have miles to go before I sleep”. We accomplished some things but also left a lot undone - there are a lot of bills that didn't pass one chamber or the other - most notably HB 520 Mental Health Reform Expansion and HB 404 Safe Housing Act - that remain "live" for us to tackle next year.
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One of my ”best of times” images from this session is from Sine Die, the last day of the session, when we unexpectedly defeated SB 233, the School Voucher bill. This bill would have drained funding from our public schools, especially impacting our rural schools. As it passed out of the Education committee and seemed to be on a path to pass the House, I actively worked with the bill sponsor to make amendments, suggested by Education advocates, to reduce the harm in the bill. I spoke against it twice - on day 38, when it came to the floor but was tabled when the proponents realized they didn’t have the votes, and again on Sine Die.
On Sine Die, it failed by 6 votes, 85-89, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats in voting against the bill, including at least seven committee chairpersons! This result was truly a surprise for me. . But this bill can be reconsidered, so it might come back next session, so we will see. This vote shows that a majority of House members want to invest our tax dollars holistically in our public schools, working towards the common good, instead of taking from the many to benefit the few. It gives me hope, like the Buckhead vote in the Senate, that good sense can overcome partisanship, even on key floor votes.
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I spoke against SB 233 in the well two times, - on Day 38, when the bill got tabled, and on Sine Die. This is my well speech on Sine Die, the last evening of session.
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Look closely at the reactions from the floor vote on Sine Die after SB 233 was unexpectedly defeated. Minority Chair Billy Mitchell literally has his mouth open. Several of my colleagues are dancing a jig, or cheering and clapping. Minority Whip Sam Park has his hand extended, possibly trying to tamp down the excitement, possibly because we don't want to alienate the Rs that voted with us. Chair Beverly is probably watching Speaker Burns' reaction at the rostrum,. I am just sitting there, not quite believing it, and desperately trying to read the board to see which Rs voted no.
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On Day 37 I took recommendations from public education advocates for amendments to "reduce the harm" or "improve the bill" to the House Sponsor, Chair Todd Jones. Chair Jones respectfully listened to my concerns, included some of the amendments, and was clear with me about the ones he would not include.
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I spoke against SB 233 for my first time on Day 38, addressing all the funding needs that the state is NOT providing. Our caucus leadership asked us to take time in our speeches, to take time away from other bad bills coming up. But towards the end, when you can see I am distracted, the Minority Whip is signaling to me to cut my speech off, because he can sense that they don't have the votes. SB 233 was tabled until they brought it back on Sine Die.
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Honoring MedShare on their 25th Anniversary!
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Besides passing legislation, we honor community members and organizations for their service and accomplishments. For the last two years we have not hosted guests at the Capitol, due to COVID. We are so glad to be able to do this in person again at the Capitol!
On March 16, I was honored to host Charles Redding, CEO of MedShare International, for a Privileged Resolution, HR 292, celebrating the 25th anniversary of this humanitarian aid global health organization in DeKalb. They improve the quality of life for people and our planet! They donate quality, unused, unexpired surplus medical products , primarily to other countries, but early in COVID , due to our supply chains being so messed up, they also provided supplies to Atlanta hospitals!
What undercut this celebration is that House members had just realized that SB 140, the Trans Youth bill, was going to be heard in the chamber right after our presentation. That is what happens around here. The bad right after the good - best of times then - gut punch - worst of times. |
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And one of my “worst of times” images is from day 35, when we passed SB 140, prohibiting gender affirming care to Trans Youth. We heard strong, passionate, reasoned, and persuasive testimony from so many of our Democratic colleagues in the well and from our advocates in the hallways. This bill was passed out of committee on Day 34 and brought to the floor unexpectedly quickly on Thursday, Day 35, because they did not want our advocates to mobilize over the weekend. It was especially ironic and sobering because that was a day when many white-coated medical students were visiting the Capitol, and they were all up in the gallery, witnessing us blatantly disregarding the advice and medical professional standards of care for trans youth.
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Rep Debra Bazemore comforts Rep Karla Drenner, who spoke eloquently against SB 140. Rep Drenner was Georgia's first elected queer person over 22 years ago, and she knows what it is like to be targeted. Her message: "To all the trans youth out there, we want you to know that you are loved. Your lives matter. And to their parents, we know you want to take care of your children."
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Miles to Go Before I Sleep
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As for the “Miles to go before I sleep”, this spoke to the feeling many of us had that we have so much work that we should be doing, serious work, to improve the lives of Georgians, like helping with the housing crisis or the gun violence epidemic and yet we spent inordinate amounts of time on unnecessary bills, such as the SB 145 that give equal rights to gas and electric lawn blowers!
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Advocating for Protecting Legacy Homeowners from Deceptive Business Practices
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As far as the Housing Crisis, one small good step we made is in passing SB 90, which aims to stop the predatory practices of 40 listing agreements of wholesalers, clouding title and theft of equity practices, both of which primarily target the elderly. I spoke to SB 90, in favor of the bill, but expressed concern that it does not go far enough to protect l legacy homeowners from deceptive business practices, which I know is important to all of us. We need to pass legislation that provides for disclosure requirements for wholesale buyers and sellers of residential real property. Thank you to Robert Murphy of Decatur for his advocacy on this issue.
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Much Work Left for Next Year!
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I reviewed the 16 pieces of legislation I wrote to you about in my last newsletter, and only six of these bills passed both the House and Senate: HB 440, allowing Glucagon to be stocked in schools; HB 406, Electric Vehicle Energy; HB 249, making is easier for students to get needs based college completion grants; SB 140, Banning healthcare for trans youth; SB 92 Prosecutorial Oversight Council and HB 189, Increasing the Weight of Trucks.
Out of the 10 that didn’t pass, the most disappointing two are HB 520, Behavioral Health Reform Expansion, and HB 404, the Safe Housing Act. Well, the MOST disappointing was HB 71, Okefenokee Protection Act, but it was not ever passed out of committee.
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2024 Budget Highlights: $32.45 Billion
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- Over $13 billion in state K - 12 funding , including a $295 million increase fora $2,000 pay raise for teachers, bringing average teacher salaries to $61,000 - the highest in the southeast, as well as a $1,000 salary supplement for all custodians.
- $1 Billion for HB 162, which provides one-time payments of up to $250 for single-income tax filers and up to $500 for those who are married filing jointly.
- Increase of $117 million for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to increase services for Georgians.
- $23.5 million - Increase of $4,000 to $6,000 for over 3,900 state law enforcement officers,
- $27 million to help recruit school counselors and fully fund the Quality Basic Education formula
- $8.5 million for a 5.1% pay raise for school nutrition workers ($1.6 million), bus drivers ($4.6 million), school nurses ($1.8 million), and Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs) staff ($482,496) and $8.6 million to provide all school custodians with a $1,000 salary supplement.
- $229 million to help school districts pay for a 67 percent increase in the employer contribution of per-person monthly premiums for classified employees.
- Increase of $6.3 million in state funds to provide for the cost of breakfast and lunch for reduced-paying students. These funds will provide more than 17 million free meals to low-income public school children. Credit to our freshman DeKalb colleague Rep Imani Barnes for her bill HB 510 providing free breakfast and lunch to all public students, and advocacy for feeding hungry children: “Isn’t it true, Mr. Speaker, that it is hard for a student to learn when their belly is empty?”
- $3.5 million to implement SB 48 re: dyslexia screening for K - 3 - planning for state-wide roll out in 2024/2025
Additional Resources:
- Voices for Children Outcomes for Children and Families: Click HERE This is an excellent well laid out document in booklet form, released April 27, highlighting legislation and budget items by area. Voices covers: Health, Behavioral Health, Education, and Public Safety and Justice, so this is a valuable synopsis of our much of our legislative work.
- Georgia Budget and Policy Institute ( GPBI) 2024 Budget Analysis Click HERE
- Georgia House Budget and Policy Research Budget Highlights Click HERE
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2023 Passed Legislation Organized by my Yes and No Votes
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For comprehensive overview, please see 2023 Legislation Organized by my Yes Votes and No Votes: Click HERE
Atlanta Journal and Constitution's Legislative Tracker is also helpful: Click HERE
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I love reading to children! Our state and nation's high level of illiteracy is of great concern to me. We need an ecosystem for improving literacy from birth to adulthood. On Monday I had the pleasure of touring A Child's Campus Early Learning Center in our community and reading to their students in several classrooms. This week Georgia is celebrating a decade of Quality Rated, Georgia's Quality Rating and Improvement System for Childcare. Please let me know if you want me to come read to your students!
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I am glad to report that HB 538, Georgia Early Literacy Act, including language from my bill HB 537, Literacy Instruction Certification, and SB 211, Georgia Council on Literacy, passed both the House and Senate and were signed by the Governor! I am hoping to be appointed by the Speaker to the Literacy Council. Fingers crossed!
HB 486 Burial Purchaser Protection Act - was heard in the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs committee after Crossover, and remains active for next session.
I’ll write about the DeKalb and Decatur Senior Tax Exemptions that passed in my next newsletter, hopefully after the Governor signs them! You will need to vote on them this November!
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I attended the Community Town Hall at McNair Middle School, hosted by the DeKalb School Board, for the community to hear from School Board Superintendent Finalist Dr. Devon Horton, and was glad to sit with education and community advocates, from L to R, Priscilla Davenport, Ella Davis, Beverly Dabney, and Donna Priest-Brown.
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Rep. Becky Evans Issues Statement on Hiring of New
DeKalb County School District’s Superintendent
ATLANTA – April 24 - State Representative Becky Evans (D-Atlanta) today issued the following statement to congratulate Dr. Devon Horton for being selected as the next superintendent of the DeKalb County School District:
“I want to congratulate our school board for overwhelmingly voting to hire Dr. Devon Horton as our next DeKalb superintendent. Dr. Horton is aspirational, optimistic and realistic.
“As one colleague said to me, he has the grit to do the job. Teachers and students will respond to his relatable story of coming from a single family home and his respect for his own elementary teachers, which he credits to spurring his love of learning. I am inspired by his story of all the challenges he faced when he first became a teacher in a severely under-resourced school. I commend Dr. Horton for making himself available during several town halls and for his energy and engagement with teachers and community members when they asked him tough questions.
“This past year, most of the board members have collaborated with one another to better communicate, plan and overcome differences. They have selected Dr. Horton knowing that he claims he is a ‘disruptor,’ and a superintendent who does not accept that the status quo will benefit DeKalb students. DeKalb has had a new superintendent every two and half years over the last decade. This turnover is not good and hurts students, and I appreciate their decision for a long-term hire.
“Our two recent interim superintendents have done a great deal to bring stability to the system. Interim Superintendent Vasanne Tinsley has been a steadfast leader this year during a tumultuous period. She successfully incentivized teachers for continuing their employment during a severe teacher shortage and brought the district off of the facilities corrective action plan.
“The DeKalb County School District needs ingenuity and stability. In the spirit of collaboration, I encourage the board to give Dr. Horton the necessary support as he works with staff, teachers, students and parents on his plan to improve our schools. I hope and pray that Dr. Horton will be a superintendent that finds ways to increase our student achievement in DeKalb and that he will have a long and fruitful relationship with our district. I will do my best to support him and our board in these efforts.”
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We celebrated DeKalb County's 200 Birthday at the Capitol at the end of session, and it was fun to host and recognize CEO Thurmond and our County Commissioners in the House!
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Meet Patrece Stovall and Roxine Rattray, two dynamic young women, who spoke at the Leap Year fundraiser, about how being a Leap Year fellow helped them prepare and succeed in college. On my left is Patrece, a student at Georgia State, and on my right is Roxine Rattray is a student at Oglethorpe. Leap Year is a nonprofit organization that is improving college success and literacy results in metro-Atlanta by recruiting first generation high school graduates to serve as second grade reading coaches through our yearlong community service and college readiness program.
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ON Earth Day, I was happy to help the South Fork Conservancy clean up the trail , by cutting down dead growth and pulling out invasives, along Peavine Creek near my home. South Fork Conservancy is a local nonprofit which works to restore the banks of the South Fork of Peachtree Creek. David, Yogi and I walk this nature trail several times a week - it is a treasure to us! Nature Heals!
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We are in a Housing Crisis in Georgia, and I am thankful for the many non-profits who work to help house people. I was grateful to attend an open house at a new home for single men provided by A Home for Everyone, a relatively new non-profit that started in 2018, and works to fill the gaps in housing. You may know them as they started cold weather shelters in DeKalb a few years ago - thankfully the County is involved in providing warming shelters as well. This home can house 3 unrelated men and charges them a third of their income.
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I was blown away by the professionalism of the Decatur High School production of CLUE - such a fun murder mystery! The acting, the sets, and costume - all very high caliber! I love the performing arts - I was a Thespian back in the day in high school! I wanted to make sure I saw the production with James Lewicki as Mr. Green - the production has two casts . I am pictured here with James and his sister Margaret - we are friends from church.
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Rep Imani Barnes and I sat together at the State of DeKalb this past Wednesday, featuring CEO Michael Thurmond. This was my first time inside the historic Pullman Yards, and I was impressed with it as an event space. I was particularly please that Dr. Vasanne Tinsely, the Interim Superintendent of DeKalb Schools, was honored at the event. She deserves our thanks and recognition for her career of working to improve student lives at DeKalb County Schools.
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Community Events This Weekend
20th Annual County Line Parade and Family Oriented Day of Reflection in Ellenwood
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This Saturday morning, April 29, I will be marching in the County Line Parade in Ellenwood - to kick off the 20th Annual Family Oriented Day of Reflection for the entire community. I couldn't find a graphic for the parade, so I am using a photo of when I marched in this parade when I first ran! This is a wonderful community event, with marching bands and several choirs singing gospel music, and lots of delicious food. Bring your family for the parade and stay for the afternoon! Parade starts at 9am at County Line Neighborhood Park, 4059 River Road, Ellenwood, GA 30294.
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Druid Hills Home and Garden Tour
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Please join me this weekend at the Druid Hills Home and Garden Tour! I'll be volunteering on Saturday afternoon! Don’t miss your chance to step through the doors and gates of some spectacular homes and gardens in Historic Druid Hills. Gather your friends, and neighbors and buy your tickets today via druidhillstour.org.
Did you know? You can get a FREE ticket if you work a shift as a docent. Sign up for a four-hour slot at a day and time that works best for you, at the property that sounds most interesting to you, and a ticket is yours to use, outside of your shift of course. You can find the volunteer sign-up link at druidhillstour.org.
Remember our Tour Hours:
1-5pm: Friday 4/28
10am-5pm: Saturday 4/29 and Sunday 4/30
Please note these exceptions: SPARK Elementary Rooftop Garden is not available for touring on Friday due to school hours. Fernbank Forest closes at 4pm daily. |
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Protect the Okefenokee Swamp!
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Before you go.... Regarding the Okefenokee, it is not too late to write the EPD and Governor and tell them not to allow mining in Trail Ridge! Watch this excellent 2 minute video with the QR at end to tell you how!
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It is my honor and privilege to serve as our state representative. I hope you’ll consider a donation to support my work for the people of Georgia.
We aren't allowed to fundraise during the legislative session. But now, the session is over.
If you’ve appreciated my work and session coverage, I hope you’ll support me with a campaign contribution– or even better yet, a recurring monthly donation.
What does your contribution go toward? Mostly it allows me to communicate with my supporters and constituents, to pay my minimal staff, and host community events and programs.
We receive $7k a year from the state for staff and expenses, the rest has to be raised!
The less time I have to actively fundraise, the more time I have for doing the critical work your support has put me in the position to do.
Thank you for your consideration!
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Thank you for reading this all the way through! Please let me know if I can be of service to you. Please let me know about your community events - I would love to attend them! And I am happy to speak with civic groups and students.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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Representative Becky Evans
Georgia's 89th House District, DeKalb County
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