|
The 2023 legislative session began today, January 9. As ACCG prepares for another successful session as the official voice for Georgia’s 159 counties, we want to remind our county officials of the various tools that will help keep you informed and engaged.
Weekly Legislative Update:
-
Distributed every Friday afternoon during the legislative session via email. The first issue of the 2023 Legislative Update will be distributed on Friday, January 13. If you do not receive the Update, please email Schuyler Harding ([email protected]) to be added to the mailing list.
- In the Legislative Update, the bills ACCG tracks will be included in the “This Week’s Bills” section and are categorized as such:
-
What’s New – indicates new bills that have been introduced. Bills that progress throughout the legislative process will move to other categories and will no longer appear in this section.
-
Progressing – indicates bills that are moving through the process and deserve your attention or merit your notice.
-
Immediate Action Needed – indicates bills that are at a critical stage in the process and immediate action/input is needed from county officials (e.g., ACCG may request county officials contact bill sponsors and/or their legislative delegation to share the association’s position/concerns with specific legislation).
- Bills are assigned one of the following ACCG positions/tracking levels:
- Support
- Oppose
-
Neutral – impacts counties but ACCG is not advocating for or against the issue
-
Negotiating – ACCG is working with members of the General Assembly to address our concerns.
-
Evaluating – ACCG is researching or soliciting county feedback on the issue(s) to determine if it has an impact on counties and to what degree
- Each bill has one ACCG lobbyist assigned to it as the point of contact. Their name will be included on the bill summary page of our Legislative Tracking Database. Feel free to contact the staff member directly with questions or concerns.
Virtual Legislative Update (hosted via Zoom) and Social Media:
-
Virtual Legislative Update – Every Friday at 9:00 a.m. The first Virtual Legislative Update will be hosted on Friday, January 13. This is a recurring event which can be accessed from this same link each week. *Note: If for some reason the Virtual Legislative Update is canceled, ACCG staff will send a notice via email to county officials.
-
Replay of Virtual Legislative Update – Those who are unable to join the Virtual Legislative Update can access the replay in the Legislative Update newsletter and from the homepage of the ACCG website.
-
If you are a Facebook user, be sure to Like and Follow the ACCG Georgia Counties (@gacounty) page. ACCG will regularly post the Legislative Update and the recorded Virtual Legislative Update on the association’s official Facebook page.
Legislative Tracking Database:
-
To access the tracking database on the ACCG website, visit http://engagifiiweb.com/accg/accg-legislative-tracking-database/
- Search criteria include the bill number, issue/topic area, ACCG Policy Committee, tracking level (support, oppose, etc.), or by the policy staff member (lobbyist) assigned to that specific bill.
- You will not be able to provide comments or feedback on the system so please email your feedback directly to the ACCG lobbyist assigned to the bill.
Friday Lobbyists Meeting:
This year’s county lobbyists' meetings will return in person and will occur on an as needed basis. The first county lobbyist meeting of 2023 will take place on Friday, January 27. At these meetings, the Governmental Affairs team will go into greater detail about the progression of legislation and discuss behind-the-scenes strategy. In addition to county lobbyists, county commissioners and appointed staff are both welcomed and encouraged to attend. ACCG Administrative and Policy Coordinator Tottianna Davis ([email protected]) will issue notices prior to upcoming meetings, including details such as the location and time. Please email her if you would like to be added to the distribution list.
Lastly, please be sure to review the 2023 ACCG Legislative Toolkit to become familiar with this year’s Policy Agenda. Contact information for the Governmental Affairs team, the association’s lobbyists, may also be found in the Toolkit.
| 
