‌
Gold Dome Update 
Highlights from the House 
Sine Die . Day 40
Tuesday, April 2, officially brought to a close our 2019 legislative session. Legislative Day 40, often referred to as “Sine Die,” which is Latin for, “without assigning a day for further meeting,” is often our longest day of the year. Sine Die always brings excitement as we work hard until midnight to ensure important legislation moves to the House floor in time for consideration. This session, we passed more than 80 bills that now go to Governor Brian Kemp’s desk for final approval. Legislation that did not pass will be up for consideration during the 2020 session season. 

House Action

School Safety
To further protect our schools, we gave final passage to  Senate Bill 15 . This bill creates the "Keeping Georgia's Schools Safe Act," which works to ensure school safety by requiring public schools to conduct, evaluate and implement a safety plan to effectively respond to threats of violence or dangerous situations within our schools. Under the legislation, every public school must conduct a site threat assessment before January 1, 2021 and reevaluate their school safety plan every five years. All plans must be approved by law enforcement, prior to submitting final plans to the Georgia Department of Education. Finally, SB 15 requires schools to use and promote a statewide mobile application, "See Something Send Something," to anonymously report suspicious activity or potential threats.
 
Coastline Protection
The adoption of  House Resolution 48  seeks to protect Georgia's fishing and tourism industries by opposing oil/gas exploration and drilling activities along Georgia's coastal waters. Because offshore drilling requires onshore infrastructure, such as pipelines or refineries, this industry could bring unwanted changes to Georgia's coastal landscapes and communities. This is simply a proactive measure to prevent the possible adverse impacts of drilling on our fishing and tourism industries which rely on healthy, natural environments and safe ocean systems. This resolution, along with local legislation passed by more than 140 Georgia towns and cities along the Atlantic coast, expresses our opposition to offshore drilling and seismic testing to combat the detrimental effects which come with offshore drilling.

Custody Proceedings
Senate Bill 190  will improve custody proceedings for Georgia parents by creating an avenue for parents to petition for a change within their custody agreement through the court system. The bill allows for counterclaim actions enabling parents to bring a counterclaim for contempt; enforcement of a custody order; modification of legal or physical custody. Further, Senate Bill 190 ensures fairness by giving parents without primary custody the right to petition for a change within their agreement regarding to custody, visitation rights, the child's healthcare and education. Parents receiving legal custody, would be responsible for the care and control of a minor, which includes the power to make decisions regarding health care, education, extracurricular activities and religious upbringing. In short, this bill gives parents an avenue for a fair appeals process, regarding custody while keeping the child's best interest in mind.
 
Public Safety
House Bill 282  requires law enforcement agencies to maintain physical identity-related evidence, such as DNA evidence, of the perpetrator of an alleged sexual assault until the case is solved. Evidence will be preserved for 30 years from the arrest date, or seven years from completion of their sentence. If there are no arrests, evidence will be preserved for 50 years. Currently, sexual assault evidence is only stored up to ten years from the date of an alleged sexual assault. We are confident this measure would further improve standards to preserve vital evidence and protect victims of sexual assault until crimes are solved.
 
Veteran Parking
Senate Bill 103  requires airports owned or operated by a county, city or other government entity to establish at least two priority parking spaces for veterans. Commercial airports would designate new parking spaces near airport entrances, which could be used by a vehicle with a state issued veteran's license plate.

Georgia's Hope Act
House Bill 324 , also known as, "Georgia's Hope Act," updates current state laws regarding low THC medical cannabis oil. HB 324 allows for the cultivation, manufacturing and dispensing of low THC oil with a lawful valid license. Currently, Georgia patients suffering from certain debilitating illnesses are legally allowed possess up to 20 fluid ounces of medical cannabis oil that contains up to five percent THC. While possession of this oil is legal, there is no way to legally obtain the oil in our state.

To address this issue the bill stipulates the following:

  • Authorizes the Department of Public Health to issue six private production licenses for two large and four smaller.
  • Requires each production licensee to establish, utilize and maintain a tracking system for all phases of production to allow for real-time department access.
  • Allows certified pharmacies to dispense medicine.
  • Allows two universities to obtain research growing license to study, examine and determine benefits and risks associated with cannabis and hemp production.
  • Creates disparity study to monitor the participation rates of treatment.

Our Georgia General Assembly feels the best way to ensure the safety of our patients is to establish a secure, regulated and legal way to obtain treatment, which is what this legislation is intended to accomplish.
Aviation Maintenance School Partnership

Following session last week, we had the opportunity to join over 400 citizens for an announcement ceremony regarding a new partnership between Macon-Bibb County, Central Georgia Technical College and Robins AFB. CGTC’s Aviation Program and Robins AFB 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group will use the former Boeing manufacturing facility in Macon to train aviation students. This program, the first of its kind, will create a workforce pipeline, allowing students hands-on training. This is great for the future and economic well-being of our region, as it ensures a qualified workforce for not only Robins AFB, but for other companies looking to move into middle Georgia.

While we have adjourned the 2019 legislative session, our work this year is far from complete as we will continue to work in our home districts. Further, we will be sending monthly updates for the remainder of the year to ensure you are up to date on all happenings within state government. As always, if you need anything at all, please reach out anytime. Thank you for allowing us the humble honor of serving our community under the Gold Dome as we continue our diligent efforts to provide our citizens with simple, smart and effective government!


Respectfully,
Shaw Blackmon
Representative of Georgia's 146th House District

Contact:
478-918-7477
 
Representative Shaw Blackmon
District 146
Email: Shaw.Blackmon@house.ga.gov
Phone: 404.463.7853
Address: 401-K State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334


Rep. Shaw Blackmon represents District 146. He currently serves as a member of Economic Development & Tourism,Governmental Affairs, Insurance, Juvenile Justice, Rules, Small Business Development, Special Rules, and Ways & Means Committees. He serves as Chair of the Transportation Committee on Appropriations and also as House Appointee to the Joint Defense Commission.