Legislative Session Week 9
Teacher Pension Proposal, Running for Re-Election, and more!
March 12, 2024
Having passed “crossover day,” we are now in the final few weeks of the 2024 session – with much left to be done.
This is not just a busy time, it's a dangerous time legislatively speaking. This is when bills that were thought to be dead start showing up with new names and new numbers and changes or added wording (maybe from another bill that didn’t pass). We need to be on the lookout for mistakes, mischief, and malfeasance.
Let me give you an example.
Last week a Republican-led Senate committee heard a bill–House Bill 331–that called for fines for those caught on camera passing a school bus. By the time that bill was passed out of committee, it said nothing about school buses, cameras, or fines for drivers. Instead, HB 331 gives citizens the authority to sue their local governments if law enforcement is not stopping and turning over to federal immigration authorities any immigrant suspected of being in this country illegally.
See what I mean? Totally unrelated.
But that long-practiced legislative work-around can be used for good as well.
For instance, I partnered with the two Republican colleagues whose districts include the Okefenokee Swamp to drop a bill, HB 1439, that would create an “Explore the Okefenokee” license plate. The revenue from the sales of this plate will go to Okefenokee conservation efforts. Timing didn’t allow us to get it through the House before Crossover Day, but we are working to append the language from HB 1439 to a bill that is moving. Hope is still alive!
Hang tight for the big reveal of the license plate artwork, coming soon!
I’m running for re-election! And I need your help!
It's official! I'm on the ballot for the May primary. With your support, I will continue my service as the representative for House District 90!
Last week I went through the candidate qualification process with my family by my side. Serving in office is a family decision; my husband and children make large sacrifices in order for me to serve. But we agreed I should run for re-election because we want a better future for all families in Georgia, and we believe the work is worth it!
There are 180 legislators in the Georgia House of Representatives. Only a handful have young children. And of those who do, only two are women.
But that perspective is invaluable as we fight for the success of everyone in Georgia.
Check out my Instagram reel-- I made it myself and I'm pretty happy with myself for that. Not bad for a "geriatric" millennial!
By the way, if you haven't heard, I have a challenger for the May 21 Primary!
If you think my perspective in the legislature is important– as a working mom of littles, as an immigrant, as a person of color, and as the only voting rights expert in the caucus– knock doors with me! I’d love your support!
We’ll meet, train, and give you all the materials you need. Join our winning team and let’s spread the word with voters!
Join us this weekend and next weekend!
In this issue of the Draper Paper:
Three(!!) Town Halls this Week
Retired Teacher Pension Proposal
Okefenokee Update
Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services Program (CAPS) Program
DeKalb Day at the Capitol
Go Vote! It’s Election Day
More chances to chat – Upcoming Town Halls
We’ve had wonderful conversations at the four town halls I’ve sponsored along with other legislators and local elected officials. A representative from Georgia Power Co. has also attended to answer any questions from ratepayers.
The discussions have been enlightening, at times spirited, and always productive for me and for my colleagues who attend.
There are four more planned.
– March 13, 6-7:30 p.m. at Bessie Branham Recreation Center, 2051 Delano Drive, Atlanta
– March 14, 6-8 p.m. at Neighborhood Church, 1561 McLendon Avenue NE, Atlanta
– March 15 6:30 - 8 p.m. at Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, 2340 Clifton Springs Rd, Decatur
– March 20, 6-7:30 p.m. at McNair High School, 1804 Bouldercrest Road SE, Atlanta
We hope you’ll join us!
Increased Pension Benefits for Teachers
While there have been moves to give teachers raises and to give them money for the classroom supplies many of them are paying for out of their own personal funds, I wanted to do more for the people who educate our children.
I’m working on a bill that would increase Teacher Retirement System benefits for teachers. Under the current law, retired teachers receive an annual pension equal to 2% of the member’s average compensation over their two highest paid consecutive years of teaching, multiplied by the number of years they taught. (O.C.G.A. 47-3-120)
I am proposing we change that formula. My bill would change the Teacher Retirement System pension benefit formula from the highest 2 year average of consecutive years’ compensation to the highest year of compensation.
Per state law, the State Auditor is currently reviewing the proposal to certify whether or not he considers the bill is a ‘retirement bill having a fiscal impact’. It almost certainly is. Once that is officially determined, an actuarial analysis will be performed. The bill can then be officially dropped for the January 2025 session.
And then there is the swamp.
More than 90 House Democrats and Republicans could not stop proposed mining on the edge of our Okefenokee Swamp. Legislation filed more than a year ago has gone nowhere.
But there are still obstacles waiting for the Alabama company that wants to drill along the edge of our Okefenokee Swamp.
Earlier this year, the state issued a permit to Twin Pines Minerals to mine for titanium dioxide (a mineral used to tint paint white) just three miles from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Georgia.
That caused another bill to be filed.
Unfortunately, HB 1338, the most recent bill, would not stop Twin Pines Minerals digging in a 582-acre area at the Trail Ridge, the prehistoric barrier island that holds back the Okefenokee’s waters. But it would prohibit Twin Pines from expanding its footprint for three years. HB 1338 also prohibits the Georgia Department of Natural Resources from accepting any new applications for dragline mining in areas where permits have not previously been issued.
Still, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is moving ahead with the project, collecting public comment before the permit becomes final.
The response from conservationists and lovers of the nation’s largest blackwater swamp has been intense and loud. Out of 90 people who spoke at a three-hour public hearing a few days ago, only one supported the project. And almost 300 people attended the hearing virtually.
Those in favor say the project will bring jobs to the area. Opponents say the mining would infringe on private property rights and threaten the hydrology of the swamp and its ecosystem. The local tourism economy would suffer and there would just be more mining.
And what would it do to the swamp's chances of being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is under consideration?
The U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife has joined in the opposition.
In a letter to legislators, the federal agency asked them to hold off on new projects in the swamp for at least 10 years to allow time for study.
And that federal agency has asserted legal rights to the water that feeds the swamp and its sprawling wildlife refuge. In a letter, the agency said withdrawing 1.4 million gallons a day from the Floridan Aquifer for the Twin Pines project would disrupt “the natural flow of groundwater in this interconnected system (that) could have far-reaching consequences” for the refuge, the habitat for native animals and plants, the two rivers that flow from the swamp into the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding areas.
So who does this help? It’s a pretty high price for a few jobs.
Let’s not forget the young ones in daycare
The Georgia Infant-Toddler Coalition, a group of over 60 organizations, wrote legislators a few days ago to remind us not to forget to pay attention to the well-being of our infants and toddlers, especially those whose families are in financial distress.
Based on recommendations by the House Working Group on Early Childhood Education, this year there were proposals for our pre-K programs to reduce the class size to 20 students, raise salaries of lead and assistant teachers and increase funding for various projects.
The coalition suggested – and I agree – the state needs to find a way to spend more on Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services Program (CAPS), which helps low-income working families with infants and toddlers up to 3 years old.
Unfortunately, limited funding means this program serves only about 14 percent of the children who are eligible. And this program will lose even more money, $173 million, in September when federal relief funds end.
The House has already passed its version of the 2025 state budget but it’s far from being finalized.
There’s time.
I hope this letter will spur the lawmakers who are crafting the budget to take another look at the CAPS Program. We must invest in our children as early as possible.
DeKalb Day at the Capitol
Once a year, we celebrate our county– the best county–at the Capitol. It was great to catch up with DeKalb’s movers and shakers. We heard from CEO Michael Thurmond, and we celebrated the achievements and retirement of Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler.
Go Vote!
Today is Election Day in the Presidential Preference Primary. If you haven’t already voted please do. It’s so important to vote in every election!
You must vote at your assigned precinct, which is open from 7 am to 7 pm. So long as you are in line by 7 pm, you can vote.
You can find your precinct address at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
Problems at the polls? Call the Georgia Democrats voter protection hotline at 888-730-5816.
Yours in service,
