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On Monday, Jan. 13, the Georgia House of Representatives convened for the second regular session of the 155th Georgia General Assembly, marking the official start of 40 legislative days in which the General Assembly must complete its business.

I am grateful for the great honor and responsibility that you have bestowed on me as I represent you. I take this duty very seriously and make my decisions with the betterment of our district and our great state in mind. 

The opening week was marked with sadness, however, as we paused to remember the sudden passing of our colleague, Rep. Jay Powell. Speaker Ralston took to the well to honor Chairman Powell with special remarks about his time as a state representative, public servant and champion for rural Georgia. Chairman Powell was full of integrity and wisdom, he respected his colleagues on both sides of the isle, and his presence will be missed terribly at the State Capitol.

On Thursday, Jan. 16, the House and Senate convened in the House chamber for a joint session to hear Gov. Kemp’s State of the State address. During his first State of the State address, Kemp implored the General Assembly to help build a safer, stronger and more prosperous state, and this week, he commended the legislature for its hard work to accomplish those goals throughout the past year. Kemp reminded us of the great successes that we have experienced in Georgia recently, including reaching the lowest unemployment rate in the state’s history at 3.3%, creating 64,000 new private sector jobs and being named the No. 1 state to do business for the seventh straight year. Despite these successes, we have much work to do to make our state even stronger.

Kemp presented his major agenda items for 2020: he reaffirmed his commitment to Georgia’s schools and vowed to fully fund our public school education again, while also accounting for enrollment growth and additional resources needed to properly educate Georgia students; he urged the General Assembly to focus our legislative efforts on improving access to quality health care across Georgia and promoting better health outcomes for Georgians; to continue to enhance public safety across our state; and to build on former Gov. Nathan Deal’s goals to help encourage and increase adoption in Georgia. Finally, Kemp commended former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, who was in attendance at the State of the State address, on his recent retirement after serving as one of our state’s boldest advocates in Washington D.C. for the past 15 years.

In Isakson’s honor, the governor announced that the University of Georgia will create the Johnny Isakson Professorship for Parkinson’s Research.

This year promises to be interesting, with political intrigue, pending budget cuts, and a potential fight over allowing various forms of gambling in our State.

Please contact me (404) 656-5146 or by email at randy.nix@house.ga.gov with your concerns, thoughts and questions. Thank you for placing your trust in me as I represent you in the State House.

– Rep. Randy Nix