On March 27, 2019, the Rules Committee of the House took up the Airport Takeover Bill proposed by the Senate. Many people presented and asked questions using outdated facts and figures, some 20 years old. Once all presentations and debate exhausted, Transportation Chairman Kevin Tanner stitched together pieces of the takeover, jet-fuel, and HB 511. This passed out of the Rules Committee and was sent to the Floor
SB 131 creates the Airport Transparency Legislative Oversight Committee. This committee is charged with reviewing "operations, contracts, safety, financing, organization and structure" of Georgia's commercial airports. The measure does not just apply to Hartfield-Jackson it would include any commercial airport that boards at least 300 commercial passengers on planes a year. This would include airports in Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Brunswick, Columbus, Macon, Savannah and Valdosta. 
The bill includes what the House previously passed regarding the suspension of jet-fuel taxes on airlines for 20 years. This would save the airlines $30-40 million a year.
SB 131 includes parts of Chairman Tanner's HB 511. This would allow rideshares to be taxed. The taxes levied would then go to public transportation in rural and underserved areas for citizens to ride to jobs and school.
The AJC wrote an article, Georgia House backs airport oversight instead of takeover, which includes remarks from several elected officials from across the state.
On March 28, 2019, the House voted and passed SB 131 104 - 70.

January 14, 2019 was swearing in day for all of Georgia’s Legislative and Executive branches.
Our granddaughter Isabella held the Bible for my swearing in.

Governor Kemp, like any new governor, is still consolidating his team. His 2019 Budget recommendations reflected many of his campaign promises including salary increases for teachers, rural economic development, strong support for early intervention for school children., and continuation of judicial reform.  Anti-immigrant, anti-gay, and gun rights promises are on the back burner so far.

The 14 brand new Representatives in the Democratic Caucus brought a high level of experience and determination swelling our ranks to 75 (out of 180) and bringing new ideas and energy.  Most of the new Reps come from the Metro Atlanta area and they shifted control of Fulton, Gwinnett, and Cobb local delegations to a Democratic majority. Dekalb has no Republicans in its local delegation.

Focus on bringing rural Georgia into Georgia’s thriving economy produced two bills.  If passed, these initiatives will allow Electrical Membership Corporations (EMCs) and telephone cooperatives to apply for federal grants and loans for broadband expansion through the USDA’s Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program passed Congress in 2018. Here are the current versions:  http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20192020/179472.pdf 
and http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20192020/179963.pdf. To read more on this issue please go to : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_bpq6UdEJhSJW5Sp-O34_NJaGwt1OABSEumhDAOZ5tI/edit?usp=sharing

Here are my current leadership positions:  City of Atlanta Delegation, Chair and House Democratic Caucus, Secretary
Committees and Caucus: Appropriations (Health Subcommittee), Transportation, Natural Resources and the Environment, Higher Education, Ethics, the Fulton County Delegation, and the Working Families Caucus.
​                 Please contact me anytime at pat@patgardner.org
As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your state representative!

On Thursday, January 25th, Members of the Georgia House Democratic Caucus met to discuss healthcare access and Medicaid expansion. We discussed thebarriers that currently prevent over 240,000 hardworking Georgians from receiving affordable health care, and introduced House Bill 669 to expand Medicaid here in Georgia. You can view the press release here.