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2017 Legislative Session

The governor’s state

Yesterday, Gov. Deal gave another State of the State address and once again laid out a vision out of touch with everyday Georgians. The governor’s state is one where hundreds of thousands of Georgians go without access to health care, thanks to Gov. Deal’s refusal to expand Medicaid. Georgia citizens lost years of progress when @GovernorDeal refused to expand Medicaid. #gapol https://t.co/DvjMqaOzHw — Better Georgia (@bettergeorgia) January 11, 2017 While @GovernorDeal waits, Georgia's rural hospital crisis

2017 Legislative Session

The 2017 GOP legislative priorities (so far)

The legislative session has begun! For the next several months, our elected legislators will be drafting, vetting and voting on new laws. GOP leaders in both the House and the Senate have already begun talking up their legislative priorities. The first week is mostly ceremonial, but priorities are beginning to emerge. Expect that some leaders are also eyeing higher office for 2018. Republicans in the Senate have already announced their legislative priorities, which include transportation, education funding,

2017 Legislative Session

Immigrants, refugees targets of upcoming legislation

Immigrants and refugees are going to be top targets this upcoming legislative session. When legislators convene on Monday for the start of the 2017-2018 legislative sessions, bills targeting Georgia’s immigrant and refugee populations are going to see lots of action. Although nothing has been officially filed yet, the AJC recently reported on bills that are expected to show up. Not surprisingly, Sen. Josh McKoon — who has previously backed other anti-immigrant measures — is one

2017 Legislative Session

Rural Georgia’s health care future: telemedicine?

Two important rural issues are beginning to intersect: lack of access to health care and poor broadband connections in many rural communities. This has given rise to growing conversations around telemedicine. The way these two issues play out highlights the continued disparities rural Georgians face in their ability to access the infrastructure, resources, and services they need to thrive. But, one of these issues — health care — is so partisan it’s hard to get

2017 Legislative Session

Lack of diversity in Georgia’s legislature

A recent article in The Atlantic observed that Gwinnett County, despite its high level of diversity, is run predominantly by white officials. “In Gwinnett County today, 20 percent of all residents are Latinos, and a majority of county residents are minorities (Asians make up 11 percent and African-Americans 26 percent). That blend makes Gwinnett the most diverse county in the Southeast. Yet it is a county almost exclusively represented by white elected and appointed officials.”

2016 Legislative Session

Georgia’s health care strategy: wait and see while the hot mess unfolds

Health care is going to be a hot mess come the new year. Unfortunately, women, transgender folks, people of color and rural communities are going to be the first to feel the pinch of many impending changes. And the potential “solutions” from Republicans at both a state and national level have not been promising. Republicans in Congress are antsy to gut the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) — putting at least 1 million Georgians at risk