OP ED – State Rep Alan Powell on Third Week of General Assembly

Alan Powell 2015On Monday, January 23, we returned to the Gold Dome to begin the third week of the 2017 session.

Last week was extremely busy and brought about significant progress as several House committees and subcommittees met throughout the week to consider legislation, and on Thursday, the House overwhelmingly passed our first bill of the session, the Amended Fiscal Year 2017 budget.

You can read more about last week below in my “Week in Review.”

 

Week In Review

We also convened for a joint session with the House on Wednesday to hear the Supreme Court of Georgia’s Chief Justice P. Harris Hines deliver the annual State of the Judiciary Address, which reports what the judicial branch has accomplished and the challenges it faces in the year ahead.

Chief Justice Hines, who serves as the head of the judiciary, noted that 2017 marks a “historic year of change” for Georgia’s judicial branch with the expansion of Supreme Court Justices serving on our state’s highest court. Previously, Georgia’s Supreme Court consisted of only seven Supreme Court Justices, but this year, for the first time in Georgia’s history, Georgia’s Supreme Court has nine Supreme Court Justices. This expansion is both historic and necessary as Georgia has seen immense growth in its population and overall economy in recent years, considerably increasing and intensifying the judicial needs of our citizens.

I am confident that these new justices and judges will not only provide a fresh perspective on our justice system, but will cohesively and consistently interpret the law and fairly administer justice to Georgia’s citizens.

Another historic change that Chief Justice Hines highlighted in his address is the substantial progress our state has made in the criminal justice arena. While our progress is noted, he named several areas of the court system that also need improvements.

Chief Justice Hines pointed out that our state has the highest rate of individuals on probation in the country, and about half of those individuals are on probation for simple misdemeanors.

In addition to improving Georgia’s probation system, another of his priorities is closing the gap in legal representation for Georgians who cannot afford an attorney. While wealthy Georgians can afford to hire lawyers, and low-income Georgians are eligible for legal aid services, and many times working, middle-class Georgians are unable to afford legal representation because they make too much to qualify for aid but not enough to hire a lawyer. Chief Justice Hines told me and my colleagues he will work with Georgia’s State Bar and our state’s law schools to develop a program to expand the supervised practice of Georgia law students to address this gap in representation.

This year, more than 1,000 law students will represent low and moderate income Georgians in legal matters who otherwise could not afford a lawyer. This program helps our law students gain experience, helps Georgians who otherwise would not have representation in the courtroom, and does not create any excess cost for the client or the state.

Finally, Chief Justice Hines stressed the critical importance of Georgia’s juvenile court judges who fight to protect the well-being of our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. Chief Justice Hines asked for the General Assembly’s support in institutionalizing a juvenile court data exchange system which would ensure that judges and state agencies involved in a child’s life have access to the same information, and are therefore able to make the best and wisest decisions for the child. As Chairman of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, I look forward to carefully reviewing any legislation that may come before us that aims to improve our state’s overall criminal justice system and our public safety.

I am honored to serve you as Chairman of Public Safety and Homeland Security. I will also serve you as member on Appropriations, Governmental Affairs, Motor Vehicles, Regulated Industries, Rules, and Small Business Committees.

Please feel free to contact me by email at any time with questions, concerns, or ideas. You are always welcome to come by my capitol office at 613-B Coverdell Legislative Office Building. My office number is 404-464-3793.

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I commit to you my undying allegiance to our Constitution and to upholding the rights it endows us.

Sincerely,
Alan