By: Sen. Tonya Anderson (D – Lithonia)

Senator Anderson’s first session as a state Senator has come to an end and she couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to serve the citizens of District 43. It has been a long, exciting, and productive three months and she looks forward to many more. Over 1,000 bills were filed in the Senate and House this session and while she would love to be able to tell you about everything that happened, she’ll just touch on a few highlights. Here are a couple of things that passed on the Senate floor last week:

HB 139 would increase school transparency by requiring the State Board of Education, local boards of education, and charter schools to make financial information public. HB 139 also creates the “Educating Children of Military Families Act” which would allow the Department of Education to track the progress of students who are the children of active duty military parents in order to better understand the challenges those students face.

HB 154 would allow dental hygienists to perform certain duties when a dentist is out of the office.

HB 198 would require local school systems to provide information about the flu vaccine to parents of student in grades 6-12.

HB 250 would remove the requirement that a person who works with foster children must have an additional background check if they had a satisfactory fingerprint check in the last 12 months.

HB 279 would allow victims of violence to petition the court for a name change and, if the petition is granted, the requirement to make the name change public would be waived.

HB 322 would expand the definition of a war veteran by extending the date of those who were active duty to August 1, 1990.

HB 343 would update Georgia Code to replace the words “mentally retarded” and “mental retardation” with “intellectual disability.”

HB 470 would develop a grant program designed to help supprt military communities.

Though the 2023 legislative session is over, Senator Anderson will not stop working to represent your interests under the Gold Dome. The summer and fall months will be filled with study committee meetings and research so the senators can be prepared to work hard during the 2018 legislative session. That being said, please let Senator Anderson know if you have any questions, comments or concerns about legislation that has passed, or if you have any ideas for the upcoming session. She would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you again for your prayers and support!