Augusta's state lawmakers hold town hall, discuss work in past legislative session

The Augusta state legislative delegation had a busy session in Atlanta this year, and on Thursday some of the members gave a public update during the delegations first town hall.

State Rep. Brian Prince, chair of the delegation, was joined by Reps. Mark Newton and Lynn Gladney along with Sen. Harold Jones II. Together, they gave updates on local legislation that moved forward, what they had learned, and what their priorities may be in the coming session.

"So many times you get a quick blurb on the news or you read something online, and that's not the whole story, that doesn't cover the 40 days that these lawmakers toiled under the gold dome," said moderator Brad Means of Channel 6 as the town hall opened.

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Mayoral votes, James Brown Arena, and more

Two key bills that local legislators worked on were setting up referendums. One would ask voters whether the mayor, who can currently only cast a vote on the commission in case of a tie, should have a full seat.

"This seemed like a pretty straightforward question," said Newton, who supported the Senate bill to create the referendum. "(Both sides will) make their case to the voters and the voters are going to get to decide."

The other referendum would ask voters to approve a 0.5% sales tax to fund the construction of the James Brown Arena. Newton elaborated at length about why he thought a sales tax, which could bring in revenue from outside the county, might fare better than a previous failed referendum to fund the project through property tax.

Jones also gave an update on his bill, SB 177 , which would establish the Georgia Food Security Advisory Council to recommend policy proposals to address food insecurity. The legislation stalled in the House until next session.

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"I'm confident that next year we'll get it back to Rules (committee) ... and actually get it to the floor," he said. "And we can actually start really addressing food insecurity."

Prince was able to update on a project he said he had wanted to work on as a freshman legislator 10 years ago, bringing a veterans cemetery to Augusta. In recent years he was able to get $1 million from the state, but the project still needs to get federal support.

"Basically, that money has been pulled out to the side and used for something else now with the promise that, 'Hey, once the Feds get on board, we're going to put that back,'" Prince said.

Gladney, who was a freshman this session, highlighted a bill she worked on to create a retired service plate for reservists and National Guard, an area that Gladney, as a veteran and the motor vehicle registration director for Richmond County, knew well.

"Anybody who serves a tenure of 20 years or more will be eligible to go into their local tag office," she said. "If they live in Richmond County, come see me, I'm gonna make sure you get the first license plate."

Learning how life works under the Gold Dome

Gladney said it surprised her how much there was to learn about being a legislator, even going in well prepared to her first session.

"There were a lot of 'brand news' for me to kind of learn about the space," Gladney said. "So a lot of those things were very, very interesting for me."

Asked about Temporary Assistance for Needy Families expansion, Jones made a point to highlight a place where legislators were able to work across the aisle. During the session, the General Assembly passed a law — now signed by Gov. Brian Kemp — to allow pregnant mothers to qualify for the support.

"I think that if you asked someone on the street, so to speak, 'If you're a Republican, would you support this?' They would be like, 'Oh, no, of course not,'" Jones said. "But that's not true at all, because they had pretty much unanimous support. ... Believe me, we do fight sometimes. But it's not always within the silos that we see on television."

Newton, the only Republican at the town hall, spoke about the balance not only between parties but between regions as well. Even with Atlanta's large population, he said, all of Georgia got its say — including Augusta.

"It's fairly well balanced," he said. "And we, Augusta, does not get run over."

What comes next

As the evening wrapped up, each legislator had a chance to present some of their key goals for the rest of the summer and next session.

• Harold Jones II — continuing to work on food insecurity, and forming a study committee on home healthcare;

• Lynn Gladney — working with the state Department of Veterans Services after the closure of local veterans organization Forces United;

• Mark Newton — the two upcoming referendums and increasing access to healthcare, including lowering prescription costs; and,

• Brian Prince — keeping the delegation together and working with local officials, as well as serving on a commission with the Secretary of State and several study committees.

Following the townhall, Prince said the event went well, and he hopes to do another before the next legislative session begins in January.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta General Assembly members hold town hall on last session