By: Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R – Dallas)
One month has come and gone at the Gold Dome in the blink of an eye, and it is hard to believe January is over. I have enjoyed learning the lay of the land and am ready to dive deeper into legislation. My purpose in being here is and always will be to make West Georgia and our state the best it can be. I am committed to keeping you updated along the way, so I would like to give you some of the highlights from the last few weeks.
One of my biggest priorities this session will be fighting for legislation that will make voting in Georgia as transparent and secure as it can be. To address this, several election reform bills have filed, and have sponsored Senate Bill 29 and co-signed Senate Bill 62 and Senate Bill 67. SB 29 and SB 67 would both require electors to provide certain forms of government identification with their absentee ballot applications. This will ensure secure voting, such as people from other states voting in Georgia, from taking place in elections. SB 62 would ensure the name and designation of the precinct appears on every ballot. The legislation I introduced simply ensures a consistent standard for fair and equitable access to voting for all Georgians. Anyone opposed to my legislation needs to explain how they believe in separate and unequal treatment for Georgia voters based on whether they vote in person or absentee. The standard should apply to both. All Georgians who show up to vote in person, whether early or on Election Day, have to show proof of who they are with a photo ID. To uphold the integrity of our elections, voters who choose not to show up in person should be held to the same standard required to those who do.
Last week, the Education and Youth Committee had its first meeting. The focal point of our meeting was discussing the impact of COVID-19 and the potential impacts of learning loss our children are experiencing in Georgia’s education system. I anticipate this will be another critical issue to address throughout our time meeting as a committee. We need to mend the learning loss that has occurred as a result of schools going virtual during the pandemic. I emphasized the importance of getting the necessary resources to schools to prevent students from falling behind and to prevent teachers from leaving the field of education. The issues created by the pandemic cannot be solved overnight, but I am dedicated to doing everything in my power to help our schools and educators recover and see our schools open.
As always, it is my pleasure to represent and serve the 31st District here in Atlanta. I am looking forward to the new month and upcoming legislative days that will come with it. To track the progress of any bill, visit https://www.legis.ga.gov/and utilize the ‘Search Legislation’ bar. Please feel welcome to contact my office if you have questions or concerns. Thank you for your support. God bless West Georgia!
Sen. Jason Anavitarte represents the 31st Senate District which includes Haralson, Paulding and Polk County. He may be reached via email at jason.anavitarte@senate.ga.gov