Guest column: Legislative update and Christmas and New Year wishes from Ga. Rep. Williamson

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful holiday season filled with love, laughter, and cherished moments with family and friends.

The House Study Committees have been busy finalizing their reports ahead of the next session, which begins on January 12th. As we look ahead, the House majority will focus on what matters most to Georgia families.

Lower taxes and more affordability, including continued efforts to reduce the state income tax.
Relief for homeowners, especially first-time buyers and seniors facing rising property taxes.
Smart growth in AI and technology, ensuring innovation creates opportunity without sacrificing common sense.
Supporting Georgia’s forestry and biomass industries, protecting jobs and rural communities.
Keeping education strong and communities safe, because nothing matters more than our kids and our neighborhoods.

When the next session starts, I will send weekly emails to update you on the activities of the General Assembly.

The House Study Committee on Funding the Next Generation 9-1-1 Releases Final Report.The study committee determined that Georgia’s legacy 9-1-1 system is under pressure due to decreasing landline use, increasing demand for wireless and data-driven emergency services, and a growing dependence on local funds to support operations. The study committee recommends establishing a statewide 0-1-1 fee, replacing local fees that would be capped at the current level, and depositing revenues into a constitutionally protected trust fund.

The House Study Committee on Affordability and Accessibility of Georgia’s Legitimation Process Adopts Final Report.Legitimation is the legal process through which a father of a child born outside of marriage can be recognized as the child’s legal father (it’s more than just requesting a DNA test). This study committee recommends greater efficiency in the legitimation process for uncontested petitions, encourages judicial circuits to better assist fathers filing petitions, and requires the publication of standardized forms on court websites, among other recommendations.

Hurricane Relief is on its Way for Farmers Impacted by Hurricane Helene. Georgia’s Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program will open soon. We’ve invested thousands of hours to maximize federal aid and streamline the application process for impacted producers. We look forward to announcing the application period and more details once approved by the USDA. For more information, check out: FarmRecovery.com

Insurance Commissioner King Announces New Wave of Savings for Georgia DriversInsurance Commissioner John King announces additional insurance savings for Liberty Mutual and Safeco customers in Georgia with significant rate reductions. These changes reflect a strong collaboration between the Governor’s office, the General Assembly, and the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire.

Speaker Mike Johnson Unveils a Health Care Plan.Since 2014, premium costs on the Affordable Care Act exchanges have increased nearly twice as fast as employer coverage and over three times faster than inflation. “The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act will reduce Obamacare premiums by 12 percent and save taxpayers $30 billion, says Speaker Johnson.” This bill focuses on putting money into patients’ hands rather than insurance companies, lowering health care costs through pharmacy benefit manager transparency reforms, and expanding access to association health plans. Take a look at Speaker Johnson’s press release

Inflation Didn’t Just Show Up-It Was Funded by Decisions in Washington D.C., Op-ed by Rep. Will Wade

Talk with families in North Georgia or anywhere across our country, and you’ll hear the same story: everyday life has gotten more expensive. We are all feeling it. Groceries, gas, rent, electricity, home insurance — costs that used to be manageable now feel like constant pressure. People are adjusting their spending, delaying major purchases and stretching paychecks in ways they didn’t have to just a few years ago.
There are plenty of explanations floating around Washington D.C. Some point to global instability. Others blame supply chains or corporations. Those may be factors, but they don’t tell the full story of the real cause. When you do look for the full story – it becomes clear that a series of policy choices made by Democrats in Washington helped ignite and prolong the cost-of-living crisis we are still battling today.

First: A hard turn on American energy.One of the earliest and most consequential decisions came in the energy sector. In 2021, the Biden Administration halted the Keystone XL pipeline, slowed federal leasing and made domestic permitting more complicated. Energy producers and investors immediately understood the message: expect a tougher environment for American oil and gas.Here in Georgia, we understand that when energy costs rise, everything else rises with it. Farmers pay more to fuel equipment. Truckers pay more to move goods. Families pay more to keep the lights on and to get to work, school or practices. Higher fuel and electricity prices ripple across the entire economy, and they did.

A $1.9 Trillion spending bill that overheated the economy.Next came the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Democrats passed it alone, even as economists that included former Obama advisers warned it could overstimulate an economy that was already dealing with the effects of reopening after COVID. They were right. Too much money chased too few goods, and inflation accelerated at the fastest pace in 40 years.

Housing and groceries became a daily stress factor.Housing costs soared as demand spiked, interest rates stayed artificially low and construction materials became more expensive. Food prices jumped as farmers faced higher diesel costs, fertilizer spikes, labor shortages and regulatory hurdles. Every link in the supply chain felt strained and our families paid the price.

A regulatory tide that added even more unnecessary cost.At the very moment Americans needed relief, federal agencies under Biden added layers of new rules on agriculture, transportation, finance and energy. Every new requirement carried a cost that ultimately showed up on store shelves and monthly bills.

It is time to work of fixing what is broken.Congress has started the slow process of correcting course. A good example is H.R. 4776, the SPEED Act, which speeds up energy permitting and helps rebuild reliable, affordable American energy production — a key step toward lowering costs.

Georgia offers a clear contrast and the right answer: balanced budgets, pro-taxpayer policies, consistent energy policy and a business climate that encourages investment rather than chasing it away through unneeded and costly bureaucracy. It’s a model Washington should learn from.

In Georgia, this next legislative session, I believe we will continue to reduce and remove cost driving regulations, provide meaningful income tax reductions and aim to bring meaningful and sustainable property tax caps and reductions.

Inflation didn’t appear by accident. It followed choices and a lot of bad ones. With better choices, we can restore affordability and give families room to breathe again