Georgia District 125 Representative Gary Richardson says his short time in Atlanta since winning the election has been a whirlwind of activity.
By the time that Richardson was sworn in after the special election, there were only four days left for the 2024 General Assembly; as it turns out, it is the last week of the Assembly when most of the sausage is finally made.
“That is the time when bills from the Senate must match up with the bills coming out of the House, people have to tweak the language and make sure the bills square-up, so to speak, and everyone is under a deadline,” Richardson said.
If the two fail to align their bills, then the bill goes into limbo for another year.
One example would be the bill to allow sports betting, of which a final version never made it to the House floor.
After a tough campaign that took up almost all of his time, Richardson said he had a lot of catching up to do once being sworn in.
“I have to say that (Superior Court Judge) Barry Fleming really paved the way for me. All of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have been very supportive, and, of course, I have Jody Lott, she has just been wonderful,” Richardson said.
Richardson obviously made some important connections within his short time in Atlanta so far, landing seats on the Public Safety/Homeland Security, Public Health and Transportation Committees.
It may be a relief to residents, especially in Grovetown, to know that Richardson is on the Transportation Committee since the state has historically been lacking when it comes to handling the growth of that area with road and bridge projects.
While there were a flurry of bills swirling around under the gold dome, Richardson did get to cast his vote for some legislation he feels is not only important for Columbia County, but the entire state.
The Assembly passed a new immigration law that forbids the designation of “sanctuary cities” by allowing the state to withhold funding for any municipality that designates itself as such.
Another bill that passed the assembly and awaits Governor Brian Kemp’s signature is a bill that forbids farmland acreage and land near military bases to be sold to companies with ties to foreign nations.
Without naming any particular company or nation, Richardson says that most of his colleagues agreed that allowing potentially hostile nations to purchase large swaths of land near a place such as Fort Eisenhower, home to both the Signal Corps and National Security Agency, could potentially affect national security.
Richardson says that it is too early to discuss what might be on his agenda for next year’s session, saying he likes to take one issue at a time.
“I am not one to advocate for a bunch of new laws that may have unintended consequences, but I am excited to be able to roll up my sleeves and serve the folks of Columbia County,” Richardson said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
