Pictured: On July 20, 2018, on Black Island, Mayor Pro Tem Griffin Lotson, Rep. Jeff Jones, and The Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters.

Photo Courtesy: NASA - NASA images show the polution impact Florence had on coast.

1. Coal Ash Pond Dewatering; require public notice prior to dewatering; 2018’s bill – HB879 voted out of House 169-3; passed out of Senate NR&E committee; Senate never brought bill for vote.
2. Coal Ash Solid Waste Landfill storage - minimum siting standards and prior public notice for new MSW coal ash storage; 2018’s bill – HB880; never granted a House NR&E sub or full committee vote
3. Stop issuing GA “Drivers Licenses” to individuals without “lawful status” to be in US or GA; per DDS, 50,000 such licenses have been issued in GA; replace with “Driver Courtesy Card”; 2018’s bill – HB484; never granted a House hearing.
4. Out of State Cash Wire Transfer Fees - collect a fee for out-of-state cash wire transfers targeting drug dealers, gamblers, human traffickers and others who hide cash; $100 million projected net revenue, with no cost to Georgia taxpayers; propose dedicating revenue to supplement local law enforcement pay; 2018’s bill – HB66; never granted a House committee hearing.
5. Georgia’s Open Meeting Act - strengthen to clearly define that the “final” meeting agenda must be posted one full week prior to the meeting; establish clear provisions on adding “emergency items” to the agenda; 2018’s bill – HB1040.
6. State Owned Property in McIntosh & Long Counties; significant loss of tax revenue; counties not being properly remunerated; working to increase DNR budget to replace lost revenue to counties or find other avenues to replace lost local property tax revenue.
7. Teacher Out-of-Pocket School Supplies Tax Credit– change current tax deduction of $250 to a tax credit of $250; estimated impact of $25 million to Georgia budget; 2017’s bill – HB13
8. GA Oyster Aquaculture Production - Promote growth of commercial oyster production; currently, commercially sold oysters must be wild grown & harvested; change code/regulations to allow farm grown oyster aquaculture and to allow out-of-state importation of Oyster Spat; DNR Commissioner Williams & Department of Ag Commissioner Gary Black are fully behind the initiative; legislation is currently being drafted.

Revised September 19, 2018 - Download PDF Copy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Monday, September 17, 2018

Contact: Betsy Theroux
(404) 656-3996
betsy.theroux@house.ga.gov

Rep. Jeff Jones to Reintroduce Legislation to Protect State’s Water Supply, Issues Statement on Collapse of Coal Ash Landfill

ATLANTA – State Representative Jeff Jones (R-Brunswick) today announced that he will reintroduce legislation in the 2019 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly that will focus on protecting the state’s water supplies from heavy metal toxicity that exists in coal ash. 

Click to RSVP and or email Denise Deal at denise@thesassafrasgroup.com

Download a copy of the invitation via <<PDF copy here>>

Pictured: Rep. Jeff Jones with Colonel Amy Bumgarner, Commanding Officer US Air Force Special Investigations Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training, Glynco, GA , and Linda J Seawell, Veteran's Council of the Golden Isles "American Patriot Award" recipient, at Glynn County's annual Memorial Day Remembrance. 

"Memorial Day is a time to pause, honor, and remember those who paid the ultimate price to protect America and defend freedom around the world.  Memorial Day began at the national level on May 30, 1868, as Decoration Day, with a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery to honor fallen Civil War soldiers. In fact, this weekend marks the 150th anniversary of that first “Memorial Day” remembrance, when Congressman James Garfield—who would later become president—addressed a crowd of more than 5,000 at Arlington Cemetery. This tradition continued to grow, and following World War I, Decoration Day became a day of remembrance of all soldiers, sailors, and Marines who died in service to their nation, not just the Civil War."

Pictured: Students of SSCS, Faculty and Staff. Photo Credit: Unknown SSCS Proud Parent. Hi-Res copy click-here.

Students of Saint Simons Christian School, visiting Atlanta and touring the Georgia State Capitol, meet with Representative Jeff Jones, to learn about the legislative process. "Our son, now in college, attended SSCS from kindergarten through 5th grade," explained Rep. Jones. "It's an excellent school providing a high-quality education through a Biblical world-view. For years after our son moved on, I served on their Board and, as a volunteer, took care of their computer network. It was great to spend time with these students this week."

Learn more about Saint Simons Christian School, Click here!

By Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge)

From the world’s busiest airport to the fastest growing container port in America, Georgia leads the nation in moving people and goods. That didn’t happen by accident.

On the contrary, for generations, Georgians have invested in the infrastructure necessary to facilitate our forward momentum. 

Recently, we have invested in deepening the Port of Savannah with a quarter of a billion dollars in state funding. We have also modernized our funding for roads and bridges through the Transportation Funding Act of 2015 (HB 170).

We have planned prudently and invested wisely, but we still have more work to do. And, for the first time in many decades, we have an ally in Washington, D.C.

Pictured: Representative Jeff Jones and "Hairy Dawg" of the Georgia Bulldogs.

On Thursday, February 15, we completed the 22^nd day of the 40-day 2018 session. “Crossover Day”, which this year is on February 28^th, is also the 28^th of the 2018 session. This date, which can vary from session to session, is the cut-off date for legislation that has any chance of being signed into law by Governor Deal.  For bills to move ahead in the legislative process, they must have passed out of each respective legislative body – the House of Representatives, in my case, or the Senate - by the end of the session day on “Crossover Day.”

For several challenging bills I am sponsoring (HB-66-Cash Wire Transfers; HB-484-Changing Driver’s License for Certain Persons; HB-879-Coal Ash Dewatering Public Notice; HB-880-Coal Ash Landfill Storage Public Notice) it means I have seven legislative days left to: 1) get the bills voted out of sub-committee, then 2) voted out of full committee. Next, 3) I have to work on the surviving bills to get them added to what we call the “Rules Calendar” by the Rules Committee; the Rules Calendar is the calendar of bills that have a chance of being voted on by the full House of Representatives. Whew! Makes me tired thinking of all the work still to be done. But I do not give up easily on legislative matters that I, and many others in our state, believe are important.

Georgia driver’s license issued to illegal immigrants with “deferred action on deportation” and to legal immigrants and guest workers. Photo: GA DDS.

Georgia issues same drivers license to illegal aliens with deferred deportation as legal immigrants: DDS policy should be changed in 2018 Georgia legislative session.  #SupportHB484