Georgia Session Update: Week 1

Georgia legislators returned to the State Capitol on Monday, January 8 for the 2018 Regular Session. New this year, the American Heart Association will urge legislators to support Telephone CPR legislation aimed to ensure that 911 callers receive high-quality CPR instructions if needed.

Action Needed

• Please invite friends and family to like American Heart Association - Georgia on Facebook and follow @YouretheCureGA on Twitter. Feel free to share or retweet any posted information on your work or personal social media accounts.
• Ask board members and other key volunteers if they'd like to visit Atlanta to see one way the AHA uses donations. Send all of their contact information to [email protected].
• Ask friends, family and volunteers to join You're the Cure. They can fill out a sign up form found on SharePoint or sign up online at www.yourethecure.org.

Key Dates

• January 27: Atlanta Winter Beer Fest. The Smoke-free Atlanta Coalition is sponsoring this event and will have a table with volunteers dispensing information regarding our policy goals. Read more at http://atlantawinterbeerfest.com/.

Campaign Updates

State Campaigns

Telephone CPR: During this session the AHA is advocating for the passage of legislation requiring all 911 telecommunicators that provide dispatch for emergency conditions be trained in the delivery of high quality telephone CPR. Currently, we are in the process of finalizing sponsorship of this legislation and will be moving it through the bill drafting process in the coming weeks. Show your support for Telephone CPR by signing our petition at http://act.yourethecure.org/FU9FBQn and asking family, friends and volunteers across the state to sign it as well. Contact [email protected] with questions.

Quality Physical Education: The AHA will also be advocating for the passage of physical education assessment legislation. The goal of this policy is to increase accountability reporting of schools to provide quality physical education based on specific assessment measures. Much like with Telephone CPR, this policy is in the process of being drafted into legislation and should emerge as a bill within the coming weeks of session. Contact [email protected] with questions.

Local Campaigns

Smoke-free Atlanta: As the new city government has been sworn in the smoke-free Atlanta coalition will be actively engaging the city council and mayor in the coming weeks and months. However, the passage of a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance relies on not legislative but community support. To that end, the coalition will be engaging the local community via events and educational activities as January moves forward. In fact, the Smoke-free Atlanta Coalition is sponsoring the Atlanta Winter Beer Festival and will have a table with volunteers dispensing information regarding our policy goals. Read more at http://atlantawinterbeerfest.com/.

Smoke-free Marietta: As an official member of the Breath Easy Cobb County Coalition, the American Heart Association will be assisting in the launch of a public outreach and education campaign in the coming weeks and months. This will aid in achieving the coalitions goal of advancing smoke-free policies in the City of Marietta. This campaign is still in its planning stages and We will provide updates as it moves into its next stages.

If you live in Atlanta or Marietta and would like to be engaged, please email [email protected].

In Other News

You can keep track of each day of the legislative session by visiting http://www.gpb.org/lawmakers. While there you can view live streams from both chambers of the General Assembly and watch the capital update.

Articles of Interest:

• Governor Deal Releases FY2019 Budget Proposal (GeorgiaPol.com) 
• Georgia governor concerned about offshore drilling marring ‘pristine’ coastline (MyAJC.com) 
• What Georgia’s governor outlined in his final State of the State (MyAJC.com) 
• The Democratic response to Deal’s final State of the State (MyAJC.com) 
• Deal on latest adoption bill: ‘It’s far from meeting my definition of clean’ (MyAJC.com) 

Key Leadership Roles to Know:

• Speaker of the House Rep. David Ralston
• Speaker Pro Tempore: Rep. Jan Jones
• House Majority Leader: Rep. Jon Burns
• House Minority Leader: Rep. Stacy Abrams
• Chair of House Health Committee: Rep. Sharon Cooper
• Chair of House Education Committee: Rep. Brooks Coleman
• Senate President (Lt. Governor): Casey Cagle
• Senate President Pro Tempore: Sen. David Shafer
• Senate Majority Leader: Sen. Bill Cowsert
• Senate Minority Leader: Sen. Steve Henson
• Chair of Senate Health Committee: Sen. Renee Unterman
• Chair of Senate Education & Youth Committee: Sen. Lindsey Tippins