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Found 20 matching passages in 5 documents.
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Rural Development Committee · January 28, 2026
House Rural Development Committee, January 28, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee unanimously recommended passage of HB 659, which the sponsor said would extend loan repayment and financial assistance eligibility to optometrists to help address rural eye-care shortages. A Georgia Optometric Association witness clarified that the bill would not create an optometry school, although the sponsor discussed that related effort. The committee also heard from a regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about rural healthcare funding, telehealth, workforce training, nutrition and prescription drug costs. Members asked about measles, food assistance rules, microplastics and financial pressures on rural pharmacies. The director offered to provide measles information afterward. A later question about allowable grant spending under the bill was deferred for an answer outside the meeting.
And make sure everyone knows, uh, these two ladies sitting over here to my left. I've got Deborah Jackson, our committee assistant. Some of you may r- may remember her from last year. She's fabulous, and we're so glad that you're back. And Elizabeth Heron- Herand- Hernandez is her assistant. And they've, th- they've been a great addition to, to our suite,...
We took another bill that had been previously, uh, worked on and introduced it by just putting in optometries there, and it places them alongside all these other healthcare professionals who serve Georgia communities and often carry significant educational debt. In addition, House Bill 60, uh, 659 begins the creation of an optometry school in the State of...
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Rural Development Committee · June 11, 2026
House Rural Development Committee, June 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee held an informational meeting in Vidalia on forestry, manufacturing jobs, rural healthcare and early literacy. The Georgia Forestry Commission director reported on wildfire response, storm cleanup and efforts to develop markets for timber. A Georgia Association of Manufacturers representative discussed worker shortages and credited HB 192 with adding manufacturing to the education curriculum. A literacy advocate explained HB 1193 and urged members to organize local early-learning partnerships. Members also heard from Mercy Ministries about free healthcare and from the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation about vision services. The chair invited the foundation to return for a fuller discussion of teleoptometry and school screening. No bill votes, amendments or other formal legislative action were recorded.
So those are pretty upsetting to me, to you, because we care. I, I wanna, I'm gonna talk about House Bill 1193 and how I think it can make a difference in those scores that you just read. And I will tell you what I see is in Atlanta, in the metro area, they have had services and programs going on for years, decades, that we don't necessarily have in our...
And I'm gonna give you one example of what they're gonna do, not meaning to step on any toes. But for years in Georgia, the school systems, we've picked the high-quality instructional materials, which simply means we've let school systems pick from a list of their curriculum. And right now, Georgia could have 16 curriculums, and they're not all based on the...
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Rural Development Committee · September 16, 2026
House Rural Development Committee, September 16, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee met in Blue Ridge to hear presentations on rural healthcare, railroads and local infrastructure. Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation requested annual school vision screenings, more locations for remote eye exams and $350,000 for optometrist costs. AmeriPro proposed a remote-care pilot, funding for rural ambulance coverage and stronger ambulance-service standards. Railroad representatives discussed rising maintenance costs, short-line tax credits and blocked crossings. Department of Community Health officials said Georgia’s $218.8 million first-year rural health transformation award was fully committed, with payments made as recipients submit expenses for reimbursement. Community care providers raised concerns about payment rates, Medicaid enrollment delays and a move to managed care. Community health center representatives offered to help route nonemergency patients to appropriate care. Members asked questions and discussed possible follow-up, but no bills or votes were taken up. The chair said another meeting before the next session was possible.
We do serve people that are at two hundred percent of poverty or below, uh, to make sure that those who don't have access to care get it. So what we have seen is that we try to fill the gaps, particularly obviously in vision care with our screening system that we have for families and providers. Uh, the need is urgent. Uh, Georgia Lions Lighthouse, we...
But there's access issues. So we feel that it's very important to, to, uh, work towards our teleoptometry program, which we'll talk about a little bit more in a minute, uh, to have that ability to get into more of the clinics. We do come here, uh, to Blue Ridge. We are a part of the Federally Qualified Health Center that we provide the vision care here on a...
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Rural Development Committee · March 2, 2026
House Rural Development Committee, March 2, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee voted to advance HR 656, creating a study committee on homeownership and institutional investors; HB 1394, making Rosenwald Schools eligible for historic preservation grants; and HB 1451, creating a grant program to help communities attract households from outside Georgia. Rental housing companies opposed the housing study, while real estate and county government representatives supported it. Members also discussed forestry mill closures and their effects on landowners, workers, loggers and haulers. One member proposed a joint letter seeking federal support for using woody biomass as renewable fuel, and the chair suggested a resolution to Congress. No vote was taken on the forestry proposal.
I will. I'll be very quick. Yeah. That's better than ever. Thank you. Um, thank y'all. So House Bill 1451, it's LC 59-9003. This is simply a great measure that's dealing with a math problem in our population and existing workforce to reverse a trend, to help immediate impact happen, and to help with the workforce issues that are happening, particularly in...
Okay. So they've got a little skin in the game, but much less than they would do to try to bring someone in on their own. Understand. Thank you. This is, just, uh, as you pointed out a while ago, that it's another tool that we can utilize in, in rural Georgia. And rural Georgia is suffering right now, and we're having some great opportunities to come, uh,...
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Rural Development Committee · February 11, 2026
House Rural Development Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee held a hearing on HR 656, which would create a House study committee on expanding homeownership opportunities. The sponsor, committee members and witnesses discussed large investors buying single-family homes, competition for starter homes, construction costs and rural housing shortages. Witnesses supported further study while offering different approaches, including increasing housing supply, changing regulations and using tax policies rather than ownership limits. The discussion also covered HB 555 and objections to its proposed ownership caps. The chair designated the meeting as hearing only, and no vote was taken.
So I wanna thank y'all for being here for our committee meeting today. Well, our business this afternoon is to hear House Resolution 656. The sponsor is Representative Phil Olaleye. And it is a hearing only, but it's a topic that many of us have discussed, uh, collectively and in, in smaller conversations many times over the years, um, but members of this...
Uh, what's more troubling is that, uh, we're seeing these institutional investment acquisitions, uh, rise not only here, uh, in Metro Atlanta, but throughout, uh, rural and smaller counties. And so, uh, even a few hundred investor-owned homes in these areas can significantly raise prices, rents, and impact who gets, uh, to, uh, call, uh, a place that they...
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