Monday, March 18, we resumed our legislative business on Capitol Hill for the tenth week of this year’s session. As we head into our last legislative days, we have been busy, diligently working to review and debate pending legislation. The last day, Sine Die, Latin for “without a further meeting,” is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2. Last week we passed several Senate bills out of the House chamber which are now on their way to Governor Kemp for further review.

The Georgia State Patrol (GSP) was investigating a hit and run incident in eastern Paulding County that occurred March 18 on Ga. Hwy. 120 near Fox Lane and the Cobb County line.

Paulding County will construct a Drug Task Force Facility for joint use of the Paulding and Haralson County Task Force Control Board. Paulding County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 during their voting session last week to approve the construction and use agreement, with both counties contributing up to $250,000. According to the agreement Paulding County will own and maintain the facility after it’s built.

Sydney Branton of Winston, Madison Clevenger of Dallas, Andrew Hawkinson of Douglasville, Rian Philip of Fayetteville and Cassie Rich of Villa Rica have been selected to attend the 54th annual Washington Youth Tour, a once in a lifetime leadership experience made possible through the generosity of the electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) in Georgia, including GreyStone Power.

Paulding Deputies performed a traffic stop at the Top of the Ridge gas station which is located at the corner of Ridge Road and Cohran Store Road. As a result of the traffic stop, they discovered a large amount of illegal narcotics and a gun. Agents from the Haralson-Paulding Drug Task Force assisted with the case, leading to 5 arrests.

Some state lawmakers are proposing legislation that could impact not-for-profit hospitals including Paulding’s WellStar Hospital. In the current session, and following the lead of a House study committee, HB198 took a broad swipe at the restrictions known as Certificate of need, or CON.

For the remainder of the session, all Senate bills passing the House; House bills passing the Senate, will make their way to Governor Kemp for his final review and signature into law. This includes House Bill 316, which authorizes the purchase of new voting equipment to further secure our Georgia elections. Last week also brought the passage of numerous measures aimed at furthering access to quality healthcare within our state.

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA-14) today announced that the local student artwork submitted for the Congressional Art Competition will be on display to the public in Calhoun starting Monday, March 18th.

We are proud to announce that nineteen (19) Team Members at our Hiram and Dallas (GA) locations have received a scholarship through Chick-fil-A’s Remarkable Futures initiative. These Team Members were chosen out of 10,880 students around the country to receive $2,500 to begin or continue their education at the educational institute of their choice.

Deputies responded to 35 Legend Creek Way Douglasville, GA 30134 (Paulding County) reference a teenager that had been accidentally shot. Responders arrived on the scene and attempted to resuscitate the victim, but he had already passed away.