This Week Under the Gold Dome: Week 1

This week, the Georgia State House of Representatives began its 155th session. After a year full of special elections, the structure of the House has shifted since its past meeting. In 2017, Georgia voters successfully flipped two House districts, neighboring Athens districts 117 and 119. Representative Frye represents the 118th district of Georgia, and he proudly supported Democratic candidates Deborah Gonzalez and Jonathan Wallace, respectively. Prior to these special elections, Georgia Republicans were merely one seat short of having a super majority in the House. This session, Democrats do not need to worry about Republicans overturning any vetoes from the Governor or amending the state constitution without needing to compromise with Democrats.

Representative Frye brings with him each day a handful of his legislative fellows to assist him under the dome, to expedite the legislative process and stay as informed as possible. During the day, Representative Frye attends meetings, discusses bills, meets with leaders and negotiates legislation. Although it is only the first week, tough and controversial bills have begun to make their way to the House floor. Once again, gun control and discussion to remove Confederate monuments threaten to appear, as the topics gain national attention. The battle over the definition of Religious Freedom may make another appearance as a bill to allow for discrimination on LGBTQ citizens by leaves the senate and goes to the House for a vote. On the business end, bills are being drafted to make Georgia more appealing to corporations, as Amazon has begun eyeing Atlanta for its new headquarters.

In this session, before all 180 representatives in the Georgia House are up for re-election, constituents should expect big bills with real effects, and bold stances from their representatives. For constituents of Representative Frye, Capital Corner serves as an easy way to stay in the loop about what he is working on this legislative session.