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Hello!

The Senate’s week concluded Friday after five full days of legislative business.

Last week, Governor Kemp addressed a joint meet-ing of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees in order to outline his budget proposals for the Amended Fiscal Year 2020 budget and the General Fiscal Year 2021 Budget. Lawmakers also had the opportunity to hear from representatives of many of Georgia’s state departments and agencies and ask them questions about their financial needs for the upcoming fiscal year. We were also reassured by many of our state agency heads that while budget cuts are indeed com-ing, this won’t lead to a disruption of vital state services and programs.

The Senate passed House Bill 444, which would make slight adjustments to Georgia’s Dual Enrollment program. The Dual Enrollment program has been incredibly popular since its inception and, over time, its budget has steadily increased.

Because of this, some basic guardrails needed to be installed to prevent the program from outgrow-ing the state’s ability to sustain it. House Bill 444 will preserve the Dual Enrollment program for future generations of students.

Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp signed his first bill of the 2020 Legislative Session. House Bill 276. It sets forth clear guidelines on how sales tax revenue from internet retailers should be collected. Under previous Georgia Law, internet retailers (known as “marketplace facilitators”) were required to remit sales taxes back to the state. However, the law as written made it difficult for the state to actually collect the taxes that were owed. This bill eliminates that uncertainty and makes the collections process more efficient. With an effective date of April 1, the state should quickly see the financial impact of the collections of this additional revenue.

With the end of our third week of the session, it is apparent that we still have much work to do. The groundwork we are laying now in analyzing the budget and vetting bills in committee will pay off soon, specifically when these pieces of legislation come to the Senate floor for a vote. If I can ever be of any service to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I remain dedicated to serving your interests as your State Senator.

Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts or concerns on pending issues, or whenever I can be of service. My legislative offices are:

301-A Coverdell Legislative Office Bldg.

Atlanta, GA 30334

Phone: (404) 656-0040

1906 Legette Drive

Bainbridge, GA 39819

Phone: (229) 243-6267

You can also stay in touch by visiting our website at http://www.senate.ga.gov/spo/en-US/SenateVideo.aspx to watch a live stream of the Senate in action, as well as archived committee meetings, and review legislation that we are considering.

Follow me on facebook for updates throughout the year.

I am honored to serve Senate District 11. Thank you for allowing me to be your Senator.

Sincerely,

Senator Dean Burke