Georgia Magazine - May 2018 - 24

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GEORGIA HOUSE MEDIA SERVICES

House Rural Development Council
launches legislative proposals
BY REP. DAVID RALSTON, SPEAKER OF THE GEORGIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ISTOCK.COM / HUEPHOTOGRAPHY

t took almost 200 years-from
1776 to 1975-for the state of
Georgia to reach a population of
5 million people. It took less than
40 years for that population to double to more than 10 million.
If there is one constant for Georgia in the last few decades, it is
growth. With that growth has come
immense prosperity, but that prosperity isn't being felt in every corner
of the state. Too many of our rural
areas are experiencing stagnant or
declining populations. These rural communities aren't enjoying the
same level of prosperity as our metropolitan areas.
Senior citizens in rural Georgia
shouldn't have to worry about whether there will be a hospital or doctor
in their community. Parents shouldn't
have to worry about the educational
opportunities available to their children. Young people shouldn't have
to move away to find good jobs.
At every stage of life, rural Georgia should be a great place to live,
work and raise a family.
That's why we established the
House Rural Development Council
during the 2017 legislative session.
This council is made up of 26 members of the House of Representatives
and is co-chaired by Appropriations
Chairman Terry England, of Auburn,
and Ways & Means Chairman Jay
Powell, of Camilla. The council is on
a two-year mission to recommend
policies that will empower private
businesses to grow and create jobs in
rural Georgia.
In its first year, the council met
in 11 rural communities from Toccoa in the north to Tifton in the
south. Members heard more than 70
hours of testimony from local business owners and elected officials and

At every stage of life,
rural Georgia should be
a great place to live,
work and raise a family.
discussed topics critical to quality of
life, including health care, education,
infrastructure and workforce development.
I had the opportunity to attend
several of these meetings and hear
firsthand from rural Georgians who
want the chance to reinvigorate their
communities. Business owners and
community leaders in rural areas
want to bring opportunity back for
their young people.
In the 2018 legislative session,
which ended in March, the General
Assembly adopted several pieces of
legislation based on recommendations from the Rural Development
Council. We created a regulatory
framework for "micro-hospitals." ModMore online at www.georgiamagazine.org

eled after a Piedmont Healthcare facility in Ellijay, these acute-care facilities provide necessary emergency
health care in communities that can
no longer sustain a full-scale hospital.
The General Assembly created
a Center for Rural Prosperity in partnership with the University System
of Georgia, which will study how to
grow the economies of rural communities. We also provided matching
dollars for investment in our freight
rail network and enacted legislation
to protect Georgia's forestry industry.
The Rural Development Council
will hit the road again this summer
and fall, going into more communities to hear from residents who call
rural Georgia home. The council's
next meeting will be held May 15-16
in Blue Ridge in the North Georgia
Mountains.
The council's final recommendations will be due at the end of this
year, and you'll likely see more legislation focused on rural Georgia in the
2019 legislative session.
I was born in rural Georgia. I
represent a community in rural Georgia. I strongly support rural Georgia.
Through collaborative discussions and innovative solutions, the
House Rural Development Council
will help us keep opportunity available in every county and in every
community in Georgia.
You can follow the Rural Development Council's progress, see
videos of all meetings and read the
council's reports on the Georgia
House of Representatives website at
www.house.ga.gov.
David Ralston is the 73rd speaker
of the Georgia House of Representatives. A lawyer from Blue Ridge,
Ralston represents Fannin and Gilmer
counties and part of Dawson County.
GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - May 2018