ATLANTA- Today, Speaker of the House Jon Burns (R-Newington) and Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones (R-Milton) applauded the introduction of the House's 'Georgia Families First' legislative initiative.

"From strengthening access to affordable childcare, championing healthcare for women and children, increasing paid maternal leave for birth mothers and prioritizing the safety of our communities-the House is committed to addressing the most pressing issues our neighbors are facing and putting families first every step of the way," said Speaker Jon Burns.

"Today, the Georgia House reaffirmed our longstanding commitment to advancing family-focused priorities that expand opportunity and support women and families as they work to provide a safe, healthy and brighter future for their children," said Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones.

Georgia Families First Legislative Initiative

● HB 1123: Requires public schools that offer Pre-K and also offer after-school care services to grades K-5 students to make after-school services available to Pre-K students on the same basis

● HB 1118: Provides state employee birth mothers with an additional three weeks of paid leave, increasing total paid leave for birth mothers from 6 weeks to 9 weeks

● HB 1138: Increases access to contraceptives by allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control

● HB 1142: Creates a time-limited, statewide domestic violence offender registry within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation

● Invests $8.9 million to expand the Department of Public Health's Home Visiting Nurse Program to expectant and new birth mothers from 75 counties to 154 counties

● Appropriates $9.7 million to fully fund before-school, after-school and holiday-care for low-income and priority eligible Georgia Pre-K students

● Uses $9.7 million in federal funds to increase the number of children with working parents covered by the childcare subsidy for low-income and priority-eligible children

● Invests $2 million in lottery funds to expand Georgia's Summer Transition Program for rising Pre-K students, supporting working families with summer childcare assistance

Additional Information on these bills and appropriations can be found at the link below:

https://www.legis.ga.gov/house

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