HOPE Scholarship program reaches one million mark
By REP. BUTCH PARRISH

Last Thursday, a celebration was held at the State Capitol recognizing the milestone of 1 million HOPE Scholarship recipients since the inception of the program in 1993. It is truly an outstanding achievement for Georgia to have been able to send a million students to our state's colleges, universities and technical colleges at no tuition cost.

This is a very proud accomplishment for our state and a reminder that we must continue to work diligently to protect HOPE against any attempt to cut, restrict or otherwise derail the program.

Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Sears presented the annual State of the Judiciary address to a joint legislative session Wednesday. Chief Justice Sears related, "In the halls of justice throughout the state, I have witnessed first hand first-rate judges, court staff and lawyers working together to provide for the peaceful resolution of disputes, to protect constitutional rights and to uphold the rule of law. Their commitment to Georgia is remarkable and gratifying."

This week, I co-sponsored legislation urging the U.S. Department of Justice to oppose the proposed hostile takeover of Delta Air Lines. House Resolution 50 acknowledges Delta's importance not only to the Atlanta area but the entire state. With its headquarters and primary hub in Atlanta, Delta is the state's largest private employer and contributes more than $14 billion annually to Georgia's economy,

Delta has always stood for safe and reliable air transportation, distinctive customer service, and hospitality from the heart, and continues to do so despite its financial troubles over the past several years. Delta and its employees have worked hard and made many sacrifices to regain an industry position of strength and leadership is on track to exit bankruptcy in the first half of 2007.

The unsolicited takeover of Delta by U.S. Airways would jeopardize the employment of thousands of employees and diminish Georgia's status in the airline industry, costing our state billions of dollars in annual economic impact.

Recognizing that having a sufficient number of qualified, licensed professionals is a critical foundation to the success of Georgia's mental health care system, I have cosponsored HR 49, which would create the House Mental Health Professionals Study Committee. There is a need to address the shortage of mental health professionals in Georgia and identify ways to increase their numbers and maximize their ability to provide the best mental health services.

The proposed House study committee would review the conditions, needs, issues and problems associated with the shortage of mental health care professionals in our state and recommend appropriate actions or legislation. The committee's completed report would be due on December 1, 2007, so that its recommendations may be considered during the 2008 legislative session.

Family Day at the State Capitol will be held Saturday, February 10. The legislature will be in session, and this is an opportunity for Georgians who are at work during the week to visit the Capitol and watch the lawmaking process. I hope you will take advantage of this event and join us that day.

Rep. Butch Parrish (RSwainsboro) represents the 156th District (Bulloch, Candler, Emanuel and Johnson counties) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact him at 508 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0213 or by e-mail at butch.parrish@ house.ga.gov.

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