[ August 03, 2020 ] Supporting Law Enforcement

I am spending the next few weeks writing about bills that I think you may be interested in, and this week's article was different until I went to a retirement reception for a local police officer. I was visiting the attendees who were mostly Law Enforcement folks and asking them how things were and what they thought about the state of the world today. I did a lot of listening to what they were saying.

I heard how different the job is today than when they started. How they fell under-appreciated by some and very appreciated by others. Especially heard how they know our community appreciates them and know we have their best interest at heart. They know we appreciate their working everyday to keep us safe and doing the job that many times isn?t known by many until you need them.

In the legislature I am on the Public Safety committee. We have a number of bills that have assisted them in the past few years, and this year was a very special year for law enforcement.

We all know that the policing profession is facing a workforce crisis. Fewer people are applying to become police officers, and more people are leaving the profession, often after only a few years on the job. These trends are occurring even as many police and sheriff?s offices are already short-staffed and facing challenges in developing a diverse workforce. The lack of qualified law enforcement officers is creating a public safety problem all over this state.

Local cities and counties have local control over what they pay their law enforcement folks, and that?s the way it should be. One thing we all could do in Georgia is to improve the retirement benefits that they will receive. Senate Bill 249 will change the current financial formula to provide additional funds from fines and forfeitures when the laws are broken. This funding comes from the courts and not the budgets of cities, counties, or the state. The current formula has not been changed in the last sixty years.

The Fund currently provides a monthly benefit of $754.50 to an officer after thirty years? membership in the Peace Officers Annuity Benefit (POAB) Fund. As cities and counties have decreased retirement benefits, the POAB is more important than ever. The additional funding under SB 249 will allow the Fund to increase benefits over the next two years. The goal is to increase the monthly benefit for thirty years of service to $900 per month.
The money from the bill would also help fund the GBI Crime Lab as well as a handful of other state programs and add jailers to be able to be a part of the system. The bill passed the House 97 yes 62 no.

Additionally, we passed HB 838, the ?Peace Officers Bill of Rights,? and standards for punishing individuals who commit offenses against peace officers in the state of Georgia. The bill passed the House 92 yes to 74 no.

These are bills that will support our law enforcement and first responders. The Governor is signing bills and will be done with that soon. We always look forward to seeing which ones he will veto. I will report on those when we know. Please do hesitate to contact me if you have a question or need help with State of Georgia problems. Call me at 770-893-2039 or 404-656-7153, or email rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you and our community.