State Rep. Dar'shun Kendrick, District 94 provides updates on the first week of General Assembly session.

Monday, Jan. 9
The first day of Session. It was a short day whereby we resolved our schedule for the next two weeks. We will be out all next week and in session Jan. 23 - Jan. 26.

Tuesday, Jan. 10
I held a "Business Owners Day" at the Capitol. Over 30 business owners were in attendance mingling with members of the legislature, viewing the legislative action on the floor of the House and taking an official group photo. Legislators heard the State of the State address by Governor Deal. The Democratic Caucus had an immediate response.

Wednesday, Jan. 11
The House honored the late UGA announcer Larry Munson on the floor of the House with clips from his rousing announcements of the game and his interesting "one liners." His son was on hand to accept a resolution by House members.

All members of the General Assembly who were lawyers were also invited to take a picture on the South steps to be on the cover of the upcoming Georgia Bar Journal, a publication circulated to most attorneys in Georgia. Additionally, Marquel Pike, a sophomore and business major from my alma mater Oglethorpe University, came on the Hill to "shadow" me the whole day, including witnessing all the legislative action from the floor of the House of Representatives and attending several meetings. Those who would like to "shadow" me for a day can contact my Chief of Staff, Brendon, at chief@kendrickforgeorgia.com.

Thursday, Jan. 12
Short meeting in Chambers. The House Democratic Caucus met and decided on its legislative priorities including economic security, the committee which I co-chair; educational opportunities; and shared responsibility. Under shared responsibility, the House Caucus unanimously voted to support my "Judicial Foreclosure and Deficiency" Bill which would change Georgia from a non-judicial foreclosure state, where lenders simply give notice to the Court that they will sell your home, to a judicial foreclosure state where lenders have to go through a normal court process to foreclose on your home. Additionally, this bill provides that lenders won't be able to sue for the deficient amount that is left over from selling a home in foreclosure; the price they sell for is all they get.

I also have two other bills: An animal registry bill that would require animal shelters to list animals to be euthanized on a registry list so that other facilities may take the animal; this would not only save animal lives but lessen the burdensome costs of carrying through with an animal killing. Additionally, I have proposed a bill that would prohibit employers from doing credit checks on potential employees unless there is a bona fide connection between the job and the reason for the credit check. Neither of these bills has been filed; I am still obtaining signatures of sponsors.

Friday, Jan. 13
The House Democratic Caucus Economic Security Committee met to discuss how to support the House Caucus Economic Security measures, which you will hear more about, how to promote National Small Business Week during the week of May 20, and a potential "Job Creation" hearing/rally on the Hill.

For more information, contact Rep. Dar'shun Kendrick at (404) 656-0167 or dkendrick@kendrickforgeorgia.com