Improving Affordability In Georgia

Housing Affordability

Being able to afford a home is more than the American Dream, it is a necessity for life.  Georgia faces a multifaceted housing affordability crisis ranging from widespread cost burden and scarcity of affordable rentals to alarming losses in affordable units.  There are practical steps that can be taken by the state legislature to meet the challenges of this crisis.  Some innovative and market-driven solutions might include:

• Allowing and encouraging Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), like garage apartments and backyard cottages in single family neighborhoods, and offering tax abatements for homeowners who rent them at below-market rates.

• Updating zoning codes to allow for more duplexes, triplexes, and small-scale multifamily buildings in more areas.

• Streamlining approvals for high-quality factory-built housing to reduce construction costs and speed up projects.

• Identifying unused or underused government owned parcels that could be leased or sold cheaply to nonprofit developers.

• Allowing closed school properties to be redeveloped into mixed-income housing communities.

• Passing legislation to require local governments to approve qualifying affordable housing projects in 90 days or less.

Reign In The Public Service Commission

Georgia families are paying some of the highest electricity bills in the country — not because of market forces, but because of a system rigged against consumers.

For years, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) has quietly approved rate hikes and guaranteed record profits for Georgia Power — currently around 11.9% return on equity, one of the highest margins in the nation. These decisions often happen through backroom settlements between utility lawyers and PSC staff, with little transparency and no advocate in the room speaking for you.

It wasn’t always like this. Until 2008, Georgia had an independent consumer utility watchdog — a dedicated office tasked with representing the interests of residential and small business customers in utility cases. Since its elimination, there’s been no one at the table pushing back when powerful utilities demand more from working Georgians.

Today, over 600,000 households in Georgia are energy-burdened, paying more than 6% of their income on power bills. And the disconnection rates are rising.

We need to bring back the consumer watchdog, strengthen ethics rules for PSC members, and demand real transparency in how utility rates are set. Energy is a basic need — not a guaranteed profit engine for monopoly utilities.

As your representative, I’ll fight to restore balance, end the rubber-stamping of unjustified rate hikes, and make Georgia’s energy system work for the people again.

Accessible Clean Energy

Georgia families deserve more choices for clean, affordable energy. Right now, the PSC blocks community solar — meaning if you rent, live in a shaded area, or can’t afford rooftop panels, you’re locked out of the solar savings your neighbors enjoy. I support restoring fairness by opening the market to shared solar projects that lower bills, create local jobs, and keep energy dollars in our communities through policies like:

• Passing legislation that allows community solar via state law, overriding the Public Service Commission.

• Expand virtual net metering.

• Encouraging solar power access for low income communities.

• Empowering electric co-ops and city utilities.

Improve Healthcare Affordability

See my Healthcare page for more ideas on improving affordable access to healthcare.