House District 137

Debbie Buckner

A native Georgian, Representative Buckner grew up in Columbus and lived there until she married and moved to Talbot County in 1976. She was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 2002 and currently serves the citizens of House District 137.

 

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About

Rep. Buckner

Rep. Buckner currently serves as a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health, and the Ways and Means, Natural Resources & Environment, Retirement, State Properties and Technology and Infrastructure Innovation committees.

As a freshman legislator, she served as secretary of the State Institutions & Properties Committee, as well as a member of the Health & Human Services Committee, and she was the only freshman to serve on the Natural Resources & Environment Water Subcommittee. She has served as an assistant to the Majority Whip and then as an assistant to the Minority Whip. She was the House Democratic Caucus secretary.

Currently serves as vice chair of the Rural Caucus and one of the Tri-Chairs for the Working Families Caucus.

Rep. Buckner is the former Director of Community Benefit at Columbus Regional Healthcare System, having previously worked for Doctors Hospital as the Director of Community Relations and the Columbus Health Department as Senior Public Health Educator.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Columbus State University and attended Georgia Southwestern College for postgraduate work and to earn a teaching certificate.

Rep. Buckner is a board member of Twin Cedars, which provides programs and services to children and their families in Columbus, LaGrange and Macon. A board member and past chairman of the West Central Georgia Cancer Coalition. Serves as a member of the Easter Seals Board and the Safe Kids of Columbus Board.

Her community service has included: formerly serving as board chair of Three Rivers AHEC, member of the Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Association Board, Board member and officer for the American Lung Association of Georgia, volunteer for Columbus-Ft. Moore Chapter of the American Cancer Society, Girl Scouts, Columbus Hospice, the Jekyll Island Foundation, the Valley Collaborative for Suicide Prevention and Historic Talbotton Foundation.

Under the Gold Dome

Legislative News

Legislative News: April 22, 2023

Legislative News: April 22, 2023

SB 496, a Bill I carried in the House, has been signed by the Governor. It expands the criteria for a home to be certified as historic. It also extends the sunsets for the tax credits for rehabilitation of historic homes and structures to December 31, 2029, and for...

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Legislative News: March 18, 2024

Legislative News: March 18, 2024

I returned to the Gold Dome on Monday, March 18, 2024, to begin the eleventh week of the 2024 Legislative Session. Last week, we convened in the House Chamber for three legislative days and continued to give passage to a number of Senate bills. There are now only two...

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Legislative News: March 11, 2024

Legislative News: March 11, 2024

The House of Representatives got back to work on Monday, March 11, for the tenth week of the 2024 legislative session. With Sine Die approaching on March 28, 2024, the time for vetting bills is quickly coming to a close.   We began the week by taking up a...

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Legislative News: March 4, 2024

Legislative News: March 4, 2024

The House convened last week for the ninth week of the 2024 legislative session on Monday, March 4. Now that we are past Crossover Day, we are busy in committees to vet the bills that have crossed over from the Senate. This means we didn’t pass as many bills on the...

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Legislative News: February 19, 2024

Legislative News: February 19, 2024

The Georgia House of Representatives kicked off the sixth week of the 2024 legislative session on Monday, February 12. We convened in the House Chamber for four days and made significant progress as we passed 34 bills and resolutions by the end of the week to send to...

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Legislative News: February 12, 2024

Legislative News: February 12, 2024

The Georgia General Assembly returned to the State Capitol last Tuesday, February 6 for a busy fifth week of the 2024 legislative session. The House assembled for four days, and our days are certainly getting longer and busier as we move further along in the session....

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Legislative News: February 6, 2024

Legislative News: February 6, 2024

The Georgia General Assembly returned to the State Capitol last Tuesday, February 6 for a busy fifth week of the 2024 legislative session. The House assembled for four days, and our days are certainly getting longer and busier as we move further along in the session....

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Legislative News: January 29, 2024

Legislative News: January 29, 2024

On Monday, January 29, the Georgia General Assembly reconvened at the State Capitol for the fourth week of the 2024 legislative session. The House convened for four days and reached Legislative Day 14 by the end of our week, which means we are now more than a quarter...

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Legislative News: January 22, 2024

Legislative News: January 22, 2024

On Tuesday, January 16, I returned to the State Capitol to begin “budget week.” Each year, the Georgia General Assembly is tasked with one constitutional obligation which is to pass a balanced budget. The second week of the legislative session is historically devoted...

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Legislative News: January 15, 2024

Legislative News: January 15, 2024

On Tuesday, January 16, I returned to the State Capitol to begin “budget week.” Each year, the Georgia General Assembly is tasked with one constitutional obligation which is to pass a balanced budget. The second week of the legislative session is historically devoted...

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What Rep. Buckner Believes

On the Issues

Environmental issues

  • Protection of Georgia’s 100-mile coastline — including Jekyll Island
  • Okefenokee mining projects potential of adversely affecting the water levels thus damaging the wildlife, flora, and fauna
  • Always working to make sure Georgia’s waterways are drinkable, fishable, and swimmable

Retirement for School Employees

Worked to increase the retirement multiplier for Public School Employees such as school bus drivers, lunch room workers, etc.

Help people with disabilities

Worked to improve the GVRA department to help with specialized job training for those with special needs

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Historic Preservation

  • Historic preservation tax credit
  • Funding to restore the historic pools at Warm Springs used by FDR

Safety

Georgia is the only state that restores rights to purchase a gun five years after being released from a mental hospital- after being involuntarily committed to that hospital. My bill would establish a process to re-establish that right vs. being automatically purged by a computer and allowed to purchase guns.

 

  • Protecting our public safety and preventing gun violence so every everyone feels safe in their homes and in our communities

  • Wrongful conviction resolution for innocent individuals to receive compensation for the time they were imprisoned. For several years, we have tried to change the process to a panel of experts instead of a political process.

Health

Rep. Buckner has been supporter of Medicaid expansion from beginning and she is concerned about maternal and infant mortality. During her time under the gold dome, she has,

  • Worked on mandated coverage for mammograms, supported legislation to increase notification requirements for dense breast tissue.
  • Advocated for longer insurance coverage following the birth of a child and worked to expand Medicaid coverage from 6 weeks to 1-year postpartum
  • Secured prescriptive authority for Advanced practice nurses
  • Worked on health appropriations committee to increase number of medical education slots most recently for mental health care providers to meet the large unmet need
  • Worked to place medical providers in rural areas

Email: buckner604@aol.com

780 Fielder’s Mill Road

Junction City, Georgia 31812

 

Authorized and Paid for by the Committee to Elect Debbie Buckner