ATLANTA — State Representative Andy Welch (R-Locust Grove) recently honored late State Representative Calvin Hill at the bill signing ceremony of House Bill 252, which was named in his honor: the J. Calvin Hill Jr. Act. Surrounded by Rep. Hill’s wife, Cheryl, and their daughter, Rep. Welch joined Rep. Michael Caldwell and Governor Nathan Deal as the J. Calvin Hill Jr. Act was signed into law on Tuesday, May 5, 2015.
“Calvin Hill was a great Georgian, and it was an honor to have served with him in the State House for three years,” said Rep. Welch. “HB 252 is unique, in that Calvin, the former Chairman of the committee on Code Revision, asked me and Rep. BJ Pak to research and assemble this piece of legislation. It was the last bill he worked on before he died in 2013. I think he would be proud of the end result, especially considering his passion for the subject.”
The J. Calvin Hill, Jr. Act is the States’ first omnibus repeal bill in recent history. HB 252 repeals portions of the Code which have become obsolete, have been declared unconstitutional, or have been preempted or superseded by subsequent laws. Born in California and raised in Arizona, Representative Calvin Hill served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and trained in engineering and demolition before moving to Georgia in 1986. A former two-term mayor of Ball Ground, Rep. Hill was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2002, serving the constituents of Cherokee, Forsyth, and Fulton counties. During his time in the House, he served as the Chairman of the Committee on Code Revision and Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Sub-Committee on Banks and Banking. Rep. Hill was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 2013, and passed-away on October 30 of that year due to complications.
“It isn’t often that you are able to memorialize someone so permanently by creating a law which bears his name, but I can think of no one who is more deserving of such an honor than Calvin Hill,” said Rep. Welch. “I extend my most sincere gratitude to Calvin’s family who allowed him to dedicate much of his life to public service. HB 252 is only one example of his devotion to his constituents and to the state he loved so dearly.”
For more information on HB 252, please click here.
Representative Andrew Welch represents the citizens of District 110, which includes portions of Butts, Henry, and Newton Counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2010, and currently serves as the Vice Chairman to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Economic Development and Vice Chairman to the Code Revisions Committee. He also serves on the Judiciary, Juvenile Justice, and Regulated Industries committees.
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