First elected to office in 2003, Representative Jan Jones has distinguished herself as a passionate advocate for changing lives and increasing economic opportunities through improved public education and government closer to the people. Additionally, she has never voted to impose a tax increase on Georgians.

Jan was elected to the second highest position in the House, Speaker Pro Tem, on January 11, 2010. She was previously elected Majority Whip in November 2008 to serve in the fourth-highest ranking leadership position. Jan is the first female Speaker Pro Tem and Republican Majority Whip in the history of the Georgia House of Representatives. She proudly serves House District 46 covering northwest Fulton, including Milton, Mountain Park, and portions of Roswell and Alpharetta.

Personal

Born in Warner Robins, Representative Jones has lived in Fulton County for 25 years. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Georgia and an M.B.A. in Finance from Georgia State University. A former marketing executive for Home Box Office, she also owned and operated a small business in childcare placement.

She and her husband, Kalin, have four children. One attends Emory University School of Medicine, one attends the University of Georgia and two are students at Milton High School. The family worships at Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta.

Extended Bio Information

Representative Jones authored and passed legislation in the Georgia General Assembly, including:

• 2009: Authored HB 149, Move On When Ready Act, which allows 11th and 12th grade students to leave their assigned high schools and attend a college or technical school to complete graduation requirements while earning college credit.
• 2008: Provided more public school choices to families by authoring HB 881, which created an independent authorizing commission to approve public charter schools and assure equitable funding. The legislation has been recognized nationally as a model for improving public education.
• 2007: Required utility companies to itemize city-imposed franchise fees on customer bills to bring greater transparency and accountability to taxes.
• 2007: Gave parents a greater voice in public education by making all 2000-plus local school councils parent-majority and designating a parent as chair.
• 2006: Passed a charter bill creating the city of Milton to bring more local control to 20,000 residents in her district.
• 2004: Created a trafficking offense with a mandatory minimum sentence for the drug Ecstasy, which is primarily sold to children and young adults.
• 2003: Required cities, counties and school boards to abide by local land disturbing ordinances, including tree ordinances.

Additionally, she authored and introduced HR 21 in 2009, which would allow historically merged counties to be re-created, including Milton County. She and Rep. Mark Burkhalter spearheaded a $400,000 state grant in 2007 to evaluate re-creating Milton County through the University of Georgia and Georgia State University. The study unequivocally demonstrated its viability. In May 2009, she and Rep. Burkhalter created and appointed the Milton County Legislators Advisory Committee to provide input in their effort to re-create Milton County.

House Committees

Rep. Jones serves on the following committees:

• Rules Committee - Sets the House calendar for legislation that will be voted upon on the floor.
• Appropriations Committee – Serves on the Education Subcommittee, which budgets for Pre-K, K-12, teachers retirement and the Professional Standards Board totaling 44 percent of Georgia’s state budget. Prior to her election as Majority Whip, she chaired the subcommittee.
• Education Committee - Member for 7 years.
• Ethics
• Reapportionment Committee – Serves on the Committee that oversees the redistricting process for congressional and state legislative districts.

As Speaker Pro Tem, Rep. Jones is an ex-officio member of all House Committees.

Awards and Recognition

Rep. Jones has been recognized at numerous levels for her efforts on behalf of her district and Georgia.

• Appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to serve as the House Representative on the Georgia Land Conservation Partnership, which evaluated and developed recommendations for subsequent land conservation legislation that passed in 2006.
• Invited to join State School Superintendent and other education leaders on a British government-sponsored trip to England to study their successful public education system of local management at the school-level, which was implemented by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
• Appointed in 2007 by Governor Sonny Perdue to serve on theGeorgia Legislative Council for the Southern Regional Education Board, which monitors, develops and recommends K-12 and post-secondary education policy for the 16 southern states
• Awarded 2007 Policy Maker of the Year by the Georgia Association of Career and Technical Education for her efforts in funding vocational classrooms in new schools.
• Awarded 2007 Outstanding Legislator Award by the Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children for her work in assuring foster children with disabilities in residential facilities receive education funding.
• Designated Founder of the City of Milton in 2007 by the Council in recognition of her leadership in forming the new city.
• Awarded Outstanding Legislator by the Georgia Water Coalition.
• Appointed by the American Legislative Conference (ALEC) to serve as a Georgia member of the Education Task Force.
• Appointed to represent the Georgia House on The Education Commission of the States, a national organization that helps states develop policy and practice for public education as well as the exchange of ideas and long-term strategic thinking.
• Selected as a 2005 Emerging Leader in the Georgia Legislature. The Emerging Leaders Program is the preeminent legislative training program for America’s next generation of political leaders. Selected Leaders from all 50 states participate in the program at the Darden School of Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.
• Awarded a 2009 Environmental Leadership Award by the Georgia Conservation Voters.
• Honored in 2009 as a Champion for Charter Schools by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
• Appointed in 2009 to the National Conference of State Legislatures Education Committee by Speaker Glenn Richardson.
• Appointed in 2009 to the Education Policy Task Force for the Council of State Governments by Speaker Glenn Richardson
• Appointed in 2009 to the Education Committee for the Southern Legislative Conference by Speaker Glenn Richardson
• Awarded the 2010 "Legislator of the Year" by the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals
• Honored as a 2010 Distinguished Alumni from Georgia State University