Jack Hill of Reidsville was first elected to the Georgia Senate from the 4th District in 1990.

Hill, a Democrat, is chairman of the Senate Higher Education committee and vice-chairman of the Senate Ethics committee. He also serves on the Appropriations, Rules, and Transportation committees. He is an ex-officio member of the Education and Finance and Public Utilities committees.

Senator Hill has emerged as a respected leader in the area of rural economic development. He headed the Senate Rural Policy Study Committee which recommended a package of economic development legislation adopted by the 1992 and 1993 General Assemblies, including an expansion of the state's job tax credit aimed at spurring new and expanded industry in economically depressed areas of the state.

He also chaired the Senate Study Committee on Job Creation and Retention. Moreover, Senator Hill chaired the Senate Rural Hospital and Health Care Study Committee, which highlighted the plight of rural hospitals.

Senator Hill has shown a strong interest in voting reform and eliminating fraud in voting. Hill authored the "Voter ID" legislation which returned accountability to a voting process weakened by motor voter registration changes.

He has been a proponent of extending voting opportunities by authorizing "Early Voting" legislation introduced with the support of Secretary of State Cathy Cox. Early voting legislation passed the state Senate in 1999 and will be considered by the House in 2000. This legislation would allow voting 15 days ahead of primaries and some weekday nights and on two Saturdays before primaries or general elections.

Additionally, Senator Hill authored and passed legislation in 1999 which will help insure that other lists are used in drawing a jury pool. Clerks of Court are now required to use additional sources including drivers license information.

Also, Senator Hill authored legislation bringing the use of automated defibrillators under the state's "Good Samaritan" law. These life saving devices are used for people in cardiac arrest.

Senator Hill successfully sponsored legislation during the 1998 session that cut unemployment taxes and extended tax discounts for the "Drug-free Workplace Program." Additionally, he successfully fought for the "BEST Tax Incentive Program" which extends tax incentives for all Georgia companies increasing shipping tonnage through Georgia ports.

In addition, Hill chaired the Senate Recycling Markets Study Committee and served on the Senate Study Committee on Post-secondary Technical and Adult Education Finance and the Senate Study Committee on Local Education Finance Review. Senator Hill headed the Senate Study Committee on Young Drivers, which was created under legislation he sponsored. The Teen Drivers legislation passed in 1997 was a part of this work.

Senator Hill successfully sponsored legislation in the 1993 General Assembly which requires state government to take a leadership role in encouraging recycling and sets goals for the purchase of recycled materials, and passed updating legislation in 1998. This legislation was strengthened in 1998.

During the 1994 General Assembly, Senator Hill co-sponsored tough anti-DUI legislation which targets underage drinkers and closes loopholes in the state's drunk driving laws. He was also the cosponsor of a bill which requires one minute of quiet reflection at the beginning of each day in Georgia's public classrooms.

Senator Hill successfully sponsored legislation in the 1995 General Assembly which adds a five percent surcharge to fines imposed in criminal cases to fund victims' assistance programs and authored a constitutional amendment that has resulted in regional industrial parks.

An active community leader, Hill is the former chairman of the Tattnall County Development Authority and is a former vice-chairman of the Governor's Small and Minority Business Development Committee.

Senator Hill is a past-president of the Reidsville Lions Club, Jaycees, and the Tattnall Chamber of Commerce. He is also a Rotarian. He was named Citizen of the Year by the Georgia Air National Guard in 1979.

Hill served for 33 years in the Georgia Air National Guard as a unit commander and as State Inspector General. He currently serves in the United States Air Force Reserves as a Reserve Forces Officer assigned to the Selective Service System.

Born July 15, 1944, in Reidsville, Senator Hill graduated from Reidsville High School and Georgia Southern College. He is an independent grocer.

Senator Hill and his wife Ruth Ann, an elementary school principal, are the parents of three children: Dawn, Amy, and Lance. The Hills are members of the Reidsville Baptist Church.

The 4th Senatorial District includes: Bulloch, Effingham, Evans, Jenkins, Screven, and Tattnall counties.

July 1999