Committee approves moving Center for Rural Prosperity to Department of Agriculture

The House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee approved HB495 to transfer the Center for Rural Prosperity from the University System of Georgia (currently at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College) to the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Chairman Dickey, chair of the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee, said the bill makes only wording changes while preserving the center's mission: "It really does the exact same thing. It moves the Center for Rural Prosperity from, under USG, then at ABAC, over to the Department of Ag." He urged continued funding for the center's work with small communities across rural Georgia.

Catherine Russell, director of policy at the Georgia Department of Agriculture, told the committee the department supports the transfer. "We're supportive of the bill, and we look forward to supporting the agriculture community moving forward with this new task," Russell said.

Committee members praised the center's track record helping small communities and expressed hope that housing the center under the Department of Agriculture will preserve its services and funding stream. No numerical vote tally was recorded in the transcript; the measure was advanced by voice vote and the chair announced the motion carried.

The committee moved on to other agenda items after the vote; the transcript does not record additional details about implementation steps, specific budget changes or effective dates for the transfer.

What's next: The committee approved the measure for further processing; the transcript does not record whether the bill was amended beyond the language changes mentioned or the date the transfer would become effective.