GCRA lobbying efforts affect all court reporters in Georgia, official and freelance. A principal goal of GCRA is to protect the citizens of Georgia and the legal proceedings within the state. Donations to the GCRA Defense Fund are absolutely necessary for lobbying efforts to continue.
Our Lobbyist
Terry Rogers
Founder, Rogers Strategies Group
At Rogers Strategies, we understand that court reporters are the backbone of the legal system. Without an accurate record of the proceedings, the legal system has no credibility. The profession now faces unique challenges amid rapid technological advancements and a shifting legislative landscape, which is why it’s so important to have a dedicated lobbyist advocating for your interests.
Rogers Strategies is committed to closely monitoring and advocating for and against all legislation that could impact your profession, including the competition from non-certified reporters and the need for fair compensation.
To learn more about Terry, download his full profile below.
Download Terry’s full profile (PDF) →
3/11/2022
GCRA GOLD DOME DAY was cancelled due to logistics and lack of GCRA members’ response to attend in person. It will be rescheduled to a later time.
3/11/2022
in “GCRA Gold Dome Day” at Georgia’s state capitol. The purpose is to meet those legislators on the judiciary committees for both the house and senate who will be considering the proposed legislation that will be submitted regarding modernizing the Court Reporting Act.
3/5/2022
GCRA membership informed of the opportunity to participate in Gold Dome Day on Friday,
3/5/2022
Legislative Committee finalized the direction on how GCRA would participate in Gold Dome Day. Our goal will be to inform those legislators that attend the breakfast meeting regarding GCRA’s ongoing mission to protect the public and the judicial process by maintaining the integrity of the records of Georgia’s legal proceedings. GCRA appreciates the opportunity to work with the Judicial Council / AOC on modernizing the CRA.
3/4/2022
GCRA received notification that the
2/25/2022
Legislative Committee received notification that GCRA would be participating on
2/20/2022
Now available to GCRA members only is the document submitted to AOC that contains GCRA’s line-by-line responses to AOC’s
2/11/2022
GCRA Executive Committee approved and submitted to the AOC the Legislative Committee’s written comments on the
2/6/2022
GCRA Legislative Committee, comprised of official CCRs, freelance CCRs, firm owners, and CCR board members of the Board of the BCR continued meeting in special session to perform a line-by-line review and direct comment of the 21-page
2/5/2022
GCRA Legislative Committee met in special session to perform a line-by-line review of the 21-page
2/2/2022
GCRA met with staff of AOC and brought forward the concepts in the summary submitted earlier to AOC. At the conclusion of the constructive meeting, GCRA was invited to give the court reporters’ viewpoint and submit changes to the
February 2022
GCRA received feedback that the AOC appreciated GCRA’s efforts in getting back to the AOC so quickly with our substantive input. GCRA offered to collaborate further with AOC on modernizing the CRA.
1/31/2022
GCRA received a request to meet with staff of AOC to discuss “Digital Court Reporting Legislation.”
1/31/2022
GCRA’s lobbyist submitted to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) GCRA Legislative Committee’s input on the
1/22/2022
GCRA’s Legislative Committee met and attempted to address the 21-page
1/20/2022
GCRA received an email containing proposed changes to the Court Reporting Act (CRA) dated
1/14/2022
proposed changes to the CRA will not be introduced at this session of the Georgia Legislature. GCRA was also requested to give comprehensive feedback on the proposed changes to the 2018 Policies and Fees for Court Reporting Services for Civil and Criminal Cases. (See 2/5-6/2022 below)
1/14/2022
proposed changes to the CRA. Also available is an updated GCRA summary of the key points that have arisen from review of the
1/14/2022
proposed changes to the CRA. The comments consisted of a line-by-line review with direct changes/deletions/additions on AOC’s 21-page proposed legislation. GCRA updated its summary regarding its objections and concerns regarding the proposed changes.
1/14/2022
proposed changes to the CRA. 2/5-6/2022 The Legislative Committee determined that the proposed CRA refers to the 2018 Policies and Fees for Court Reporting Services for Civil and Criminal Cases and 2018 Board of Court Reporting Rules and Regulation. GCRA then inquired into whether AOC would be updating those documents. GCRA was informed that the 2018 Policies and Fees document was being updated and split into two separate documents, one for criminal and one for civil, and that the BCR Rules and Regulation was being updated. M embers of the Legislative Committee reviewed the proposed 2018 Civil Policies and Fees determined there are significant issues that need to be addressed and corrected within that document.
1/14/2022
proposed changes to the CRA and created a document capturing the comments of the official CCRs, freelance CCRs, firm owners, and a CCR board member of the Board of Court Reporting Board that were in attendance.
1/14/2022
proposed changes to the Court Reporting Act .
1/14/2022
proposed changes, along with the summary of GCRA’s concurrence, proposals, and concerns/objections regarding the proposed changes.
1/14/2022
proposed changes to the CRA in as much detail as possible. A summary was also created outlining what GCRA agreed with, proposals GCRA had, and concerns/objections regarding the proposed changes as well as the definitions being used and also definitions that were needed.
1/14/2022
and was given seven days to respond. GCRA was informed that the intention was to introduce the proposed changes to the CRA in this current Georgia legislative session. December 2021 Information received from Judicial Council’s S ubcommittee on Court Reporting Matters was that the Court Reporting Act (CRA) was not going to be introduced this current Georgia legislative session. 2020-2021 Judicial Council’s attention was diverted to responding to the impacts on Georgia’s judicial system d ue to the COVID 19 pandemic. DECEMBER 18, 2020 —CALL TO ACTION— The Judicial Council is proposing these changes to our rules and regulations: (1) To the fee schedule (again) by taking away our civil takedown this time, as if getting civil court covered wasn’t hard enough. This affects officials and freelancers!!! (2) Making freelancers act ex officio as an official reporter while covering civil court and they must follow the fee schedule instead of charging their firm’s usual and customary rates for court (3) For freelancers, they are trying to regulate what we charge for copies of depositions. (4) They want to limit the number of court reporters on the BOCR without the opportunity to be chair o
5/23/2002
2 In-depth legislative update emailed to GCRA members. GCRA is engaging in ongoing meetings with the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to modernize the Court Reporting Act (CRA).
