AJC at The Gold Dome
AJC at The Gold Dome

Panel backs naming state park for longtime Senate budget chief Jack Hill

February 22, 2013 - Atlanta, Ga: Sen. Jack Hill, R-Reidsville, speaks on behalf of the mid-year budget, House Bill 105, on Legislative Day 22 in the Senate Chambers Friday morning in Atlanta, Ga., February 22, 2013. Sen. Hill is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. HB 105 passed through the Senate. JASON GETZ / JGETZ@AJC.COM

Credit: Jason Getz / AJC

Credit: Jason Getz / AJC

February 22, 2013 - Atlanta, Ga: Sen. Jack Hill, R-Reidsville, speaks on behalf of the mid-year budget, House Bill 105, on Legislative Day 22 in the Senate Chambers Friday morning in Atlanta, Ga., February 22, 2013. Sen. Hill is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. HB 105 passed through the Senate. JASON GETZ / JGETZ@AJC.COM
By James Salzer
June 18, 2020

A proposal to rename a Reidsville state park after the Senate’s longtime budget chairman began moving through the chamber Thursday.

A Senate committee backed a measure sponsored in the chamber by new Senate Appropriations Chairman Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, to rename Gordonia-Alatamaha State Park after Jack Hill.

Hill, a Reidsville Republican who guided the state budget through the Senate for nearly 20 years, died April 6 at his office while the General Assembly was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. His death was not related to COVID-19, officials said.

His longtime wife, Ruth Ann, died about three weeks later.

Hill was sworn into the Georgia Senate in 1991 as a Democrat. A retired grocer, Hill switched parties after the 2002 election, helping shift Senate power to the Republicans. He was rewarded by being named chairman of the Senate budget committee.

About the Author

James Salzer has covered state government and politics in Georgia since 1990. He previously covered politics and government in Texas and Florida. He specializes in government finance, budgets, taxes, campaign finance, ethics and legislative history

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