Governor Deal Flies into Macon to Sign Child Care Bill

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Governor Nathan Deal flew into Macon Wednesday afternoon to sign a bill that makes background checks a little tougher for child care workers.

After he hopped out of his helicopter, Deal took some time to pose for pictures and shake hands with several small citizens at St. Andrew’s Montessori School in North Macon.

Deal signed House Bill 350 which requires fingerprint based background checks for employees working at Georgia’s 6,000 child care facilities.

Deal says the bill addresses a concern for all parents across the state.

“Well I’m a father and a grandfather and like most parents and grandparents our children have been in a variety of day care and child care settings and we generally know the individuals who run the operations but we don’t generally know the individuals who work there. So this is just a general way to give parents, I think, a degree of comfort,” said Deal.

State Representative Allen Peake sponsored the bill. He was there for the ceremonial signing along with representatives Patty Bentley and Robert Dickey, and State Senator Cecil Staton.