BY VEENA RAO & JYOTHSNA HEGDE
Atlanta, GA, October 20, 2026: Georgia State Rep. Matt Reeves, a Republican seeking a third term in House District 99, says affordability and public safety are his top priorities as he campaigns for reelection against Democrat Michelle Kang.
In a Zoom interview with NRI Pulse, Reeves discussed his work on insurance reform, property tax relief for Gwinnett homeowners, and efforts to improve public safety. He also addressed growing concerns about anti-Indian hate, the contributions of Indian Americans to the district, and his legislative priorities for schools and small businesses.
Reeves represents parts of Duluth, Suwanee, and Sugar Hill. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Rising costs are on everybody’s mind. What steps have you taken to make life more affordable for people in your district?
Affordability is the number one issue in 2026. I think public safety is close behind it. For all four years I’ve been in the Georgia House, and particularly over the last two years, I’ve worked on affordability every day.
The biggest thing we’ve done this year is insurance affordability. Tort reform passed by one vote in the Georgia House. I had many Indian constituents who asked me to vote for tort reform. I’m a lawyer, and I studied that issue carefully. I provided that one vote based in large part on conversations with Indian healthcare professionals and friends from Sugarloaf to Sugar Hill. ( Tort reform refers to changes in civil lawsuit laws that limit certain legal claims or compensation awards. Insurers, businesses, and medical groups support these reforms to reduce litigation costs and potentially lower insurance premiums. )
As a follow-up, the Speaker of the House asked me to chair the Insurance Affordability Study Committee. We held four meetings, worked across the state and across party lines, and focused on making insurance more affordable for hardworking Georgians.
We passed the Insurance Affordability Act, House Bill 1344, which I was proud to sponsor. This year, more than 15 insurance companies have reduced their rates in Georgia.
Healthcare insurance is a different scenario because of federal involvement. But on auto, home, and business insurance, which we can influence here in Georgia, we’ve delivered savings.
You may not have experienced those savings yet, but when your insurance policy renews, shop around. You could save money.
I spoke to a single male driver who’s saving $1,200 next year by shopping around for auto insurance. I also spoke to a parent with three young drivers whose family is saving $6,000 next year.
Those are significant savings at a time when families need them.
Can you name some of the insurance companies that have reduced their rates? And are homeowners already seeing savings?
This is a partial list because it has grown since I last compiled it: State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Safeco, Southern General, Progressive, Hanover, GoAuto, Allstate, Country Mutual, Travelers, Farmers, and Foremost, which is a subsidiary of Farmers Insurance.
State Farm is sending rebate checks in addition to reducing rates. American Integrity has entered the Georgia market, and Donegal Insurance, which previously left Georgia, has returned.
In some states, insurance companies are raising rates or leaving the market altogether. Here, we have companies entering the market.
Foremost was the company that saved the family with young drivers $6,000.
Home and auto insurance are often bundled, and those are among the policies where rates have been reduced. Many of these companies are also reducing business insurance rates.
What I’m hearing from local small business owners, many of whom are Indian, is that underwriting is becoming more favorable. Previously, businesses sometimes had to curtail operations or spend additional money to meet underwriting requirements. Those requirements are getting back to normal.
I’m proud to have worked with Democrats and Republicans from Atlanta and across the state on this. I don’t believe another state in the country has had as much success in lowering insurance costs this year as Georgia.
You mentioned that Georgia’s income tax rate has dropped to 4.99%, and the state has suspended the gas tax three times this year. How much of that relief is reaching ordinary families?
People who travel frequently or use a lot of gas for work definitely benefit. That includes businesses with fleets of vehicles and families where both spouses commute.
Gas prices in metro Atlanta also affect housing decisions. The farther you go out, even to places like Suwanee and Sugar Hill, an increase in gas prices makes people more reluctant to buy a house because of commuting costs.
I believe the gas tax suspension saves drivers nearly 40 cents per gallon, around 37 cents or so. For a typical metro Atlanta driver, that’s about $5 every time they fill up. For someone driving a van, truck, or larger vehicle, it could be $10 or more.
That’s noticeable in a household budget.
We’ve been fiscally conservative with the state budget. I’m on the Appropriations Committee, and we’ve made sure that when we suspend the gas tax, we still fulfill transportation and other obligations that depend on that revenue, rather than cutting back on transportation funding.
I believe lowering the tax burden makes the economy stronger. When you have a good economy and jobs, you can withstand disruptions at the national and international levels.
What are the biggest public safety concerns in your district? You also recently wrote an opinion piece for James Magazine titled “Don’t Let Atlanta Burn Again,” criticizing Democrats for voting against several public safety bills. Can you explain your position?
I think people in Duluth, Suwanee, and Sugar Hill remember the nightmare of 2020, when crime got out of hand.
Jails were cleared out, criminals were on the streets, and police were told to stand down or patrol with one hand tied behind their backs.
Protecting neighborhoods and schools is something I’ve worked on every year I’ve been in office. One of the reasons people love Sugarloaf, Suwanee, Duluth, and Sugar Hill is the safety of their homes, schools, and workplaces.
I believe in distinguishing between first-time offenders who may have mental health issues or other challenges and violent career criminals.
We need to help first-time offenders get their diplomas, enter the workforce, and rehabilitate. I’ve supported criminal justice reform.
But we also need to be tough on people who engage in violent crime. We must make sure they’re not a threat to seniors, families, or people going about their daily lives.
When I attended Mercer University in Macon in the 1990s, there was more of a bipartisan consensus on public safety. It’s been shocking to me, during my four years in the Georgia House, to see some lawmakers voting on public safety the way lawmakers do in California, Chicago, or New York, promoting policies that I believe will come back to terrorize neighborhoods.
We need to be tough on fentanyl dealers and gangs that recruit young people. We need to send a clear message: Don’t bring that kind of evil into Georgia. Leave our young people alone and keep that poison off our streets.
There’s growing concern about hate directed at Indian American, South Asian, and immigrant communities. What can Georgia do to protect them?
We need to make sure Georgia continues to be a place that attracts Indian families.
Indian families have chosen Georgia and metro Atlanta over many other options across America and around the world. We need to keep it that way.
We need to be particularly aware of the ways criminals prey upon immigrants and Indian families and make sure those who would harm them are apprehended and serve jail time.
Indian residents, particularly senior citizens, should feel safe going about their daily lives, shopping, and participating in the community without worrying about violent criminals preying upon them.
I sponsored a drive-by shooting bill last term to discourage people from committing drive-by shootings in neighborhoods. We’ve curtailed some of that activity since its passage.
We need to be tough on gun crimes and make sure people who commit them aren’t simply released back onto the streets.
But hate doesn’t always come from career criminals. Sometimes it’s ordinary people expressing hostility toward immigrants, and that behavior seems to have become more normalized. There was a recent incident in the Alpharetta-Johns Creek area where an Indian woman was reportedly chased by another driver for miles. He blocked her car, made a gesture suggesting he had a gun, and told her to go back to India. What would you say to someone like her?
I think the perpetrator should face the most serious consequences.
There was also a gentleman at a Walmart in Cobb County who was mistreated. There ought to be consequences, financial and otherwise, for mistreating immigrants.
Religious freedom is important. As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, we should remember the principles of the Bill of Rights.
A newcomer, an immigrant, or someone with a minority point of view, whether in religion or background, should feel comfortable living life in America and being fully part of the American experience. They shouldn’t feel that it’s an us-versus-them situation.
In my communities of Duluth, Suwanee, and Sugar Hill, Indian residents are such a positive part of the fabric of life.
Think about healthcare. If you took all the Indian doctors and healthcare professionals out of the system in Gwinnett County for one day, the system would come to a grinding halt.
The Indian community contributes so much through healthcare, entrepreneurship, hospitality, and our neighborhoods.
Anything I can do to advocate for Indian residents, I’ll continue to do, including addressing hate crimes and situations where they’re mistreated.
I’ve also spent time working with residents and law enforcement on license plate reader technology, including Flock cameras, to hear concerns about privacy while ensuring police can still catch criminals.
Some people with what I consider misguided liberal, Democratic, or socialist public safety agendas want to take all the Flock cameras down.
I believe that would make crimes against immigrants and Indian Americans more prevalent in Atlanta. I’m not going to let that happen.
Whether someone threatens violence against an Indian person or actually commits violence, they need to face serious consequences.
If someone experiences a hate crime, what should they do? How can they make sure the incident is properly documented?
Definitely make sure all the facts are included in the police report.
For that victim in Alpharetta, the report should note that she and her daughter are Indian and that the perpetrator told her to go back to India.
Put the exact words and demographic information in the police report so there’s a record.
We also need to hold people accountable for not being tough enough on crime.
I like our district attorney in Gwinnett, Patsy Austin-Gatson. I think she does a good job. I also think Gwinnett police, Duluth police, Suwanee police, and Sugar Hill marshals do a strong job.
We need to be aggressive in prosecuting hate crimes, murders, and violent crimes. Justice delayed is justice denied.
That Indian woman and her daughter deserve to see the perpetrator face consequences.
You also mentioned working on legislation to make professional licensing easier for small businesses and healthcare professionals. What changes have been made?
It came out of my service on the Appropriations Committee.
Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett asked me to implement recommendations from a study committee concerning professional licensing.
One of the biggest complaints legislators receive is about inefficiency in professional licensing. Healthcare is one of the sectors most affected.
What we did was modernize professional licensing in Georgia.
For instance, if you graduated from a Georgia university, instead of having to track down your diploma and submit it yourself, the Secretary of State’s office could obtain the information directly from another state agency.
We introduced efficiencies like that to bring professional licensing up to 2026 standards.
We’ve also worked on regulatory reform. One proposal would require state agencies to review their regulations at least once every five years and eliminate regulations that have outlived their usefulness or have a negative cost-benefit analysis.
I think regulatory reform and professional licensing reform will benefit healthcare and small businesses.
We need fiscally conservative government that focuses on serving people and leaving money and authority with local officials.
What are your priorities for Gwinnett schools, particularly school safety and student mental health?
Duluth, Peachtree Ridge, North Gwinnett, and Lanier are excellent school communities, and I want to keep them that way.
Students across Gwinnett are investing in their futures, and parents and grandparents are investing in their children’s futures by choosing Gwinnett schools.
Gwinnett County Public Schools is also our largest employer.
I’m proud of the school safety legislation we’ve passed at the state level. We took some of the models already being used in Gwinnett and expanded them statewide, with funding for Gwinnett and other districts.
On mental health, I strongly believe that investing in mental health resources provides a good return, not only financially and in terms of tax dollars, but also in quality of life.
When you meet people’s mental health needs, they’re more productive in their relationships, at work, and in their communities. They’re also less likely to enter the criminal justice system or struggle with addiction.
I invited representatives from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to Gwinnett, along with a Suwanee City Council member.
We held a mental health summit in Suwanee, bringing together nonprofits, community members, and the state agency to discuss improvements to mental health services.
We’ve also increased fines for insurance companies that violate coverage requirements, including those involving mental health.
If your insurance company is giving you trouble with healthcare or mental health coverage, including mental health parity requirements, let the insurance commissioner know. Let your state legislators know.
We will work to get those requirements enforced.
Looking back at your two terms, what accomplishments are you most proud of? And why should voters give you another term?
Definitely the insurance affordability work. I’m proud that Georgia is, in my view, number one in the country in reducing auto, homeowner, and business insurance costs at a time when people need relief the most.
I’m also proud of securing the first homeowner property tax cuts in Gwinnett County since the 1980s, with two rounds of reductions.
In Suwanee, we spent four years working with local officials, and now residents have a property tax measure on the ballot.
But I’ll tell you what I’ve enjoyed the most: spending time in the community with my Indian neighbors.
I’ve learned so much about Indian culture, history, and values, and I value that time.
I’ve also enjoyed meeting Asian and Latino neighbors, people who’ve lived here for 40 years after immigrating, and people who’ve chosen our area more recently.
We have a uniquely diverse community, and keeping our quality of life strong is important.
I believe this is the number one Indian district out of Georgia’s 180 House districts, and the Indian community is a big part of what makes this district so excellent.
Why should voters give me another term? Keep Georgia number one in good things.
Look at the tax relief, insurance relief, and public safety measures we’ve worked on.
Think about why you chose Georgia and why you chose to move to Atlanta. Think about why people have moved here from Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and other places.
We shouldn’t make what I would call a Democratic-socialist leftward turn, because I believe it would take decades to recover from that.
