Over the past several years, you’ve probably become accustomed to Georgia PIRG working on a wide array of public interest issues.

We’ve won victories to protect consumers from identity theft and predatory lending with laws like the Fair Lending Act; we’ve worked to help make health care affordable, and we helped pass legislation to clean up power plants and protect our water supplies.

Yet, the challenges we face from special interests are mounting.

That’s why we’ve decided that the best way to advance our work is to separate into two organizations that will together address the threats to our public interest.

Environment Georgia (www.EnvironmentGeorgia.org) will be the new home of our environmental work, while Georgia PIRG will focus on consumer protections and good government issues.

Georgia PIRG’s renewed focus will allow us to be more effective consumer advocates and government watchdogs.

By zeroing in on problems like prescription drug safety, homeowner’s rights and democracy reform, we can provoke greater public debate on these issues, giving Georgia’s citizens and legislators more reasons to support our work.

So, what can you expect from Georgia PIRG?

You can expect expanded and invigorated consumer and government watchdog programs. You can expect rigorous research. You can expect practical solutions. As always, you can expect effective action on behalf of the public interest.

Thanks to the support of members like you, Georgia PIRG has grown into one of the most effective public interest groups in Georgia. As we move into an exciting new era of action in the public interest, I look forward to your continued support of our work.