Comité Rules de la Cámara de Representantes, 9 de febrero de 2026

Transcripción

135 turnos. Seleccione un tiempo para reproducir ese momento del video.

1. 0:22:06

   Morning, everybody.

2. 0:22:14

   I ask everybody to take their seats, and we'll call the meeting to order, please.

3. 0:22:21

   Morning.

4. 0:22:24

   Good morning, everybody. We're gonna, uh, call the meeting to order, and we'll ask for, uh, Representative Williams to open us with a word of prayer, please.

5. 0:22:33

   Let us pray. Merciful and everlasting Lord God, we thank you once again for the opportunity. We thank you for those that have gathered to help the state of Georgia and its citizens. Lord, we ask that you guide our minds, help us to realize that you are the ultimate authority, and to follow your word. What is in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

6. 0:22:58

   Thanks, sir.

7. 0:23:07

   Okay, let's go ahead and we'll begin. Uh, Chairman Camp, go, come on up.

8. 0:23:14

   Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm looking at HB 948, which is on the second page, sixth down. And we are looking at LC620306S. This bill is one that creates more disclosure when someone's is foreclosed, in the foreclosure documents, to let individuals know that if there are excess funds available after all the foreclosure proceedings, how to get those funds back.

9. 0:23:46

   Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you.

10. 0:23:49

    Thank you.

11. 0:23:51

    Chair Lady Hagan. And members, when you come up, if you would, please, uh, before you begin, give us the House number and where it's located on the blue sheet. Make it easier for the, everyone to find it, if you would, please. Help us move along. Thank you.

12. 0:24:05

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee. I have House Bill 983. It is on page two, a little over halfway down the page. This bill was requested by the Georgia Forestry Commission, and it, its purpose is to reduce confusion for our counties and our cities and our property owners regarding what a prescribed burn is. It clarifies the definition in the code.

13. 0:24:35

    Okay. Don't see any questions.

14. 0:24:37

    Thank you.

15. 0:24:37

    Thank you, ma'am.

16. 0:24:41

    Representative Jones.

17. 0:24:50

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I have House Bill 545 on the blue sheet. It's five, the fifth from the bottom, LC number 481506. Um, I want to thank the committee for passing this bill out of Rules in 2024. It went to the Senate, but because of time, it did not go any further. HB 545 is known as the Terry Act. This bill is designed to create uniformity across all courts in Georgia in how appeal transcripts are to be handled.

18. 0:25:30

    This bill creates a clear statewide rule that all transcripts shall be prepared by filing the notice of appeal with the clerk of court, and re- all transcripts are to be requested from the court reporter listed on the notice of appeal, eliminating inconsistent local practices and confusion.

19. 0:25:58

    Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you.

20. 0:26:00

    Thank you.

21. 0:26:02

    Jim Corbit. Wait, excuse me, there is a question. I'm sorry. Ms. Jones, just a minute.

22. 0:26:06

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's not for the author. The previous bill, will you enlighten this country boy on what in the world is silviculture?

23. 0:26:18

    Forestry.

24. 0:26:18

    That was in the last bill.

25. 0:26:20

    Forestry management.

26. 0:26:21

    What is it?

27. 0:26:23

    Growing trees. It says it's when you prescribe burns to make the forest grow better.

28. 0:26:31

    Did, did we answer your question for you?

29. 0:26:34

    About 16 different ways, but I'm going with the last-

30. 0:26:36

    They, they gonna meet you offline and talk to you about that.

31. 0:26:39

    Okay.

32. 0:26:39

    Okay. Thank you. If y'all have a question, be, it, I'm trying to watch the board, but let me know, make sure I recognize you. Jim Corbit.

33. 0:26:50

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I bring before you House Bill 956, uh, seventh from the top on the second page.

34. 0:27:02

    What House Bill 956 does, it gives the director of the EPD the authorization to take any actions as may be necessary to implement provisions of the Solid Waste Trust Fund, is what we're doing with this, this bill. And I'll appreciate your favorable consideration or answer any questions.

35. 0:27:20

    Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you, sir.

36. 0:27:22

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

37. 0:27:25

    Yes, sir.

38. 0:27:27

    Good morning, Mr. Chairman and committee.

39. 0:27:28

    Chairman.

40. 0:27:28

    I bring HB 57, which is the fourth bill on page one. This bill does one thing. It adds step-grandparents, step-grandchild relationship to the incest law of Georgia. That's it.

41. 0:27:44

    Okay. No que-

42. 0:27:46

    Thank you.

43. 0:27:47

    No questions. Thank you.

44. 0:27:48

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

45. 0:27:49

    Chairman Anderson.

46. 0:27:53

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This morning, I have House Bill 1027. It's page three, third from the top. This bill simply allows MEAG participating cities and coun- and the one county to enter into contracts with end users for electric service for up to 20 years

47. 0:28:14

    Okay. Don't... No questions. Thank you, sir.

48. 0:28:17

    Thank you.

49. 0:28:18

    Jim Jones.

50. 0:28:24

    Good morning, Chairman, members of the committee. House Bill 986, second page, sixth from the bottom. Uh, four years ago, we enacted the personal delivery device bill, which is effectively the robots that are delivering food. You may see them here in Atlanta. They look like coolers with four wheels. Uh, we were one of the first states to do that. Now several states have done it, and we've kind of learned from what some of our brethren have done across the union. We've made changes from a safety perspective and also a traffic efficiency perspective, and you'll see the three changes between line 16 and line 26.

51. 0:28:57

    All right. Don't see any questions. Thank you, sir.

52. 0:29:00

    Thank you, sir.

53. 0:29:02

    Chairman Williams.

54. 0:29:06

    Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, my House Bill 934 is on the second page, number four. This basically transfers the powers of the securities and commodities, um, from the Secretary of State's office over to Banking and Finance. Um, this is done in 21 other states right now, and this will help, um, reduce some of the fraud and abuse.

55. 0:29:27

    Okay. We've got a question for you.

56. 0:29:29

    Okay.

57. 0:29:30

    Whip, Whip Parks.

58. 0:29:30

    Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, to the author of the bill, is it not true that this would hinder an ongoing investigation into First Liberty, $140 million Ponzi scheme?

59. 0:29:41

    Uh, that is correct. It is 140 and counting, and the folks who have been working on this, once this goes into statute or goes into law, they will automatically be transferred under the Department of Banking and Finance. So it'll be a seamless process, but thank you for your question.

60. 0:29:57

    S- so just to clarify, there's an ongoing investigation in which would it not be that this bill would hinder-

61. 0:30:04

    No. Did you-

62. 0:30:04

    ... that ongoing investigation?

63. 0:30:05

    I just, I, I, I think I just said clearly these people that are working right now, they will come up under the Department of Banking and Finance, and it'll be a seamless transition, um, upon July the 1st of 2026, and they can all work in concert, work as a team. Thank, but thank you.

64. 0:30:24

    Uh, Secretary Kelley.

65. 0:30:26

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Williams, isn't it true, uh, that there's been a, a ongoing investigation through the SEC that is spearheading this?

66. 0:30:37

    Yes, sir. You are correct.

67. 0:30:38

    And they're driving the majority of the investigation?

68. 0:30:40

    They are.

69. 0:30:41

    And isn't what's hindered this investigation is the Secretary of State's lack of prosecuting this case at the state end, and that's why we need to put it in the hands of a regulator who actually is familiar with this territory?

70. 0:30:53

    And also a smaller, um, web, um, of working with, because right now the Secretary of State has a myriad of different departments they have to be in charge of. In Banking and Finance, they know banking and finance, and 21 other states are doing this, and they seem to be doing it very well.

71. 0:31:09

    Thank you.

72. 0:31:10

    Uh, Representative Evans has a question.

73. 0:31:14

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, understanding your point about 23 other states doing this, but-

74. 0:31:19

    21.

75. 0:31:20

    21. At any time in history until there was this ongoing investigation, did anybody ever attempt to make this move here in the state of Georgia?

76. 0:31:27

    You know, I'm not aware of that because I was not the chair of Banks and Finance at that time.

77. 0:31:32

    And isn't it true that the Banks and Financing Department has expressed concerns about their budgetary needs if this change is made? Was that addressed?

78. 0:31:40

    I, I don't, I don't, I, I don't believe so. I think they're more concerned of the $140 to $150 million that has left Georgians' pockets.

79. 0:31:47

    There wasn't a letter that was addressed to you or to the committee expressing concerns?

80. 0:31:53

    There was, and that letter was answered, um, at full committee meeting last Thursday, and we spent about 45 minutes discussing that in depth, and I think we had, um, it passed out, I think we had three votes that were against it in committee.

81. 0:32:07

    Isn't it possible, um, based on language that's in line 56, that once this transfer is made, that the staff that's working on this right now could be completely changed?

82. 0:32:18

    Mm, I don't think so, but you could ask the Department of Banking and Finance chairman, or both ears, who he plans to hire and fire. I don't-

83. 0:32:26

    Well, you're, well, you're the chairman. I don't, uh, but-

84. 0:32:27

    No, no, I-

85. 0:32:28

    The, the com-

86. 0:32:29

    I-

87. 0:32:29

    Let me ask, let me ask it this way. The Commissioner of the Banks and Banking Department will be able to make personnel decisions after this change just like they are today, true?

88. 0:32:38

    That is correct, but in the law, the law states that they will bring them all up under the Department of Banking and Finance at that time.

89. 0:32:44

    Is there anything to require that that not change during the course of the investigation? Anything in this law that would tie the hands of the Commissioner of the Banks and Banking Department not to make any personnel changes after the switch?

90. 0:32:56

    I can't speak for him, but the law says that he will hire them, and they will have all the benefits that they have had previously. Now, if they don't perform, you know, that's, that's something between the, the Chairman of the Banking and Finance or the Department of Banking and Finance and those said individuals. Just like everybody else, they have to perform to keep their job.

91. 0:33:15

    And, and that, whether they're performing or not, will be determined by the Banks and Banking Commissioner and his sole discretion, true?

92. 0:33:20

    That is correct.

93. 0:33:21

    And, and final question. Um, these folks that are leaving over from the Secretary of State's office, don't they have other duties? Are we not concerned about who's gonna take up that work when they switch over to the Banks and Banking Department?

94. 0:33:33

    All we're working on is securities and commodities, and that's what my purview is. Um, they're gonna come over to the Department of Banking and Finance, and that's what they're gonna be solely concentrating on. I assume the Secretary of State still has a number of employees that work on other projects.

95. 0:33:51

    Has anybody talked about that workload switch, though? I mean, obviously, if somebody's leaving one department to go to another one, I would assume this is not the only thing those individuals are doing, and I just wanna make sure that the committee at least considered the fact that workload within the Secretary of State's office is going to be left without additional personnel coming. We're only sending personnel away, it sounds like.

96. 0:34:12

    Well, a lot of this was thought into, um, and we worked on it, and this seems to be a great...

97. 0:34:17

    Um, compromise for everybody, um, and it should work, assuming this goes into effect July 1 of 2026. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Chair Lee Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, thank you for bringing this bill before us. I know it's complicated. Is it not true that I actually am in the district in which these individuals created this Ponzi scheme? Yes, ma- yes, ma'am. The lady knows of what she speaks. Is it also not true that they got away with this egregious action for several years because we were peppered with authority all over the code sections?

98. 0:34:54

    Yes, ma'am. It has been going for quite a while. I think they started, I think they said it could've been going over, over 10 years. Is it further not true that I believe this general assembly is intent upon wronging, righting this wrong for the benefit of the citizens who have been damaged by this, but also to prevent it from happening in the future? Yes, ma'am. I, I believe that's everyone's intent in this body. And is it further not true that I still pray every day for the ones who are the victims?

99. 0:35:26

    Uh, yes, ma'am. We all do. Thank you. Okay. Chairman Martin. Chairman Williams, just a, a quick question. The, the lady, uh, asked earlier, you know, is it not true that the, um, Commissioner over in the banks could, could replace the investigator. She asked that question and you answered yes. Is it not true today i- the Secretary of State could change those this afternoon? Sure. Is, is it not true, she also asked about the people that were moving and the, the, the tasks they were performing.

100. 0:35:56

     Is it not true that the tasks they perform are the specific tasks that will be moved? In other words, you're moving the jobs and the people. Is that not true? Uh, correct. Is it not further true that if they were doing something other than that, perhaps that's the reason we got in the shape we got in? One c- one could infer that. Is it not true we have one more question? Chairman Powell. Yeah. My friend, yeah, I've heard all the questions on this, but I've only got one question.

101. 0:36:29

     The security, uh, division over there, they're also in charge of investigating and enforcing, uh, the cemeteries and funeral directors. Yes, sir. And will they, will this not change or will this all stay the same under them? This is only gonna deal with securities and exchange and commodities. This has nothing to do with graveyards or, or any of that nature. So those investigations that are underway, they'll stay at the Secretary of State's office, but we don't know in what capacity. Correct. That will be for him to determine.

102. 0:37:01

     God help us.

103. 0:37:05

     Thank you, sir. You have exhausted all the questions. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Bonner.

104. 0:37:16

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, committee. Um, bringing House Bill 979. It's on page two, about midway down on your sheet. Uh, this came as a request from the Department of Defense Military Community and Family Policy, uh, Division. This c- creates a process in Georgia for concurrent jurisdiction on our military installations. Uh, in the federal system, there's no juvenile process. And so what this would do, if the state accepts it, is to allow the juvenile cases to proceed through the state and not have to go through a federal system, which does not accommodate that.

105. 0:37:54

     Okay. Have a question. Uh, Representative Williams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, I like the bill, bill, Mr. Chairman. My big question is, if this moves, especially in an area like my county, where we have a huge amount of military folk, will there be any help as far as the expenses that will definitely rise in juvenile court? Well, we could certainly address that in future appropriations. A- again, uh, the bill does not require the state to accept these cases.

106. 0:38:29

     It simply provides a formal process by which a request can be made to accept. And so, um, e- essentially, if the juvenile system cannot handle certain cases based on their budget, then they would simply not accept those, uh, in this, uh, in this process. But, uh, uh, to your point, I would certainly work with you in making sure that our communities have the resources they need, because the, uh, having this available to the juveniles also provides them with a potential for rehabilitation that does not exist in the federal system.

107. 0:39:03

     Okay. Thank you, sir. No more questions. Thank you. Representative Cox.

108. 0:39:12

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, page one, H.R.999 at the very top is a urging resolution for Georgia citizens, cities, and counties to remember and honor the 250th anniversary of America and the Declaration of Independence.

109. 0:39:31

     Okay. No questions. Thank you, sir. I, I also have, um, House Bill 383, which is three quarters of the way down on page one, and this is the Georgia High School NIL Protection Act, and it's putting guardrails around, um, NIL contracts in the State of Georgia which currently exist. And it's making sure that those contracts, once the ath- student athletes have graduated, that they no longer are bound by that contract, that they can renegotiate and have to renegotiate at the next level.

110. 0:40:05

     Okay. No questions. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Representative Townsend.

111. 0:40:14

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is, uh, HB 971, second page, about halfway down. This is the Career Academy Bill. This is actually, uh-

112. 0:40:23

     Follows the original Career Academy Bill. This will allow homeschool students and private school students to attend a college career academy, take a CTAE course at no cost, and then the school system collects the FTE, and it's an opt-in for school systems. Currently, the Golden Isles College and Career Academy in Brunswick, Georgia, is utilizing this as other career academies across the state for their in-county, uh, s- homeschool and private stu- students, and, uh, it's been really a win-win for the workforce development, the students, and the school system.

113. 0:40:56

     Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you. There's Jim Hilton. Holcomb, excuse me.

114. 0:41:05

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I referred to House Bill 1009, which is at the bottom of page two, House Bill 1009. As many of you in this room know, last year we went cell phone-free in our classrooms K through 8. Back by popular demand, we are now expanding that to include high schools.

115. 0:41:24

     Thank you, Jim. Whip, have a question. Jim, uh, Whip Parks, you have a question? Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, how many other states prohibit high schools, uh, cell phones in high schools? So now we're up to 33 states, uh, nationwide, uh, that are cell phone-free. Thank you. For high schools? Yes. Thank you. Okay. Don't see any other questions. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

116. 0:41:50

     Uh,

117. 0:41:53

     any members of the committee have requests?

118. 0:42:00

     Chairman Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, I bring before the Rules Committee House Resolution 1050, which is the, um, our conveyance, annual conveyances, and also House Resolution 1051, which is, uh, our easements for the, um, for the year. And there are 22 easements and 11 conveyances that, and the Senate will add some more when we get it over there.

119. 0:42:34

     Okay. Any questions for Chairman Green? Don't see any.

120. 0:42:41

     Lady Hugley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have, uh, House Resolution 1049, and it's just designating Fentanyl Awareness Day a permanent observance each year for last Wednesday of October. Okay. Any other... Yeah. Leader Efstration has one. Go ahead. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On page three, the second bill, House Bill 1023, continuing with the efforts to maintain a priority of, of school safety, I've brought House Bill 1023, which would require weapons detecti- detection systems in all Georgia public schools.

121. 0:43:27

     Uh, this, um, substitute would make an effective date of July 1st, 2027, would allow for local discretion as to which weapons detection systems to provide, and would allow for state grants to help fund this. Okay. Whip Parks, you have a question. Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, thank you for the bill, Leader Efstration. Um, is there a fiscal note or an estimate of how much this would cost? N- no, there's no fiscal note. The, uh, state through our, uh, budget have appropriated funds for lo- local s- school safety grants, and that would make the funding available for these systems.

122. 0:44:06

     So is there an understanding whether or not the 50,000 per school is sufficient to, to cover these if they haven't already been utilized? As discussed in committee, there are available weapons detection systems that can be paid for with that co- with under that, uh, grant. Th- that's less than 50,000 a year? That's correct. Thank you. Representative Evans, you have a question? She waves. Okay.

123. 0:44:34

     Chairman Erwin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. But, uh, Leader, is it not true that, uh, quite a few systems in the state are already proven that this system is effective and, and it's deterring unsafe situations and weapons at schools? Yes, sir. Uh, the improvements in technology and software have allowed for greater capabilities of these weapons detection systems, and they have been successful, in my opinion, in their implementation where local school systems have decided to roll them out.

124. 0:45:05

     Thank you. Thank you. Okay.

125. 0:45:10

     That's got that. Uh, I'm gonna ask, uh, Vice Chairman, uh, Leverett to come and take over the meeting here.

126. 0:45:37

     All right, I see a new, uh, visitor to our committee today.

127. 0:45:44

     Scott, young man, I'll recognize you and let you introduce yourself and tell us about your bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to ask the members to consider House Bill 1215. Uh, this is a, a simple bill. This is simply adding a third judge to the Middle Judicial Circuit. Uh, this was requested by the ju- Judicial Council, and the governor has placed the funding for this in the budget as he has with two other districts, I think in the Gainesville area and in the Gwinnett area up there.

128. 0:46:18

     And, uh, I would ask for favorable consideration on, uh, House Bill 1215. Be happy to answer any questions if there are any.

129. 0:46:27

     Mr. Chairman, the board is just lit up with questions here. Um, no, I'll be happy to speak offline if they want to talk about anything. No, you did such a fine job, Mr. Chairman. I'm, uh, there are no questions. I must say, I, that's just one of the absolute finest bills and finest presentations we've ever heard in this committee. Thank you, sir.

130. 0:47:01

     Great job there, Mr. Vice Chair. Thank you. Okay, here we are. Let's, uh, set a calendar for today, Monday, February the 9th, under modified structure. House Bill 632. Moved. Have a move and a second. Is there any opposition? It's on. House Bill 657. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition?

131. 0:47:33

     It's on.

132. 0:47:36

     House Bill 676. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 957. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1215. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. Senate Bill 162.

133. 0:48:06

     Senate Bill 162. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Is there any opposition? It's on. Okay, that will be our calendar for today. House Bill 632, 657, 676, 957, 1215, and Senate Bill 162. Now, for us to sort of get back on schedule, let's go ahead and set a calendar for tomorrow, Tuesday.

134. 0:48:40

     Under modified structure, House Bill 944. Moved. Have a move and second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1015. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Resolution, House Resolution 1050. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition?

135. 0:49:10

     It's on. House Resolution 1051. Moved. Second. It's moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. So we've set a calendar for, uh, Tuesday and for today. Thank you, all. We're adjourned.