Comité Economic Development & Tourism de la Cámara de Representantes, 12 de febrero de 2026

Transcripción

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

1. 0:00:00

   get our quorum, we're gonna get it going so that those of us that live four hours and five hours and six hours away can get home. Um, but we have a quorum of, of five, and we have four of us here. So we need one more. Boom. And the, the magic number is here.

2. 0:00:23

   Thank you.

3. 0:00:23

   Ladies and gentlemen, we'll

4. 0:01:15

   call our meeting to order. Um, since we have our quorum here today, we have asked, um, let's see, in regards to House Bill 1039 and 1098, uh, the OneGeorgia, uh, Authority. We are fortunate today to have the very commissioner to come in and tell us exactly what the OneGeorgia does, what it was intended for, and he's gonna do that in a, uh, very succinct fashion. And Mr. Commissioner, if you'll, um, pull up the, um, the microphone there.

5. 0:01:46

   So Mr. Christopher Nunn, you have the mic.

6. 0:01:49

   Fantastic. Thanks so much. It's great to be with y'all. Um, thanks for all the work that you do, and, uh, thanks for the invitation. I'm sorry I wasn't here at the, at your last meeting. It was really the first I'd, I'd heard of this, but I, um, I did listen to the, uh, to the meeting, and I, I thought that maybe really quickly, sorry if I speak too f- too fast, uh, that I could address a couple of concerns, talk a little bit about the history, and then maybe just explain what OneGeorgia does today. Uh, would that be, uh-

7. 0:02:16

   Please.

8. 0:02:17

   So, um, I, I, um, I appreciate, again, the opportunity to be with you. I heard, uh, the questions about equitable economic development with lots of focus on OneGeorgia. Uh, and I thought it might be helpful to answer some of those questions and briefly discuss the history. Um, now I- I am pinch-hitting for Jenna Webb, who, uh, was here earlier but, uh, had to make a, a 5:00 meeting in Thomasville. And so, uh, I, uh, I'll, I'll try to do my best to, uh, to address the questions. I think it's probably useful to start with the legislative intent.

9. 0:02:52

   Start with what you directed us to do. Uh, as you may recall, this is a, a, a program, uh, or actually an authority that was created in 2000, uh, on the heels of the 1998 tobacco settlement. And the legislative intent, uh, in statute very clearly says, "Despite the overall prosperity of the state, the economic prosperity and development of rural Georgia has lagged behind that of urban areas." You know, I'm not a, um, I, I'm, I'm not a demographer.

10. 0:03:22

    I don't come to you armed with lots of data. Uh, I will tell you that I think that there are eight counties that we, that were brought up in question. Um, those eight counties, uh, do number among the top 10 or 12 counties in the state in terms of workforce participation. Um, so that's a really good thing. Uh, many of our rural areas still lag in terms of workforce participation. And so the OneGeorgia Authority was really created with legislative intent to support rural parts of the state. You know, in the last hearing, I heard, uh, concerns had been expressed from constituents.

11. 0:03:55

    And I would submit to you that if you've got constituents that are bringing up concerns about the OneGeorgia Authority, and those constituents are not development authority execs or city or county managers, they're being misled or misinformed about what OneGeorgia actually is. Because what OneGeorgia is, is a community infrastructure investment program. Um, it is, uh, it doesn't provide resources directly to, uh, to, to, uh, individuals or folks across the state.

12. 0:04:27

    It simply comes alongside local government and invests in infrastructure. I also heard some feelings of, honestly, exclusion. Um, and I wanna suggest that it's really important not to look at a single community development program in a vacuum. For, for example, um, the, uh, the, the communities that, um... I think that there are eight communities that are ineligible for OneGeorgia funding. Those communities directly, over the last five years, have received $285 million in direct community development funding from HUD.

13. 0:05:05

    So direct federal funding to focus on community develop in th- development in those communities. Those communities, uh, c- constitute about 30% of the direct small business lending from our agency, focused on how do we build out small businesses. Now, that's lending, because we as a state can't make grants to, uh, non-governmental entities. Um, and then importantly, and I think this is a, I think this is a really important point for this committee to, um, to note.

14. 0:05:38

    So in the same year that OneGeorgia was created, 2000, uh, and this is a map of the OneGeorgia awards over the last five years to help with infrastructure investment in the state. I'll provide you each with a copy of this. There was also another important companion piece of legislation that was passed, and that was a state housing tax credit to pair with the federal credit, and the intent of those authors was to drive rural workforce housing in a way that also benefited- the metro areas.

15. 0:06:14

    And so if you look at the state housing tax credit, which is a really core component of workforce housing in the state, you'll see that about a third of those awards go to metro Atlanta, uh, another third of those go to our hub cities, uh, and a third of those go to rural areas. So I think it's important not, not to look at this in a, in a vacuum, but what does OneGeorgia do? It really invests in capacity for communities who don't have the population and resources to go it on their own in an attempt, and I will argue very successfully over the last 25 years, uh, to help those communities to grow.

16. 0:06:51

    Uh, Representative Al Williams, who is not here, I don't believe, asked a question about, uh, county eligibility, and I think that there was a lot of confusion about that in the last meeting. I, I'll boil it down simply to this. Uh, if you are a county in the state of Georgia that has a population of less than 50,000 people, we consider that county rural and eligible for OneGeorgia. Now, we also recognize that our residents across the state, uh, don't, uh, their, their economies or their trade areas are not, uh, constrained by county boundaries.

17. 0:07:31

    Um, and so in all parts of our state, metro and rural, uh, there are people who commute for good, good-paying jobs, and those jobs provide income that circulates in those communities. If you are a county that is adjacent to a rural area, 50,000 or less, um, you are considered conditionally eligible and you are, uh, y- any, any application that we receive from those conditionally eligible counties is expected, uh, to meet a much higher standard, both in terms of the match requirement and also the regional impact.

18. 0:08:11

    So we would be looking at, in hub communities, uh, is this a project that truly has a regional impact, that truly impacts, you know, uh, the rural communities, uh, uh, in, that, that surround that area? There are two really core programs, uh, focused on capacity building that, uh, we're operating today. One is the site development initiative. Uh, you heard this in the, uh, in the budget. Um, this is a, uh, honestly, over the last 25 years, uh, OneGeorgia has invested, uh, and helped to, uh, build, bolster, uh, you know, opportunity in, uh, industrial parks in smaller communities across the state to help them help themselves.

19. 0:08:55

    Um, after, uh, after a lot of investment over 25 years, the past five years we've seen unprecedented demand, and many of those have been put to use. So the site development initiative is simply an intent to help repopulate all areas of the state with good industrial capacity. Um, and then we also have a workforce housing initiative, uh, that has, over the last two years, made, uh, investments in about 31 communities across the state. That's basically what OneGeorgia does. Let me stop talking, uh, now and maybe entertain questions that I've not addressed.

20. 0:09:29

    But hopefully that gives you a little bit of flavor of the history and what you instructed us to do, uh, as well as, um, the, um, you know, some, some of the, the concerns around eligibility, um, and the current programs.

21. 0:09:43

    Representative Townsend.

22. 0:09:45

    Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a quick question. Thanks for being here. That helped a lot. So for example, if a neighboring county qualifies for the rural one and the other county, the adjacent county beside it does not, it has parts of a rural area, but also has a hub community, for example, Glenn, like say Brantley or McIntosh, would they be cons- considered a secondary or are they too large?

23. 0:10:09

    No. The... We would simply look at the opportunity in the conditionally eligible community-

24. 0:10:14

    Okay

25. 0:10:15

    ... um, and we would expect more. If you came in w- and were creating a small number of jobs... And let, let's, let's try to use a hypothetical example. Um, 30 or 40 jobs in some of our most rural communities are a really big deal.

26. 0:10:32

    Yeah.

27. 0:10:32

    A really big deal. Right? 30 or 40 jobs in a hub community may not be quite as big of a deal, but 300 jobs in a hub community is a huge deal and is gonna impact all of those neighboring communities. Also, that hub community, certainly like our larger urban areas, have more population and more resources. And so if you are a hub community and you came to the table requesting OneGeorgia assistance, we're probably gonna look at, what do you have in the game?

28. 0:11:06

    What are you, local community, really bringing to the table that you are asking the state to come alongside you? Because you've got more resources than, uh, those very rural communities. Does that help?

29. 0:11:20

    It's perfect. Thank you.

30. 0:11:23

    Other members? I guess if I can cut to the chase a little bit, Commissioner, this kind of is like a, a round peg in a square hole, um, in that it's a great opportunity for our, uh, smaller counties, which is what it was designed for. And maybe we might look outside the box for some other opportunities to help exactly where we're trying to go here for Representative Davis maybe.

31. 0:11:51

    Well, I, I, I couldn't agree more, and that was my point about don't look at this in a vacuum, right? W- we know that our job is to support 11.2 million Georgians, and the needs in DeKalb County look very different than the needs in Decatur County, right? But that, that is why we try to work, uh, with all of our communities to address those, those needs from a housing standpoint a- and, and an infrastructure standpoint as well.

32. 0:12:24

    Other questions? So, Chair, uh, Commissioner. W- what I'm gonna s- yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.

33. 0:12:31

    Thank, thank you so much for, for coming.

34. 0:12:33

    Yeah.

35. 0:12:33

    I guess, uh, my objective is looking at the fact that in high p- populated, uh, metro areas, uh, we're faced with a number of federal funds that are being cut that normally those, uh, counties can go directly and get their money from the federal. Uh, when you look at deserts, food deserts-

36. 0:12:58

    Mm-hmm

37. 0:12:58

    ... pharmacy deserts, uh, medical deserts, you name it, banking deserts, uh, these are still affecting the disadvantaged, underserved resources within metro, uh, Atlanta. So I can hear what you're saying, but after 25 years, the scope of the availability of money is drying up in many ways, and the need is expanding. So when you look for a corrective action plan that can bring funding, you look at all the possibilities, and you look at what are the barriers.

38. 0:13:37

    Right.

39. 0:13:38

    So I am pretty much open. These, the two bills are, and I ha- I stated it before, see them as a corrective action plan to provide, uh, funding, particularly in those desert areas and areas that need more investment-

40. 0:13:57

    Right

41. 0:13:58

    ... because if we keep the, going the way we are, uh, I have people right now that are losing their homes 'cause they can't afford certain types of, uh, uh, investment.

42. 0:14:09

    Mm-hmm.

43. 0:14:09

    Whether you talk about One Georgia or a GEFA, there's a, you know... If I ask people how many of these types of funds exist where we don't really qualify, we're ineligible, the average elected official here would not know that there may be as many as three or four-

44. 0:14:29

    Right

45. 0:14:29

    ... if not more.

46. 0:14:30

    Right.

47. 0:14:33

    So what form, what, what... Can you name the form, uh, or give us a list of those financial entities-

48. 0:14:43

    Yeah

49. 0:14:43

    ... that we can use? And underserved and under-resourced-

50. 0:14:48

    Right

51. 0:14:48

    ... particularly with grants.

52. 0:14:51

    Right.

53. 0:14:51

    Because if you look at some of the money that you give in those unserved areas-

54. 0:14:54

    Mm-hmm

55. 0:14:55

    ... uh, you give grants where you don't necessarily have to pay those back. And I'm sure that in a number of these areas, like I said, the eight counties-

56. 0:15:06

    Mm-hmm

57. 0:15:06

    ... add up to over 4.3 million. And I know you say it's conditional eligibility.

58. 0:15:12

    Not in eight counties.

59. 0:15:13

    Oh, no.

60. 0:15:13

    They're not conditionally eligible.

61. 0:15:14

    It's 35.

62. 0:15:15

    That's right. That's right.

63. 0:15:15

    Right?

64. 0:15:16

    That's right.

65. 0:15:16

    Thirty-five. So if you look at the population of the 35, it's a positive, you know, we like to give it a positive name, conditional eligibility. But also remember, you're ineligible until you get to that condition.

66. 0:15:31

    Sh- sh-

67. 0:15:31

    So-

68. 0:15:32

    So might I, might I address, 'cause there are a bunch, there's a bunch list, and I'm happy to talk with you offline. But I think for the, for the sake of the audience, um, fir- first of all, I think we're looking at One Georgia. I think we're looking at the wrong tool to address the objectives. Um, O- One Georgia is not, n- uh, uh, unless it were entirely reconstituted, it's not gonna help address the banking desert, the food desert, the, the, uh, the pharmacy desert. GEFA, which is, you mentioned, GEFA has made some very significant loans to your community.

69. 0:16:03

    But I don't know that your constituents would be aware of that because that's a community investment, uh, a community loan to the water authority, to the county. Um, I think that the, the, uh, in terms of addressing some of the needs, which are really borne by the, much of the private sector, there's a state small business credit initiative which provides loans, uh, to those, uh, entities and, um, and I think that that's a really useful tool.

70. 0:16:34

    Um, the s- the state doesn't make forgivable loans to individuals. We make l- lo- loans. So the state small business credit initiative is probably a really, uh, useful tool, as is the community development block grant, the federal dollars. Um, and I share your concern about the potential threats to CDBG, uh, in, in Washington. That's an important tool to our metro communities and our smaller communities alike. But thankfully, um, I think in the most recent budget, those dollars have been preserved, uh, in, in the, uh, in the federal budget.

71. 0:17:11

    I'm happy to talk to you offline. I can tell you've got more questions. So, uh, maybe we can take that offline.

72. 0:17:19

    Thank you, Commissioner. Um, Representative Willis.

73. 0:17:22

    Thank you. Mr. Chair, I, I have a question. Thank, thank you for, uh, the presentation and the clarifications. Um, do you have a, or does One Georgia publish like a zip code breakdown of who receives the grants and, and where just for information?

74. 0:17:42

    I'm gonna give you this.

75. 0:17:43

    Okay.

76. 0:17:43

    But I will tell you, One Georgia made

77. 0:17:47

    tw- uh, I can't add this quickly. 16-

78. 0:17:50

    It's okay

79. 0:17:50

    ... 17. I mean, One Georgia made-

80. 0:17:52

    Thank you

81. 0:17:53

    ... yeah, uh-

82. 0:17:54

    Thank you

83. 0:17:55

    ... 30 awards to communities last year. There's not a zip code breakdown. It's a basically... Here, I'll give you, if you want a copy there.

84. 0:18:03

    Copy.

85. 0:18:03

    Okay?

86. 0:18:03

    Can I have a copy?

87. 0:18:04

    Sure. I think that's-

88. 0:18:06

    That's great.

89. 0:18:07

    Yeah. So we can-

90. 0:18:07

    Do you have a extra copy, Ron?

91. 0:18:08

    Put it out there. Yeah, I'll give everybody a copy.

92. 0:18:10

    Thank you, sir.

93. 0:18:10

    Thank you.

94. 0:18:11

    But it was all to small communities.

95. 0:18:13

    That's right.

96. 0:18:15

    Okay.

97. 0:18:16

    Okay.

98. 0:18:18

    So this is the last five years.

99. 0:18:23

    Commissioner, I think what we need is, is a rework- and my personal opinion of the bill so that we can find the right tool to make sure that we get exactly where we're trying to go with, um- And, and I'm the first one in Savannah to tell you that the... And, and of course the dean of our, well, my delegation down here anyway, is, um, we've, we've got a problem. We got some deserts with food and other things in, in, in the metropolitan areas. Mm-hmm. But I, I guess where I'm going is, is like you pointed out, probably this isn't the right tool to u- to, to get us there.

100. 0:18:57

     Mm-hmm. Right. I'll talk to you about that. Yes. We just need to rework it. Any other questions of the commissioner? Yes, sir.

101. 0:19:05

     Um, I apologize. I had a page and nothing come before that. I, I, I got the very end of your presentation, Commissioner. From a historical standpoint, you, you, you remember it as well as I do that, and I think a tool is what's needed because OneJob, OneGeorgia came about because your complaints were our complaints. The old Georgia couldn't get any money.

102. 0:19:30

     Mm-hmm.

103. 0:19:30

     OneGeorgia was developed specifically to fill that void. So with what we have now with Urban Georgia and the terrific need, there needs to be a new tool that's like the Hatchett after OneGeorgia to fill that void. That's it.

104. 0:19:48

     Agreed. And, and again, as I recall, the, the, uh, tobacco settlement money was a good place to put a lot of this stuff, which of course is shrinking, uh, as times goes on. So I think you and I have an idea of where we can get some revenue, but, um, that, that would clearly-

105. 0:20:04

     We know what it is.

106. 0:20:05

     ... that would clearly help some of the scenarios. We can continue this conversation. Yeah. Um, so with that, if there's no objection, we're gonna continue the conversation. Representative Davis is gonna look for that tool, uh, to fit. And Commissioner, I will release you to go do other stuff. Thank you very much. Thanks all of you.

107. 0:20:23

     Thank you.

108. 0:20:23

     Thank you. Thank you. And as we move on to, let's see. This one's the last one. Okay. Did we talk about this? Did we talk about this one?

109. 0:20:38

     Do you need my number or do you need-

110. 0:20:40

     That was go- that was great. That was great.

111. 0:20:59

     Ladies and gentlemen, we're wait- get- waiting on a, uh, a sub to come from Leg Council. Yes. And of House Bill 490. So that was 1039.

112. 0:21:10

     Yes. And we're gonna postpone un- till we get some later data. Got it. Uh, House Bill 490 of course was the, uh, human trafficking bill. And as we're drawing up the bill, I think the, the impetus and the centerpiece that we're trying to get, is to make sure these third party administrators on short term rentals, as you might recall, that they include more participation by the local police, um, to, uh, police this stuff.

113. 0:21:44

     They've got some language coming, so-

114. 0:21:49

     Okay ... we shall stand at ease for one moment.

115. 0:21:54

     Okay.

116. 0:22:44

     Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to postpone as it's gonna be a little while on House Bill 490. And so we've got s- one last presentation coming and, um, if you'll give me just a moment, they should be coming in any second. So House Bill 490 without objection. We've got some clarifying language, so we'll talk about that next week. There's one more issue and, um, we'll for just a moment.

117. 0:31:00

     Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we have, uh, copies. Representative Berry, our last bill today, we're gonna have a hearing. You have the mic number one, if you'll pull it close to you and tell us what we're doing today.

118. 0:31:13

     All right. Thank you all so much, and thank you f- and thank you for your patience, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. Um, do apologize for that brief hold. Um, it is an honor to be before y'all today to present House Bill 1217, and we're working from Sub LC650064S, from that sub. Um, after working with some members of the d- Department of Economic Development and TCSG, trying to make this the best bill possible to bring before y'all today. Uh, before I b- briefly walk you through what this bill would do, and its provisions are pretty clear and, and common sense in my opinion, I want to begin with why this bill matters and why its name carries such deep meaning.

119. 0:31:55

     Um, they're on the way, they're walking in right now, but I want to introduce to you all, and they'll walk in soon, Mr. Alfred Chivy Brooks and Mrs. Crystal Brooks. Um, they will be with us in, as I said, in a second. I've known them for nearly six years, long enough that they have become my family. And, but in April of 2023, our family and our community was struck by an unimaginable tragedy. While on spring break in Florida, their son, Bryce Brooks, noticed four children caught in a rip current being pulled out to sea. At that moment, Bryce did not hesitate.

120. 0:32:26

     Without thinking, without question, he sprinted into the surf to save them. He succeeded in saving all four children, but in doing so, Bryce lost his own life. What an act of courage, something that most of us, myself included, can only hope we'd have the strength to do. But yet, that tragedy deepens when you consider this. Six, six minutes underwater is the point after which irreversible brain damage begins. Bryce's emergency response time was seven minutes because the public beach he was on had no lifeguards on duty, and that one minute made all the difference in Bryce's life.

121. 0:33:04

     It's not an isolated tragedy. It reflects a larger reality about water safety in this country. According to data compiled by the National Lifeguard Association's organizations, the chance someone will fatally drown, I'm on page two of the presentation now, will fatally drown while at a beach protected by trained US Lifesaving Association lifeguards is just one in 18 million. Lifeguards perform tens of thousands of rescues annually, and their preventative actions far outnumber rescues, intervening before emergencies escalate.

122. 0:33:36

     Studies also show that the pre- presence of trained lifeguards can reduce drowning risk by up to 75% through vigilant supervision and hazard awareness. Yet right now, Georgia has no statewide requirements requi- requiring trained lifeguard coverage on public beaches during high-risk times. That means whether a family enjoys Georgia's shoreline during spring break or July 4th or could be a matter of luck, not policy. By contrast, and moving to page three now, Texas has explicit regulatory frameworks requiring lifeguard staffing plans, training, and surveillance standards for public aquatic facilities.

123. 0:34:15

     Their administrative code sets minimum expectations for lifeguards, including staffing levels, surveillance duties, training drills, and emergency action planning to ensure the safety of swimmers and visitors. Florida, while it does not mandate lifeguards at every public beach by state statute, does require lifeguards to be certified in lifeguarding, first aid, and CPR when they're provided at public facilities such as pools and beaches, and some localities have developed robust coastal ocean rescue programs with well-trained lifeguard teams. In other words, where some states set clear expectations about training and supervision, Georgia currently has no statewide baseline for beach lifeguard protections, and families and visitors are left vulnerable as a result.

124. 0:34:58

     This bill changes that. HB 1217 would ensure that during high times of occupancy, such as spring break, 4th of July, Orange Crush in Savannah, and other peak tourism events, trained lifeguards are positioned every 150 yards on our public beaches. That means real people with specialized rescue training ready to detect hazards early, intervene quickly, and prevent tragedies before they happen. House Bill 1217 also creates a pilot workforce development program within TCSG, and we moved it out of the Department of Economic Development after working with them and talking to their, um, great team, to recruit and train high school students as lifeguards.

125. 0:35:35

     This program not only will fill vacancies with local talent, but build career pathways in public safety and emergency response for young Georgians, work that is meaningful, community-focused, and life-saving. We have worked closely with the Georgia Department of Economic Development to ensure this pilot is structured for success and confidence that it will grow a stronger lifeguard workforce right here in our state. What this bill does not do will mandate beach closures if lifeguard services are unavailable. What it does is provide common sense, guidance, and uniform expectations on how pub- our public beaches should operate during high-risk, high-traffic times, ensuring that trained, life-saving services are there when they matter the most.

126. 0:36:14

     We can honor Bryce's memory, not only in words, but in policy, by making sure that no more heroes are s- lost simply because help was not there in time. So for Bryce Brooks, for his parents, and for the heroes in all of our children, I respectfully ask this committee's favorable consideration of House Bill 1217. Thank you. I'm happy to answer any questions. And when sh- I know when Mr. Brooks walks in, he would want to say some words as well. Senator Brooks.

127. 0:36:40

     Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Rep Berry. Um, when I was in high school, the pipeline for lifeguards was a coveted position. It's what everyone in Atlanta wanted to be. It was the summer job. You had two choices in Atlanta. You wanted to work at Six Flags, or you wanted to be a lifeguard. Um, and this is a s- seriously, and this is a city that had a very rare, um, urban swim culture with national swim teams, the Dolphins and others.

128. 0:37:16

     And so I remember this incident as, as a friend of this family, um, where Bryce saved his friends, all of them.

129. 0:37:27

     Mm-hmm.

130. 0:37:29

     And he perished. And so being able to do that with swim training without the presence of assistance was tragic. And so I commend you for putting this together, uh, not only from a space of remembering ... Bryce, but from a space of creating a workforce pipeline for high school students to receive life-saving training, um, and to have presence.

131. 0:38:02

     And although I am in a landlocked area in the city of Atlanta, but one who travels, uh, often and visits our coastlines often, I commend you for this, and I think it's fantastic.

132. 0:38:15

     Thank you.

133. 0:38:16

     And thank you for being thorough, um, and diligent with it.

134. 0:38:20

     Thank you for that. Um-

135. 0:38:21

     Representative Franklin.

136. 0:38:23

     Uh, thank you for this. I'm just reading over. I j- I know this is a hearing, so I just kinda wanna make some suggestions to kinda consider and think about if, if you don't mind.

137. 0:38:30

     Sure.

138. 0:38:30

     Sorry, my paper.

139. 0:38:32

     I'm looking at line, uh, 17, the definition of beach.

140. 0:38:35

     I think I left my paper over there. Can you hand me one?

141. 0:38:37

     Sure. Yeah.

142. 0:38:39

     Thank you.

143. 0:38:43

     17, yes.

144. 0:38:45

     So the definition of beach, I'm just wondering if maybe we can define that a little bit clearer, because, you know, Georgia, we have a lot of out barrier islands like Oatman Island, Cumberland Island, Walsul Island, and I don't, I don't think your intent is to have lifeguards on those islands that, you know, nobody's there. Correct?

145. 0:39:00

     Correct, yes. This is meant for public beaches or, well, not public parks, yes.

146. 0:39:04

     In high, in high, high places?

147. 0:39:05

     High places, yes, sir.

148. 0:39:06

     Yep. And then, um, on, uh, line 25, it says periods of high occupancy. I know you gave some examples of, like Orange Crush and those, uh, times, but maybe that could be just more defined a little clearer so that it would be, you know, super clear. Because I think, uh, you know, 150 yards, I'll, I, I first circled that, but I understand it if there's a high period of, of, uh, a lot of people there.

149. 0:39:27

     Correct.

150. 0:39:27

     But that could be defined a little bit clearer that that would, I think, help the bill a lot. Um-

151. 0:39:32

     Who determines?

152. 0:39:34

     Yeah, that's true. And, and who, who would determine what the, uh, high occupancy would be? So if that definition could be really cleared up, make it super clear, but, you know, that's just a suggestion for you. Thank you.

153. 0:39:46

     That's a good su- that's a good suggestion. Um,

154. 0:39:50

     Other members. Yes, sir.

155. 0:39:53

     It's a good bill. It's a good bill. But like Representative Franklin, you know, I'm thinking there's certain times, like an Orange Crush-

156. 0:40:02

     Mm-hmm

157. 0:40:03

     ... we, you got 50,000, 60,000 people, 150 yards is too, too big then.

158. 0:40:09

     Mm.

159. 0:40:10

     The, the density thing. It, it gotta be some recommendation because, you know, on special days when people are cover to cover-

160. 0:40:18

     Mm

161. 0:40:19

     ... 150 yards becomes a mile. It just literally be able to handle it. Secondly, let's look and, and just get some estimates. Big problem has been cost. How do you pay? Because that doesn't seem like a big thing, but that's everything I hear, is how do you pay the lifeguards?

162. 0:40:40

     Mm-hmm.

163. 0:40:41

     You gotta figure that out and make some recommendations there, because the imperative that gives the incentive, I remember when Senator Gunther told you he's going to be one, and there were certain fringe benefits that went with it that was better than the money.

164. 0:40:57

     Mm-hmm.

165. 0:40:58

     But, but, but now office is in it for, you know, let's, let's check and see some costs, then we can... But I think it's a good bill. But anybody lived on the coast, like me, we can go back as far as we can remember-

166. 0:41:13

     Sure

167. 0:41:13

     ... and a lot of people have been sacrificed-

168. 0:41:16

     Yeah, that's right. Yeah

169. 0:41:17

     ... to rip tides.

170. 0:41:19

     Yes.

171. 0:41:19

     It's tough. And other things, cramps, you know, you name it. It's, I've just buried too many people, too many people I've known have died. It's a good bill.

172. 0:41:28

     Thank you. So, uh, on line 32, and I, uh, we can make this clear as well, um, does let the technical system determine how much it would like to pay. Um, but I think-

173. 0:41:41

     The cost

174. 0:41:42

     ... 32 and 33, subject to appropriations.

175. 0:41:44

     Okay. What does that say?

176. 0:41:46

     Subject to appropriations as assessed by General Assembly-

177. 0:41:49

     Okay

178. 0:41:49

     ... for such purposes. The State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia shall develop and implement a pilot program. So I think that's the responsibility that we have. Um, if we're, if we see this as an important issue, um, we should invest in it the way we think of all lifeguards that are paid. And I think obviously we'll come to that as a committee.

179. 0:42:07

     Representative Parrish.

180. 0:42:09

     Thank you. Thank you, Bryce, for bringing this bill.

181. 0:42:15

     Um, just wanna thank you for bringing this bill because, um, I too am a friend of Brooks' family, and remember this incident and what a tragedy it was. Um, most important that we do the job of fixing the things that are broken, and this is one of the things that was broken that day.

182. 0:42:38

     Mm-hmm.

183. 0:42:38

     So I wanna thank you so much for, uh, bringing this bill forward, and look forward to the day that we can say that we will do that.

184. 0:42:48

     Thank you. Chairman Stephens, the family is here, and I would like to turn this over to his father, Shivi Brooks.

185. 0:42:54

     And if, if you'll come up to the mic, I would say next to, uh, Representative Berry. Um, and please come. You have the committee's attention as we're, um, number 10 here. A- and as we're working through this bill and trying to make sure we have no unfunded mandates and unintended consequences, um, to try to get to a solution, especially the mandate-

186. 0:43:17

     Sir, I like your hat better than mine. It's permanent. I got a wood board.

187. 0:43:22

     You wear it better than I do. It's all right.

188. 0:43:25

     And we appreciate the, uh, the, the loss, and we, again, you have the floor.

189. 0:43:30

     Thank you. Um,

190. 0:43:34

     uh, first off, just thank you for having me. Uh, my name is Alfred Shivi Brooks. I have the honor of serving, uh, as a high school economics, personal finance, and government teacher at Charles R. Drew High School in Clayton County. I also have the honor of serving as the first active teacher to be elected to the Atlanta Public School Board. Um, but today, I- I am not here in any of my official capacities. I am simply here as a father. Uh, April 6th of this year will mark six years since my family experienced the tragic loss of our 16-year-old son, Bryce Brooks.

191. 0:44:11

     Three years.

192. 0:44:11

     Three years.

193. 0:44:12

     Three years, it feels like an eternity, ah, who was an Atlanta Public S- Atlanta Public School honor roll student, um, and unfortunately, we lost him to an accidental drowning, uh, at a beach in Florida. Uh, that day, Bryce saw, uh, four smaller children being pulled further and further from the shore by a rip current. Um, he didn't hesitat- hesitate. Uh, he went into the water to help. Uh, he was able to alert others on the shore, uh, to come and help retrieve the children, um, and all of the children were brought back to shore, but in the process, Bryce was caught by the same rip current and was unable to make it back to shore.

194. 0:44:55

     Uh, in a panic to find him, our dear friend Charles, who we call Uncle Chuck Johnson, uh, went in the water to try to retrieve Bryce, and unfortunately, he too was taken by the current. Uh, Bryce and Uncle Chuck both lost their lives on that day. Uh, one of the children that Bryce helped to save later, uh, passed away after being in a coma for two weeks. All of the children that were involved in that incident happened to be students of Atlanta Public Schools.

195. 0:45:27

     This is- this issue is deeply personal for my family. Uh, it has also informed my experience. Um, I served as a lifeguard for 15 years, uh, since my sophomore year of high school. I worked in the Metro Atlanta YMCAs, and later served as an aquatics director at the Wade Walker YMCA in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Uh, my wife, who is here with me as well, um, was also a high school lifeguard and swimming instructor. Uh, we understand water safety.

196. 0:45:57

     We trained for it. We taught it. We built programs around it, and yet we still lost our son. Drowning happens quickly and silently. Uh, a person can lose consciousness in as little as two minutes. Irreversible brain injury often begins between four and six minutes without oxygen. So each year in the United States of America, more than 4,300 people die from unintentional drowning, which averages to about 11 lives lost every single day.

197. 0:46:29

     Georgia averages more than 60 drowning deaths annually. Children and teenagers remain among the highest risk age groups, and nationally, Black youth drown at significantly higher rates than their peers. Uh, as a lifeguard, we learned that in the Black community, unfortunately, only 80% of Blacks are able to swim proficiently. Uh, meanwhile, emergency response times in coastal settings often exceed that narrow window in which life can be saved, so those minutes, they matter.

198. 0:47:01

     Since Bryce's passing, our family has created the Bryce Brooks Foundation, and through this work, we provided eight weeks of swimming lessons to over 600 children and adults. We also award annual college scholarships to graduating seniors who display qualities of heroism in their own communities, because Bryce was a hero, and we want that spirit to continue. Georgia has already taken an important step in allowing high school students to teach water safety and lifeguarding at the high school level. Um, that education is critical, but education alone is not enough.

199. 0:47:35

     Uh, the Bryce Brook Hero- Bryce Brooks Hero Act ensures that in identified high occupancy, uh, public beaches, trained lifeguards are positioned and ready when the seconds matter. Bryce would be here today if protections like the Bryce Brooks Act had been in place on the public beach that he was enjoying. My son did not go to the beach with the expectation of being a hero. He went in because there were no trained professionals positioned to respond.

200. 0:48:05

     He went in because children were drifting further from the shore and no system was in place to immediately intervene. No child, no resident, no citizen, and no visitor on a Georgia beach should feel that it is their responsibility to brave dangerous waters to save the lives of children when we can train, equip, and position certified professionals to do exactly that. We have the ability, we have the training, we have the infrastructure.

201. 0:48:39

     What we need is the commitment. Our most precious resource is not our coastline. It's not our tourism revenue. It's not our convenience. It's our children. It's our families. It's the lives that are entrusted upon us. Bryce acted with courage beyond his years. This bill ensures that the next child will not have to. I respectfully ask this body, as I brought my wife here on what is our, uh, get...

202. 0:49:09

     I hope I get this year right.

203. 0:49:11

     You better.

204. 0:49:11

     13 year anniversary is today.

205. 0:49:15

     It's the 14th.

206. 0:49:15

     Awesome.

207. 0:49:16

     Yes.

208. 0:49:18

     You're out of here.

209. 0:49:19

     I know. Well, we did elope a year before our wedding, so I'm counting the wedding year. Gosh.

210. 0:49:29

     Just keep going.

211. 0:49:29

     I- thank you. Thank you, Bryce. Yes, I know. In- Inga, you gonna give it to me. I respectfully ask this body to take action on this measure. I humbly ask for your support of HB 1217, the Bryce Brooks Hero Act. Today could be a day that we ensure that lives on Georgia's beaches are safer than they were yesterday. Thank you.

212. 0:49:53

     And, and before you go-

213. 0:49:55

     Yes

214. 0:49:55

     ... uh, if, if, um, of course, on behalf of the committee, we offer our condolences and to the family, and the pain will never go away. Would you introduce your family?

215. 0:50:04

     Yes, absolutely. Uh, I have my wife, Crystal Brooks, with me here today. Uh, she is a- my wife of 14 years.

216. 0:50:13

     Hot damn.

217. 0:50:17

     Happy anniversary.

218. 0:50:17

     Right.

219. 0:50:18

     You got the name right, too.

220. 0:50:20

     Uh, exactly. I got that right. Uh, my wife Crystal is a registered nurse. Uh, she works at Northside Hospital. Um, and so, you know, our family lives in service to others. Uh, what is true is this, uh, the average public beach, unfortunately because it doesn't have lifeguards, will use the fire rescue teams to respond. At best, their response times are six to eight minutes, at best. So at that point, we're not talking about rescuing anyone from waters.

221. 0:50:52

     We're only talking about retrieval. So my ask of you all is to please take this opportunity to push this legislation forward, um, because it is desperately needed, and I would hope that no other family would have to endure the things that we've had to.

222. 0:51:08

     Which beach in Florida was, was this at?

223. 0:51:11

     It was Johnson Beach, uh, in Perdido Key, uh, Florida. Uh, the irony of it is that, uh, Johnson Beach was, uh, named after a Black service member, uh, who lost his life while rescuing, uh, his other fellow service members. That beach was open as one of the first public beaches that Black swimmers, uh, could use, uh, in the state of Florida. Um, and so-

224. 0:51:38

     Is that-

225. 0:51:38

     Excuse me?

226. 0:51:39

     Is that Pensacola?

227. 0:51:41

     Yeah.

228. 0:51:41

     I'm not sure. It's in Or- Orange County. I, I believe it's Perdido Key. Um, I, I've been corrected a few times today, so- I'll, I'll take, I'll, no, I'll take all the corrections. I'll take them all. But, um, but what is most important, and I'm, uh, pushing with, uh, state legislators in Florida to move this same action, uh, ahead as well. They lose 500, uh, visitors to their beaches annually. Um-

229. 0:52:06

     Representative Willis.

230. 0:52:08

     Yes.

231. 0:52:08

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, my friend.

232. 0:52:11

     Yes.

233. 0:52:12

     Uh, and family, happy anniversary on today.

234. 0:52:14

     Thank you.

235. 0:52:15

     Um, just thank you for the advocacy. Um, surrounding this issue, before you came, I was sharing with the committee what, how blessed we are in the City of Atlanta to have a coveted swim culture. When we were growing up, that life, life, I was also a lifeguard, um, there was gravitas to being able to pass the lifeguard test, just being able to tread water, um, and the, the, the swim teams that we had. What strikes me most about, um, the need for this is that what you just said is the minutes, right?

236. 0:52:49

     The minutes between brain damage, b- the minutes between successful rescue and recovery, brain damage and retrieval. And the time that it takes for fire rescue to get to a public beach is retrieval and not rescue. And so thank you for identifying that gap and for all that you do and for conti- I mean, it's your anniversary, so thank you, and you, Crystal, for being here today.

237. 0:53:20

     Um, and I look forward to finding some way, not just to honor Bryce's legacy, but to fill a void, because we do have Orange Crush, we do have tourism coming into the state that parties and celebrates at beaches, and just knowing that there's no one there to rescue them but people who are patronizing, uh, the beach and have a choice to make between being courageous or waiting for fire rescue is alarming to me. So thank you.

238. 0:53:47

     Thank you.

239. 0:53:48

     Representative Jones.

240. 0:53:50

     Thank you, Chairman Stephens. Um, my condolences to the family. I just want to, um, thank you, uh, Bryce, for, uh, Representative Bryce to for bringing this bill, Brooks, excuse me, for bringing this bill, um, to the committee. Um, I am, I am deeply, um, moved by the story, and I hope that this committee can do more. I appreciate this, that this bill, um, uses the measure to pilot program that you were talking about, because now we're not talking about a permanent expansion or a blank check.

241. 0:54:29

     We get to use measurable outcomes. We get to see the data and how this works in our state, um, to move forward. I also think that that is good stewardship as it relates to tax dollars when we do it the way that you are asking. And now we are having an opportunity to strengthen our workforce and get it ready without growing bureaucracy. I love the fact that, um, local communities are able to have some flexibility with this as well as continue to have the state of support.

242. 0:55:07

     I just, uh, God bless you for this, and I think the State of Georgia is going to be even better as it relates to our economic development and tourism because now we get to save lots of money in liability, uh, uh, liability clauses or causes versus, uh, being preventative. So this is a per- this is definitely a preventative measure to keep money in our, in our coffers instead of spending it on liability claims.

243. 0:55:39

     So thank you again.

244. 0:55:42

     Other members.

245. 0:55:44

     Aya.

246. 0:55:45

     Yes.

247. 0:55:45

     You have a microphone.

248. 0:55:47

     Pull your microphone.

249. 0:55:47

     Pull your mic up, Ms. Evans.

250. 0:55:49

     Okay.

251. 0:55:50

     It's all right.

252. 0:55:50

     Thank you. You know, as everyone mentioned, uh, s- uh, Orange Crush-

253. 0:55:57

     Wait, wait, wait. Here

254. 0:55:59

     ... there have been so many things that have happened even beyond Orange Crush

255. 0:56:05

     And there has got to be something done, and it has to be not just here in the State of Georgia, but all over. You see our young people, they, they're going to go out there because they want to be in that water. I'm hoping as, as we move forward and as we hear this, that we find some kind of way to do some preventive kind of sites and what have you. In Savannah is the, the, the Tybee Island have holes where the people can go around, and our young people are going to do that.

256. 0:56:43

     They'll go around, what you call those things? The jetties.

257. 0:56:46

     What you, what you-

258. 0:56:46

     Jetties?

259. 0:56:47

     Jetties.

260. 0:56:47

     Jetties.

261. 0:56:48

     Is that what I'm talking about?

262. 0:56:49

     Mm-hmm.

263. 0:56:50

     Okay. And our kids are getting in trouble because they want to be in that water. My question here now is, what are we trying to do, you know, to see what we can do to make sure that our waterways are very protective and that we can protect the families that are losing their children out there in all of this water? I wouldn't swim in Tybee Island, and I've been there all my life because of the sinkholes and the this and the that and what have you.

264. 0:57:26

     What are we trying to do here?

265. 0:57:30

     It, the bill looks like it's to, um, start a pilot program, um, with the, um-

266. 0:57:37

     Set up a pilot system

267. 0:57:38

     ... with a pilot system with the, under the university system with TCSG.

268. 0:57:42

     Okay.

269. 0:57:42

     So, and it's not a mandate, so subject to appropriations.

270. 0:57:46

     Mm-hmm.

271. 0:57:48

     So it has some work. Uh, there's, there's some, some holes, uh, that we need to fix. Uh, so this is a beginning conversation to, um, to, to see if we can get the ball rolling.

272. 0:57:58

     Yeah. I thank you.

273. 0:58:00

     Other members? Yes, sir.

274. 0:58:02

     I, I, I'm trying to remember. I probably go to King and Prince more than the be- any of the other beach that I go to. I don't ever remember seeing a lifeguard stand on the beach that goes by King and Prince. And remembering that at, at the high water line-

275. 0:58:20

     Mm-hmm

276. 0:58:21

     ... it becomes state property and immunity is extended against liability, which you get on state property. Same thing applies in Florida. So it has to be done because there's very little recourse-

277. 0:58:35

     That's right

278. 0:58:35

     ... you get caught in a rip, in, in, in a riptide.

279. 0:58:38

     In, yeah.

280. 0:58:38

     Because the immunity piece sets in, the state won't pay anything. The hotel is definitely not responsible because they own the setback.

281. 0:58:45

     Mm-hmm.

282. 0:58:46

     So that's, that's state line in there. The, uh, lifeguards could pretty well be the only recourse-

283. 0:58:54

     That we have

284. 0:58:54

     ... uh, that we have-

285. 0:58:55

     Safe

286. 0:58:56

     ... to make this happen. It's interesting, but I, I'm, I'll be interested in seeing how we perfect this to make sure that we can pass this, not just out of this committee, but before the full House and then in the Senate.

287. 0:59:09

     Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

288. 0:59:10

     That's some work. The gentleman makes a good point. Any other comments before the committee before, um, this gentleman goes towards Savannah?

289. 0:59:21

     Thank you, Representative.

290. 0:59:22

     You know, right behind.

291. 0:59:23

     Yes. Uh-

292. 0:59:25

     Right behind

293. 0:59:26

     ... again, I wanted to thank you again, Representative Berry, and I truly want to thank you for bringing the issue to the committee, and again, with our, with our condolences in on your 14th anniversary. Did I get that right?

294. 0:59:39

     Somebody did.

295. 0:59:40

     Somebody got it right.

296. 0:59:41

     I, I learned a long time ago, whenever you're in a hole, to quit digging.

297. 0:59:44

     We didn't even know we in a hole.

298. 0:59:46

     So the gentleman, to the gentleman. If there's nothing else to come before the committee- ... we have a substitute for next week for the House Bill 490. We will carry that up then. We are adjourned.

299. 0:59:58

     Amen.