Comité Natural Resources and the Environment del Senado, 19 de febrero de 2026

Transcripción

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

1. 0:09:39

   Can everybody hear us?

2. 0:09:41

   Yes, sir.

3. 0:09:42

   Welcome to the Natural Resources Committee, uh, committee meeting today. Uh, we got some great, wonderful bills to pass out for the great people of the great state of Georgia. As y'all know, I like the, the quicker we can get 'em out, the faster we can help our great people in the great state of Georgia. So if you really got something to say, we'll let you come up here. But if you don't, let the authors come up and present their bill.

4. 0:10:13

   And, uh, and there again, I repeat, the quicker we vote on a bill, the quicker we can help the great people of the great state of Georgia. Does everybody read between the lines?

5. 0:10:27

   Yes, sir.

6. 0:10:28

   Thank you.

7. 0:10:30

   That's a good bill.

8. 0:10:30

   All right.

9. 0:10:30

   I believe 32 is the order of the day.

10. 0:10:33

    We, uh... I'm gonna ask, uh, I'm gonna ask, uh, uh, Chairman Russ Goodman to lead us in a word of prayer. What number are you?

11. 0:10:45

    Uh, Number 6, Mr. Chairman.

12. 0:10:48

    Y'all pray with me, please. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for today, Lord. We thank you for loving us. We thank you for the gift of salvation. We thank you for the awesome opportunity, uh, to come here today, Lord, and to, uh, review this legislation, Lord, and- and hopefully make the best de- decisions on behalf of the people that we represent in this great state, Lord. And as we go about that work, Lord, we just ask for your wisdom and discernment, Lord. We just thank you again for all your many blessings. In Jesus's name, we pray, amen.

13. 0:11:15

    Amen.

14. 0:11:15

    Amen.

15. 0:11:18

    Let's always remember back in, uh, Senator Russ Goodman's district today, uh, yesterday, we had a tragic loss in law enforcement, 25 years old. And, uh, let's always remember that family, too. Um, at this time, uh, I wanted to introduce him earlier before the prayer, but I guess he just comes when he wants to.

16. 0:11:49

    But, uh, we have a new member on our board, on our committee, Mr., um, Mr. Dickerson. We're glad to have you aboard. What number are you?

17. 0:12:03

    11, sir.

18. 0:12:04

    11. Okay. Well, we, uh, we, uh, welcome you, and we give you 10 seconds to say something.

19. 0:12:12

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, it's an absolute honor to be here. My name's Jason T. Dickerson, represent the 21st district, uh, here in the state of Georgia. That's, uh, Cherokee County and the north part of Fulton County. Uh, it's an absolute pleasure to be down here. It's an honor to serve everybody here in the state, and all of you as well. Looking forward to serving on-

20. 0:12:27

    Thank you

21. 0:12:27

    ... on this committee.

22. 0:12:28

    Thank you. You may-

23. 0:12:33

    True politician. Give him a s- inch, he takes a mile. All right, we're gonna start with, uh, SR 610. I understand Senator Hatchett has to get back to his commit- Come on up. Don't be wasting time. Uh, we, uh, we, uh, he's got to get back to committee, in another committee. And, um, we're gonna give him just a few seconds to present his bill.

24. 0:13:02

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh-

25. 0:13:04

    Has everybody give us everything that... What number you working off of?

26. 0:13:10

    I'm working off LC 65-0027.

27. 0:13:14

    All right. Everybody got it?

28. 0:13:23

    All right.

29. 0:13:24

    All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a Senate Study Committee on Recycling. I had a long presentation to give you about recycling, but I, I hear the chairman loud and clear. The one thing that I would like to say is Georgians throw away about $100 million every year. This Senate Study Committee wants to try to recapture some of that in the best ways possible. Um, there are a couple of amendments that I would request that the committee make based off of some recommendations from the lieutenant governor's office.

30. 0:14:02

    Uh, number one would be to change the number of appointees from eight down to five. Apparently, there's an election. This is an election year, and, and their, uh, advice was it's gonna be hard to get a lot of people to show up, uh, that are running. So let's move that e- from eight to five, and then take out lines 22 down to 32, um, because... Excuse me.

31. 0:14:32

    On, starting on 23, take out the President of the Senate shall and then strikes lines 24 through 32 so there will be no non-legislative members of the committee. It will just be legislative members. And then I know that some of you have been approached by others that wanna in- include tires and other metals. I mean, this, you, you always get pointed out for the ones you exclude, and, and I, I would just, I can strike it and say recyclable commodities are important, or you can add tires or whichever ones.

32. 0:15:09

    I don't have any issue with it. We're looking at all, all recycling.

33. 0:15:14

    Any questions? Uh-

34. 0:15:19

    Mr. Chairman.

35. 0:15:20

    Senator Goodman.

36. 0:15:22

    The, uh, how would you prefer the wording of the amendment to be? Would you want it to be rec- all recycled materials, or would you have us more just include tires?

37. 0:15:33

    We can just include tires.

38. 0:15:34

    Okay.

39. 0:15:34

    He said your name turned on my mind.

40. 0:15:36

    Oh, yeah, last time. We, that's who you're supposed to speak. That's 'cause we look so much alike.

41. 0:15:39

    Your mic got cut off Yours do.

42. 0:15:44

    You're good. Now say that again.

43. 0:15:45

    Okay.

44. 0:15:46

    How did-

45. 0:15:46

    Well, he answered the question. I was just asking would, if he wanted us to, if he would rather us, because it's, he's the author of the bill, to include, you know, all recycled materials or just add tires, and I think it was, uh, it was senator's preference that we just add tires. So, uh, as someone that lives in rural Georgia and I've seen places where these tires add up, they look like, stacked up like cordwood, uh, I, uh, uh, whenever, uh, the appropriate time is, Mr. Chairman, I'll, I'll make that motion.

46. 0:16:16

    Thank you. Uh, Senator Ginn.

47. 0:16:19

    Uh, thank you. Cindy, uh, when you said, uh, striking at lines 23, when the president of the Senate shall, and you sh- you want, where do you wanna stop striking?

48. 0:16:30

    Uh, line 32.

49. 0:16:32

    Okay. The, uh... And you're adding, on line 22, you're changing eight to five?

50. 0:16:41

    Yes.

51. 0:16:42

    Any other changes?

52. 0:16:44

    And then

53. 0:16:48

    if-

54. 0:16:49

    Tires

55. 0:16:49

    ... my friend from District 8 would like to add tires, I would add it at line number-

56. 0:16:58

    Eight.

57. 0:17:03

    Right after paper?

58. 0:17:05

    About eight, line eight.

59. 0:17:06

    I think it would be on line 41 after paper. Line eight's just kind of the whereas section. You could al- you would have to ma- I guess at eight and 41.

60. 0:17:15

    Right.

61. 0:17:16

    Yeah.

62. 0:17:20

    Everyone get that?

63. 0:17:25

    Okay. Senator Goodman, do you wanna make that into a motion? To amend.

64. 0:17:31

    Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I suppose, um, I would, uh, like to make a motion to amend LC65-0027-

65. 0:17:39

    Do we have to pass it first?

66. 0:17:41

    ... on lines eight, after the paper Add ti- tires, and I believe, uh, on line-

67. 0:17:50

    Senator Goodman.

68. 0:17:51

    Make a motion to pass.

69. 0:17:53

    Uh, just hold on.

70. 0:17:54

    Yes, sir.

71. 0:17:54

    Hold on there a minute.

72. 0:17:55

    Okay.

73. 0:17:56

    We need to, uh... Let's, uh, do I have a motion? Does anybody want to talk about the... Thank you.

74. 0:18:07

    Do I have a motion to approve?

75. 0:18:09

    Move to pass.

76. 0:18:11

    Do pass. We got it-

77. 0:18:11

    Second

78. 0:18:12

    ... from Senator Ginn. Do we have a second?

79. 0:18:14

    Goodman.

80. 0:18:15

    Or, yeah.

81. 0:18:17

    Section two. Second from the great senator from Southwest Georgia. I mean, s- I, I got it right, didn't I? Is that...

82. 0:18:32

    The legend, Freddie Sims.

83. 0:18:36

    Tight.

84. 0:18:36

    All right, we got a s- motion and a second. Any other questions? All in favor, raise your right hand.

85. 0:18:45

    Oh, we have to m-

86. 0:18:46

    You gotta amend it.

87. 0:18:47

    Wait. Okay.

88. 0:18:48

    That's right. We gotta amend it.

89. 0:18:49

    Yeah.

90. 0:18:50

    All right.

91. 0:18:51

    Am I-

92. 0:18:51

    Senator Goodman, I'll let you go now.

93. 0:18:53

    Okay. Tha- thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I would like to make a motion to amend LC65-0027 on line eight after paper, add the word tires, and then on line 41, after the word paper, add tires.

94. 0:19:13

    And then on lines-

95. 0:19:14

    And then on-

96. 0:19:16

    22, change the eight to five

97. 0:19:19

    ... okay, on lines 22, we would like to, uh, on line, line 22, where it says eight, would like to strike that and add five.

98. 0:19:31

    And on line 23, the president shall-

99. 0:19:34

    Yeah

100. 0:19:34

     ... approve it on line 32.

101. 0:19:36

     Yeah, and on line 23, starting where it says the president of the Senate shall, starting there, um, I'd like to make a motion to, uh, strike all the language all the way down to the end of line 32, ending with the word programs. If that's correct, I believe that's what the authors asked for.

102. 0:19:54

     Second.

103. 0:19:56

     Got a second. You good with that?

104. 0:19:58

     Yes, Mr. Chairman.

105. 0:19:59

     Okay.

106. 0:20:00

     Almost said, "Your Honor."

107. 0:20:01

     Any more discussion? All in favor, raise your right hand. Carries as amended.

108. 0:20:09

     Thank you very much.

109. 0:20:10

     Um, Senator Hatchett, good work.

110. 0:20:13

     Thank you. Appreciate y'all.

111. 0:20:17

     Moving on to, uh,

112. 0:20:25

     Senate Bill 240.

113. 0:20:32

     Senator Williams.

114. 0:20:36

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Hope you don't mind if I invite Representative Silcox to come up with me. This has been a joint thing that we've been working on for some time.

115. 0:20:46

     Well, uh, Mr. Chairman, I go and tell you, she upgrades your situation tremendously.

116. 0:20:53

     Every chance I get, I love it, I love it, I love it. Yes, sir. Thank you. Um, we're talking about, uh, substitute to Senate Bill 240. This is LC number 461464S. This is a, a joint effort that, uh, Representative Silcox and I have been working on for a long time. And in your folders, you see a letter from the Georgia Council on American Indian Concerns. What we're doing, we're replacing the Cherokee rose.

117. 0:21:27

     Now Cherokee rose sounds wonderful. It sounds Georgian, sounds Indian, but actually it's Chinese. It came from China, it's a Chinese import, and what we're proposing is to use a real native Georgian plant, which is the sweet bay magnolia And, um, be glad to answer any questions.

118. 0:21:54

     Let, let's back up. Let's back up. What, um, give us the LC number.

119. 0:22:01

     LC46-1464-S.

120. 0:22:05

     Thank you. Just wanted to get it on record. Mr. Chairman. Senator Ginn.

121. 0:22:11

     I move due pass LC461464-S.

122. 0:22:15

     Second. As amended.

123. 0:22:19

     No, no amendments.

124. 0:22:20

     Was that, didn't you add the-

125. 0:22:21

     He's got a substitute.

126. 0:22:22

     Yes, substitute

127. 0:22:22

     ... substitute. Okay.

128. 0:22:24

     Let's put that.

129. 0:22:25

     Okay. Now, um, and we got a second from who? Senator Merritt. Nick, Nick Ginn. Okay. And then, uh, any other questions? Um, I did wanna say one thing. Uh- Chairman ... Senator Williams, we, um, we appreciate you, the tie you're wearing today.

130. 0:22:46

     Thank you, sir. This is my floral tie, and if you can find a Cherokee rose on it, you win the prize. There's not one on it.

131. 0:22:57

     All right. Hearing no other questions, any, let's, a- a- all in favor, raise your right hand.

132. 0:23:07

     Carried unanimously. Thank you. Good work.

133. 0:23:10

     Thank, thank you, Mr. Chairman.

134. 0:23:10

     Good work.

135. 0:23:11

     Thank you, committee.

136. 0:23:11

     Good bill.

137. 0:23:12

     Thank you so much.

138. 0:23:13

     We appreciate it.

139. 0:23:17

     Senator Williams.

140. 0:23:18

     Yes, sir.

141. 0:23:18

     I sent you a text, if you will just read it.

142. 0:23:22

     Yes, sir.

143. 0:23:23

     All right. Thank you.

144. 0:23:23

     Thank you.

145. 0:23:26

     And then, and-

146. 0:23:27

     You want me to read it out loud?

147. 0:23:28

     No. Se- Senator Williams.

148. 0:23:34

     I could. Okay.

149. 0:23:34

     Senator Williams.

150. 0:23:35

     Yes, sir.

151. 0:23:36

     Is that the first bill you done that didn't have nothing to do with undertaking?

152. 0:23:43

     No, sir.

153. 0:23:43

     Okay. It is today, ain't it?

154. 0:23:45

     He is planting things in this bill.

155. 0:23:46

     Right. Thank you so much.

156. 0:23:48

     Thank y'all.

157. 0:23:52

     Thank you. All right. Moving right along. We're gonna jump over to the House a little bit here. We got a beautiful House member here today. Ms. Lynn Smith.

158. 0:24:11

     Which one of us? It'll, it would never happen with them two. It would never happen with them two. Come on up, Madam Chairman.

159. 0:24:22

     Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. And I do apologize, he was a House member at one point and was my seatmate. And-

160. 0:24:31

     I was

161. 0:24:32

     ... for better or worse, I did learn something. But either way, it is a pleasure having those seatmates. Um, so I'm here today on House Resolution 1008, and it's a little bit of a complicated process.

162. 0:24:47

     Give us the LC number.

163. 0:24:48

     LC number is LC443274. And, um, Chairman Anderson and I attended a meeting in December with, uh, Regional Water Planning District management. EPD and all were there, and they briefed us on public comments and the reason why they're making some changes now to this resolution. The background on why it has to go from the House to the Senate is we no longer have joint resolutions.

164. 0:25:19

     And so by doing it on the House and passing it to the Senate for the Senate to pass, it, it makes it a joint resolution. It also doesn't have the power of a statute, but it does have the flexibility to help people in regions of the State of Georgia adjust to, um, challenges. Um, I don't know how much time y'all have for me to do this, but anyway, in around two, early 2000s, we created, by statute, the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District.

165. 0:25:50

     It's 15 districts in the, um, um, urban area. The rest of the state falls into these regional water planning districts. And the idea is to give these areas flexibility for them to make the decisions, and then, um, have the ability to do it if no statute is required. And so essentially what has gone on through the years, in the beginning when it was first formed, everybody wanted to be on these different regional water plans. And it established the need for a high quorum.

166. 0:26:23

     And then what has happened in the meantime is that, um, a lot of our regions are unable to function because they don't have the right quorum numbers. So the EPD, the, um, in their meetings, and I have some, um, sheets here to explain it later I can give out if you need it, but, um, the State Water Plan was created in 2004 for the regional water councils. But the state actual water council was not adopted until 2008.

167. 0:26:53

     And, um, from that point on, it had, these regional water councils have functioned as, as needed in that they've been responsive to the citizens and the issues in their area. But as I pointed out to you, in the, in the interest of structural adjustment to allow councils to function, the recommendations to the General Assembly has reduced the number of government appointees from 13 to 7, reduced the number of lieutenant governor appointees from six to three, reduced the number of Speaker of the House appointments from six to three, remove alternate council members, and increase the length of the appointment from three years to six years.

168. 0:27:37

     And require that each council have at least one representative from each of the water and wastewater demand forecast sectors, municipal, industrial, agriculture, and energy, which are also your consumers of, uh, a lot of these resources. And so, um- The actual legislation doesn't say any of that, but that is what it does. And so with that, Mr. Chairman, I'll stand for questions.

169. 0:28:05

     Any questions for the author? Senator Ginn.

170. 0:28:09

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Chairman Smith, I'm ki- curious. I, I know we create these councils, and they've been around for a long time. What, what authority do they have? What, what can they, you know, you know, they can't enact legislation.

171. 0:28:24

     So they-

172. 0:28:24

     So I'm kind of curious, what, what are they-

173. 0:28:26

     So it's, it is to give these regions, um, the, the lack of a better way, a sense of belonging to each other in their area so they can adjust and r- and react to the changes that come along. But it has to, all, they have to follow the code of the State of Georgia. And if they need any changes in the code section, then, um, we would, but as legislators have to pass that. But what it does is it, it brings together the leaders of a particular area to discuss their resources, what they have, what they need, what they need to do, what they need to bring forward in statutes.

174. 0:29:03

     So back when this was all going on, there was such a discord in the very beginning. We were in a drought. We had two other states suing us. We were in a difficult situation. One of the biggest abuses at that point in time was the metropolitan Atlanta area, and my county suffered from that. Um, someone tried to have a wedding and, um, the effluence was released from the combined sewer outflow, hit my County of Coweta, and there was some decorations on the trees and the terrain that were not, didn't smell well.

175. 0:29:40

     And so the, that had to be addressed immediately to help us with our water wars and to help us with the drought. The drought continued, but how do you bring a, a regional water council to the local areas and give them the opportunity for an input to the state government at what p- at what point in time, um, it's needed? And the input we've got from them this time, and see, it's, it's not legislative. It is, we need the ability to be able to operate as a regional council.

176. 0:30:12

     It, you can look at, um, what's going on on I16 going south with the Hyundai plant and the use of the water and such as that. These councils, if they were functioning well, would have brought all those people together. They would have had the opportunity to discuss the pros and cons. They would have had the opportunity to bring legislation before us. And, um, is it, it, what, the best way to put this is if you had a large corporate organization and you were trying to be efficient and effective, you need the input from the different impacted areas.

177. 0:30:47

     And so these regions have an equal voice in the discussions of water resources and na- and natural resources, but they cannot act unless they act under the statute. Now, to explain it in legal terms, um, EPD is here, and they're prepared to answer any of those types of questions.

178. 0:31:08

     Does that satisfy your question?

179. 0:31:10

     Well, I, I'm, I'll be honest with you. I was trying to work on a multi-county water authority, said they, uh, uh, they, uh, for all the way from the chairman's, uh, Elbert County to, oh, Madison, Jackson, uh, Banks and, and Franklin County.

180. 0:31:28

     Let him get-

181. 0:31:29

     Two of those counties are in, in, out of water, said they, uh... And it's like pulling teeth to get counties to cooperate with each other and work together sometimes. And, you know, I just, I, I look at, okay, the regional councils and the, uh, because one of them said, "Oh, well, if it's in the other one, i- if it's in a different, oh, district, in, in a different, oh-

182. 0:31:51

     Watershed

183. 0:31:52

     ... watershed, then we're not gonna be a part of it," said they, uh, and I just, it's very difficult to do. But I, I kind of wonder the, uh, all of the, oh, these are strictly based on watershed now. I g- I subscribe to a different theory than some of your f- your, uh, hydrologists do in that I look, and there's only one watershed, and it's called Earth. Said they, uh, "It's the same water we got here for millions of years." So they, uh, uh, but I, I, I look at it, it's a natural resource we need to protect. And I'll support your, uh, resolution.

184. 0:32:25

     Thank you. I've enjoyed working with you over the years, starting with, um, the initial water plan for the State of Georgia.

185. 0:32:31

     Yeah.

186. 0:32:34

     Uh, leader.

187. 0:32:36

     Mr. Chairman, I can make a motion.

188. 0:32:39

     What would be your motion?

189. 0:32:40

     Uh, do you pass HR 1008 LC443274?

190. 0:32:45

     Second.

191. 0:32:46

     Second.

192. 0:32:46

     Second. Any other questions? All in favor, raise your right hand.

193. 0:32:54

     Carries unanimous.

194. 0:32:55

     What's the other hand there, uh, Congressman?

195. 0:33:01

     Mike. Thank you, sweet-

196. 0:33:04

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman

197. 0:33:05

     ... seat mate.

198. 0:33:09

     All right, moving on. Uh, House Bill

199. 0:33:18

     956.

200. 0:33:29

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of committee. House Bill 956 LC443273.

201. 0:33:38

     Okay.

202. 0:33:39

     Okay, where we at? Everybody good? All right. Well, Mr. Chairman, uh, all we're doing here is just giving the director of the EPD a little flexibility to take actions that, that he deems necess- necessary to be able to implement, uh, the provisions of the Solid Waste Management Plan. And that's, that's what we're doing. I can give you a history of the Solid Waste Plan, or we can-

203. 0:33:56

     That's okay

204. 0:33:56

     ... take questions.

205. 0:34:00

     So any questions? Senator Ginn.

206. 0:34:03

     Uh, Mr. Chairman, I, I know that, uh, Director of EPD is a fine, outstanding Bulldog, and I'd like to make a motion to do pass LC443273.

207. 0:34:14

     Second. Oh. Got a second. Any other questions? All in favor-

208. 0:34:21

     Go Dogs.

209. 0:34:22

     Raise your right hand.

210. 0:34:25

     All right. Carried.

211. 0:34:27

     Thank, thank you.

212. 0:34:28

     Thank you, Senator.

213. 0:34:28

     And, and, and the senator from the 8th will be carried-

214. 0:34:30

     Just, uh-

215. 0:34:31

     ... in the Senate.

216. 0:34:32

     Um, explain how quick you did that to your other house member down there.

217. 0:34:37

     Well, yeah, I, I'll try.

218. 0:34:40

     We're gonna go back to the, to the upper chamber. Um, Senator Watson, are you ready?

219. 0:34:48

     Yes, sir. You want me to do it here or down in front?

220. 0:34:50

     Wherever you want. Wherever you wanna do it.

221. 0:34:52

     I'll just stay right here if that's all right.

222. 0:34:54

     Senator Watson, Senate Bill 478.

223. 0:35:01

     Gentlemen. Are you-

224. 0:35:04

     Got you.

225. 0:35:05

     All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, I'll be brief. Uh, this is, uh, Senate Bill 478, LC443409. Uh, this was a monumental piece of legislation that we passed, uh, back in 2018 creating the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act, uh, which has, uh, over the last several years continued to preserve and conserve our natural resources, and it's been a great program. It was, uh, approved by the voters of Georgia by 83% when we put it on the ballot.

226. 0:35:35

     It is a constitutional amendment, and all we're doing in this legislation is, uh, creating a sunset, uh, for 2039, and then, uh, we are also changing the amount appropriated to this fund, uh, from 40% of, of the money generated to 80% of those monies into the, uh, trust fund. And so that's, uh, what it does. Real quick, Mr. Chairman, I'd be glad to take any questions. I know there are a lot of folks here that are supporting this bill, uh, from our natural resources, um, and I think they've, uh, put a lot of letters in your folder there that you can see.

227. 0:36:09

     So, um, just, uh, would appreciate the committee's, uh, support on this.

228. 0:36:15

     All right. I know, I know, uh, we got all of the information in our folders from all the people that in support of this bill. Um, as I said at the beginning of the meeting, the sooner we can vote on it, the sooner we can help our great people of the great state of Georgia, so is it okay that we go move forward? Does any of y'all insist to speak?

229. 0:36:42

     Well, good.

230. 0:36:46

     Mr. Chairman-

231. 0:36:47

     Move to pass.

232. 0:36:48

     Move to pass.

233. 0:36:48

     Second. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Say that again, Senator Ginn.

234. 0:36:55

     Uh, move, do pass LC443403 SB443409.

235. 0:36:59

     Do we have a second? Second. Okay. Any other questions? Any comments?

236. 0:37:09

     All in favor, raise your left hand.

237. 0:37:16

     Damn. Yeah, there you go with it.

238. 0:37:18

     All in-

239. 0:37:21

     Thank you ... unanimous. Thank you. This is a good bill for the great people of the great state of Georgia. All right. I think that might be it today. We got one more. Oh, we do have one more. We do, we do have one little house member left.

240. 0:37:40

     Come on up. Are you a jake, or are you a full-grown gobbler, or what?

241. 0:37:49

     Whatever you need me to be today, Mr. Chairman. I guess since I'm the last one, y'all sent me 'cause we got a lot to discuss today and we're timely.

242. 0:37:57

     I thought you wanted to get your bill out.

243. 0:38:01

     I appreciate that. Uh, I was here last year for-

244. 0:38:04

     Wait a minute. Let... I'm not through. House Bill 432. Representative Kidder.

245. 0:38:14

     Thank you.

246. 0:38:14

     Give us our LC. I don't remember what the-

247. 0:38:19

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm before you today with House Bill 432, LC443118S. This is the same bill that came before y'all's committee last year. It just didn't quite make it over the finish line out of rules, uh, with y'all. It was legislation brought to me, uh, and, uh, Leader Anavitarte from a few of our constituents who are, uh, avid turkey hunters. They wanna see, uh, turkey hunting in Georgia grow. They wanna see us help preserve the turkey population and grow the turkey population in Georgia, and what this would simply do is create a permit for turkey hunting.

248. 0:38:53

     There would be no cost for a Georgia resident, $100 for non-residents, and then also a turkey stamp, uh, would be created by the department, uh, which people could then purchase as kind of a keepsake or a memento that the funds would then be used for conservation purposes for turkeys, uh, in our, uh, state. Uh, there would be, need to be one change if the committee was willing to make the amendment, and that would be to just change on two spots July 1st, 2026-

249. 0:39:27

     The date

250. 0:39:27

     ... to July 1st, 2027, so that the department would have the time to, uh, create the permit and the stamp. I'll be glad to answer any questions.

251. 0:39:37

     Um, Representative, what type turkey would be on the stamp?

252. 0:39:45

     We're leaving the department, uh, the flexibility to design the stamp. Every year, there would be a new commemorative stamp. We've seen those be very popular in, in other states, but, uh, for the first year, I would at least recommend to the department whichever one the chairman would like to see on there.

253. 0:40:06

     Could you tell me how many turkey do we have in the state of Georgia?

254. 0:40:12

     We have the great eastern wild turkey here in Georgia.

255. 0:40:17

     Mr. Chairman.

256. 0:40:21

     Senator Goodman.

257. 0:40:22

     Uh, Representative Kelly, I, I believe the chairman asked to know how many turkeys there are in the state of Georgia. I believe that was the question.

258. 0:40:30

     We will-

259. 0:40:30

     Well-

260. 0:40:30

     I'm glad the senator understands the question.

261. 0:40:36

     I'll tell you what, I'd like to get out there and help locate a few of them, and we can all go on a fact-finding mission. Uh...

262. 0:40:45

     Well, I do believe this is a good, a great opportunity to, to help DNR help our people, to help, um, people get out and enjoy the state of Georgia, 'cause so many other states do the same thing.

263. 0:40:59

     And, and seriously, Mr. Chairman, talking about the number of turkeys in our state, what we really don't know in Georgia is how many turkey hunters we have. Uh, right now they're on a combined permit, and so they're looped in with deer hunters and, and other game. And by creating this free turkey permit, it's gonna allow us to know exactly how many turkey hunters we have in our state, which will help us as we make projections and determinations through the department. So thank you.

264. 0:41:27

     Our fearless leader.

265. 0:41:30

     Representative, I just wanted to clear up some information. So despite recent Fox News reports from the last couple hours, it, it is not true that you're running for Congress, correct?

266. 0:41:41

     I wouldn't take that job if somebody gave it to me.

267. 0:41:43

     Okay. I, I just wanted to check, 'cause the Fox News reports the last two hours have cited you as the Trey Kelly running in the 14th, and we need to have somebody call the Murdochs and tell them it's wrong.

268. 0:41:54

     Different. It is certainly fake news-

269. 0:41:56

     Definitely

270. 0:41:57

     ... uh, Mr. Leader.

271. 0:41:57

     All right. Okay.

272. 0:41:57

     I appreciate the clarification.

273. 0:41:58

     Just wanted to say that for, so it's on the record somewhere.

274. 0:42:00

     It's on the record. Thank you.

275. 0:42:01

     Uh, Mr. Chairman, I ask, uh, for move due pass HB 432, LC 443118S.

276. 0:42:07

     With the date?

277. 0:42:09

     With the, with the date changing it to, uh, '27.

278. 0:42:13

     Thank you.

279. 0:42:13

     Do we have a second?

280. 0:42:14

     I'll second, but I want to ask a question.

281. 0:42:19

     We got a second. Now, any other questions? Go ahead, Senator Ginn.

282. 0:42:23

     The, uh, are you asking to change the date on line 35 to July 1, 2027, and then again on line 40?

283. 0:42:33

     Yes, sir, Senator.

284. 0:42:34

     Yeah. And, and let me ask you, uh, uh, you know, I think about my turkey hunters, and why, why wouldn't we move that and give them six months and, and move that to January 1, 2027, instead of July?

285. 0:42:47

     That was a request by the department. Uh, and last year we had passed it out with July 1, 2026, and they were just asking for that extended period so that they could ramp up the process of updating their websites and doing all those things in addition to designing the, the stamp.

286. 0:43:08

     It would, it would take longer than, than, uh, eight months?

287. 0:43:13

     Uh, Senator, that, that was just a request of the department. I will trust the will of this committee if-

288. 0:43:18

     Is there somebody from the department here?

289. 0:43:20

     I don't, uh...

290. 0:43:22

     No, they-

291. 0:43:22

     I don't see anyone from the department today

292. 0:43:24

     ... they out.

293. 0:43:24

     I mean, I'm just trying to speed the efficiency of government up a little bit.

294. 0:43:29

     I'm always appreciative of that.

295. 0:43:31

     We got a motion and a second. Any other questions? All in favor raise your-

296. 0:43:37

     Mr. Chairman, you need to make a motion to amend first.

297. 0:43:41

     We-

298. 0:43:42

     I mean, he's, he's making a motion to amend.

299. 0:43:43

     That's right, that's right. We have a motion to amend.

300. 0:43:46

     I, I move to amend, uh, line, on line 35 where it says July 1, 2026, to change that to July 1, 2027, unless, you know, there's some other people that like efficiency. And I'll also do the same on line 40 by changing it to, uh, July 1, 2027.

301. 0:44:06

     Do we have a second?

302. 0:44:08

     Second.

303. 0:44:09

     Second.

304. 0:44:09

     If you don't second it, we can make it J- January 1, 2027, and be done with the thing.

305. 0:44:14

     We have a second. Any other questions? Any other questions? All in favor raise your right hand.

306. 0:44:29

     She knows. Thank you. It carries. Um, before the House members leave-

307. 0:44:36

     It passes, passes a- as amended, sir

308. 0:44:39

     ... pass it as amended.

309. 0:44:41

     You, you, you need to pass it.

310. 0:44:45

     We did.

311. 0:44:46

     No, you just passed the amendment.

312. 0:44:47

     That, that's right. That's right. That's right.

313. 0:44:51

     Do we have a motion to pass House Bill 432 as amended?

314. 0:44:57

     So moved. Second.

315. 0:44:59

     Second. All in favor raise your right hand.

316. 0:45:06

     Carries. Before we adjourn, we did one, two, three

317. 0:45:20

     house bills or resolutions today. How many Senate bills is being taken care of in the House?

318. 0:45:33

     Thank you for that question, Mr. Chairman. I know we've passed several off the, the floor so far. Uh, I know we have a few sitting in rules that, uh, that we're looking to get out, uh, fairly, fairly soon as well. I'm trying to get back to committees right now to make sure we can get a few more of them out into rules right now as soon as-

319. 0:45:52

     So that, that's what you would be... If we let you out now, that's what you'd be voting on.

320. 0:45:56

     I'm, I'm-

321. 0:45:56

     To make a motion to-

322. 0:45:58

     I'm gonna be running to committees as fast as I can

323. 0:46:01

     ... we got you on record. We got you on record now.

324. 0:46:02

     Mr. Chairman, can I ask you one more question?

325. 0:46:05

     One more and that's it.

326. 0:46:06

     The, uh, Representative Kelly said, uh, I'd love to, to see if you could have somebody from the department a- answer a question for our committee, if they could exist with moving that to January of, of 2020, uh, seven, the, uh, January 1, 2027. And we'll do a floor amendment, 'cause I do like the idea of getting it done faster, but I didn't want to mess up your bill and, you know, try to be cognizant of that fact. But if we could do it in January, that, uh, would be, uh, preferred.

327. 0:46:35

     I appreciate that, and I certainly will get, uh, check in with them, and we'll, we'll get back with you as we move through the process. I hope the leader will end up carrying it for me and our constituents, so.

328. 0:46:45

     Okay. And, uh, before we adjourn, uh, we will have a meeting Monday at, uh, 10:00 right here.

329. 0:46:59

     Do I have a motion to adjourn?

330. 0:47:01

     So moved.

331. 0:47:02

     Do I have a second?

332. 0:47:03

     Second.

333. 0:47:04

     Second.

334. 0:47:04

     All in favor rise.