Comité Higher Education de la Cámara de Representantes, 26 de febrero de 2026

Transcripción

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

1. 0:15:04

   There we go.

2. 0:15:07

   Ready. All right, good, good afternoon, everyone. We're gonna go ahead and, um, get settled in and, uh, call the meeting of the House Higher Education Committee to order on February 26th. This is our 1:00 PM addre- um, noticed 1:00 PM meeting, um, that we're, we're doing after session. We have two items on the agenda, HB 693, HB 1379, both, uh, to be heard for the first time. Um, the chair, um, a- as, as mentioned, um, can, can take up prerogative.

3. 0:15:41

   We're gonna add also for a first, uh, presentation, uh, House Bill 1382 from Res- Representative Giesler from, um... So we'll, we'll do that in, in the order, um, we'll do that in order, but these are first hearings. Given the late hour, um, and this being the first hearing, what I would like to ask is let's, let's the pr- presenter make their presentation and if there are pressing questions and detailed direct questions about the bill, um, committee members, I certainly want you to do those and, uh, but we also have people here, uh, that, that wanna speak.

4. 0:16:13

   So if, if there are more extended questions or something that we could get to, um, um, at our second hearing, or you could get with the author offline, I'd like to ask you to yield so that we make sure that we get our testimony, uh, for the various, uh, three bills. But again, I want everybody to get their questions answered, um, but let, let's try to do it at that given, um, this... I, I live close, but some people have a little bit further to go. So I, I wanna be, uh, sensitive to that time. With that, um, Chairman Carpenter, tell us about your proposition. We have HB 693.

5. 0:16:45

   I am working off LC52-1046S. Is that what you have?

6. 0:16:50

   Uh, yes. Yes, sir, I do.

7. 0:16:53

   You, y- yes, sir. I, she does. I do. There, we're, you're, you're good.

8. 0:16:57

   All right. Hey, there we go. Yes, sir. House Bill 693, this is a narrowly tailored bill that would add another school in the TEG funding. Um, Herzing is, has been around the state since the 19, late 1970s, been in existence for fif- for 60 years, and it's, and it's a nursing program. There's roughly 90 students currently in it. It is a specific program specially tailored to individuals, um, over the age of 25. I think 75% of their students are, are over the average age of 30.

9. 0:17:32

   And it does a, it, it does a mix of online and in-person classes and kind of meets people where they are in life to help them get a nursing degree. Obviously, nursing shortage in the state. This, uh, wouldn't, uh, uh, it's not a big budgetary request, but it is saying, "Hey, these folks could use all the help they could get to get them into the workforce as quickly as possible." And I'll hold for any questions.

10. 0:17:55

    Thank, thank you. Did you have anybody that wanted, any, any other part of the presentation we-

11. 0:17:59

    No.

12. 0:18:00

    N- no? I mean, it's-

13. 0:18:00

    No. I mean, it's, it's a pretty simp- It's, it's narrowly tailored for this specific school, just like what we've heard earlier with c- uh, uh, Chairman, Chair Lady Dempsey's bill on Chamberlain. It's just saying these folks are, um, you know, it's an accredited school. They do a great job getting nurses ready for the state. Nursing's an issue. This would, uh, opening them up to TEG funding.

14. 0:18:20

    Do you, do you got a-

15. 0:18:20

    And again, I think it's like not at the, only, like, 45% of the students would qualify. Um, so it's not, it's not a huge budgetary number, but it will help these folks get over the hump.

16. 0:18:31

    Okay. You, you have a couple of questions. Uh, Representative Burnough, you're, uh, recognized. You're number 12 down there?

17. 0:18:37

    Yes.

18. 0:18:37

    Yes, ma'am.

19. 0:18:38

    Um, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for bringing this bill. I will ask the same question I ask everybody that wants to have another nursing school. Um, there are only so many instructors around. And so I live in Clayton County, and we have Clayton State University that has a nursing program, and it is also a program that does cater to sometime older students. So with that in mind, even though we're saying that we're only taking a little bit, but I think that every time you take a little bit, you're also taking a little bit from those schools also.

20. 0:19:14

    Sure. Sure. And I, and I understand what you're saying, but I think that anybody that's going to Clayton State is fully funded through what, how we fund schools already. And this is, these folks are, are not costing the state, un- t- until this passed, would not cost the state anything. Um, they already have instructors in place. They've been operating for 60 years. I don't think this would change enrollment at Clayton State. But I'm very familiar with Clayton State, a big fan. I ran a restaurant in Clayton County for a long time.

21. 0:19:42

    I know.

22. 0:19:42

    And we hired employees from, from Clayton State, and they were always a joy to work with. So I, I, I am a fan of, of your, uh, university. But I don't think that this will affect Clayton State at all.

23. 0:19:52

    Okay. Thank you.

24. 0:19:52

    Thank you,

25. 0:19:55

    Representative. Representative Holland.

26. 0:19:57

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for bringing this bill. I stay awake at night worried about our shortage of nurses in the state. Um, this is really procedural so I can understand. I know we passed Chair Lady, um, Dempsey's bill, which was also narrowly tailored for one college to be able to qualify. What is the difference in how that was tailored for that college and how this one is tailored for this college? What was the distinction between the two schools that required another college?

27. 0:20:19

    It basically is laid out in that 48 through line. Uh, ba, da, bum, ba, da, bum, bum, bum, bum, 70, 70. It's just making sure that it's, uh, carving it out.

28. 0:20:34

    Got it. But the, the... I'm sorry, one, just a quick follow-up. So w- what we voted on when we passed Dempsey's bill, this is a different qualification just because-

29. 0:20:42

    Yeah, yeah

30. 0:20:42

    ... the two would not meet the same requirements.

31. 0:20:43

    That's, that's right. It's just to make it... Yeah, we ba- basically just narrowly tailored it just like hers-

32. 0:20:48

    Got it

33. 0:20:48

    ... for this university.

34. 0:20:49

    Okay. Great.

35. 0:20:49

    I understand. But then I understand what you're saying. That it's like, why do we keep coming back one off, one off, one off, one off?

36. 0:20:54

    I didn't know if there was an easier way to do this.

37. 0:20:55

    Yeah, I think we tried a few year. We didn't quite get there. We didn't, we didn't quite get there, so.

38. 0:20:59

    Okay. Thank you.

39. 0:21:00

    I, I take, and then, uh, we have a speaker that's gonna come forward, uh, Representative Holland, that might be able to give us the s- the specific difference. But i- if you, if you do recall, um, I tried to Take what I would g- call this section of code sort of spaghetti code where we, where we've added people over the years and, and do it. And that wa- that a number of the schools that had it were afraid they were gonna get carved out of it. That is something that I think if we're, uh, if we're all invited back, um, you know, next term, we ought to really give a good look at that from day one and, and get everybody comfortable and write this so it's a little bit more understandable now.

40. 0:21:37

    Um, but that, that, that's a good point. You had one, one more question. Uh, Representative Glaize.

41. 0:21:42

    First of all, I wanna say thank you for bringing the bill. And, um, did it, if a student is full-time in Herzing, is it three semesters? And then how quickly do we, do they get to the marketplace?

42. 0:21:54

    Yep, yep. So from, from my understanding, it's a three-year program. Um, I'm sure you can speed through it if you, if you have the a- available time. Uh, I think they, uh, 82% is the passing rate on the boards, um, so they have a pretty good success rate pushing these folks and getting them through the door. So let's, let's say it's thir- you know, let's say it's spread out thir- if it's 90, 30 each year, so hopefully they're spitting 30 people a year into the workforce.

43. 0:22:21

    One follow-up question, please.

44. 0:22:22

    Yes, ma'am. Please.

45. 0:22:23

    Would we be able to get, um, data? Are you guys gonna report back so we'll know how many students are graduating with this extra TEG money-

46. 0:22:32

    Sure.

47. 0:22:32

    So that we'll just-

48. 0:22:33

    I'm sure, I'm sure we can have that-

49. 0:22:34

    Is there a reporting factor for-

50. 0:22:35

    Uh, no, ma'am, but I'm sure we can get that for you. Absolutely, no problem. I'm sure we could have an update of all the, all the schools that get this kind of funding and, and how quickly their folks are out in the workforce.

51. 0:22:44

    I think that would be great. And that would-

52. 0:22:45

    I think that's a, that's a very valid argument

53. 0:22:47

    ... that helps us make sure that when we're outsourcing that we have outcomes as well.

54. 0:22:51

    Sure. And I, and I, you know, I, I, obviously I, I don't, uh, I don't run the budget, but I do think a conversation could be had moving forward in the future about TEG funding and is it up to speed, is it where it needs to be, because it does save the state money if these kids aren't going to ... Not that I don't want them to go to our public institutions, but some kids, you know, school choice in high school, school choice in college. So there is, there is a factor there.

55. 0:23:13

    Thank you again at the proper time.

56. 0:23:18

    Thank you, Chairman. Chairman, I appreciate your bill. I know we talked about it earlier. And, uh, is it not true that I expressed my desire to, uh, as we add additional schools, I would love to see the tuition equalization grants increased? And one thing that hasn't been touched since 1992 is the private school award through HOPE, which is still at $3,000. And even if we just adjusted that for inflation, that would bring it up to about $7,000 only for Georgia students that graduate from Georgia high schools. And you know, again, I, I'm a big proponent of the university system and technical college system, but we got a lot of good Georgia schools that are private schools, and a lot of them are struggling, and, uh, I think that would be helpful.

57. 0:23:59

    So I appreciate your bill and I've said my case. Isn't that true?

58. 0:24:03

    I like, I like your thinking.

59. 0:24:07

    Uh, thank you, uh, to Chairman Fuller. Uh, you have no further questions. We had, uh, uh, one speaker that signed up for the bill. Mr. Pratt, do you wanna come forward and, uh, speak to us? You can do it, do, do so from over there if you like. I'll turn on the podium mic, or you may come down.

60. 0:24:25

    Golly, get on over here. Let's get loved up on a, on a Thursday afternoon like we like each other. It's almost the weekend, isn't it?

61. 0:24:33

    Uh, Mr. Chairman, members, thank you so very much, uh, for allowing me to speak with you briefly. My name is Dave Pratt with PNPA, here on behalf of Herzing, uh, University. Um, to, if I may, Mr. Chairman, address, um, the gentlelady's question. Um, basically, madam, the only difference between, um, our school and, um, Chamberlain is that Chamberlain is a for-profit institution. This is for a non-profit school. Yes, yes, ma'am.

62. 0:24:59

    Uh, something if I, I also may add, Mr. Chairman, um, this school in particular, um, I'm not sure about other schools, but, you know, we in Georgia have certainly a nurs- nursing shortage. And one of the missions of Herzing University is to provide, uh, members in the healthcare community to our, our state of Georgia. Um, there is a graduation rate of folks who choose to stay in Georgia that's over the 90th percentile. Uh, so these, so these are, are ladies and gentlemen from Georgia who want to stay in Georgia and provide medical care to Georgians.

63. 0:25:31

    I think that's very important to point out.

64. 0:25:32

    Yeah, that's a good point.

65. 0:25:33

    Thank you, Mr. Pratt. You take question?

66. 0:25:35

    Certainly. Yes, sir.

67. 0:25:36

    Vice chairman of the committee, Carter Barrett.

68. 0:25:38

    Um, you said there, uh, thank you for the bill. You had mentioned that there are about 90 students in the program presently.

69. 0:25:44

    Yes, sir.

70. 0:25:44

    What do, what do you expect as a result of having tuition equalization grants available to, to-

71. 0:25:51

    Sure.

72. 0:25:51

    The impact on enrollment?

73. 0:25:51

    I mean, I, I, I think, I think as you move forward at this point with the co- the co- the inflation that we're seeing, just to be able to keep the 90 I think would be the big, would be the big thing for me. I think people are struggling and, um, that would be my hopes is that we at least keep what we got and then grow as, i- i- if, when possible, if that makes sense.

74. 0:26:12

    Representative Burnough.

75. 0:26:14

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanna know if the chairman has the same, uh, stamina that Chairman Dempsey had in those eight, nine years to get his bill through, uh, a committee.

76. 0:26:24

    I'm, I'm like Rocky Balboa. I can go 12 rounds with you. Not that I want to. But I'll hand it off to my next, the, the

77. 0:26:35

    ...

78. 0:26:36

    Representative Burnough says she's gonna wait you out.

79. 0:26:38

    Yeah.

80. 0:26:38

    Uh, she's gonna be right here with you. I, I seen, I see no further questions. We don't have any further speakers. Uh, we, we will take this as, as a f- first hearing on this and take this under advisement. Look to, uh, bring this back next week.

81. 0:26:50

    Appreciate you.

82. 0:26:51

    Yes, sir.

83. 0:26:51

    Thank you. Y'all have a great weekend.

84. 0:26:52

    Thank you.

85. 0:26:52

    Appreciate your help.

86. 0:26:53

    Yeah. And I see, um, Mr. Green back there with the Georgia Student Finance. If you have any information, finance, I know you have been able to pro- provide that for us before. I think you actually had sent a mail, uh, email recently over to our office. We'll get that out to the committee as well. Thank you, Mr. Green. Uh, we're gonna go now to, uh, um, the former vice chairman of the caucus, um- Houston Gaines from the 120th. Uh, Representative Gaines, tell us about HB 1379.

87. 0:27:18

    Sure. And I will be, uh, very brief. Um, I know that we are, uh, we are- I know a lot of people are trying to get home, so I will be brief in my comments. And a lot of y'all have seen ... I see Tim Fleming-

88. 0:27:31

    Yeah

89. 0:27:31

    ... over there. But this is building on, uh, what Tim, uh, Representative Fleming has worked on the last couple years. I know y'all heard that is trying to just increase transparency in funding from foreign sources into our school systems across the state. The difference, uh, 'cause Representative Barrett asked me this a moment ago, and I think that's really where we should start, is the difference between what, uh, the legislature passed last year and what this does, uh, this year. And I was proud to sponsor Representative Fleming's bill, and he's, uh, sponsored this legislation. I think they work well together.

90. 0:28:02

    This expands, uh, the requirements from last year. The bill we passed applies to the countries of concern, which would include China, North Korea, Iran, uh, Russia, um, I may be missing one or two. But that legislation p- uh, include $1,000 and more to, to higher ed institutions, uh, pub- uh, USG institutions, whereas this legislation applies to all countries as it's currently written, um, and it applies to K through 12 and TCSG. The reason we're doing that, and, um-

91. 0:28:34

    Carry on, please

92. 0:28:35

    ... uh, the reason, and, and, uh, I, I believe these, these, uh, um, charts show a couple of examples of, of, uh, things we're trying to capture here, and I'll just identify a couple, um, that, that have come in. This is just one $100,000 scholarship, uh, money for high school students, uh, for Arabic, uh, $65,000 from the Qatar Foundation International, uh, to Georgia State University, uh, for Arabic Teacher Council of the South.

93. 0:29:08

    Um, $46,000 from Qatar Foundation International for a student exchange trip, uh, to the Middle East. Um, uh, 11 high schools scholarship recipients in Atlanta, uh, that, um, part of that was to go, uh, to Arabic, uh, institutions here in the United States. Um, one piece that would be captured from what we passed last year, but an example, uh, from China, uh, Confucius Institute, uh, uh, some, some grant funding there, uh, from several years ago.

94. 0:29:43

    But these are the kind of things that we're trying to capture, and that's why we have, uh, expanded what we did last year. And it's my belief, uh, that we need to make sure that people in this state understand what foreign governments are trying to do by influencing curriculum in our schools. K through 12 is vitally important because that's where our young people are first, uh, exposed to some of these topics. Um, and then certainly in college, we need to know, uh, where these, uh, uh, actors are trying to influence our students. This doesn't ban the funding. It simply requires transparency so that people across the state understand, uh, what's, uh, what's occurring.

95. 0:30:17

    And so that's what the legislation does. I'm happy to answer questions. I have Jeremy Berry, uh, here with me, uh, as well as Esther Panitch. And Esther and I have worked together on this legislation. And, um, I'm sure there's a few folks who wanna speak. But again, I wanted to be brief, uh, and just give you a high level overview of what this does. It requires sem- semiannual reporting of that, uh, uh, funding to the Department of Audits, and that's a high level overview of the legislation, Mr. Chairman.

96. 0:30:43

    Thank you. Did, did any, um ... Chairman, did you want to speak? Uh, Representative Panitch, did you wanna speak at this-

97. 0:30:50

    I will

98. 0:30:50

    ... at this time? Yes. Yes, ma'am.

99. 0:30:51

    Thank you, Mr.-

100. 0:30:52

     Recognized

101. 0:30:52

     ... Thank you, Mr. Chairman and, and members of the committee. I'll be brief knowing that y'all are ready to head back home, as you should be. Uh, thank you for Chairman Gaines and, and Representative Panitch and others for their work on this bill. Uh, uh, echoing what, what, uh, uh, Chairman Gaines said, the, we have found the tip of the iceberg, we think, and it's very much a needle in the haystack, to mix metaphors. Through the Open Records Act and working with other organizations, have seen funding from the Qatar Foundation International to Amana Academy, which is a public charter school in Fulton County, sending 15, 15 kids to Jordan.

102. 0:31:30

     There's funding coming in from QFI sending kids to Qatar. We've seen funding to Georgia State University in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Arabic Teachers Council, and we've seen funding, as, uh, Chairman Gaines said, from China as well, from entities directly tied to the Chinese government. These are being- these funds are being used to impact curriculum, to impact maps of the Middle East, for example, and to impact, uh, what, what students are teaching and, uh, are being taught and experiences that they're having.

103. 0:32:04

     As Chairman Gaines said, this is frankly to fix a loophole in current law. The current law points to federal law as what needs to be disclosed. Qatar, for example, is not on the, the federal law, so there is no funding, for example, under federal law that would need to be disclosed in Georgia from Qatar. We're closing that loophole, or this legislation proposes to close that loophole so that people are aware. And again, people can pass whatever judgment they may on whether this funding should be allowed or should not be allowed.

104. 0:32:36

     Our point is simply to just to provide transparency, frankly, that does not exist today.

105. 0:32:42

     Mr. Berry. Representative.

106. 0:32:45

     Thank you. Uh, last month, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, uh, published a report documenting that the Qatari Foundation International funneled over $280,000 in Georgia's public schools, K through 12, with a Fulton Public Charter School and to over 200,000 to Georgia State. FDD, Foundation for Defense of Democracy, is a nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy. Their work is cited by members of Congress on both sides, by the Department of Justice, and by federal law enforcement.

107. 0:33:18

     This is not a fringe organization. It's serious, credible research. And the report was based on tax filings, grant records, and publicly available documents through Freedom of Information Acts. The Qatari Royal Family Organization is sending money into our schools. The same report found that a QFI-recognized teacher of excellence praised Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar online. This is what the problem is. On its own, teaching Arabic is great. There's no problem. Cultural exchanges are great.

108. 0:33:49

     That's no problem. But when the t- the teachers they are training come back and remove Israel from maps of the Middle East, not a old map, a modern map, after the state of Israel was, uh, enacted, the Israel is disappearing on maps, and that's a problem. Uh, teacher trainings funded by QFI also recommended films that sympathized with suicide bombers. We would never allow a country to send money in that was praising Osama bin Laden.

109. 0:34:24

     Yah- Yahya Sinwar is no different. I posted a report about this on my social media, on my X. I have a few followers, but what happens next proves why we need this. Within hours, the Qatari ambassador to the United States himself responded to my tweet, not to dispute the facts, but to attack the source. He called FDD extremist, then his deputy chief of mission joined in, and it didn't stop. For days, a foreign government conducted a coordinated campaign against a Georgia state legislator for asking questions about foreign money in our schools.

110. 0:35:04

     The deputy told me in one of our multiple communications that I was, quote, "spreading disinformation," like, quote, "people like you always do." People like me, a Jewish woman, a proud Zionist. He warned me to, quote, "be cautious," and then he warned me again to, quote, "be cautious." A foreign diplomat telling an American elected official, and a diplomat coming from a country without freedom of speech, telling a Georgia state representative to be cautious for asking questions about their funding.

111. 0:35:43

     It kept going. Someone in the thread suggested that maybe some funding to me would, quote, "shut her up." Mr. Chairman, this went on for days. The harassment, the warnings, the antisemitic tropes, it rose to a level where I had to bring in the FBI. Throughout this, notice what Qatar did not do. They did not dispute the dollar amounts. They did not dispute the grants. They did not dispute the teacher who praised Hamas. They attacked the messenger, and we all know most cases where there's smoke, there's fire.

112. 0:36:14

     I didn't go looking for the fight, but when a foreign government targets an American lawmaker for asking basic questions about money that is going into our public schools, it tells you what you need to know about what they're trying to hide. This bill simply requires disclosure of funding, this is not a ban, from foreign countries of concern. Sunshine, transparency, letting parents and taxpayers know who is funding their children's education.

113. 0:36:47

     They don't want transparency. They don't want Georgians to know where the money's coming from or what it will be used for. This bill will change that. Thank you.

114. 0:36:58

     Thank you, Representative. Um, that concludes your presentation. Um-

115. 0:37:02

     Mr. Chairman, sorry, can I make one remark?

116. 0:37:03

     Yeah.

117. 0:37:03

     I've got hard copies of, I think, four or five different examples that we referenced, if y'all wanna see as well, that we can leave behind or, or make sure-

118. 0:37:10

     Okay, if you would get those to, um, uh, our, uh, analyst, um, and she will, she will pass them out. I appreciate you-

119. 0:37:19

     Happy to

120. 0:37:19

     ... uh, doing that. We always like to look through things. Now, I know you're right there, and that's... We're just trying to keep people from getting things to the committee, and we don't know where they came from. We obviously know the, the source here. Um, if you all, uh, wish to stay here, um, if you guys wish to stay seated, I will, I will call on, uh, we had a couple people that signed up to speak. Is it... All right, we- we're back to where we were yesterday on, on penmanship. Uh, i- is it Ally or Lee?

121. 0:37:43

     Ally Madoff, and it's my handwriting.

122. 0:37:44

     A- A- Ally Madoff. All right. Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna get after our Representative Pa- Panitch, 'cause I couldn't find out if that was two Ls or, or one that was just squiggly. Ally-

123. 0:37:53

     No, I had to struggle. It's Ally

124. 0:37:54

     ... if you would, uh, please, uh... Ally.

125. 0:37:57

     Yeah, like Allison.

126. 0:37:57

     A- Allison, yeah. Ally. You-

127. 0:38:01

     Thank you.

128. 0:38:01

     Yes, ma'am.

129. 0:38:02

     Hi. Thank you so much. Um, I am the mother of three boys who went through Cobb County's, um, uh, K through 12 system, and now two of them are in our universities, one at Georgia Tech, one at UGA. Yes, I'm very proud of them. Um, thank you.

130. 0:38:19

     Go Dogs.

131. 0:38:20

     And Jackets, you know. Um, but I am speaking in strong favor of, um, HB 1379. Um, why? Why should we care about this? I mean, foreign rulers, uh, shouldn't have a say in what, um, our children learn in Georgia schools. And the Chinese Communist Party shouldn't be operating schools in Georgia and directly funding student clubs and associations in our schools.

132. 0:38:54

     Um, Qatar has supported US-designated terror organizations and the Muslim Brotherhood. It's been a major Hamas financer, um, and is home to Hamas' political office, and the Taliban's political office is based in Doha. The, um, Chinese Communist Party doesn't really... W- Why? W- What...

133. 0:39:24

     To what purpose do they need to be, um, funding schools and being involved in our schools? I just think parents have a right to know.

134. 0:39:34

     Whether foreign actors are shaping what their children are learning in school and what the young minds in our incredible universities are learning in school. And, um, you know, I, this, I happen, you know, I know that there are other states who have done, um, who have legislation, and in those states, they are banning and prohibiting the funding. That's not what this bill does. It's only asking for reporting and disclosure and transparency, and I think that's more than fair.

135. 0:40:11

     So thank you so much for listening and for your time. Thank you, ma'am. Robert, uh, Rothberg. Mr. Rothberg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Robert Rothberg, Sandy Springs, Georgia, lifelong Georgian, K through 12, and Georgia Tech. Um, as we- We'll also go Jackets since we said go Ja- go Dogs. Once we learned about the situation, remember, we said we used a shovel to start digging. I could only imagine what would've been turned up had we used an excavator.

136. 0:40:42

     So this obviously goes very deep. Um, there are lots of bad actors in the world probing for weakness everywhere they can find it. Um, this is right in front of us. This is a, a good bill that creates transparency. There's lots and lots of legitimate reasons for funding to come into our schools. What we've seen is there's probably a lot of illegitimate reasons, and this bill will help, uh, help us sort through that. Thank you. Thank, thank you, Mr. Rothberg. Um, we do have a, a couple members that have, uh, got questions here.

137. 0:41:12

     I'm gonna assume these are for the, the author of the bill. I wanted to get through the speakers. I appreciate the patience of my members. We're gonna go in order here. Whip Part, did you have a question? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a few questions, if m- if I may, uh, to the author of the bill. Or to 10. Feel free to cut me off as needed, Mr. Chairman. We'll just get to everybody. Yes, sir. Go ahead. Um, would, would this bill apply to all schools in Georgia, including private schools, um, to ensure that, uh, given your concerns, which I share, of understanding what foreign money is coming into Georgia schools, that with private charters and other char- um, private schools that are receiving public funds, would this bill apply to ensure that there's transparency again with all of our schools?

138. 0:41:52

     As written, it's just public schools. Would you be open to expanding it to ensure all schools, would- Sure ... that these provisions apply to everybody? I'm open to it. Um, second question, if I may. Um, w- this is to ensure disclosure and transparency for all foreign governments providing money? Yes. Okay. So whether it's Israel, whether it's, um, uh, you know- Everybody ... this, Iran- As w- ... what have you. A- as written, it's everybody. Now, we're working, uh, to make sure, you know, we have heard from, uh, USG and some others that, you know, we're, we're trying to make sure that, uh, we get to the real issues that we're seeing, like in Qatar and China and some of the others.

139. 0:42:30

     Uh, but as written, this applies to everybody. Okay. Um, can you help me better understand for especially our colleges, um, how often, how common is it for them to be receiving, um, you know, dollars from foreign governments with respect to various partnerships? Um, I'm thinking in particular Georgia Tech and all of the, uh, strategic initiatives and research projects they have. Um, would this bill in any way, uh, limit or begin making it more difficult, uh, for s- with respect to innovation, um, and, and some of the projects that Georgia Tech's working on?

140. 0:43:04

     I don't think it would. I mean, I think it just is public disclosure, so. Uh, la- last, uh, question or two, um, Mr. Chairman, if I may. Um, uh, Representative Gaines, um, you know, I, I share your concern about, uh, foreign dollars certainly influence public education. Would you agree with me, uh, that, you know, we should ensure that we have that sort of transparency, uh, to everybody, uh, including, uh, the Trump administration, given the many concerns I've heard with respect to the hundreds of millions of dollars the Trump administration has received from foreign governments and the potential influence that has on our country?

141. 0:43:40

     Um, I think you're just basing that off of media reports that, I mean, based on what I see in the media these days, isn't a whole lot of truth. So, um, I think this bill gets to where we need to be in Georgia with public education, and that's what I'm here to talk about. All right. Thank you very much. Porter Barrett. Last question. Thank you, thank you for bringing this bill. Sorry. Thank you for bringing this bill and, and, and, and to, to our, our esteemed colleague, uh, Representative Fleming, uh, as well for the great bill last year, which I thought was very good.

142. 0:44:13

     There was a lot of talk last year around the dollar amounts, I noticed, and it, that was reduced, uh, ultimately, I think, uh, through the process to $1,000. Is, uh, this is just basically any donations, right? It is. I do think we're open to, uh, to, to at least matching the $1,000 requirement so that we're at a, you know, similar playing field. But as it's written today, it's every dollar. But, but I think, you know, one of the things I think we do recognize is if you're trying to really influence, uh, a curriculum and those sort of things, it's gonna be more than $1,000.

143. 0:44:46

     And so certainly we're open to, to those adjustments. Okay. And I, and I noticed, uh, this calls for semi-annual reports versus annual reports last year. Um, uh, uh, not sure if that was just incongruent just by nature or was there a thought process that went into saying this needs to be more, uh, than, than what was in the previous legislation. Uh- I would be open to, to that. I don't, you know, I don't want to speak to what others would think of that, but, but certainly, uh, you know, I, I do think it makes sense to match in large part what we did last year. Uh, and, and whom the report goes to.

144. 0:45:18

     Uh, the report last year includes the, the Chairman of Higher Education in the Senate, the Chairman of, uh, uh, Higher Education in the House. I think that doesn't, is not included here, and I think that's kind of important given that we're talking about the source of funding- I agree with you. Yeah. I think that'd be a good add ... and those things. Just a detail, but, um, we, uh-

145. 0:45:34

     Sam Park talked about private schools. I was, I, I had a question. I thought, what about private schools that receive state funding if, if that's, what's the necessary connection there? Um, uh, tuition versus other fundraising as well. I noticed tuition, of course, just like in, in Representative Fleming's bill, that's, that's outside of the scope of this, of a foreign, uh, family that has a child in school. That's excluded, um, uh, from this. But, but, you know, I- a lot of times with, th- there's fundraising and things like that that can far exceed tuition and things like that.

146. 0:46:09

     I'm just thinking out loud. My real goal is to make sure I understand the bill as we look forward to the next meeting, but thank you. I think it's a great bill.

147. 0:46:16

     Thank you. Thank you.

148. 0:46:17

     W- we do have a couple more questions, but let me follow up on that. I mean, uh, uh, fundraising, if, if there was a USG foundation and, uh, whatever, if, if donations were made to that, that would be covered in this bill, would it not?

149. 0:46:26

     It would be.

150. 0:46:27

     Okay, thank you. Um, m- moving on, um, Doc Clark, where are you? There you are, down there. You're usually over here. Dr. Clark has moved to my right, for all of you that want- ... that wanna know.

151. 0:46:39

     Usually come in the other door. Yeah, well, well, normally you're in a different room, and my office is right next door. Oh. So, okay. Understood.

152. 0:46:47

     There you go.

153. 0:46:48

     Um, yes, everything is throwing me off lately. Um, thank you so much, uh, for the presentation, and thank you so much for the bill. Um, I have a question, um, about this, and maybe someone just alluded to it, so maybe this... I was late. Um, how is this different than HB 150 that was passed last year?

154. 0:47:07

     Uh, yes, we did go over that. Uh, two major things is, one, it applies to all countries, and two, it applies to K through 12 and TCSG.

155. 0:47:17

     Oh, it's-

156. 0:47:18

     Ch- Chairman Fleming's bill last year was just particular adversaries. This applies to everyone equally.

157. 0:47:23

     Every country.

158. 0:47:24

     Every country.

159. 0:47:24

     Foreign source, so every country.

160. 0:47:27

     Country. Yes, ma'am.

161. 0:47:28

     Okay. Um, and then my, uh, follow-up question to that is, um, does this also apply, since we're doing every country, uh, to things like foreign exchange programs and things like that, that some s- schools, um, do? 'Cause I, I know we have a carve-out for things like tuition. Is there any concern about, like, having to disclose every foreign exchange program as well?

162. 0:47:55

     It, um, as I unders- as I, I believe it would apply to foreign exchange.

163. 0:47:59

     Okay.

164. 0:47:59

     And I do think that's valuable information-

165. 0:48:01

     Okay

166. 0:48:01

     ... in some cases because some of the examples we were given is, you know, funding hundreds of thousands of dollars of foreign exchange programs to, to the Middle East, and so I do think that's valuable information.

167. 0:48:11

     Okay. Thank you.

168. 0:48:16

     Representative Holcomb.

169. 0:48:18

     Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

170. 0:48:19

     I think you're in Dr. Clark's seat, Representative Holcomb.

171. 0:48:24

     That works. Um-

172. 0:48:24

     You recognize, sir.

173. 0:48:27

     I have a, a few questions. Is, is, what is... Is there a distinction between the government of the nation state of Qatar and the Qatar Foundation International?

174. 0:48:41

     There is, uh, and Jeremy, I don't know if you wanna address that, but, but it is a good point and certainly something that we've, uh, that we're, uh, wordsmithing. This is one of the things we're making sure with legislative counsels that we certainly, uh, cover, uh, something like Qatari Foundation 'cause it, there is a difference. I don't know, Jeremy, if you wanna speak to that.

175. 0:49:00

     Thank you, uh, Representative Holcomb. Uh, Qatar Foundation International used to be a US 501[c][3]. It is now a US LLC. QFI is funded by something called the Qatar Foundation, which is a, you know, sort of umbrella group, if you will, that I think has similar entities underneath it all over the world. The Qatari family funds the Qatar Foundation. So it goes Qatari family, Qatar Foundation, QFI.

176. 0:49:28

     Okay.

177. 0:49:28

     The Ro- the, I'm sorry, the royal family.

178. 0:49:30

     Okay. Uh, and couple reactions. One is, generally speaking, I'm in favor of transparency, but, um, some of the things that I heard is it appeared to be a conflation between the nation state with, um, the foundation. Even, like, Doha has a Taliban, um, place. I might be one of the only members who's been to Doha. And we also have an American Central Command base there, and we have security cooperation in Qatar, and specifically in Doha.

179. 0:50:04

     Um, and, and so, and, and I looked, and I don't see that Qatar as a nation, I'm not a defender of Qatar either, but just want us to be factual and accurate, is lines 18, 19, I don't think that they qualify under that either, correct?

180. 0:50:24

     They do not under foreign, uh, uh, country of concern, but the way the legislation is written is this would apply to every single country. So they would, um, but correct.

181. 0:50:35

     Okay.

182. 0:50:35

     In those lines definition, it would not.

183. 0:50:38

     Okay.

184. 0:50:38

     But the legislation does apply to, to every single country.

185. 0:50:43

     And, and that's, that's what I wanted to make sure that I understood, too. So take classic allies, United Kingdom and France, still same outcome?

186. 0:50:54

     It, it does. Under the way the bill's written today, it does, yes.

187. 0:50:57

     Okay.

188. 0:50:58

     Yeah.

189. 0:50:58

     May I go back one second to your, for the, the last question? So Qatar, as you said, the US does have a military base there. I, I can't speculate why, but Qatar is not on the federal, what I've sort of termed naughty list. So the funding that we're talking about here under current federal law does not need to be disclosed because they're not on the, the, the federal sort of naughty list, if you will. And that's, I think, in part the reason for this legislation. Yes, it is a complicated relationship between the United States and Qatar. Qatar also funds Hamas.

190. 0:51:30

     Hamas leadership is in Qatar. America also has a military base there. It's complicated, but that's why we suggest putting them on the list here.

191. 0:51:38

     Well, it's even more complicated because we accepted a 747, uh, from Qatar, and we offered to have a military base on US soil for Qatar. So your point is well taken, Mr. Berry.

192. 0:51:51

     Thank you.

193. 0:51:52

     And, and if, if the chair could just weigh in here, is th- this is for every country. I mean, the, the-

194. 0:51:57

     It is

195. 0:51:57

     ... if we, you know, think they're friends or, or they're not, um, this is for every country. Um, so I, I think that's, that's important to understand. We just want to be aware. We're not trying to prohibit the funding, but for every country. Um-

196. 0:52:09

     Can I ask one more question, Mr. Chairman-

197. 0:52:11

     Yes, sir

198. 0:52:11

     ... before you go on? Are there any other countries in a negative context? You've brought to us a couple of negative context examples of both China and Qatar. Are there, are there any others that you can provide?

199. 0:52:23

     We're not aware, but it's trying to find something that we don't know about.

200. 0:52:27

     No, I mean-

201. 0:52:27

     Meaning-

202. 0:52:28

     Because of the lack of transparency.

203. 0:52:29

     Correct. So working with the Foundation of Defense of Democracies through open ro- Records Act request to several schools, this is what we found. I'm sure given more time and resources, we could find more.

204. 0:52:41

     Understood. Thank you.

205. 0:52:45

     Representative Fleming. What number? You're 25?

206. 0:52:50

     I think so, honestly.

207. 0:52:52

     Okay. You're 27.

208. 0:52:54

     You're 27. Sorry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, sorry, uh, Vice Chairman, um, Carter Barrett, uh, handled my comments and questions that I had. Um, but I do want to say thank you to the sponsor and Representative Panitch. I appreciate y'all's work on this and look forward to it. I know we're not voting today, the appropriate time to make that motion to, to pass.

209. 0:53:15

     Representative Fleming.

210. 0:53:18

     Thank you so much. Um, thank you, Chairman. I wanted to make a friendly amendment, um, so at the proper time.

211. 0:53:27

     I, I'm gonna, gonna ask you, we're, we're not gonna move on the bill today.

212. 0:53:30

     Oh, we're not. That's what I want.

213. 0:53:30

     So we'll, we'll have a, we'll have an opportunity to get with you and, and entertain your, uh, your shining. Yes, ma'am.

214. 0:53:36

     And it's already been said.

215. 0:53:37

     Okay.

216. 0:53:37

     So I'll tell you. Public and private, both charter, public and private schools, um, transparency there.

217. 0:53:45

     Okay. So if, if I could ask the lady and, and the, the author to get together and talk about that. Yes, ma'am. If, if the, the author doesn't agree with that, I'd let the lady bring that, you know, in the, in the, uh, form of an amendment at, at, uh, time if we come back. Uh, what part?

218. 0:54:00

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, one additional question I had, um, with respect, and I think, uh, Representative, uh, Barrett kind of triggered this question in my mind. Uh, but USG, TCSG, the school, uh, School Board Association, uh, how, where are they on this bill? Uh, are they concerned at all in terms of the administrative requirement, um, certainly with respect to a copy of any contract and all the other information that this bill would require?

219. 0:54:23

     I have not heard from the School Board Association or, uh, TCSG to my knowledge, unless I've missed a message, but, uh, have talked to, uh, USG, uh, briefly and, um, we're working on trying to address some of their concerns. I mean, the reality is, uh, our goal here is public disclosure of, of the donations. So, um, I think they're, they're working with us to try to, try to get to the end goal here.

220. 0:54:50

     I- if you could keep us posted in terms of-

221. 0:54:52

     I will

222. 0:54:53

     ... where they are on the bill, that would be helpful.

223. 0:54:54

     I will.

224. 0:54:55

     Thank you.

225. 0:54:58

     Um, that exhausts the questions. The rest of the committee, I don't see any more lights. Let me ask the committee again if there are any, any further questions on this. Okay, that's, uh, that's what we have. Uh, do you have anything you would like to close out with, uh-

226. 0:55:10

     No, I appreciate the committee and look forward to getting this through next week.

227. 0:55:14

     Okay.

228. 0:55:15

     Thank you.

229. 0:55:15

     Thank you very much. We'll have you back.

230. 0:55:24

     If, if, uh, y'all will hang with us for, for one more, we have, uh, Representative Eric Gi- Gisler. I should, I should know, uh, representative, but you're, you're, you're... Please, please join us. Uh, please, by my, um...

231. 0:55:44

     Um, ladies and gentlemen, this was the, this was the bill that, uh, the chair added to, to our agenda this afternoon, uh, to, to hear from the gentleman, 1382. Um, and it is in your, it is in your packet. If you'd be kind enough to, to entertain the gentleman. I know it's a late hour on, on getaway day, as it were. But, uh, representative, you have the floor.

232. 0:56:05

     I, I will try to make it brief. Um, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the hearing. And thank you to members of the committee. Um, this is a bill, I'll just read through a, a quick summary, um, executive summary. It's a little bit different than the language that you've got. I like this one better, so . Uh, so given the current mismatch in credit standards between the USG and TCSG, uh, veterans coming out of military service with college credit who wish to exempt classes have extreme difficulty in doing so. This leads some veterans to repeat classes and fall behind in their college careers.

233. 0:56:41

     Uh, the b- this bill would help veterans in their bid for higher education and better job prospects by synchronizing US- UCSG and TCSG both in Georgia code and in accreditation procedures and standards toward proper credit to veterans for military service. Um, despite many robust in- incentives, uh, gaps still remain consistently accepting the American Council on Education credit recommendations across USG and TSG institutions for military experience as course credit.

234. 0:57:11

     Uh, expanding the recognition of A- ACE credits would accelerate veterans' entry into higher education and the workforce, reducing relearning skills they already acquired during service, services such as physical education and public speaking. Uh, while US, UCS, uh, sorry, USG institutions are encouraged to offer prior learning assessments via ACE recommendations, those assessments are subjected to dar- departmental approval and are not synchronized across TCSG or USG institutions.

235. 0:57:42

     Uh, this uncertainty could slow veterans' education process and delay their integration into the labor force, uh, and sideline service members. Um, so looking at the bill, I'm, I'm working from LC610379 Um, it does three things. If you look at, there's two sections, one for US- USG and one for TCSG. The first is it applies existing language that applies to TS- TS- TCSG already to the UCSG system, uh, to encourage maintaining a policy to grant academic credit to veterans based on military service.

236. 0:58:16

     Uh, the second thing it does, it adds to both UCS- USG and TCSG. It authorizes both to use joint service transcripts, uh, for the purpose of awarding aca- academic credits. Uh, and the last thing it does, it authorizes both the develop, the, both the development ... No. It authorizes both to develop a public guide showing which military courses may be awarded academic credit, uh, based on those ACE recommendations. Um, I do have one, just to mention.

237. 0:58:46

     I, I did reach out to USG. The, the main change here applies to them. Um, I have been in contact with, um, USG's chief of staff and vice chancellor for external affairs, Ashley May. Uh, and she offered one change to the bill that I'm working with, uh, LC to get a, a substitute on. Um, it changes lines 25 through 28. Uh, the new language would be, it, it's in front of you there. Uh, the board, in collaboration with the Department of Veterans' Services, is encouraged to develop and make available to current and prospective active duty military and veterans a database that includes courses for which institutions have previously awarded academic credit based on military service.

238. 0:59:28

     And there's a couple of lines there about their justification for wanting to make that change. Um, I was a little bit surprised with that one, because maintaining a database is a little more difficult than having a, you know, publishing a guide. But, um, that's what they requested. So, um, that is the amendment that I'm working on with LC. And, um, with that, I'll take any questions.

239. 0:59:49

     We have a couple questions. Um, Representative Burnough.

240. 0:59:53

     Tha- thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the bill. Is it not true that by them accepting and giving them that credit for military service that that also helps on the amount that they're paying because they don't have to pay for extra classes?

241. 1:00:07

     That's true. It'll red- reduce their tuition because of the, the fewer classes.

242. 1:00:12

     Thank you.

243. 1:00:13

     Thank you.

244. 1:00:14

     Dr. Clark.

245. 1:00:16

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, hi. Uh, so, um, to my suite mate, the way, like, when you're talking about these, these credits that they're, they've taken, are we talking about, like, actual classes that have been taken? Or is it something different?

246. 1:00:36

     Uh, not being an expert in the military system, uh, I believe it applies to courses and, uh, and training.

247. 1:00:44

     Training.

248. 1:00:44

     And however that is communicated in the JST.

249. 1:00:47

     Okay. Um, and, um,

250. 1:00:51

     do you have any examples of what normally is accepted?

251. 1:00:57

     I don't.

252. 1:00:57

     No? Okay. That's fine. Sorry.

253. 1:01:02

     Dr- Dr. Clark, we can get you that information. It's a good question. I, I think that, that-

254. 1:01:05

     I understand

255. 1:01:05

     ... the gentleman here, the- these are courses-

256. 1:01:08

     I understand

257. 1:01:08

     ... or training courses that are generally accepted by, um, the accrediting agencies. Are they not? Sir, is that not your-

258. 1:01:15

     That, that's correct. Yeah.

259. 1:01:16

     Yeah. Right. So we, we can get you a list of what those are, um, because I know that is a bit, bit of the details, but I think these are things that, basically, the university system doing this would not jeopardize the accreditation or the training for that person to, to achieve that degree. But I understand the lady's question.

260. 1:01:32

     Yes. All right. Thank you.

261. 1:01:33

     Yeah. We'll get you that information.

262. 1:01:35

     Okay.

263. 1:01:35

     Um, Representative Glaize.

264. 1:01:40

     So I want to first of all thank you for bringing this bill. Um, GMC, Georgia Military College, does a great job with this. Um, they're first and foremost at making sure that our veterans have their, um, training and their leadership training, um, transfers into credits. So we're already doing it at, at GMC.

265. 1:02:01

     Mm-hmm.

266. 1:02:01

     Um, what I hope will happen after this is that this is a part of what our state continues to do to ensure that we bring veterans here to stay, and they make their home in Georgia, and they finish their degrees here. So thank you again for bringing this legislation to us.

267. 1:02:21

     Thank you. And I, I will point out, too, um, you know, when I reached out to USG, I thought they might object to the first section there that's, that's requiring them to do this. Um, but the response I got was that they are already doing it. So putting it into code just solidifies it. So thank you.

268. 1:02:38

     Representative Barrett.

269. 1:02:40

     Thank, thank you, Representative. I really appreciate the spirit of the, of the bill and, and look forward to getting up to speed and understanding it. Um, it might be, uh, possible, is it possible to have someone from TCSG or, or, uh, uh, speak to the bill as well or, and from USG just to sort of ta- I don't understand the ver- the vernacular, uh, or the, the, uh, and how this will happen, but I love the idea of it. Um, I'm, I don't know if this already exists, the, the joint transcripts. Uh, and maybe our esteemed colleague over there, Representative Holcomb, could elaborate.

270. 1:03:14

     Um-

271. 1:03:15

     Former military man

272. 1:03:16

     ... as a former military guy. Um, like, like, the joint transcripts and those things, are those things that already are out there with the Department of Defense, or is it something that has to be created?

273. 1:03:26

     My understanding is that yes, that they produce those today.

274. 1:03:28

     Okay.

275. 1:03:29

     And-

276. 1:03:30

     Thank you

277. 1:03:30

     ... uh, I would be interested in if, uh, if you had any input on that, Representative.

278. 1:03:36

     You, you, you were on, and now you're off. Now you're back on. Do you have a question? No, I'm, I just wanted to make sure we didn't miss you. Yeah.

279. 1:03:43

     Yes.

280. 1:03:43

     Representative Holcomb. I mean-

281. 1:03:45

     Th- thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yeah, I, I think it's a great idea in terms of, um, uh, the Armed Forces just generally really emphasize training and education, and they, they focus it. I, I think it can be challenging to try to equate some of the military training with college training. It, it might be easier on the TCSG side. Um- but but they, they do and, and in some circumstances, and this reminds me of a minor regret that I have, is I could have received, um, a degree from the community college of the Air Force when I was in the Air National Guard before going active duty, and they had a program by which they took the training that you did, and they internally had a process by which they moved it into like college credits, so you could get it towards an associate.

282. 1:04:44

     So there, there are mechanisms I think that sort of exist, um, for this, but it would be immensely helpful to the extent that the credits were appropriate for, uh, for college to then have them apply. So, um, a lot of the things that I took, to be really candid, weren't terribly rigorous or difficult. But, um, that's okay.

283. 1:05:12

     Thank you. Uh, and, and I was serious. Uh, your, your light was on. W- I didn't think ... I didn't wanna mi- I didn't wanna miss you, um, 'cause I, I thought you would probably ... You always have good things to add, but in this particular case, you're right on it. You're right on it, uh, Representative Holcomb. I- we've exhausted the questions. I didn't see anyone, um, that had signed up, um, to, to speak on this directly. Is there anyone that wants to speak? If not, um, perhaps I can, I can work with you, Representative, and, and we can, uh, and w- if we can get you back, uh, next week, we'll, we'll try to invite somebody from TCSG to, uh, uh, speak to it as well as, uh, the university system.

284. 1:05:46

     And, um, you'll, you'll work on, uh, a substitute for us with the language you suggest.

285. 1:05:51

     Yes, sir. Will do.

286. 1:05:52

     Right. Thank you very much. Um, the, we will ... That concludes our agenda. But let me, let me sound this for the com- committee. I, I, I heard some, uh, um, oohs and aahs when I mentioned that we mi- we were scheduled to meet Monday morning at, at 8, uh, at 8:00 AM. Um, okay. All right. You know, it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Um, so that is our schedule. That is the, the time we can hear. We have some important things we have to do, uh, next week.

287. 1:06:22

     One of those is to take up for a first hearing, 'cause we're gonna have two on that, the, the, the bill that, uh, will, uh, if, if moved forward and passed, um, implement the Dream Scholarship out of the student, um, student finance. Um, that is what we would hear Monday morning. Um, please bear with me and, and, um, if, if that is ready, we will, we will try to, to do that Monday morning. But we will also inform you by email if we can move that a bit later in the morning, because I know like our, our esteemed, uh, former mayor of Savannah coming up a long way, um, uh, Representative Jackson from Savannah, for her to be here Monday morning, that takes half of her, her weekend away on Sunday.

288. 1:07:02

     So I'm sympathetic to that. Uh, we, we advertise the earliest possible meeting to be open to the public. If we can find a room and back that up, we will certainly do that. But I, I wasn't gonna call a meeting at 1:00 and then not be able to have a room and then tell you to be here at 8:00, 'cause that would've been unfair to all of you and the public as well. So we may have to be here at 8:00, um, if we can't find anything other than that. Um, but look, look for your email, please. I will do the best I can. I will do the best I can.

289. 1:07:32

     Also, to the public, we will get that out on the website. Um, but, uh, we will do our best to do that, 'cause the last thing I wanna know is have ... The last thing I want is to have people wake up and be here at 8:00 in the morning, and, and we've moved the meeting to, to later on. But as y'all s- y'all heard, there are meetings later on. Rules is at 11:00. Rules will be a long time on Monday. Um, and so in order to have a predictable time, we're working within the constraints we're given. I appreciate everybody more than you know. Thanks for staying late on Thursday.

290. 1:08:03

     Representative Jackson, I know you got a long way to go. Travel safely. I'll look forward, uh, to everybody next week. If there's no b- further business before the, uh, committee, we'll stand in adjourn without objection. And none. Hearing none, we are adjourned.