Sesión en el pleno del Senado, 2 de abril de 2026 (día legislativo 40, parte 1)

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1. 0:27:14

   Good morning, good morning, good morning.

2. 0:27:19

   And happy day 40 everyone.

3. 0:27:26

   Oh for yeah, yeah.

4. 0:27:32

   I didn't, I didn't bring my ... I didn't bring the Heim catcher or my baseball sorry. The uh...

5. 0:27:42

   Recognize the rules chairman, my good friend from Coweta County, senator from the sixth. Thank you Mr. President give me one second I was just finishing up with the journal here all right I'm done Happy Sine Die to you and Happy Sine Die to all members of this great chamber and staff in all the pages that have served us for the last forty days but on day fourty we got a great list Great group of Pages from all over this great state out of Moultrie we have Briley Bowers From Augusta Consuelo Chaverria Mount Airy Carson Crane Cumming Susanna Damiano Woodstock Eric Danielli Marietta Felicity Debussy Valdosta Suad Dennis St Marys Waylon Holmes Marietta we have the children of Capitol friends Seth Milligan his daughter Eden Grace and son Kevin Millican Lennox Georgia Jacob Mobley Toccoa Zoe Moore Valdosta Jackson Morris Decatur Sonoma Oster Decatur Adeline Penley Pinetrass Eden Peffle Hayhara Logan Rogers Marietta Holt Rodgers Atlanta Ella Reagan Roth Marietta Tripp Simmons Suwanee Juhi Soni Hoschton Noah Tindall Atlanta Hope Vickers Toccoa Jareese Ware Moultrie we have our very own Senator Sam Watson's Daughter Lucy Watson and from Toccoa We Have Cohen Whitmire y'all give these Pages a big round of applause we appreciate you being here to serve their great people they're great State of Georgia and mr president we do have a birthday in the chamber today I'll let you get to that later look forward to this day Fourty there he is it's a birthday man hey its your Birthday Boy There He Is Senator from Sixteenth

6. 0:30:41

   .He's In His Golden Years His golden years Mister President This is a sad day many colleagues are leaving us Its Your Last Day in the Chamber But i still gathered myself together and found the strength To Get Through This Journal and ive Found It to be Correct So Move We Dispense With Reading Of The Journal Well Youve Done A Wonderful Job Giving Everybody Ah Good Depiction What The ah Journal Looks Like Day-In And Day Out For The Last Four Years Now Right?Four Year been a Great Four Years Yep Alright youre gonna miss Us Around Here Senator Ha ha You Have No Idea I Look around See what im left Wwith nBut We Appreciate All The Pages Being Here Today youll Be Herw To Cheer Them On Next year an We hope you Uh Yooull well Hope Youll Be At Rules Maybe Somebody Whoever maybe whoever the next Lieutenant Governor IS Will Put YOU IN THE RULES CHAIR MAYBE WELL SEE WELL SEE I Should Lobby NOW FOR ITYou SHOULD Start LOBBYING FOR IT RIGHT NOWYEAH WHO ALL NEEDS SOME BILLS

7. 0:31:58

   alrightIs THERE OBJECTION TO DISPENSING OF THE READING OF THE JOURNAL Chair HEARS NONE Reading Of The JOURNAL IS DispensEd WITH IS THERE Objection tO THE CONFIRMATION oF ThE Journal chair Hears none thE jOURnal IS Confirmed secretary WILL READ REPORTS O Standing Committee mister PRESIDENT THESenate COMMITTEE ON STATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS HAS HAD UNDER CONSIDERATIOnthe FOLLOWING LEGISLATIOn AND has Instructed Me To REPORT THE SAME BACK backTO THE Senate wIth THE Following recommendation House Bill fourteen oh FOUR DO Pass house bill fifteen fifty nine Do pass HOUSE BILl Fifteen sixty dO PASS hOUSE BilL FIFTEEN SIXTY EIGHT DDo PASShouse Bill fifTeeN Sixty Nine DO PasSHoUse BiLl Fifteen Eighty Do PaSShHouse BIll fIFuteen eighty Seven DO pasShOuSe bi ll FIfTEEn eighty Eight Do pa ssHOuSE BIlL fifteEn ninety foUr Do pASS HousE bil l fifteeN Ninety NiNe dO PAss HoUSE Bill fifTeen Fifty EiGht Do Pass HOuse bILL fifteEn siXTy Two Do Pass HouSe bill fifTEEn SixtY Three Do Pass housE bill fifTEEN sIXTy FoUR Do pass houSe Bill fifTEEn sixty five Do pass house bill fifTEEn sixTy SIx Do pass hoUSe Bill fifTeen seventy three dO pass housed Bill fifTEEn Seventy Five Do pass house bill fifTEen seventY Six Do pass house bill fifTEen eightY One Do pass house bill fifTEEn eighTy two Do pass house bill fifTEEn eighty thrEE Do pass hose bill fifTEEn ninety fiVe Do pass house bill

8. 0:33:14

   98 do pass. House Bill 1601, do pass. House Bill 1602, do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Dixon of the 45th District. Chairman, Mr. President, that completes the order.

9. 0:33:43

   It is now time for the morning roll call. Are there any motions to excuse?

10. 0:33:57

    Senator from the 9th, will you, uh, could you excuse your seatmate? Thank you, Mr. President. I ask for unanimous consent to excuse the senator from the 12th. Without objection, senator from the 12th is excused. Thank you. Any other motions to excuse? Hearing none, secretary will call the roll. Senators, signify your presence by voting to yay switch. Secretary will unlock the machine.

11. 0:36:21

    It is now time for the mo- morning devotion. We have a very special guest here today, a gentleman who is very familiar with these hallways, Mr. Wes Cantrell. Served,

12. 0:36:39

    served eight years in the House. He was always a fine legislator and always a good friend in his years there, and I, I hear he's an even better, uh, communicator and preacher, too, so I'm looking forward to this. So, um, but I'd ask the doorkeeper to secure the chamber at this time, and I recognize the senator from the 56th to lead us in our pledge and introduce our pastor of the day.

13. 0:37:06

    Thank you, Mr. President. Please join me to pledging to the American flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And now the Georgia flag. I pledge allegiance to the Georgia flag and to the principles for which it stands, wisdom, justice, moderation and courage. Good morning, senators. I am thrilled to have a good friend and the associate pastor of Woodstock Baptist Church, Wes Cantrell, who most of us know very well.

14. 0:37:45

    He has served at Woodstock Baptist for over 20 years, and he served here as a state rep from 2014 to 2022, when he learned the most important thing of why God created senators, so the representatives would have heroes. He's been married to his wife, Jane, for 40 years, and they have three children, two daughters-in-laws, one son-in-law, and five grandchildren. And in his bio, he said that I could make up the rest. Rather than making up the rest, I want to share a very quick story. Many years ago, we were at the July 4th parade in Woodstock, Georgia, and we had our entire delegation from Cherokee County together riding atop of my fire engine.

15. 0:38:24

    And when we got on there and we pulled down to the main drag, this is a very, very popular parade, we all learned that nobody really knew who any of us were, but everyone knew who Pastor Wes was. I swear 10,000 people were shouting out, "Pastor Wes," waving, smiling, et cetera, and that was the type of impact he has had in our community. He has done more, uh, than most of us will ever know, and he's a real treasure, uh, and I'm glad to introduce him to you today as our pastor of the day. Pastor Wes.

16. 0:38:59

    Well, good morning. Morning. Uh, thank you for allowing me to be here today, and Senator Albers, thank you for the, uh, kind introduction. Happy Sine Die to all who celebrate, right? Amen. Okay, I've experienced a few of these myself. You know, Sine Die is Latin for without a day, meaning another long, grueling legislative session is coming to an end. I know you are all sad about that. The Bible says very clearly that he who endures to the end shall be saved.

17. 0:39:30

    So I want to congratulate all of you who have endured to the end. Now, Mr. President, I'm here today as a pastor, not a former legislator, and I know I'm not supposed to say anything overtly political, uh, so I'm gonna do my best, but would it be too political for me to thank those members of this chamber who are running for higher office but chose to stay and represent their constituents till the end of the legislative session? Would that be okay? Pretty charming, brother. Pretty charming. All right. So- I'd like to, I'd like to begin with our own lieutenant governor, who stuck with it to the end.

18. 0:40:05

    Thanks for finishing the drill, Mr. President. I'd also like to thank, uh, Senator Dolezal, Senator Guch, Senator McLaurin, Senator Tillery, for continuing to represent your constituents well to the end. I also want to thank Senator Cowsert, Senator Strickland, as they run for attorney general, for sticking with us to the end, and also for Senator Emanuel Jones as he runs for Congress. Thanks for sticking to the end. Appreciate it. Uh, and Georgians appreciate it. Now, you might understand this, that Senator Albers faced quite a dilemma in determining who he was gonna invite to be the chaplain of the day today.

19. 0:40:45

    So as he struggled over that decision, he decided just to make it easy. He said, "I know what I'm gonna do. I'm just gonna invite the smartest person I know." But that person said no. So then he thought again. He said, "Well, you know what? I'll just invite the best looking person I know." That one said no, too. You're right, Bill. And then, or Chuck. So they, then he said, "I'm gonna invite the most inspiring speaker I know."

20. 0:41:14

    But that person said no. Well, then he called me. I said, "Senator Albers, this is the fourth time you've called me about this. Okay, I will be the chaplain of the day." Some of you got that, some of you not so much. Seriously, I'm really grateful to be here with you on such a significant day as today. However, today is much more significant for a different reason than being Sine Die. Does anybody know the significance of today's date?

21. 0:41:45

    Today is Maundy Thursday of Holy Week. We're headed towards Easter, and Maundy is Latin for mandatum, which means commandment. Maundy Thursday commemorates the final evening of Jesus' life before the crucifixion. It was the night of the Last Supper when Jesus gathered his disciples, washed their feet, and gave them what he called a new commandment, that they were to love one another as he had loved them.

22. 0:42:16

    Now, what makes that, that moment so remarkable is that Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen. Within hours, he would be betrayed, he would be arrested, and he would be crucified. Yet on that final night, Maundy Thursday, instead of focusing on himself, Jesus focused on others. He served, he encouraged, he reminded his disciples what mattered most. He called them to love one another in the same way that he had loved them.

23. 0:42:47

    Well, how had he loved them? And how was he about to show his love for them? He was going to willingly lay down his life for them in the most painful method of execution known at the time, the crucifixion. The Bible says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." And that's exactly what Jesus was doing. The gospel's simple, guys. God loves us so much that he sent his Son to take on human flesh, live a perfect life, and lay his life down for us.

24. 0:43:21

    All we must do is place our trust in him. It's not complicated, but it requires surrender, which is not a popular thing for us to do as humans. In other words, Jesus was, was just de- demonstrating something very profound about life. It's not how you start, it's how you finish, right? It's not how you start, it's how you finish. So both of these moments, Maundy Thursday and Sine Die, have something important in common. They're both about finishing well.

25. 0:43:51

    The Apostle Paul expressed the same idea near the end of his life when he said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Notice what he emphasized. He didn't say, "I started the race," he said, "I finished it." Another passage in Hebrews encourages us to run with perseverance the race marked before us. The image is that of a long-distance race. I mean, anyone can sprint for a moment, but endurance, the ability to stay faithful over time, is what defines the outcome of your life.

26. 0:44:23

    And that idea applies everywhere. It applies to careers, it applies to relationships, it applies to leadership, and it certainly applies to public service. Today's the 40th day, the final stretch of a very long race. Many of you started out this session with great ideas, bills you were gonna pass, issues you were gonna address, all kinds of things you hoped would happen. Some of you really sprinted out of the gate. Now, here we are at the last day, a day that feels very different from the first.

27. 0:44:54

    The pace is faster, the stakes are higher, decisions come more quickly. And in, and in these moments, it's how we finish that matters. In the, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon said, "Better is the end of a thing than its beginning." Don't you feel that way today? Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. That's a c- countercultural idea. Our culture celebrates launches. We celebrated a launch literally last night, right? But you know when I'm gonna really celebrate? Is when those astronauts are safely back, because how they finish is what really matters.

28. 0:45:28

    Yeah, it's a beautiful start, but let's see how it finishes. So what might it look like today for the State Senate, or for that matter, the guys over there, to finish well today? What it would look like for the State Senate to finish well? Let me offer three simple thoughts. Number one, finish with integrity. Finish with your integrity intact. On a fast-moving day with many decisions, it can be tempting to simply shove something across the finish line.

29. 0:45:58

    But finishing well means remembering the responsibility that's been entrusted to you by the people that you represent. Integrity means doing the right thing even when the clock is ticking. Finish with integrity. Second, finish with respect. This chamber represents a wide range of viewpoints and perspectives, but disagreements does not have to mean division. Finishing well means remembering that the person across the aisle is not an enemy, but a colleague who is also trying to serve the people of this state.

30. 0:46:34

    Please don't be like your counterparts in Washington. I'm confident of one thing today. Every single one of you want to do what's best for Georgia. We simply have disagreements about how that's gonna get done. Maundy Thursday reminds us that Jesus' command was simple but profound. Love one another. That principle has a lot to say about how we treat each other, even in the midst of disagreement. A few weeks ago, I was saddened to learn of the, uh, retirement of Senator Parent.

31. 0:47:05

    Senator Parent and I served together when I was in the House, and we seldom found agreement on policy. Am I right, Elena? But I always respected Elena. I could have an honest conversation with Elena, and I hope that that was a mutual feeling between the two of us. Same for, uh, Senator McLaurin. Senator McLaurin and I served in the House together. We tried and tried to find something we could agree on policy-wise. I'm not sure it ever happened. But I've always enjoyed Josh's company.

32. 0:47:36

    He even came to church with me a f- few years ago to our Good Friday service. And by the way, if you're looking for some place to go tomorrow to celebrate what God's done through us through Jesus, we have a service at 7:00 PM at Woodstock. We would welcome you. Some of you have, have been, uh, have joined me at church before. But, uh, we even exchanged a funny ex- uh, text exchange earlier, just a few days ago, about Senator, uh, Hatchett's, uh, time change bill, because I had a sim- similar legislation in the House a few years back, and at that time, Senator McLaurin voted against my bill.

33. 0:48:09

    But he supported Senator Hatchett's bill, so I had to call him out a little bit on it. Obviously, you're much more persuasive than I am, Bo, so thank you. So let me cr- be crystal clear, though. When I was serving, most of my relational challenges were with members of my own party, okay? But there's many people in this chamber on both sides of the aisle with whom I could share similar stories. Don't take policy disagreements today personally. Please, don't do it. It's never productive. And lastly, finish with perspective.

34. 0:48:41

    At the end of the day, the legislation that you pass here matters greatly for the people of Georgia, but the relationships built here and the character demonstrated here is gonna matter a whole lot more in the long run. Because years from now, people aren't gonna remember the bills that were passed today. They're gonna remember what kind of leader you were. They're gonna remember what kind of example you set. They're gonna remember how you treated each other in the heat of the, of sine die. The go- in the Gospel of John, Jesus approached the end of his mission. He s- he prays this.

35. 0:49:13

    He says, "I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do." Finishing the work. That's the goal for all of us, in our families, our communities, our callings. So on this Maundy Thursday, and on this final day of the legislative session, my encouragement to you is simple: Run the race well. Treat one another with kindness and respect. Serve with integrity, and finish the work well. Because ultimately, it will not be the enthusiasm of the beginning that defines a life or a legacy.

36. 0:49:44

    It will be the faithfulness of your finish. Thanks again for the opportunity to be here today, and if you will join me, I'd be honored to close our time in a word of prayer. Father, we're grateful for this being the last day of sine die, of legislative session. We're grateful for sine die. And Lord, I pray for all of us in this room that we would finish well today. Help us to be kind w- to each other, help us to treat each other with respect. And Lord, most of all, help us to get good things done for the people of our great state that we get to live in.

37. 0:50:15

    So we pray for your guidance, your wisdom today, your courage to do the right thing. And Lord, pray that, uh, everyone would try to be an encouragement to one another throughout the day. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Good to see you, Greg.

38. 1:01:49

    Recognize senator from the 28th to recognize the doctor of the day.

39. 1:01:56

    Is she up there? Is she up there, the nurse, the doctor? Come on down.

40. 1:02:10

    Go all the way up. Thank you.

41. 1:02:22

    Senators. Hello. It's on? Senators, it is my honor and privilege to introduce the doctor of the day.

42. 1:02:36

    I'm impressed. Oh, my goodness. J- can I, can I get your attention please? We have a outstanding doctor of the day. Janelle Williams Holder was born in Christiansted, St. Croix of the US Virgin Islands. She spent her early life on the island and moved to Texas at the age of seven, and grew up in Pearla- Pearland, Texas, and is a graduate of Pearland High School.

43. 1:03:13

    Sorry for messing up the name. At an early age, she discovered her love of medicine and biology. Can I have your attention please? Thank you. See- And everyone, and everyone can... Hold on one second, Senator. Thank- And can I get everybody's attention? Thank you s- thank you very much, Mr. President. Hold on, hold on, Senator. Okay. Senator, we can't really hear you on that microphone. Say it again?

44. 1:03:42

    Let's get everybody's attention. All right, go ahead, Senator. Thank you very much. Well, at an early age, she discovered her love of medicine and biology. She attended Xavier University in Louisiana and studied pre-med. She graduated in the class of 2001. She pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated in fall of 1999, Gamma Alpha Chapter, and she completed medical school at the University of Texas Houston Health Center, Science Center, the class of 2005.

45. 1:04:25

    And she completed her residency in internal medicine and pediatrics in 2009. Dr. Williams Holder was a practicing internal medicine hospitalist for 11 years. She recognized her desire to help patients facing serious and life-limiting illnesses, and completed a fellowship in hospice medicine at Emory University.

46. 1:04:56

    She is currently an assistant professor for palliative and hospice medicine at Emory University in Atlanta. She has resided in Mapleton, Georgia, God's country, for over a decade. Dr. Williams Holder interests are in ethical issues in medicine, and she served on the hospital's ethics committee for a number of years.

47. 1:05:27

    She is currently active on the Grady Hospital Ethics Committee. And Dr. Williams Holder is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Hospice Medicine. Dr. Williams Holder is passionate about addressing health disparity. She incorporates educational topics in her work. She has developed, uh, and taught curriculums regarding health and disparities to learners and mentees as well.

48. 1:06:06

    She is currently working on teaching techniques to help women collaborate with the emphasis of support in collaborative Black women in, uh, uh, via academia. And lastly, she is married to Dr. Andre Holder and is the mother of Lucas and Layla Holder. She enjoys traveling, crafting, gardening, beekeeping, bee- beekeeping, and spending time with her family.

49. 1:06:41

    And I hope she'll add also being the doctor of the day to this list. With, uh, without further ado, Dr. Janelle Williams Holder, MD. Thank you. All right. Please welcome our doc of the day today. Let's give her a round of applause. Thank you. Well, good morning, everyone. Thank you for such a warm welcome and a very detailed introduction. Um, as mentioned, I do practice general internal medicine and end of life care.

50. 1:07:13

    I just wanna at least say thank you, everyone, for the work that you do. It is impactful, and it's represented in the way that I care for my patients. Um, I know all of the work that you do will trickle down and positively impact the care that I provide for them. Thank you. All right. Good job.

51. 1:12:19

    Are there any unanimous consents?

52. 1:12:24

    Does any senator wish to rise on a point of personal privilege?

53. 1:12:34

    All right. Recognize the senator from the second.

54. 1:12:48

    Come in, come right in

55. 1:13:08

    here. I didn't wanna embarrass you. Hey, appreciate that, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. This morning, colleagues, uh, I rise to celebrate my good friend, the gentlewoman from the 12th district, the senator from the 12th from Albany, Georgia. Uh, she's not with us, as her husband Norman passed away. Um, but she would probably be here to make a speech to tell you all how much she appreciated serving in this body. Since I came to the Senate four years ago, uh, the senator, the senator from the 12th has been a dear friend of mine, and I'm going to miss her in the next biennium.

56. 1:13:43

    I know many of you will miss her. Uh, she's been a steady hand, wise counsel. Myself, along with Senator Wicks, uh, remember first coming to the General Assembly, uh, and there was only one member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated, and that was none other than the gentlewoman from the 12th. Uh, and she welcomed me with open arms and did everything she could do to help me. Uh, I miss her every day that, uh, she's not here because she was my talk trash buddy. So, uh, with that, Mr. President, I just ask everybody to celebrate the gentlewoman from the 12th.

57. 1:14:14

    And I would also like to recognize my other good seatmate who's gone, uh, that was Senator Esteves. His mother, Linda Esteves, has passed away after her battle with Alzheimer's. So I would like us all to just stand for a moment of silence for Linda Esteves. If everyone could s- please cease all conversations and stand for a moment of silence.

58. 1:14:33

    At the senator's request.

59. 1:14:38

    Thank you, Mr. President. And with that, I yield the well. Thank you, Senator. Recognize senator from the forty, 42nd. Old country lawyer from McDonough.

60. 1:14:53

    Thank you, Mr. President, members of the Senate. On your desk, you have a bracelet that I provided everybody. If you feel led, I'd love for y'all to wear this today and, uh, maybe leave it on for a long time after the day, because today is World Autism Awareness Day, but it's also the second day of Autism Acceptance Month. And thank you, appreciate it. And this body has really led on a lot of issues dealing with autism over the years, going back to over a decade ago where this body led on the bill that made certain that our young people, our children, have access to the therapies they need through insurance coverage.

61. 1:15:27

    And then, of course, this year, y'all worked with me and as we passed Rio's Law to provide training for all of our law enforcement officers in how to interact with folks with autism. And I appreciate your support over the years on these issues, and I hope, as I said last year from the well, too, that this bracelet's a reminder that everybody sees the world differently, no matter who you are, and especially those with autism. They view the world through a different lens, and as we pass legislation, we always think about how it affects other people as well. With that, I'll yield the well.

62. 1:15:57

    Recognize the senator from the first.

63. 1:16:24

    Thank you, Mr. President. At beginning of session, I gave, uh, Healthcare 101, so I wanna step it up here a little bit and give Healthcare, uh, 201 or 102, depending on which, what your perspective is. Uh, if you remember, we did waivers, one- 1115 and 1332 and that's, uh, what's called Pathways, Pathways Out of Poverty. We give them Medicaid, and that's hopefully a revolving system. We've had about 15,000 people revolve in and out. The other, uh, bill, the 1332, is that's called ACCESS, and that's 100% of federal poverty level up to 400% of feder- federal poverty level.

64. 1:17:02

    So back early in the session, uh, the debate was on the one big beautiful bill, H.R. resolution on number one. Uh, and the compromise there was that we would bring from the crazy emergency exponential growth of that particular subs- subsection of the budget, we took it back to, goodness gracious, President Obama's recommendation, and nobody on ACCESS pays more than 8.2%.

65. 1:17:33

    Yes, I'll, I'll paraphrase for some of us. Yes, that was an increase from 8.1% up to 8.2%. You're exactly right. So terrible success. We have way over a million people, 1.5 million people on ACCESS, and they get what? Private insurance, which everybody accepts private insurance. Medicaid, about 60, 65%, and most of those are actually pediatricians and so forth.

66. 1:18:04

    So wow, what a great success because the fact is we have in the lower portion there, the waiver's 100% below, what we have is the requirements that are being spread throughout the United States on states that have done expansion. Imagine that. Working part-time 20 hours a week, 20 hours of volunteer work, or going to college or going to vocational technical school. All of those people hopefully are getting a pathway to success and off Medicaid, which is unfortunately not the best system in the world.

67. 1:18:44

    Commercial insurance is better and well accepted. So thinking about it, there's really no reason for anyone in the state of Georgia not to have insurance. And here's the exception. The exception is I just don't sign up. Maybe I'm homeless and I don't sign up. You know, the other thing, though, is that most hospitals and federally qualified health centers will get you signed up because they wanna be paid, too.

68. 1:19:16

    And let's talk about federally qualified health centers. 140 counties are covered. Over 300 federally qualified health centers in the state of Georgia all will be readily accepting the Medicaid patients that may not be accepted at other places. So everybody in the state of Georgia is covered by insurance if you actually want to sign up. And those are the exceptions. Those few people, and I mean few people, that are apathetic enough that they actually don't sign up.

69. 1:19:50

    So that with Mr., Mr. President, will finish my Healthcare 201. Thank you very much. Well, you quite frankly, Senator, Dr. Watson, you're about the only one qualified in this room that can talk on the healthcare topic. I know we have a bunch of professional wannabe lawyers in here, but, uh.

70. 1:20:16

    Not you, Doc. Recognize senator from the 33rd.

71. 1:20:43

    Thank you, Mr. President, my fellow senators, colleagues, friends, and y'all.

72. 1:20:51

    I'm not a country lawyer and I'm not a medical doctor, but I am an old boy from Marietta, Georgia with a little something to read to you here. Good morning. I rise today to honor a week that calls us to remember the strength of survivors and the compassion of those who walk beside them. From April 19th through April 25th, 2026, we observe National Crime Victims' Rights Week, a time to reaffirm that every victim deserves dignity, a voice, and a path towards healing.

73. 1:21:25

    In Cobb County, that promise is kept every day by the dedicated team of the Solicitor General Makia Metzger's office. I want to thank the solicitor for her leadership and unwavering commitment to justice that put victims first. Under her direction, an exceptional group of victim advocates led by Director Sirpa Vdova and with Megan Abstein, Stephanie Beatty, Chloe Chin, and Erica Chukwurah, Jasmine Guzman, and Diana Lopez, they all work tirelessly to guide survivors through the aftermath of crime.

74. 1:22:10

    They offer not only resources and legal rights, but also empathy, respect, and hope. To every survivor in Cobb County and across the state, you are not forgotten. Your courage fuels our work and to the advocates and prosecutors who stand with you, thank you for your steady hand and kind heart our justice sy- our justice system needs.

75. 1:22:40

    Let this week be a reminder that protecting victims is not just a resolution, it is ours to share responsi- sha- it is our shared responsibility. Thank you so much, Mr. President. I yield the will. And let's give a hand to the victims.

76. 1:22:59

    Thank you.

77. 1:23:09

    Recognize senator from the 38th. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, colleagues, I rise today because I am still in awe that I even stand here. Uh, and I just want to say thank you to all the members in this body who has welcomed me. I never would've imagined that I would, uh, be friends with a blueberry farmer, uh, from Valdosta or, you know, absolutely admire working with the experts in horses, uh, in our chairman of the, uh, Senate Education Committee.

78. 1:23:55

    Um, it has truly surprised me the way that we can work together, but also vehemently disagree on issues. You know, I have to say, uh, that the senator from the 27th, uh, we, you know, wholeheartedly disagree on so many issues, but he was the second signer on my bill that made it to Governor Kemp's desk. Uh, or even just right now working with me to ensure that we are able to dedicate, um, some portions of our highways to a former, m- uh, colleague, uh, in this chamber or a fallen officer.

79. 1:24:29

    Uh, in addition to that, um, I was watching, uh, a show last night, and I won't say the show 'cause I don't wanna give away, um, it's gonna be a bit of a spoiler, uh, alert. Uh, but at the end, uh, one of the characters says to another character, "You are user X. Go save the world." And in many ways, all of us are user X. We're all charged with saving the world. We may think differently in how we should save the world, uh, but we, this is a room full of standup folks that are trying to save the world from their perspective.

80. 1:25:05

    And I have to say to the senator from the 15th, uh, it has been a true honor to serve with you, uh, and to be able to look out on this room and seeing you pay close attention when many folks are not. Um, and you're going to be sorely missed. And so I just want to thank you for all of your years of service to this body. All right. With that, Mr. President, I yield the will.

81. 1:25:33

    I also wanna recognize the senator from the 10th. It was your birthday yesterday, wasn't it, Senator? Emanuel Jones, it was your birthday yesterday, right? Happy birthday, Senator. Happy birthday. All right, senator from the 21st.

82. 1:26:11

    Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, as we stand here on the final day of the 2026 legislative session, I rise with a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude. Serving alongside each of you has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Day in and day out, we have come to this chamber representing different communities, different perspectives, and different ideas, but united by one shared purpose, to serve the people of Georgia.

83. 1:26:47

    This body's worked tirelessly. We've debated, we have disagreed at times, and we have pushed one another to be better. But through it all, we have remained committed to doing what's right for our constituents. That is what makes this institution strong and everlasting. To every senator in this chamber, thank you. Thank you for your dedication, your professionalism, and your willingness to serve. The long hours, the difficult decisions, and the sacrifices made away from your families do not go unnoticed.

84. 1:27:23

    Your districts are better because of your service, and our state is stronger because of your leadership. As we close out this session, let us remember why we're here. We're not here for the headlines. We're not here for recognition. We're here for the people back home, the families, the small business owners, the teachers, the first responders, all of those who trust us to be their voice under this Gold Dome. For those of you pursuing higher office, I want to wish you the very best.

85. 1:27:57

    I know firsthand the commitment it takes to step forward and to lead, and I have no doubt that each of you will continue to serve with distinction and honor in whatever path God may choose. I also want to take a moment to recognize our Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones. It's been an honor to serve under your leadership this session. Your steady hand and commitment to this chamber have helped guide us through important work for the people of Georgia. And Mr. President, I will say this, looking ahead, I'm excited for the future of our state.

86. 1:28:29

    I look forward to witnessing your swearing in next year as the next governor of the great state of Georgia. Colleagues, public service is not always easy, but it is always meaningful. And while this session may come to a close today, our responsibility to those we serve continues tomorrow. Thank you for the opportunity to serve alongside each of you. Thank you for your friendship, your partnership, your commitment to Georgia. May we leave here today proud of the work we've done and even more committed to the work that still lies ahead.

87. 1:29:06

    Thank you, and may God continue to bless each of you, your families, and the great state of Georgia. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

88. 1:29:23

    Thank you, Senator from the twenty-first. Recognize Senator from the fifth.

89. 1:29:40

    Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to take a moment 'cause I know being here for a few years now for me and every other session, you know, that we lose some friends and our s- um, Senate family member. I know this year a lot of you are leaving, running for higher office. I just want to say good luck. Good luck on your election. I know one of you all either i- sitting here in this room or not here, you're going to be coming, taking over, uh, Mr. President, uh, right here.

90. 1:30:11

    And I just want to say enjoy it. It's a blessing to serve with you all. And I know sometimes do- we don't agree with everything that w- we, you know, uh, we present here, but most of the time I want people of Georgia to know that we vote 80, 90% of the time together. We just need to move the state forward. We need to stay, stay positive and that's what I want to say. Thank you. It's a blessing to serve with you all because individually I might not see you all in this room together and I say good luck. Thank you, Mr. President, I yield the floor.

91. 1:31:02

    Recognize Senator from the thirty-fifth.

92. 1:31:23

    All right. Good morning. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, stand today, uh, again with a full heart. I wanted to say just it's obvious and clear to me that, uh, we are all made in the image of God and each person in this building, uh, just gives a little reflection of who God is, and it's been a pleasure to just observe it from my point of view. I want to acknowledge a few folks who, uh, we won't see in the same capacity in the future.

93. 1:31:56

    So Senator from the seventh who's not here, I just appreciate your strong zeal, uh, for the overlooked and the underestimated. Senator from the tenth, I appreciate your resourcefulness, measured and thoughtful approach to problem solving. Senator from the twelfth, I appreciate your sense of dignity, practicality, and aversion to foolishness.

94. 1:32:31

    Senator from the fourteenth, you are persuasive, artful, skilled, logical, and downright hilarious. That is a wonderful combination. Senator from the fifteenth

95. 1:32:50

    You are steady and reasonable and you have served as encourager in chief and with a profound sense of the gift of today. Senator from the 19th, you are methodical, strategic, hardworking in a way that invites others to understand the compassion underneath it all.

96. 1:33:22

    Senator from the 27th, you are tenacious, diligent with a tremendous heart for his family and for Georgia. Senator from the 42nd, just a command of a range of topics, consistent and kind. Senator from the 44th, I appreciate how much you sacrificed in your years here fighting for the people without, for who don't have and who are without. Senator from the 46th, you're a meticulous statesman, storyteller, and with a confidence continuously shaped by and rooted in God.

97. 1:34:03

    Senator from the 51st, the dedication to a cause bigger than yourself is clear. And to our lieutenant governor who understands the power of a team, recognizing the unique skills and abilities of the people around him, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you. I yield the will.

98. 1:35:23

    Recognize senator from the 43rd.

99. 1:35:45

    Thank you, Mr. President. Um, good morning colleagues. I'm gonna read my notes so that I can stay focused. Um, but I wanna say thank you for your prayers and condolences for those who have offered them at the passing of my father, my hero, my champion, my dad. We had just celebrated my parents' 70th wedding anniversary

100. 1:36:04

     and, um, he had a ball. He passed away at 93 years old, but he was still driving within a 30-mile radius. He was still cutting the lawn, caring for our lawn as he owned his own landscaping lawn care company. And if there ever was a girl dads club, I would be president. I admire the senator from the 50th, the senator from the 35th, the LG and all girl dads.

101. 1:36:37

     Don't let them down.

102. 1:36:42

     Thanks again for your prayers and condolences. To my dad, Samuel C. Peterson, you were my dad, but to the world, to the world you were my dad, but to me, you were my world. Thank you. I yield the will.

103. 1:36:59

     Thank you, Senator. So sorry for your loss, Senator.

104. 1:37:06

     Recognize the senator from the 13th.

105. 1:37:24

     Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I'd ask for a special, uh, exemption here to mention a name of a senator. Uh, I know we're supposed to call them by numbers, but I don't like calling anybody by numbers. I like to call them by name. I'm gonna tell you something, folks. This is not a Democrat thing. This is not a Republican thing. This is a people thing and a person thing. We are going to miss Freddie Powell Sims.

106. 1:37:51

     We are going to miss Freddie Powell Sims.

107. 1:37:56

     As you well know, Freddie's district and my district, we touch each other down there and I want you all up here in the Atlanta area to realize or even try to visualize what it's like to have 12 or 13 counties in your district. The vastness of that is just, uh, is quite hard to believe that she has to cover her commu- her counties, and Freddie did it with such grace and she handled it so well, 'cause I dealt with some of her county commissioners, her school boards and her people 'cause I would always try to pitch in if she needed something done and they respected her and she respected them and she made it happen for her area.

108. 1:38:35

     And in South Georgia, guys, we have to work, I, I, I don't want to say we work harder than you all. We have, just have to work more because our districts are so big as we were talking and it's just so vast to get around our districts. I, my, my district's nine counties. You can drive 70 miles an hour, it'd take you over two hours to cross my district

109. 1:38:56

     Without traffic. Give you an idea how big it is. Our counties are, our, our land mass is so big. And Freddie Powell Sims has always been the perfect lady and the perfect senator for that area. She m- she made sure those areas got one. When she announced her resignation the other day, I got texts across the board from legislation that she had on the table, you know, concerning how, you know, would, would Freddie be able to handle it? Would Freddie be able to do it? And I gotta give, I gotta point out to our SloGo chairman, he took it back over and, and made it happen for these folks.

110. 1:39:27

     But replacing Freddie Powell Sims, whoever takes that seat right there, the 12th District, they will have as, as, uh, we always say, some mighty big shoes to fill, folks. Some mighty big shoes to fill. And I wish Freddie the greatest happiness that she can possibly obtain on her next adventure in life. I'm so sorry the loss of her husband, you know, but I'm, I- I will tell you this right here. If anybody can, can be positive and anybody can stand up and make the best out of a bad situation, it's Freddie Powell Sims.

111. 1:39:59

     And I want you all to know that this Senate body will miss Freddie Powell Sims, and I will miss my f- dear friend, Freddie Powell Sims. Thank you, Mr. President.

112. 1:40:10

     No, no question.

113. 1:40:16

     Freddie is a, she's a good, good woman and, uh, she's served this body well. She's a dear, dear friend of mine and I've got to serve with her for many years and had plenty of good laughs with her and the Ed Harbison there in that ante room when most people were out here hustling and bustling. We'd be, we'd be over there talking and laughing and cutting up because they were, they're good old souls and they just good Southern, Southern folks that had a lot of good stories.

114. 1:40:48

     And, and Freddie's a dear friend, and she's respected, as you said, by everybody there in Southwest Georgia. And, uh, it did- 'cause, uh, 'cause she represented everybody in Southwest Georgia. She didn't care about a pol- party affiliation or anything. She, she worried about what she needed to do as an elected official to take care of her folks, and it didn't matter what county they were from either. You're right. So she is a, she's a dear, dear lady, dear, dear friend, and, um, we wish her nothing but the best.

115. 1:41:19

     So, and we are sorry for loss of Norman. Recognize, recognize the senator from the 24th.

116. 1:42:18

     I wanted to, uh, take an opportunity to, Walter Rabon is a, a dear friend and, uh, and a neighbor of mine, and he heads up our, uh, Department of Natural Resources. And he was just recently acknowledged for his good works, and the senator from the 24th had a resolution, uh, made for him. And, and we wanted to recognize him because of all the men and women who, uh, serve in, in our DNR, Department of Natural Resources, that look after our, our, all of our wonderful, um, state properties and also our state parks and everything.

117. 1:42:55

     We wanted to acknowledge, uh, their good work as, as well as their leader, and I recognize the senator from the 24th to, um, to present our special guest here.

118. 1:43:11

     Thank you, Mr. President. It gives me great honor to bring you today our DNR Commissioner, Walter Rabon. A couple of months ago, our commissioner for the great state of Georgia was recognized for, uh, the Dallas Safari Club, an award. This is an award that's worldwide. People are honored once a year for this occasion, and they from everywhere in the world.

119. 1:43:45

     This is the first time ever that someone from the state of Georgia has won this an award. This an award is the one that makes sure that our wildlife, our outside, being outside and hunting and fishing, and also reserving places for people to be able to hunt and fish, and also taking care of our young people as they come up in life to enjoy outside.

120. 1:44:17

     Also, it, it promotes, and this has promoted, our commissioner has promoted our parks ever since COVID. Our parks have just been a awesome place for tourism for the great people of the great state of Georgia. This man has devoted his whole life to DNR, and it's my great honor to present this resolution to him today for the great award he has won worldwide.

121. 1:44:47

     And before I let him come up and present it, um, speak to you, at the same time, I wanna always say to all y'all senators, this is how you do a resolution.

122. 1:45:09

     Thank you. That is truly an honor to be recognized on this chamber floor this morning. I'll say that I am truly the, the turtle on the post, and everybody gets that. Or to, to quote a great American, "I can't do everything."

123. 1:45:26

     And I, I truly can't do anything within DNR without my family back at home. But if you'll look at these men and women along the wall, they're a small representation of the men, 2,700 men and women within the Department of Natural Resources that serve our citizens every day. So I'd just like to thank this chamber.

124. 1:46:02

     Thank you. They truly deserve that. But thank you to this chamber, thank you Chairman Anderson, and thank you Lieutenant Governor for this honor. It's a pleasure, pleasure. All right. Good job. Good job.

125. 1:47:41

     Appreciate the work. Recognize the senator from the 55th.

126. 1:48:18

     My colleagues, I, I rise today to note something that happened on yesterday. Yesterday, the Supreme Court of our land is hearing a, the birthright citizenship case, and I rise because something unprecedented happened. That unprecedented thing happened was the highest office in our land never before has attended a Supreme Court hearing.

127. 1:48:56

     I rise today because partisanship is dividing our country. I rise today because I've seen how when we get to know one another in this august body, we learn to work with one another. But I rise today because when we can attack judges, specifically two of the justices that our president a- appointed, when they ruled against him on the tariff case, called them fools, called them an embarrassment.

128. 1:49:34

     We have to be aware that our democracy is under attack. There are certain decorum that we must respect. I respect the office of the president. I respect the office of the governor. I respect cer- the office of the Senate, and I will not disparage the office. I respect the office, even though I disagree with those that may hold certain opinions, but we must keep a certain decorum. Why do I say that? Because as of July 2025, a Gallup poll found that only 39% of, uh, of Americans approved of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job, the lowest rating in a quarter of a century.

129. 1:50:22

     Pew's favorability measure from August put positive views at 48%, nearly a three-decade low,

130. 1:50:33

     and the striking feature of the current Supreme Court opinion is the sheer size of the partisan divide. Democrats' trust in the court sits, in the court sits, it sits at just 24%, and the job approval is only 15%, contributing to a record 47 percentage point party gap in trust and nearly record 57-point gap in jo- job approval, approval.

131. 1:51:04

     Republicans' approval stands at 72%. It should not be that Lady Justice is partisan. Lady Justice must remain blind. We must not revisit Dred Scott. We must not revisit the time when a Black man was not considered a ci- considered a citizen of this great nation, and we must deal with democracy in a respectable manner.

132. 1:51:35

     I yield the will.

133. 1:51:39

     Re- recognize the, recognize the senator from the 34th.

134. 1:52:10

     Good morning, Mr. President. Today, we recognize a woman who represents excellence, resilience, true community leader, Tameka "Tiny" Harris, a Grammy Award winner, yes, but her impact goes far beyond music. She uses her voice not just to entertain, but to uplift, advocate, and invest back into the community she helps shape. In the world where influence can be vital, she has shown up and means the turnout, uh, into service.

135. 1:52:44

     Whether through mentorship-

136. 1:52:46

     or simply showing the people she continues to be the light and a force of positive change. She reminds us that greatness is not just measured by awards, but how lives touch along the way. So today, we celebrate not only her achievements, but her heart, her commitment, and her unwaverly dedication to the community. Thank you.

137. 1:55:42

     Recognize the senator from the 17th.

138. 1:55:49

     Senator from the 26th, my longtime seatmate.

139. 1:56:19

     Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate,

140. 1:56:27

     you know, wisdom

141. 1:56:31

     carries a lot of things with it.

142. 1:56:36

     I want to tell the chairman of appropriations,

143. 1:56:41

     stick with it. Stand behind your gun.

144. 1:56:46

     But ladies and gentlemen, we are sitting here to do a budget. That's one thing that we are supposed to do.

145. 1:56:56

     We keep talking about being close.

146. 1:57:01

     You can't be close on the last day and $100 million apart.

147. 1:57:09

     Now, the only way that that can be resolved is that the governor would have to raise the revenue estimate. I don't think that's going to happen. So the last day, we ought not to be going to the twilight hours trying to pass an appropriations bill,

148. 1:57:33

     or if you don't pass it, you go into special session. And many of you, many of you like me got opposition, we got to run. So I don't think a special session is good for any of us.

149. 1:57:53

     But what the holdup is, is 100 million. Projects that the House wants to put in the budget.

150. 1:58:05

     The money ain't that.

151. 1:58:10

     The revenue estimate has been done by the economists that the governor listened to.

152. 1:58:22

     Now, all that surplus money that we've got, you got to realize that it came in because of the revenue estimate, and we were way over the revenue estimate in order to give us that surplus.

153. 1:58:40

     I'm not in leadership,

154. 1:58:44

     but my suggestion would be,

155. 1:58:50

     in order to get that appropriations bill done,

156. 1:58:56

     is that we have to lock down. We don't pass any House bills until we get a budget.

157. 1:59:09

     The problem is, on the other side, and I can talk about it because I used to be on the other side, and I used to deal with the budget on the other side. And I'm telling you right now, that while we sit here and debate what's going to happen to this state and the bills that we pass, the budget is the main bill.

158. 1:59:40

     Now, I don't know how many are listening, whether or not House members are listening, but we don't have $100 million to give up.

159. 1:59:52

     We don't have it. And the only way you can get it is that the governor has to raise the revenue estimate. And so what I said to you of those in charge, do your due diligence. Stand tall,

160. 2:00:16

     realize what's happening,

161. 2:00:21

     and make the House give us a budget. Before we start taking up any more House bills, we ought to have a budget so that we don't end up at the last minute trying to cut a deal that we're all going to regret if it ain't right. With that, Mr. President, I yield away.

162. 2:01:00

     Senator from the 19th, for what purpose do you rise? Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President. State, state inquiry. Mr. President, is it not true that they should give us Lucas or give us death?

163. 2:01:15

     I can tell you Lucas knows more about that budget than-- He knows more about that budget than, and longer, he's known longer about it than most of us been around, I can tell you that.

164. 2:01:28

     The gentleman knows of what he speaks. All right, recognize Dean of the Senate. Recognize the Dean. President, thank you very much.

165. 2:02:09

     I just wanted to take this opportunity to mark the birthday of one of our most distinguished members. If I can have the senator from the 10th join me up on stage while we celebrate him and the fact that he is a young man. I think he's, uh, 67 today or yesterday. So we're gonna read his resolution and celebrate him and offer him some more surprises, hopefully.

166. 2:02:41

     Come on up. Oh. I'll start the reading the resolution now and I'll try to read as most as I can as long as my voice la- lasts. Thank you. Whereas Senator Emanuel Jones, a dedicated public servant and respected business leader, has faithfully represented the citizens of the 10th Senate District since his election in 2024, serving the communities of Southwest DeKalb and Henry County with integrity, vision, and unwavering commitment.

167. 2:03:17

     Whereas throughout his tenure in the Georgia State Senate, he has provided exemplary leadership as Secretary of the Senate Committees on Economic Development, Tourism, and Interstate Cooperation, and he has further contributed his expertise as a member of the Committees on Appropriations, Banking and Financial Institutions, Natural Resources and the Environment, and Urban Affairs. Whereas his professional journey is marked by excellence and discipline, having earned a Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Columbia University, and having honorably served his country as a commissioned officer in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, attaining the rank of captain.

168. 2:04:12

     Whereas a, prior to his success in the automotive industry, he has held professional positions with IBM and Arthur Andersen & Company, demonstrating a strong foundation in business and leadership. Whereas Senator Jones has been a recipient of numerous honors and recognitions, including being named one of Atlanta Tribune's Magazine's Men of Distinction, receiving the Global Peace Festival Award in Malaysia, the Black Enterprise Top 50 Minority-Owned Companies Award, and the United States Department of Commerce Amor- Minority Service Firm of the Year Award, and the Atlanta Business League's 50th Most Influential Award, and being nominated for the John F.

169. 2:05:03

     Kennedy Profile in Courage Award by Andrew Young. Whereas his commitment to community service is equally noteworthy, having served in the leadership roles of the Henry Medical Center, the Henry County YMCA, the United Way campaign, the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, and numerous educational and civic organizations, as well as maintaining active involvement with institutions such as Georgia State University and the University of Pennsylvania.

170. 2:05:36

     Whereas a man of strong character and purpose, Senator Jones is also a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, reflecting his lifelong dedication to service, leadership, and community uplift. And whereas the State of Georgia is indeed fortunate to have benefited from his tireless service, visionary leadership, and steadfast dedication of such outstanding individual. Now therefore be resolved by the Senate that the members of this body recognize and commend Senator Emanuel Jones for his many years of faithful and distinguished service to the State of Georgia and extend to him the deepest appreciation for his leadership, integrity, and enduring contribution to the citizens of this great state.

171. 2:06:24

     Be it further resolved that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to Senator Emanuel Jones. Signed, President of the Senate, Larry Walker, President Pro Tem, Secretary of the Senate, Senator Ed Harbison V. Now I present to you Senator Emanuel Jones. All right. Good job. It is always an honor, uh, when the Dean presents anything to you with his wealth of knowledge and wisdom and his great body.

172. 2:07:00

     Uh, and to our Lieutenant Governor, thank you for this honor. And to members of this body, I've enjoyed serving with you these past 22 years. Thank you. God bless you. My family is accompanying me. My wife is here and the mother of my three kids as well. And, um, none of this would've been possible without them. Um, Sam, let me just say thank you for your loyalty and, um-

173. 2:07:24

     your s- steadfast support through the years. I really appreciate this honor, and, um, I told everybody I would not get emotional today, and I have no intention of doing that. So I'm gonna keep it on a high note and just say thank you and God bless you. All right. Good job. Good job.

174. 2:08:47

     Does any other senator wish to, risk to be recognized on a point of personal privilege?

175. 2:08:56

     All right. You have before you a consent calendar of privileged resolutions. Does any senator wish to remove a resolution from the consent calendar? Is there objection to the adoption of resolution on the consent calendar? Chair hears none. The resolution on the consent calendar is adopted.

176. 2:09:17

     Recognize the, uh, senator from the 36th.

177. 2:09:25

     Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to ask for unanimous consent, consent to su- suspend the rules, um, in order to allow for the introduction and, uh, to be read and passed of a series of privileged resolutions. Is there objection? Hearing none. Secretary, read the, read the resolution. Senate Resolution 1105 by Senator Orrock of the 36th and others, a resolution recognizing and commending Central United Methodist Church on the occasion of its 160th anniversary and for other purposes.

178. 2:09:57

     Is there objection? No objection. Secretary, continue. Senate Resolution 1106 by Senator Anderson of the 43rd and others, recognizing and commending Laura James and for other purposes.

179. 2:10:14

     Is there objection? Hearing none. Senate Resolution 1104 by Senator Jackson of the 41st, a resolution commending Chloe Weems and for other purposes. Is there objection? Hearing none. Senate Resolution 1103 by Senator Jones of the 22nd, an- a resolution recognizing and commending Improved Benevo- the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the world and for other purposes. Is there objection? Senate Resolution 1102 by Representative, by Senator Jackson of the 41st, recognizing and commending Jervis McGee and for other purposes. Is there objection?

180. 2:10:46

     Senate Resolution 1101 by Senator Halpern of the 39th, recognizing and commending the 100th anniversary of the Atlanta History Center and for other purposes. Is there objection? Senate Resolution 1100 by Senator Orrock of the 36th and others, a resolution honoring the life and legacy of former Representative Eugene Milton Buddy Childers and for other purposes. Is there objection? Senate Resolution 1099 by Senator Jackson of the 41st, commending Ayub Rahman and for other purposes. Is there objection? Senate Resolution 1099 by Senator Davenport of the 17th and others, a resolution honoring the life and memory of Helen Odessa Dixon Davenport on, on her 100th birthday and for other purposes.

181. 2:11:22

     Is there objection? Senate Resolution 1097 by Senator Dickerson of the 21st and others, recognizing and commending Robert Terry Dickerson, a distinguished and longtime resident of Cherokee County, Georgia, for his lifetime of sacrifice, service, and unwavering devotion to his family and community and for other purposes. Is there objection? Hearing none.

182. 2:11:49

     Are there any motions to withdraw and commit?

183. 2:11:53

     You have before you a consent calendar of local bills. Mr. Secretary, have any objections been filed to any of the bills on the local consent calendar? Mr. President, no objections have been filed. Is there objection to agreeing to the report of the committee on the state and local government, governmental operations, which is favorable to the passage of the bill on the local consent calendar? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Questions on the passage of the bill on the local consent calendar? All those in favor will vote yay. Opposed, nay. Secretary will unlock the machine.

184. 2:13:53

     On the pass of the bill, the yays are 49, the nays are zero. This bill on the local consent calendar, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed.

185. 2:14:10

     Recognize, or Secretary, recognize, uh, senator from the 51st.

186. 2:14:18

     Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Senate remove House Bill 1277 from the table. Secretary, read the caption. House Bill 1277 by Representative Barton of the fifth and others, a bill to be entitled an Act to Amend Article one of Chapter 16 of Title 12 and Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to environmental policy in highways, bridges, and ferries respectively, so as to increase the project cost threshold for public roads or airports requiring environmental evaluations to provide for conforming changes, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes.

187. 2:15:03

     Is there objection? Hearing none, recognize senator from the 51st. Finish the caption, Secretary. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Transportation recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Dolezal of the 27th District. Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Transportation offers the following substitute to House Bill 1277, a bill to be entitled an Act to Amend Article one of Chapter 16 of Title 12 and Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to environmental policy in highways, bridges, and ferries respectively, so as to increase the project cost threshold for public roads or airports requiring environmental evaluations, to authorize annual adjustments, and for other purposes.

188. 2:15:36

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

189. 2:15:53

     Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, I bring to you House Bill 1277. This is the annual housekeeping bill for the Department of Transportation. There's roughly 12 sections in the bill. Most of it is wordsmithing, changes to the reporting requirements for the annual reports. There is an adjustment on the section one that will, uh, increase the dollar threshold of projects that require a preliminary environmental impact study. Uh, it goes from 100 million up to 200 million. That's basically an inflation index change.

190. 2:16:26

     We passed that some 10 years ago back in 2015, so we're adjusting that threshold from 100 million to 200 million. Um, section ...

191. 2:16:40

     Let me go through the bor- the bill section by section. We've got a section in there dealing with surplus properties that would increase the value of a surplus property that could be sold by online auction or by the department's jur- jurisdiction and their, their discretion, so it doesn't bog down into bureaucracy and cost too much money to get rid of some of these small remnants. You'll find in the DOT there's a lot of small remnants of property along roads that have been adjusted and widened over the years. Some of those small parcels have no value whatsoever, so this is just a cleaner way to get rid of those properties, get them back on the tax rolls of the local authorities.

192. 2:17:16

     Mr. President, I'm happy to take any questions, but I think most of this is self-explanatory. We do this on a yearly basis. Senator, you have no questions. Thank you so much. Masterful job, Senator.

193. 2:17:33

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. The previous question is ordered. Questions on the adoption of the committee substitute. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute? Hearing none, the committee substitute is adopted. Is there objection to agreeing to the reporting committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. Reporting committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. The question is on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of, of the bill will vote yay.

194. 2:18:05

     Opposed, nay. Secretary will mark the machine.

195. 2:19:54

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are 51, the nays are one. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute. Recognize the senator from the 20th, the pro tem. Thank you, Mr. President. I ask that House Bill 1344 be removed from the table. Uh, Secretary, read the caption. House Bill 1344 by Representatives Reeves of the 99th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend titles 33 and 40 of the OCGA relating to insurance and motor vehicles and traffic respectively so as to strengthen the enforcement authority of the Commissioner of Insurance and to clarify regulations on insurance, insurance fraud, uninsured motorists, excluded drivers, premium tax, insurance rates, claims processing, and uninsured or unregistered motor vehicles to provide for related matters, to provide for short titles, to provide for legislative purposes and for other purposes.

196. 2:20:44

     Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Insurance and Labor recommends that this bill do pass by substitute respectfully submitted Senator Harbin of the 16th district, Chairman.

197. 2:20:53

     Is there objection? Senator from the 42nd, for what purpose do you rise? Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to excuse the senator from the 18th. Apparently he was summoned to the second floor. That senator from the 18th, he sure does miss a lot to get h- to have gotten here halfway through the session, you know? Y'all need to help him. All right. Secretary, finish the caption.

198. 2:21:23

     Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Insurance and Labor offers the following substitute to House Bill 1344, a bill to be entitled an act to amend titles nine, 15, 23, 33, and 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to civil practice, courts, equity, insurance, and motor vehicles and traffic respectively so as to establish certain protections for individuals, titles, and properties, provide for risk mitigation against loss, and strengthen the enforcement authority of the Commissioner of Insurance to provide for the submission of information on suspected inv- insurance fraud, to provide for certain entities to pay into the Special Insurance Fraud Fund, to authorize the commissioner to use such funds to employ prosecuting attorneys for the prosecution of insurance fraud, to prohibit the solicitation, release, or sale of auto-mo- automobile accident information, to provide for the recruitment of insurers to this state, to provide for violation and punishment, to provide for the retention of insurers in this state, to provide for timely claims processing after a ca- catastrophic event, and for other purposes.

199. 2:22:10

     Recognize the senator from the 20th.

200. 2:22:17

     Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, I know that you are all very aware that this body and the body across the Capitol, uh, passed some very historic and meaningful lawsuit reform last year to try to get at the escalating cost of insurance for our businesses and citizens. Um, and that work we did is already having a big impact on the insurance market in Georgia.

201. 2:22:50

     I'm excited to tell you that we are already seeing s- a number of companies reduce their auto insurance rates. We are seeing m- many companies come back into the commercial insurance market and start competing. We're seeing rates there, uh, stabilize and, and sometimes going down. So what we did last year is working, and I'm excited about that. After we adjourned last year, the House formed a blue ribbon study committee on insurance rates.

202. 2:23:25

     It was chaired by Representative Matt Reeves, and the vice chair was their insurance committee chair, uh, Representative Lumsden, and they

203. 2:23:36

     Looked at all, had a lot of testimony, looked at all kind of issues that were driving cost of insurance in Georgia. And of course, we, we have our citizens that are just w- having seen inflation in all aspects of their, of their life, um, housing cost and fuel and childcare and everything, but insurance is a big component of that. They did a lot of good work, and House Bill 1344, it, the majority of this bill is as a result of that Blue Ribbon Study Committee.

204. 2:24:10

     They c- they have some very good measures. We agree with most of what they sent over, but we also wanted to include, um, what Chairman Lumsden sent us in House Bill 1263, and some ideas that Chairman Harbin and I had on, uh, my bill was Senate Bill 409 and Senate Bill 503. Uh, so, this is sort of an omnibus insurance bill, and I'll just go through it, uh, section by section as quickly as I can, and then answer any questions.

205. 2:24:43

     But section one, um, basically names it as the Georgia Insurance Fairness Act and outlines the purpose of the legislation. Section two has to do with an increase in fees that the insurance companies will pay, and captive insurance companies and all, it broadens that, what they will pay into the Special Insurance Fraud Fund, um, and it makes it a crime for basically attorneys to use runners or steerers to, um, b- basically be ambulance chasers, um, and puts, uh, penalties in there for that.

206. 2:25:25

     Section three authorizes the Department of Insurance to work with the Department of Economic Development to recruit insurance companies into our state. Uh, section four authorizes the commissioner to extend deadlines for filing claims after a natural disaster or catastrophic event. We saw this after, of course, Hurricane Helene. Um, section five enhances transparency on how our local governments are using the premium tax that they receive.

207. 2:25:56

     Section s- section six, uh, is the, uh, Chairman Lumsden's b- bill, 1263. It creates a three-year limit for insurance companies to request a refund f- from the Department of Insurance on fees and premium tax that they p- uh, overpaid. Um, currently there's no limit. I mean, they could wait seven, eight, 10 years to ask for that, which is not reasonable. Section seven includes, uh, my aerial imagery bill, wh- which gives some consumer protection if insurance companies are using, um, satellites or unmanned aircraft to take photographs of your homeowners, your property, and non-renew your insurance.

208. 2:26:44

     Section eight, uh, prohibits, um, or extends the sort of statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit against a property, on your property insurance if you're not satisfied with the way the insurance company has handled your claim. Currently, some of the carriers are limiting that to one year. And again, after Hurricane Helene, um, that one-year limitation is not reasonable or fair, so it can be a n- now it's gonna have to be a minimum of two years.

209. 2:27:20

     Uh, section nine is kind of a, a unique approach to try to provide some grant funding to improve housing, uh, to get them out of the Georgia underwriting plan for their homeowners. Um, section 10 increases fines for uninsured drivers. Section 11 increases penalties for violations of the Georgia Insurance Code. Um, section 12 is Chairman Harbin's Senate Bill 503 that we passed, um, which has to do with marketplace guarantees on, um, temporary r- rental, Airbnb-type, uh, rentals.

210. 2:28:03

     Um, section 13 allows you to use certified funds as, as tender, legal tender. Um, and the, we moved the effective date of this out to January 1, 2027 as an accommodation for, uh, some of the concerns from the insurance companies to be able to implement these. But overall, it's a really, really strong measure to protect our consumers, create more transparency, and, uh, root out some of the causes of increased insurance rates.

211. 2:28:40

     Mr. President, I'm happy to answer any questions if there are any.

212. 2:28:50

     You have no questions, Senator.

213. 2:28:52

     Thank you. I appreciate your favorable consideration of House Bill 1344.

214. 2:28:56

     You lulled them all to sleep with that insurance talk.

215. 2:29:06

     There's nothing that gets folks excited like talking insurance policies. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objections to the previous question be in order? Chair hears none. Senator from the 42nd, for what purpose do you rise?

216. 2:29:22

     A point of order.

217. 2:29:23

     State your order.

218. 2:29:24

     Mr. President, apparently the senator from the 18th has returned with a message from the governor.

219. 2:29:29

     Oh, okay. Well, we're all ears, Senator.

220. 2:29:41

     I would like to thank my colleagues over here for the false summons, but on with business, shall we? Oh, the governor didn't wanna meet with you and talk budgetary items?

221. 2:29:54

     I've, I'm shocked.

222. 2:30:01

     Oh, I thought you, I thought you, I thought you had negotiated a deal for us today, Senator.

223. 2:30:08

     Senator from the 19th, what purpose do you rise? Point of order, Mr. President. State your order. Is it not true that the E beside Senator McNeel's name stood for embarrassed?

224. 2:30:20

     All right. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. Previous question is ordered. Question is on the adoption of the committee substitute. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute? Hearing none, the committee substitute is adopted. Is there objection to agreeing to the report of the committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Question is on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill will vote yay. Opposed nay. Secretary will unlock the machine.

225. 2:31:53

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are 53, the nays are zero. This bill having received a requisite constitutional majority is therefore passed by substitute.

226. 2:32:07

     Recognize senator from the 32nd.

227. 2:32:12

     Mr. President, I move that House Bill 1138 be removed from the table.

228. 2:32:17

     Secretary, read the caption.

229. 2:32:19

     House Bill 1138 by Representatives Kam of the 135th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 4 of Title 26 of the OCGA relating to practice of pharmacy so as to authorize pharmacists in circumstances to dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives or administer injective- injectable hormonal contraceptives. To amend Article 1 of Chapter 24 of Title 33 of the OCGA relating to general provisions regarding insurance generally so as to provide minimum amounts of certain contraceptives that shall be provided by insurers. To amend Article 1 of Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the OCGA relating to Georgia Composite Medical Board so as to waive civil liability and for other purposes.

230. 2:32:57

     Is there objection? Hearing none, secretary finish the caption.

231. 2:33:01

     Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Health and Human Services recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Watson, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services offers the following substitute to House Bill 1138, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapters 2 and 4 of Title 26 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to standards, labeling, and adulteration of foods in pharmacies, pharmacists and pharmacies respectively so as to require corn masa flour and wet corn masa products to contain certain amounts of folic acid. To provide certain labeling requirements. To authorize rules and regulations. To provide for penalties. To provide for definitions.

232. 2:33:32

     To authorize pharmacists in certain circumstances to dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives or administer injectable hormonal contraceptives. To provide for a definition. To provide for a joint protocol agreement. To amend Article 1 of Chapter 24 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to general provisions regarding insurance so as to provide minimum amounts of certain contraceptives that shall be provided by insurers. To provide for s- compensation of pharmacists. To amend Article 7 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to medical assistance generally so as to provide for certain minimums regarding Medicaid contraceptive coverage. To provide for the compensation of pharmacists.

233. 2:34:03

     To provide for a short title. To provide for an effective date and applicability. To provide for related matters. To repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes.

234. 2:34:13

     Mr. President, Senator Watson of the 1st offers the following amendment. Amendment 1, amend the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services substitute to House Bill 1138 by replacing lines 1 through 12 with the following: To amend Titles 26, 33, and 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to food, drugs and cosmetics, insurance, and social services respectively so as to authorize pharmacists in circum- circumstances to dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives or administer injectable hormonal contraceptives and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

235. 2:34:42

     Recognize senator from the 32nd.

236. 2:34:49

     Thank you, Mr. President. House Bill 1138 is about access to women's healthcare. We have 82 counties with no OBGYN and some counties with very limited primary care. This bill does several things. First, it allows pharmacists to dispense oral contraceptives and long-acting injectable contraceptives under a protocol between the Department of Public Health and the Pharmacy Board, very similar to what was done with Narcan years ago. It requires training for the pharmacist via a certificate program and provision of written materials for the patient.

237. 2:35:23

     No pharmacist is required to participate. These drugs are FDA approved, and there is already one over-the-counter product approved so far with more to come. The pharmacist has to check for contraindications, and if there are concerns, decline to fill and make a physician referral and also provide written information. The second thing it does is it allows a three-month supply the first time and up to 12 months for renewals and requires insurance coverage. This bill is supported by the OBs due to the lack of access in our state.

238. 2:35:53

     We talk a lot about prevention and improving outcomes for women's health, and this is a way to do this without a mandate while complementing, not replacing, the physician-patient relationship. This passed the House overwhelmingly and also passed He- Health and Human Services by a large margin. This part of the bill starts on line 98 on page 5. The first part of the bill was added in committee and is unrelated. It has to do with mandating adding folate to all corn masa products. There is an amendment, and, uh, I'll let the author of the amendment speak to that.

239. 2:36:27

     Happy to answer any questions.

240. 2:36:33

     Thank you, Aiello.

241. 2:36:35

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Oh, senator, I'm sorry. Senator from the 1st, speak to your amendment.

242. 2:36:48

     I

243. 2:36:54

     apologize for, uh, that late, uh, light, Mr. President. Uh, the amendment on your desk is, uh, basically removes the corn masa from this underlying bill, i.e. a corn masa bill that's, uh, supplemental on a contraceptive bill, which has been entirely agreed upon, uh, by this, by both bodies. Uh, the FDA should be doing this. California does it now, and that's why that is being removed. Uh, and, uh, the other portion on that, uh, amendment is something that's added, uh, by the governor's, uh, office relating to the, uh, fine-tuning the being subject to criminal or civil liability.

244. 2:37:33

     So I don't wanna kill the bill. We're gonna remove the corn masa, add the adjustments there, and I'd ask you for favorable consideration. Thank you.

245. 2:37:45

     Is there objections to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. Previous question is ordered. The question is on the adoption of amendment one by the senator from the first. We have objection. All those in favor of amendment one will vote yay. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I jumped ahead. Go ahead, Senator.

246. 2:38:14

     Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to oppose this am- amendment, and I don't oppose the entire amendment. It's the section that removes 17, line 17 through 99. The underlying bill is a good bill about access to contraceptives, and I support it. But I've been told that the governor will veto House Bill 1138 if my corn masa folic acid bill is attached to it.

247. 2:38:46

     I have no idea why the governor does not support my bill because no one from the governor's office has had the courtesy to speak to me about their concerns. This bill has actually passed two committees. It's been thoroughly vetted. We had a hearing on it last year, an hour-long hearing, which honestly was one of the best hearings, um, that I've ever seen at this Capitol, full of experts who could a- answer all of the committee members' questions.

248. 2:39:21

     But I do know that the Republican caucus has the votes lined up to support the amendment to kill my bill, which was attached to House Bill 1138 through an amendment added in Health and Human Services Committee. Uh, the bill also passed the Ag Committee and Rules but was not called up on crossover day. So I rise to oppose this amendment, but I really just want you to understand exactly what you are voting down.

249. 2:39:52

     About 30 years ago, a doctor right here in Atlanta by the name of Dr. Godfrey Oakley of Emory University made an extraordinary connection between folic acid levels in women and neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in developing fetuses, which is a fancy way of saying that low levels of folic acid is associated with a spinal cord developing wrong, which happens very early in pregnancy at about four weeks before most women know that they are pregnant.

250. 2:40:31

     And almost 30 years ago, we began fortifying wheat products with folic acid, which is a B vitamin. It's hard to get enough of this folic acid through your diet. You'd literally have to eat eight cups of kale a day or two full cups of beans a day, which I know none of us would do. So with fortification, all women of reproductive age would have higher levels of folic acid, and in case they got pregnant, neural tube defects could be prevented.

251. 2:41:06

     By the time most women realize they're pregnant and start prematal- prenatal vitamins, it's actually too late. Since we began fortifying wheat with folic acid, the rate of spina bifida has decreased by 30%. This is one of the top public health triumphs of the 20th century. However, we haven't seen this drop in populations of people who don't eat much wheat.

252. 2:41:37

     The rate of spina bifida in Latino populations is over twice as high as any other population. Also, women who are gluten intolerant or who have celiac disease, they also eat corn, more corn than wheat, and they also run the risk of having low folic acid levels. That's why my bill, which you're about to cut, proposes that we fortify corn flour with folic acid.

253. 2:42:09

     Reactions to this proposal have been amazingly positive. People have said, "That makes so much sense. Why didn't we do this in the first place? And who would be against this?" The idea for the bill actually came to me from my local rotary club. Now, you might be thinking that this could be done voluntarily or it should happen at the national level. You would be right, except that nothing has happened for 10 years ever since federal regulate- regulators allowed but did not require folic acid to be ord- a- added to corn masa products despite plenty of advocacy.

254. 2:42:54

     In fact, the amount of lobbying by Frito-Lay against these bills nationwide tells me that companies will never do this voluntarily, and I have discovered that the climate in Washington right now is not conducive to getting it done there. So let me tell you a little story about the potential impact of this disability. Andrea Lopez and her husband were pregnant with their first child, a boy.

255. 2:43:26

     Midway through the pregnancy, an ultrasound showed that something was wrong. The baby's brain was malformed, a condition called anencephaly, which is a severe fatal neural tube defect where a baby is born without parts of the brain, skull, and scalp due to the neural tube failing to close during the first month of pregnancy. There is no cure, with most infants dying within hours or days of birth.

256. 2:44:02

     For 10 days, Andrea held her son, covering the malformity under a little pink and blue cap. Then little Gabriel left this world. Gabriel would've been Andrea's only son. Now, imagine today that you could pass a bill that prevents anyone from ever having to experience this again. But even better, little Gabriel, he would still be alive.

257. 2:44:37

     Why wouldn't you do that? Of course, not all infants with neural tube defects die. People with spina bifida have lifelong disabilities, are often wheelchair-bound, and require many expensive surgeries. Lifetime estimates of medical expenses are over $1 million. And you know those comp waivers that we never have enough money to fund each year?

258. 2:45:07

     Fortifying corn flour will decrease the need for comp waivers. Comp is short for comprehensive, as these waivers are the most expensive, used to cover the cost of helping people with spina bifida and other severe disabilities in, in helping them live in their communities, often costing over 50,000 per year. That's in additional to medical costs. So over a lifetime, that's approximately $2 million in comp waiver expenses per individual with spina bifida.

259. 2:45:46

     Currently, there are about 2,000 people born with spina bifida each year in the United States. So that's probably around 50 people who were born with it in Georgia. Now 50, that might sound like a small number, but if you think about 50 people rolling on to the comp waivers every year, and you think they live 35 years between 25 and the average death is 56, you're looking, if I did the math right, and it was late last night, but I calculated, um, $88 million per year.

260. 2:46:24

     That's a lot of money. And if you drop, if you drop the percentage of people who are born with spina bifida just 1% per year, I don't trust my math 'cause I was up too late last night, but that also is a lot of money. When I was working on this bill, I happened to be talking about it in the presence of a hospital CEO. At some point, she interrupted the meeting.

261. 2:46:55

     She held the bill like this, and she said, "This is a no-brainer. This needs to happen because this is uncompensated care that can be prevented." Ultimately, this bill was about healthy babies. It was about protecting life. What a missed opportunity. Consider voting your values and not opposing this amendment.

262. 2:47:30

     Governor Kemp, he's not up for re-election, but you are. Seriously, think about it. Do you really wanna be on record for increasing state expenses, being against preventing disabilities, and being against protecting life? I hope at the very least, by taking this time to speak to you today, I have helped you make an informed choice before you cast your votes.

263. 2:48:05

     Mr. President, if there are no questions, I yield the well.

264. 2:48:11

     No questions.

265. 2:48:12

     Okay. Thank you.

266. 2:48:19

     Questions on the adoption of amendment number one. Is there objection to amendment number one?

267. 2:48:27

     Objection.

268. 2:48:35

     Well, take it three times. All right. All right. So all those in favor of amendment number one will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

269. 2:49:12

     Senator from the first, what purpose do you rise? Parliamentary inquiry. State your inquiry. Isn't a green vote for this amendment making it highly likely that this underlying bill will get to the governor's desk? Isn't that true? Senator knows of what he speaks. Senator from the 36th, what purpose do you rise? Parliamentary inquiry. State your inquiry. Isn't it true that, uh, voting down this amendment would allow us to do two very important things with this bill that's critical to women's health and to children's health?

270. 2:49:42

     Senator's passionate about what she speaks.

271. 2:49:51

     On the adoption of amendment number one, the yeas are 29, the nays are 22, and the amendment has passed.

272. 2:50:02

     The question is on the adoption of the committee substitute as amended. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute as amended? Hearing none, the committee substitute as amended is adopted. Is there objection to agreeing to the poor committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The poor committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Question is on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill, vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, allot the machine.

273. 2:51:32

     On the passage of the bill, the yeas are 49, the nays are one. This bill having received requisite constitutional majority is therefore passed by substitute. We're gonna do one more before we break for lunch, and then I recognize the senator from the 29th.

274. 2:51:50

     Mr. President, I ask for unanimous consent to lift House Bill 1409 from the table. Secretary, read the caption. House Bill 1409 by Representative Camp of the 135th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to provisions relative to parent and child relationship generally so as to revise mandated reporting of child abuse, to provide for definitions, to provide for reporting requirements, to provide for the use of a secure web-based reporting platform, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes.

275. 2:52:25

     Is there objection? Hearing none. Secretary, finish. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Public Safety recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Albers, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Public Safety offers the following substitute to House Bill 1409, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to provisions relative to parent and child relationship generally so as to revise mandated reporting of child abuse, to provide for definitions, to provide for reporting requirements, to provide for the use of a secure web-based reporting platform, to provide for related matters, to provide for an effective date, to pe- re- repeal conflicting laws for other purposes.

276. 2:52:59

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

277. 2:53:16

     Senator from the 6th, what purpose do you rise? Mr. President, I'd like to ask for unanimous consent to excuse the thir- the senator from the 30th for business inside the Capitol. Without objection, senator from the 30th is excused. We've got two late arriving amendments. Secretary, read those amendments, please.

278. 2:53:37

     Mr. President, Senator Tillery offers the following amendment. Amendment one to amend House Bill 1409 by inserting a- after laws in line five to amend Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to the General Assembly so as to make portions of certain records of the General Assembly subject to public disclosure, to provide jurisdiction for enforcement, to provide for attorney's fee and litigation expenses, to provide for good faith reliance as the, the f- defense to action, to provide penalties for violations, to provide procedure for commencement and prosecution, to provide for application, to provide for the construction.

279. 2:54:08

     Then to insert before line 389 and to

280. 2:54:16

     renumber the affected area Section 3 tw- Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to the General Assembly is amended by adding a new code section to read as follows and for other purposes. Mr. President, Senator Tillery of the 19th District offers the following amendment. Amendment two to amend House Bill 1409 by striking this act on line 388 by, and replacing it with Section 1.

281. 2:54:38

     Mr. President, Senator Tillery of the 19th offers Amendment 1A to amend Amendment 1 to House Bill 1409 by adding at the end of Amendment 1E, this act shall become effective upon the signature of the governor except as for Section 1. Mr. President, that completes the order. All right. Recognize the senator from the 29th. Then I'll recognize the senator from the 19th for his 15th amendment on the same subject matter.

282. 2:55:07

     Colleagues, I'm happy to speak to, uh, Senate, excuse me, House Bill 1409. It's, uh, something that's, uh, very important to me and others here in the chamber. I wanna run down something really quick. Um, throughout my career in law enforcement, I had, uh, sadly, uh, many opportunities to have to report some type of child abuse, child mistreatment to the Department of Family and Children's Services.

283. 2:55:37

     And many times, we would have to be on the scene for many hours waiting for somebody from that department to show up because they were understaffed, underfunded, and many times ignored. But eventually somebody would show up, we would explain to them what we were doing, and we would file whatever report on what we've observed.

284. 2:56:02

     And I want to give you, if you look on line 148, it starts talking about who is required to report. Physicians, hospital and medical personnel, dentists, licensed psychologists, podiatrists, professional nurses, professional counselors, school teachers, school administrators, school counselors, child welfare personnel, child counseling personnel, child service organiz- organization personnel.

285. 2:56:39

     And what we've added to it, firefighters, animal control officers, reproductive healthcare facilities, any of them that see child abuse. And right now, the way of reporting this is not streamlined and somewhat archaic. There's one way that's still in this bill that you can report it currently today is by sending them a fax.

286. 2:57:12

     Yes, a facsimile, a fax machine. In 2026, this seems very dated to me. So what we've done, and you'll see it on line 240, the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services shall make its website and a model form for reports available for any person to complete and securely submit a report to the division.

287. 2:57:45

     All this legislation does is mandate that the department create an electronic way via the internet that someone can report child abuse, especially all of those listed in Section C, so that we can track the initial report of the child abuse all the way through the process because I hate to tell you today, and we've all read it in the newspaper, there are times when these reports fall through the cracks and children are left out there, they continue to be victimized, and in some cases they perish.

288. 2:58:28

     All we're trying to do here, all myself and Representative Camp are attempting to do here, is protect these children. Um, there is an appropriations affiliated with this legislation and I want to thank the senator from the 19th for protecting that appropriation through the process. And with that said, I'll stand for any questions.

289. 2:58:59

     Uh, you have no questions, Senator. Thank you, Mr. President. I ask that you please, uh, give us a green vote on this, and I yield the well. All right. Senator from the 19th. They just need to pass your, the other versions you've already sent over there, Senator.

290. 2:59:18

     Over in the House. Did they already do it? They said they just need to. They need to, yeah. Uh, thank you, Mr. President. The amendments that I've offered here, and I appreciate the senator from the 29th and also Representative Camp who's carrying this bill for letting us do this. You may have heard us talk about the Epstein amendment. As you know, the US Congress had an opportunity to open itself up and provide sunshine and disclosure for claims that they may have had against members related to sexual harassment and other things in the light of the issues you've heard about Jeffrey Epstein.

291. 2:59:49

     The US Congress voted to not do that. I think our body is better and I think our body is different. As you know, the senator from the 29th has tagged on an amendment, uh, relating to opening up ourselves and revealing sexual harassment claims that may have been settled with state taxpayer dollars for this, this body and for the chamber across the hall. He's done that on several bills. I think the senator from the 31st or the 30th has offered that as well. Several senators have. We were able to reach a tentative agreement with the House on language they felt comfortable with.

292. 3:00:22

     They would be okay with the Epstein amendment if we would move it out of Title 50 and put it in Title 28 instead. The language that the House felt comfortable with still opens up the legislature to open records concerning sexual harassment settlements of members. It does put a finite date going back. The original Epstein amendment that you've seen from these chamber, this chamber had no date going backwards. You could open y- we would reveal any claim that had ever been made against a member. Um, the House felt that was somewhat impractical and needed a stop-dead date.

293. 3:00:54

     They did put a stop-dead date of January 1st, 2019, essentially opening our, ourselves back up, uh, almost a decade. And they, uh, we also inc- insisted on including a provision that those records, if asked for, were, would be disclosed within three days and if someone wanted to appeal that, they would need to appeal it to superior court. That is what Amendment 1 does. In order to keep the integrity of the senator from the 29th's bill, his bill becomes effective upon February 1st, 2027.

294. 3:01:28

     The Amendment 1A allows his bill to still, or 1, I guess, uh, 1A allows his bill to still become effective upon February 1st, 2027, but makes the Epstein language be effective immediately upon the signature of the governor. I know we have an agreement with the House that they're gonna send this over, but we hadn't seen it yet, so we're not waiting on that. We're gonna send it over to them first. Happy to take any questions. You have no questions, Senator. Thank you, Mr. President. I urge your favorable consideration of Amendment 1, Amendment 1A, and Amendment 2 that just keeps everything straight so that the senator from the 29th's underlying bill does not change while accepting the Epstein amendment.

295. 3:02:12

     We're just waiting for everyone to get the amendment on their desks.

296. 3:03:30

     Does any of the senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objections to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. The previous question is ordered. Question is on adoption of amendment number one, authored by the senator from the 19th. Is there objection?

297. 3:03:54

     I apologize. Question's on the amendment 1A first. Amendment 1A, is there objection? Hearing none, amendment 1A is adopted. Now the question is on adoption of amendment number one. Is there objection? Hearing none, amendment one is adopted. Now on amendment two, authored by the senator from the 19th. Is there objection to amendment number two? Hearing none, it is adopted.

298. 3:04:28

     Question is on the adoption of the committee substitute as amended. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute as amended? Hearing none, the committee substitute as amended is adopted. Is there objection to agreeing to the report of the committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. The question is on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill vote yay. Opposed, nay. Secretary, allot the machine.

299. 3:05:57

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are 52, the nays are zero, and this bill having received the requisite constitutional majority is therefore passed by substitute.

300. 3:06:19

     Okay, we're gonna break for lunch. The Pro Tem has lunch available for everyone in the Annie room here. And, um,

301. 3:06:28

     I don't know, let's see. It's almost 1:00 now. We'll try to come back in around closer to,

302. 3:06:39

     closer to... In, in, in South Georgia terms, that means, you know-

303. 3:06:45

     2:00

304. 3:06:45

     ... yeah, quarter to, quarter after, something like that. Yeah.

305. 4:27:45

     The Senate will come back to order.

306. 4:27:51

     Secretary read House Bill 334.

307. 4:28:21

     Hey, uh, Senator, you need to take it off the table. Uh-

308. 4:28:30

     Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to remove House Bill 334 from the table.

309. 4:28:38

     Secretary read House Bill 334.

310. 4:28:41

     House Bill 334 by Representatives Crawford of the 89th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 7 of Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to medical assistance generally so as to require the Department of Community Health to conduct an annual review of medications and treatments for sickle cell disease for Medicaid recipients, to provide for public input, to provide for an annual report, to provide for related matters, to provide for a short title, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes.

311. 4:29:06

     Is there objection? Hearing none, Secretary continue.

312. 4:29:11

     Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Health and Human Services recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Watson, the first district chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services offers the following substitute to House Bill 334, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter 1A of Title 20 and Chapter 4 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to early care and learning and public assistance respectively, so as to address childhood viruses and diseases by providing information and collecting data to provide for children, uh, childcare learning centers and family childcare learning homes, to provide certain information on a respiratory syncytial virus to parents, to require the Department of Community Health to conduct an annual review of medications and treatments for sickle cell disease for Medicaid recipients, and for other purposes.

313. 4:29:49

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

314. 4:29:51

     Recognize the dean of the Senate. Speak to the bill.

315. 4:29:58

     Thank you very much, Mr. President. It give, gives me a great deal of pleasure to present this Bill 334, as sickle cell anemia has been one of my major concerns, uh, while I was serving in the Georgia State Senate. I'd like to also thank, uh, the efforts of the Sickle Cell Foundation, Ms. Lois Williams of Columbus, Georgia, who's always out trying to do some service for our sickle cell folks. House Bill 334 addresses two serious public health concern, R- RSV and sickle cell disease.

316. 4:30:36

     RSV, you know, is a highly contagious virus that can cause severe respiratory illness, especially in infants and young children and older adults In its most severe form, RSV can lead to hospitalization, long-term complication, and even death. Likewise, sickle cell disease is a life-threatening inherited blood disorder that affects thousands of Georgians. It can cause severe pain, organ damage, increased risk of infection, and significantly reduced life expectancy.

317. 4:31:13

     Both the conditions present significant and, at times, health challenges for individuals and families across our state. HB 34 represents a meaningful step towards improving outcomes, increasing awareness, and ensuring that Georgia continue to prioritize effective treatment and prevention strategies. Incidentally, the sickle cell research chair is named for our former colleague in the Georgia's, in the Georgia c- ah, delegation, Representative Smyer, Calvin Smyer, who was with us early.

318. 4:31:48

     Although HB 334 requires the Department of Community Health to conduct an annual review of medication and treatments available to id- ind- individuals living with sickle cell anemia, while the department already reviews medications and treatment of various diseases, this bill creates a dedicated review panel focused especially on sickle cell, ensuring this community receive the attention it deserves, especially that it can be accomplished at no additional cost to the department, which supports this legislation.

319. 4:32:23

     Passing this bill will help ensure that those impacted by RSV and sickle cell anemia receive the attention and care they deserve. I certainly hope you, uh, support this bill and give a green light. Otherwise, Mr. President, I yield the will if there are no questions.

320. 4:32:45

     You do have one question, Senator. Recognize the senator from the 29th.

321. 4:32:49

     Does Senator yield?

322. 4:32:50

     Yes, sir.

323. 4:32:51

     Senator, can I ask you, how many bills will you be presenting from the white sheet today?

324. 4:32:56

     Uh, this is a special s- uh, sheet deserved for the Dean of the Senate.

325. 4:33:03

     So would the answer be, if I could help the Dean of the Senate, one?

326. 4:33:07

     Yes.

327. 4:33:09

     So would it be true that this is the last piece of legislation you will present in this chamber?

328. 4:33:13

     Yes, sir, pro- more than likely, unless I come back, you know, as my son.

329. 4:33:21

     Does Senator continue to yield?

330. 4:33:22

     Yes, sir.

331. 4:33:23

     Senator, if, if it doesn't make you uncomfortable, what is your son's name?

332. 4:33:27

     Edward Harbison. Edward D. Harbison.

333. 4:33:30

     Yes, sir. So he's named after you?

334. 4:33:32

     Yes, sir.

335. 4:33:33

     Is he as fine of a man as you are?

336. 4:33:35

     Well, I don't know about that. You have to determine that. But I think he is.

337. 4:33:39

     I, I have determined he's much taller than you are.

338. 4:33:42

     Well, uh, you- we- that's another page. That's another- We- that's another step.

339. 4:33:46

     Well, Senator yields for one last statement.

340. 4:33:48

     Yes, sir.

341. 4:33:49

     I just once again wanna thank you for being a good friend, a good partner, and an incredible mentor to me, and thank you.

342. 4:33:57

     Thank you, Mr. Wipf. You've been a good friend as well, and we certainly appreciate your leadership and your stance with the local delegation. Thank you very much for your support.

343. 4:34:07

     Thank you, sir.

344. 4:34:07

     Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President.

345. 4:34:11

     You-

346. 4:34:11

     Thank you.

347. 4:34:11

     You got, you got one more question, Sen-

348. 4:34:14

     Sir

349. 4:34:14

     ... Senator, you got one more question. Recognize the senator from the 32nd.

350. 4:34:18

     Thank you. Senator, would you yield?

351. 4:34:19

     I do.

352. 4:34:20

     I'm over here.

353. 4:34:21

     Thank you.

354. 4:34:23

     Senator, isn't it true that you and I served together on a special study committee on sickle cell disease a few years ago?

355. 4:34:30

     Yes.

356. 4:34:31

     And Senator, isn't it also true that you've done more to further the progress of sickle cell disease than anybody else in this building?

357. 4:34:39

     I don't know about that, but I certainly hope so, and I thank you for recognizing that. Thank you very kindly.

358. 4:34:47

     All right, Senator. You-

359. 4:34:49

     Mr. President, and, uh, let me just also add that it's been a plumb pleasing pleasure for me to serve with the people here in this Senate. It's been, uh, the highest honor that I've ever attained, and I really appreciate it. God bless, God speeds you. I know there are differences, but the unity of your service should be the welfare of the State of Georgia, and I know you can do it. God bless you. Thank you, Mr. President.

360. 4:35:13

     All right. All right.

361. 4:35:14

     Appreciate it.

362. 4:35:15

     Good job, Senator.

363. 4:35:31

     Well said, Senator. I can easily say the senator from the 15th, the Dean of the Senate, is a man that is universally liked in this room by everybody. A- and, uh, you can't say that about just anybody in this room. Now, we all claim we like each other and, uh, all that, but people honestly say it about you, Senator. Nobody has a bad thing to say about you, and, uh, you, you're a good man. You're a good man. We appreciate you. So does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure?

364. 4:36:05

     Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. The previous question is ordered. Question is on the adoption of the committee substitute. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute? Hearing none, the committee substitute is adopted. Is there objection to agreeing to the report of committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The report of committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Question is on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor will vote yay.

365. 4:36:37

     All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

366. 4:37:55

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are 49, the nays are 0. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute. Well done, Senator

367. 4:38:11

     Recognize the senator from the 45th.

368. 4:38:16

     Thank you, Mr. President. I ask that, uh, House Bill 295 be elevated from the table.

369. 4:38:22

     Secretary, read the calendar.

370. 4:38:24

     House Bill 295 by Representative Gaines of the 120th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter 60 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions applicable to counties and municipal corporations so as to provide procedures for real property owners to make claims for compensation from local governments for loss of property value or expenses incurred due to local government's failure to comply with or non-enforcement of certain laws, ordinances, and resolutions, or due to local government maintaining a public nuisance and for other purposes.

371. 4:38:53

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

372. 4:39:01

     Leave it by Jack-

373. 4:39:02

     Okay

374. 4:39:03

     ... Manow Jackson. Secretary, finish the calendar.

375. 4:39:05

     Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on State and Local Government Operations General recommends that this bill do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Dixon of the 45th District. Chairman. M- M- Mr. President, Senator Tillery of the 19th District offers the following amendment: amendment one, amend HB 295 by inserting after sovereign immunity on line nine the following, "To amend Chapter 80 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to general provisions applicable to counties, municipal corporations, and other governmental entities so as to waive sovereign and governmental entities for local governments and their officials and employees for a violation of the prohibition on immigration sanctuary policies.

376. 4:39:38

     To amend Code Section 42-1-11.5 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to compliance with immigration detainer notices so as to provide for immunity and waivers and for other purposes." Mr. President, Senator Jackson of the 41st District offers the following amendment: amendment 1A, amend the amendment to House Bill 295 by inserting after waivers on line nine the following, "To amend Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to state printing and documents so as to provide for public disclosure of certain documents and for other purposes." Mr. President, Senator Jackson of the 41st District and others offers the following amendment: amendment two, amend House Bill 295 by inserting after immunity on line nine the following, "To amend Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to state printing and documents so as to provide for public disclosure of certain documents, to provide for an effective date, and for other purposes." Mr.

377. 4:40:24

     President, Senator Dixon of the 45th District and, uh, offers the following amendment: amendment three, amend House Bill 295 by inserting administratively complete after unsuccessful on line 118 and after subsequent on line 20. Mr. President, that completes the order.

378. 4:41:24

     Recognize senator from the 45th.

379. 4:41:42

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, Senate colleagues, I bring House Bill 295 before you today. Uh, it's about two simple principles, public safety for our communities and accountability for taxpayers. Um, if a local, uh, jurisdiction adopts a policy, uh, refusing to enforce the law, whether it means declining to enforce state or local laws related to homelessness, public safety, l- illegal immigration, uh, then the property owners in those communities deserve remedy. That is common sense.

380. 4:42:14

     This bill applies when local governments adopt a policy declining to enforce laws on, against illegal camping, loitering, obstructing of public thoroughfares, panhandling, drug possession, shoplifting, or in public, uh, intoxication. It also applies when a local government fails to uphold Georgia's prohibition on sanctuary policies or refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities as required under state law.

381. 4:42:46

     Because of public safety, because public safety depends on coordination between local, state, and federal authorities, when local governors, uh, authorities choose ideology over enforcement, it sends a message that our laws, uh, are optional, and when laws are optional, public safety suffers.

382. 4:43:08

     Under Bill HB 295, if that policy causes documented expenses or reduces the property value or fair market value of a homeowner, they may file a claim up to the amount of their ad valorem tax that they paid for the prev- previous year. That's not extreme. It's just basic fairness. Now let me be clear, Georgia has invested heavily in helping homelessness, uh, individuals, funding mental health treatment.

383. 4:43:39

     We funded substance abuse recovery programs. We supported transitional housing. We partner with nonprofits and faith-based organizations to assist that as well.

384. 4:43:52

     If everybody could give the senator your attention, please. I know y'all just coming off of lunch and feeling good about everything, but just, I can't really hear the senator, and I know the rest of the members can't either if I can't hear him.

385. 4:44:06

     It's a good bill. Vote green. No, I'm kidding.

386. 4:44:12

     House Bill 295 creates a straightforward process. A property owner files a claim, the local government has 30 days to act. If it refuses, the property owner may seek relief in the court. All we want is for local governments to enforce the law. This is, this is measured, responsible, and accountable. At the end of the day, this bill says something very simple: enforce the law, cooperate with immigration enforcement, and protect property rights. Uh, with that, Mr. President, I yield the well. Oh, before I yield the well, Mr. President, uh, amendment one from the senator, uh, from the 19th, uh, would be friendly.

387. 4:44:47

     I'll let him speak to that. Amendment three was one that I added, and it was just a, uh, a cleaning up of, uh, verbiage. The, all it does, this amendment allows for property owners where they can refile a claim if it's, uh, rejected or incomplete. With that, Mr. President, I yield the well.

388. 4:45:07

     All right. Senator's yielded.

389. 4:45:12

     Senator from the 29th, would you like to speak to your amendment?

390. 4:45:27

     I'll accept the apology from the senator of the 45th. I'm often mistaken for the senator of the 19th, um,

391. 4:45:38

     except the fact I'm not quite that tall, but I'm much better looking. Um, amendment one does something very simple. In the event that a local governing body acts in violation of this code section, the sovereign immunity of such local governing body and the governmental immunity of all local officials and employees of such local governing body is waived in all matters arising from or resulting in violation of this code section.

392. 4:46:16

     If I were still active and on the street, and I went out there and I did something that was against Georgia law, against the policies and procedures of the agency that I am sworn by and sworn to, then I would lose my qualified immunity.

393. 4:46:42

     If I did something that was

394. 4:46:47

     knowingly unconstitutional, I would lose my qualified immunity. It's really that simple. If you follow the law, if you follow the written and codified rules, and your intent each and every day is to do your job correctly within the boundaries of law and within the boundaries of the Georgia Constitution and the Constitution of the United States, you maintain your immunity.

395. 4:47:22

     A local governing body is not above the law. It's really that simple. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the well.

396. 4:47:38

     Senator's yielded.

397. 4:47:42

     Senator from the 41st, would you like to speak to your amendment?

398. 4:48:03

     Thank you, Mr. President. I, I rise to speak to amendment 1A. Um, when the appropriate time comes, I will ask to withdraw amendment two. Um, they're actually the same. We just needed to make sure that they did not interfere with the senator from the 29th's, um, amendment. So they are talking to each other. We can adopt both if we choose to. Um, and so that's why you have amendment 1A. It's very simple. It's a bill we've, we- It's an amendment we've been seeing all during session. Um, it simply helps to make sure that we, um, are transparent about the things that happen down here.

399. 4:48:36

     I think it's colloquially called the Epstein amendment. There should be no questions about this. We've been doing this for quite some time. Um, we're adding it here because our last homelessness bill, um, we put it on, and so it seemed to me that it was fitting that if we're gonna address issues of nuisances, then, uh, this would be a perfect place to add it as well. So with that, I yield the well.

400. 4:49:07

     Senator from the 45th, you would you like to speak to your amendment? You waive? Okay. Recognize senator from the 14th.

401. 4:49:29

     Thank you, Mr. President. Y'all have been nibbling around the edges of the immigration issue a few times this session, but I congratulate you in the majority, those of you who support the bill. This is by far the most concentrated, power-packed, ripe immigration bill, the, the largest, truest expression of your position on immigration this entire session. Um, it is the meanest, most senseless, least practical legislation on immigration that we will see in this building maybe ever, and let's walk through a few simple reasons why.

402. 4:50:10

     This bill would allow any homeowner To bring a lawsuit once a year to allege that if a person is sleeping outside, that that has caused a diminuti-dimunition of the property value of that homeowner. So again, this bill authorizes once per year lawsuits against local governments for alleged decreases in property values. Let's start at the top of the bill.

403. 4:50:44

     So starting at 33, line 33, is the meat of this bill that allows the owner of a parcel of any real property, and by the way, that includes condos, single family homes, you name it, to submit a written claim for compensation to local government if... Now again, let's not talk about the end of a trial. An end of a trial is when you have a jury verdict or a judge rules, and you have some resolution to the case. We're talking about allegations that are permissible in a lawsuit, whether that gets successfully resolved or not.

404. 4:51:20

     We hear a lot in this building about wanting to stop undue litigation.

405. 4:51:31

     What this bill will authorize is homeowners, individual owners of tracts of real property, bringing once a year lawsuits that allege that the local government is not enforcing immigration or anti-camping laws sufficiently.

406. 4:51:50

     Starting on line 38, it says, "Immigration sanctuary policies," 41, "Declining to enforce laws regard- regarding illegal public camping." Let's go one at a time. I'm gonna pull up the definition in the Georgia Code for sanctuary policies. Sanctuary policy means any regulation, rule, policy, or practice adopted by a local governing body which prohibits or restricts local officials or employees from communicating or cooperating with federal officials or law enforcement officers regarding immigration status information.

407. 4:52:30

     Y'all, I wanna be very clear. ICE, as currently constituted, could request from a local government, could request, "We want your officers to assist us in ICE operations in Atlanta or elsewhere throughout the state." If for any reason the local government says no, local police say, "We don't want to be an arm of the federal government and carry out ICE immigration policy," Georgia law could deem that a sanctuary policy under the letter of the code.

408. 4:53:05

     So I'll say that one more time. I remember I was out in a city in Gwinnett County not too long ago, and the local police, who didn't strike me as huge flaming liberal Democrats, if they did, if they were that, they hid it very well, but they were just good, dutiful law enforcement officers doing their job. They said a lot of the state's recent immigration policies have made it tremendously difficult for them to know where the line is between federal governments telling them what to do or agencies telling them what to do versus carrying out their own orders.

409. 4:53:38

     So again, if ICE is operating in Atlanta or anywhere else throughout the state, and local officials in one case or another decline to do exactly what ICE wants, you could have a homeowner who brings a lawsuit and says, "That's a sanctuary policy." Let's move on to line 42, illegal public camping. Maybe a city has an anti-camping ordinance. Maybe they would try to enforce it, but there's one person who's experiencing homelessness who's sleeping outside.

410. 4:54:12

     And like Whac-A-Mole, the city's trying to make sure that nobody sleeps outside, but they can't quite do it, so somebody sleeps outside for one night next to a condominium building, and what happens? That gives the owner of one of those condos the potential colorable basis to go to their local government and say, "The market for condos dipped this year. My condo is worth $5,000, $10,000 less than it was. And by the way, there was a person sleeping outside my condo last night. You guys are responsible because you failed to enforce anti-camping laws.

411. 4:54:46

     Therefore, I now have a statutory right to submit a claim for compensation to you. You have a 30-day requirement to respond to it. And if you decline, I can now bring a lawsuit," some of y'all's favorite thing, a lawsuit, "against the local government for the value of that claim." So there's just two examples of how a homeowner who's motivated to sue their local government could be empowered under the broad language of the trigger conditions here from lines 38 to 42.

412. 4:55:18

     Or panhandling. God forbid, you know, let's look at line 45. God forbid somebody asks you for a dollar if you're driving onto the interstate. Anybody here gotten onto the connector after a long day at session, going up to Bone's in Buckhead or something like this? And you come out up, uh, what's that street that's right there? Martin, I think it is. It's a dump onto 75-85 North. Typically, people will stand right there, and they'll ask for money. What if they show up after Atlanta's tried to enforce anti-panhandling provisions but failed on that random Thursday, Maundy Thursday, Atlanta fails to pick these people up?

413. 4:55:57

     What happens? Somebody who lives nearby says, "City of Atlanta, I now have a however many thousand dollar lawsuit because you failed to enforce these provisions." And the list goes on. I think it's clear to all of you that the trigger conditions for authorizing any owner of real parcel anywhere in the state to sue a local government for these alleged failures is a little bit broad. And let's be clear about what's already in code for sanctuary policies.

414. 4:56:29

     You must know that under Georgia law, it's already the law that if a city violates this provision by having a sanctuary policy of any kind, they could be subject to the withholding of state funds. Local governments already have that hammer hanging over their heads, and so what you're adding to this is the possible hammer of local homeowners making up whatever they want as a pretext for a lawsuit.

415. 4:57:01

     And I already said this, but you should go to line 107. "An owner may submit a claim pursuant to this code section relating to a particular parcel of real property once per tax year." This isn't one lawsuit once by every homeowner potentially. This is a once-a-year lawsuit for any homeowner who feels aggrieved in this way.

416. 4:57:28

     Who here has gone to court and tried to prove a case before or defend against a case? One of the things you know is that when you litigate a tort, you have to prove causation. You have to show that the alleged violation of the legal duty caused harm, caused damages. And in this case, you have homeowners who are gonna be g- coming to court to say to a superior court judge or jury that the person sleeping outside or the person panhandling on the street or another trigger condition like local law enforcement failing to, in some way, cooperate with ICE, that that is what caused your property value to go down.

417. 4:58:11

     Well, that's a circus. To be very blunt, there is literally no way that you could go into court and sensibly prove that some broad market condition, some wide-scale pa- pattern or practice or lack of enforcement of some policy caused your property values to go down. At the very most, that would be speculative. There's no way. There's literally no evidence that could connect those two things. So what you're inviting is a bunch of court cases where homeowners who are aggrieved at the local government can come make spir- spir- spurious, not spirous, spurious claims about causation and have essentially a circus in court, which wastes judges' time, it wastes juries' time.

418. 4:58:56

     And the worst-case scenario is, if you don't throw out the case, you get a jury that's just as inflamed politically about immigration issues, and maybe they award damages. They try to connect the dots on their own without hard evidence that these policies really have anything to do with the market value of these properties.

419. 4:59:16

     But I think what I'm saying is a little too sensible. I think the fact that ACCG sees this as a nuclear bill, that this is a very bad piece of legislation, is not of concern to you all.

420. 4:59:35

     In fact, I know it's not of concern to you.

421. 4:59:58

     No, I'm not waiting on you.

422. 5:00:11

     I'll go ahead and kinda do this now.

423. 5:00:15

     The first two to four years of being in the House, I got over losing. I was not that concerned about losing in the first two to four years. Um, well, the first two I was, but as I got to 2022, I stopped worrying about losing. What I started worrying about a lot more was the erosion of deliberative democracy, good policy that both parties, regardless of partisan affiliation, could agree was either good policy or bad policy on the merits of it.

424. 5:00:52

     I think these chambers have become extremely comfortable

425. 5:00:58

     with messaging bills that would be nuclear bad policy. I think about literally our friends from ACCG who have to lobby against this bill. This is a real question. Do you guys know how much it ruins the day of a government relations professional from ACCG to have to deal with legislation like this? They, they know that they have a last-ditch attempt with the governor or with the speaker of the house, sometimes with the LG, to kill legislation like this.

426. 5:01:31

     But do you know how bad of a day it creates for them to put this on the floor and give us talking points and force us to go through this?

427. 5:01:41

     This is actually insane public policy.

428. 5:01:55

     And the amendment number one, the sovereign immunity waiver,

429. 5:02:01

     we quite often have bills in this chamber that are designed to limit the extent of frivolous lawsuits. The idea being that not just anybody should be able to file a lawsuit for any reason at any time because it clogs our courts, it imposes costs on people defending lawsuits. And this bill deliberately makes use of frivolous lawsuits to try to intimidate and cow local governments into being five times as compliant with either immigration officials or five times as cruel with people who have nowhere else to go, who are on the streets either panhandling or sleeping or just trying to get by and live life.

430. 5:02:55

     So no, I'm not really concerned as much personally about losing anymore. I'm more concerned about the destruction of deliberative good public policy.

431. 5:03:08

     And that's damage that will not soon be undone, that will not easily be undone. 'Cause I said last time when I was up here about our caucus and what we'll do if we're in the majority sooner rather than later, there will be an impulse by people to perpetuate this cycle, that if you're going to use frivolous lawsuits and bad public policy to try to message to your base or to make an ACCG government relations professional's day horrible, there's an instinct for the other side to try to replicate that same harm.

432. 5:03:47

     Because you did it to us and so why, why shouldn't we do it to you? But that's a bad, that's a flawed cycle. We should not be engaged in that kind of a cycle.

433. 5:04:14

     I actually mourn

434. 5:04:18

     that we don't have a more deliberative process

435. 5:04:23

     because I, I think that this is a perfect example

436. 5:04:30

     of how far off the rails we can get when we let ourselves vote for, for, for terrible policy.

437. 5:04:42

     I'll yield for questions.

438. 5:04:44

     You have one question, Senator. Recognize the senator from the 35th.

439. 5:04:48

     All right. Thank you. Does the senator yield?

440. 5:04:50

     I yield to the senator for the 35th.

441. 5:04:52

     Is it not true that in committee there was a lot of, uh, discussion about potentially, um, giving our, uh, lawyers more work to do with potentially a lot of lawsuits coming from high-rises with individual condo units all within one address? It seems like we have some challenges here. Is it not true?

442. 5:05:15

     It's true that th- this bill encourages frivolous lawsuits against local governments for one-off instances of homelessness or a failure of a local government to do literally everything ICE tells them to do. It's true that this bill creates a lot of lawsuits in those cases, yes.

443. 5:05:32

     Okay. Another question-

444. 5:05:34

     Sure

445. 5:05:34

     ... if the senator would yield.

446. 5:05:35

     Sure.

447. 5:05:35

     Um, is it not true that trying to solve the difficulty of homelessness is very difficult and it requires a lot of, uh, money, collaboration between various government, levels of government at the same time?

448. 5:05:49

     Yes, homelessness is a very difficult problem, and allowing individual angry homeowners to sue local governments because one person is experiencing homelessness and force the law department of that local government to respond to a claim in writing, to defend a lawsuit in superior court, whether they win or lose, to go through the motions of the numerous lawsuits that could be brought alleging that somehow property values are going down because of one instance of homelessness, I mean, it...

449. 5:06:23

     Yes, it's a lot of wasted effort and time just to make a political point, Senator.

450. 5:06:27

     Another, if you would further yield.

451. 5:06:29

     I do further yield.

452. 5:06:30

     Um, is it not true that it's much easier to have legislation that sounds really good and can possibly pass if you have the majority, and when you're running for federal office, this is a much easier solution than the hard work of collaborating with multiple levels of government?

453. 5:06:47

     Sure. I mean, this is Houston Gaines' bill for his congressional run, right? That's my understanding. He has a couple of those. And, you know, this issue has played well for Republicans in the Athens community, so I think that's motivating him in large part to do this. Um, it's just, I mean, you know, my good friend, Representative Holcomb, across the, the hall, he gave a speech very similar to these themes on Confederate monuments just a day or two ago. He was basically making the point that when you add all these legal remedies, lawsuits, attorneys' fees, punitive damages, when you, when you bulk up a bill by adding these provisions to it, you are communicating as the legislature that this is an issue that really matters, that this is one of the foremost issues that matters.

454. 5:07:32

     And the House was considering a measure that would do that for Confederate monuments, and he was making the point that by putting those in the bill, those provisions, you are making the case that a Confederate monument is more important than the people who are protected in Georgia code who don't have those kinds of robust provisions to protect them. So again, adding these types of punitive provisions, opening the floodgates on lawsuits just streaming through against local governments for even a whisper of a possibility that a sanctuary city policy or an anti-camping policy were violated, that suggests that this body thinks that local governments should be hit with an onslaught of frivolous lawsuits for even the mere suggestion that one of these policies is violated, which means that this body is basically saying that the mere whisper of a non-enforcement of anti-camping or non-compliance with ICE is one of the most important public policy issues in the state.

455. 5:08:29

     I think what's happening-

456. 5:08:32

     Is that in a world of social media, in a world of dopamine, you know, shooting out of T-shirt cannons from every device that exists, people are losing confidence in real communication and real messaging. People are losing confidence that if you just say, "This is good public policy, this is bad public policy," that an audience will really hear you. I mean, hell, nobody in here cares about these speeches happening right now, I can tell you that because I'm up here. Um, nobody in the public sometimes it seems gets the message through unless people in here come up with these dramatic ways of sending the message.

457. 5:09:08

     "Oh, we're gonna add attorney's fees. We're gonna really pack a punch. That'll be how we show that we're tough on immigration," even though a majority, if not a super majority of the senators in this room know that this is terrible public policy. It's horrible public policy. Senator. Another question, if you will. Sure.

458. 5:09:29

     Is it not true that cities and counties a- address, uh, homelessness using a budget that is provided through property tax revenue? That's exactly right. Property taxes often make up a majority of a local government's, uh, revenue. And isn't that also true that our local governments are nervous about how much of a cut to the revenue they'll receive based on all the conversations back and forth about property tax cuts? I think this session has been one of the most remarkable sessions in my eight years relating to the absolute abdication of responsibility by state government to force local governments to answer for the political problems that state legislators lack the courage to address themselves.

459. 5:10:15

     Whether it's how to make affordable, pro-affordability policy, the state says, "We'll cut local taxes in a way that undermines local government administration." When it comes to immigration, hot button culture war issue, state government says, "Rather than figure out a sensible state framework for dealing with some of these issues, we will allow endless filing of frivolous lawsuits against local governments and make them deal with the problem." That is passing the buck. That is an abdication of responsibility by the state government to make the local governments pay for it, and I, and I tried to make this point during my speech.

460. 5:10:51

     You can measure the abdication of that responsibility in the cortisol and the adrenaline of our friends in the hallway who represent ACCG and GMA because they are the ones who are trying as politely as possible to come to the majority and say, "I know y'all need to do your messaging on immigration, but this is preposterous policy that would lead to complete chaos, potentially financial uncertainty for some of our cities and counties." It's y- I mean, this year we have said, "Cities and counties, you deal with all these problems, but also we're gonna take your revenue base away and we're gonna threaten you with de-annexation and removing your charter or calling you a distressed city if you can't make it work." It's kicking somebody while they're down.

461. 5:11:38

     So, you know, candidly, I think this is an embarrassing piece of legislation. I think there are plenty of bills in here that I disagree with that I would not characterize as embarrassing. I think this is a preposterously bad and embarrassing piece of legislation, Senator. Uh, one last question. Sure. Does the senator yield? Yeah. Is it true that if you look really closely, like really closely to this bill with the invisible ink you may be able to read that this bill is also called the Jail the Homeless Bill?

462. 5:12:11

     And now apparently with the amendments it's Jail the Homeless and Immigrant Bill. Is, is that true? Senator, I think that to your point, part of what this bill encourages is for local governments to be as cruel as possible to the most vulnerable people in these communities if they want to avoid this type of smoke, and that's by design. I mean, the, the nature of this bill is to force local governments to make decisions that put more and more costs on the most vulnerable people as opposed to trying to figure out some sensible bipartisan way to deal with some of these issues.

463. 5:12:49

     It's, it's just a, it's a pass the buck, it's a fingers in ears, it's la, la, la, it's I don't wanna hear about it. It's make somebody else deal with it. And, and for that reason it's a depressing piece of legislation. I mean, I, I'm a guy who's gonna leave, this is my last legislative day after 320 legislative days. This is number 320. And from the day I started in 2019 to the day I'm leaving in 2026 I have seen the same kind of legislation most years I've been here, all the years I've been here, which is pass the buck to somebody else, demonize somebody vulnerable, and make it their problem.

464. 5:13:23

     And, you know, listen, if I win I won't, you know, y'all strip the Senate rules, whatever, I will do everything in my power to make sure that Democrats don't legislate this way. If we have the majority I don't want to do messaging bills where we smirk in caucus and say, "Heh, let's stick it to ACCG and make them deal with it," or, "Ha, we'll send a terrible bill to the House and make them clean it up," 'cause it feels bad. It's not why I got my public policy degree from UGA. It's not why I went to law school, you know, to play games that stress out vulnerable people who are just trying to do their jobs.

465. 5:13:59

     It sucks. It really sucks, in fact. And I don't feel this way about every piece of legislation I oppose. With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor. Senator's yielded. I recognize the senator from the

466. 5:14:26

     2nd. Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, HB 295

467. 5:14:33

     Is a terrible bill, and I'm gonna tell you why it's a terrible bill. As I sat at my desk, um, we're coming on

468. 5:14:43

     what's considered Holy Week for many, where we will-- some of you may celebrate the resurrection, some of you may celebrate Easter. But I was drawn to John 12 and 8 when Jesus was responding. He said, "For the poor you will have always with you, but Me, you do not always have." And what he was talking about was Deuteronomy 15 and le- and 11, where it says, "There will always be poor people in the land, therefore I command you to be open-handed." This policy is not open-handed.

469. 5:15:16

     Now, we've spent a great deal of debate talking about property taxes and finding relief for folks, but I want you to know the relief on who has to pay the damages is gonna be the taxpayer. The taxpayer will have to find the remedy because the local government or the county government will have to levy a tax to pay for the damages.

470. 5:15:39

     Not only will they have to pay for the lawsuit, most cities and counties, their county attorney or city attorney, they do not actually go and litigate the cases themselves, they hire outside counsel. And so depending on how many of these suits they get, they'll have outside counsel billing them by the hour to go and prove that they did everything right. But guess what the bill also says? I draw your attention, uh, in regards to page four. Page four on the bill, when you look at it, it said, "A claim shall also state, not itemize the monetary value of such incurred expenses or reduction in the fair market value and describes the specific consequences of the local government's policy, pattern, practice of public nuisance that the form-- that form the factual base of the owner's claim." Uh, and-- But it also says, if you keep reading on down, that if the county or city government proves that they did everything right, the owner's not responsible to pay the legal costs for the city or county because the suit was brought, they had to go and defend it, they had to hire outside counsel.

471. 5:16:48

     So guess what? That's still taxpayer money. And so we've debated giving relief to property owners, but at the same time, we also say we want to cap what governments can do. Well, how many of these causations will happen? We don't know because, uh, we're uncertain as to how it may go. But what we do know is that cities and counties will have to hire outside counsel, and they'll spend money to prove that they did everything right, only for that to still fall back to John and Jane Q.

472. 5:17:18

     Public, Jane Taxpayer, John Taxpayer, because somebody has to foot the bill.

473. 5:17:28

     What's most egregious about House Bill 295 is it talks about not only bringing a lawsuit, but it's going to allow penalties for local governments on how they enforce laws. Well, if you are a local government or a county government and you have experience in law enforcement like my friends from the 29th and the 30th, well, then you also understand that the governments prioritize calls for service. So if there is a rape or a burglary or an armed robbery or some other offense happening beforehand, but you got a call to deal with a homeless person and they prioritize the most violent crime first, now they're gonna be held responsible by the homeowner because they didn't prioritize their call first.

474. 5:18:19

     Well, that is a pattern of practice because many communities prioritize calls for service.

475. 5:18:28

     So now if they choose to put that call for service last on the list or to respond to other more serious emergencies, not enforcing the law becomes the equivalent to creating the problem itself. So now if they don't respond or if they don't take action, they're just as guilty as if they created the homeless problem in the first place, that city county governments created homelessness. It was on their wish list with AC- ACCG and GMA that they would love to create more homelessness.

476. 5:18:58

     That's not what happened. Now, we also passed a few pieces of legislation that made more offenses bail restricted, bond restricted. One of those was failure to appear, a second or subsequent offense. Well, many of those folks who are homeless, if they were arrested one time, let's say they got out of jail before that, they don't show up the second time, now they're held in detention for something that would be a simple misdemeanor.

477. 5:19:28

     They may not get out of jail. They may just be held in detention because it's bail restricted. It's their subsequent or second offense. So now police officers are gonna spend all their time at the jail. So now we're gonna take folks down to the county jail. Well, the county jail's now gonna be responsible to administer the healthcare for those homeless folks. They're gonna be responsible to administer the care for those folks. They're gonna be responsible to feed them every day. So if you wanted to lock all the homeless people up so that the county could foot the bill, just say that. But guess who pays the county jail? The property tax owner. That's who pays for the county jail.

478. 5:19:59

     So now you've just added more taxes because guess what? When you increase the inmate population, so goes up the cost of corrections officers, so goes up the healthcare contract, so goes up the food contract. Why? Because the city's gonna say, "Well, we gotta lock them all up because we gotta get them off the street or we gonna be held liable, so we'll shift that now to your counties." Well, now we have debated what judges make, what prosecutors make, what solicitors make, but guess what all these cases have to be done what? They have to be adjudicated.

479. 5:20:30

     So guess what? Now they're in pre-trial detention until their case can be heard, resolved, and decided. Colleagues, this is not a good bill. Micah 6 and 8 says, "Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." Proverbs 14 and 31 says, "He who oppresses the poor, he who oppresses the poor reproaches his maker."

480. 5:20:52

     The Supreme Court stayed the case of Taylor v. Singleton about panhandling. That's referenced in the bill as a form of free speech, but now we've itemized panhandling. My city's chosen not to enforce panhandling because they're afraid of being sued for violating the First Amendment. So now you say that a person can't stand outside with a sign that says, "Feed me, help me," whatever it may be. Now the city government's gonna be responsible for that. They've tried to do all they could do to enforce it, but I tell you what, if I was a county or city government, you know what I'd do?

481. 5:21:23

     I'd just take all the ordinances off the books related to these things, then I wouldn't have nothing to worry about. So you can cut once, or you can measure twice and then cut once, but this bill is a hatchet job. It does nothing to help those who are downtrodden. It does nothing to help those who are poor. But if we wanna cut property taxes and we wanna say we're gonna provide relief for folks, well, this is counterproductive to what we were talking about. Because at the end of the day, if you say I can bring a causation for this, well, people may not like St.

482. 5:21:56

     Patrick's Day in the city of Savannah, but it brings revenue in for a lot of businesses, and they enact a festival ordinance a week before St. Patrick's Day. Why? Because we're overwhelmed with the sheer amount of people. They cannot take everybody to jail for public intoxication. They can't take everybody to jail for public urination. They can only just write a, a, a simple citation and hope the folks pay it. That's all they can do because there's so many people that our law enforcement is overwhelmed. All the people can't go to the jail.

483. 5:22:27

     We only have so many beds. So what does a city do when they have a pattern or practice of enforcing a festival ordinance because they're overwhelmed with the amount of people? They can't handle it. They can't keep up. What do you do? My grandmother used to say to me, "Sometimes you'll cut off your nose to spite your face." House Bill 295 is us cutting off our nose to spite our face. And with that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.

484. 5:22:59

     Recognize the senator from the 37th.

485. 5:23:14

     Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, uh, I rise today to put a face on House Bill 295. I want you to imagine that when you were younger and had kids, or maybe you, you guys are young enough to have small kids at home, or maybe it's your grandkids in their backyard. You get, they get a swing set out back. They like to go out and play. In fact, one of the reasons you put the fence, uh, between your yard and your neighbor's is you've got a great place that backs up to the woods and your grandkids can go out and play, play on the swing set and run around their backyard.

486. 5:23:46

     What we're facing today is we've got local governments that are ignoring camping and panhandling laws with respect to homeless people. How would you feel if you're a family member and you've r- you've complained again and again and again and again the homeless camp that ha- that's, that's, that's 75 yards behind your property line down there in the creek bed that's maintained by the local governments? When you say again and again, "I can't let my kids outside to play in our backyard because I've got f- four or five homeless folks back there that really scare me." Now, I hear a lot of discussion about this because we've got real challenges in our state.

487. 5:24:25

     A- as we know, homelessness is a chronic thing. Homelessness oftentimes is linked to mental health. You know, we as a state have invested hundreds of millions of dollars over the last few years and continue to try to lead among southeastern states on addressing head-on the issue of mental health. I'm proud of what we've done. Uh, we've got more work to do, and I'm proud of the direction that we're going. But this i- this chronic issue of mental health manifests itself in many ways. And unfortunately, uh, many of the ways it manifests itself is having a massive impact on regular law-abiding homeowners just trying to enjoy their property.

488. 5:25:01

     Whether it's a family that's got a backyard, they can't let their kids play in the backyard because there's a camp of four or five people back there using drugs or acting erratically, possibly even walking through or urinating on the property. Can you... I- if, if families can't let their kids hang out in the backyard 'cause of homeless camps in the woods, we've got a problem. We've got business owners who've invested their entire life savings in storefronts and businesses that have got people not just sleeping in front of their business, but when they come in in the morning, they find someone has defecated in front of their property and won't leave, and is aggressive when the homeowner tries to, tries to move them away so they can put their sign up and start the day in their coffee shop.

489. 5:25:45

     These are real circumstances. People who've invested their lives in a business that because of the wanton lack of enforcement of just basic, our, our basic laws preventing loitering, aggressive panhandling, urinating on p- people's public property, businesses can't go about their business. Now, the issue of homelessness and the issue of mental health is a chronic issue we're working on. But friends, other bills we work on address those chronic long-term issues.

490. 5:26:18

     What House Bill 295 works on is the acute issue, the serious, real, and acute issue of c- cities and counties that consistently, day in, day out, week in, week out, do nothing to enforce the basic rights, the basic rights of families to be able to enjoy their property, let their kids run around in their backyard.

491. 5:26:41

     Or for business owners to be able to enjoy the storefront they've sunk their life savings and signed a 10-year lease to be able to operate a coffee shop or a restaurant on a downtown Main Street. This bill is proportional. It's measured. It can do way more. One thing it doesn't do, and, and, and when, when I will tell you, is take these grotesque steps that the previous authors talked about as being unproportional. HB 295 is a step that gives homeowners and small businesses an ability to do something about conditions around them which they cannot control.

492. 5:27:17

     You know, one of the questions we asked in committee, Mr. President, was, "What do you do if you're a, if you're a business owner, you're opening your coffee shop and you see this person sleeping in your doorway? Do you pick them up and move them yourself?" No, you call law enforcement. What if law enforcement continually, continually neglects that role? They don't move them out of the way. It's, instead of opening up at 6:00, it's, it's 9:00 in the morning, you can't open your shop. You can't pick that person up and shove them out of the way. You're powerless. This bill simply gives small business owners and families an ability to, to induce local governments to perform their basic functions of enforcing the law, treating homeless people with a decency, but making sure they, they follow the law and don't impact the lives of others in ways that there's no- there's nothing individual citizens and business owners can do.

493. 5:28:07

     The only one that can address this is local governments, and this bill only counts if those local governments are wantonly ignoring their responsibilities. This is measured, balanced, caring, and thoughtful from a state that has been very measured and, and has took head-on this issue of mental health in ways that many states around us have not. We- we're addressing these chronic issues, but we have an acute problem, an acute problem that individuals cannot solve for themselves but for their local governments doing their job.

494. 5:28:41

     And ladies and gentlemen, with that, I would urge your support for House Bill 295.

495. 5:28:45

     Recognize the Majority Leader.

496. 5:28:48

     Move to previous question.

497. 5:28:51

     Senator move for previous question.

498. 5:28:57

     Yeah. M- motion to table is, is, is higher.

499. 5:29:03

     Table the Majority Leader's motion.

500. 5:29:32

     So as the senator from the 14th, the motion to table is, uh, supersedes the motion for the previous question, so we will take up the senators from the 14th.

501. 5:29:43

     Thank you very much.

502. 5:29:49

     So the motion to table is what we're about to vote on. So all those in favor of the motion to table will vote House Bill 295 will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

503. 5:30:30

     Senator from the 35th, what purpose do you rise?

504. 5:30:33

     Parliamentary inquiry.

505. 5:30:33

     State your inquiry.

506. 5:30:35

     Um, is it, uh, not true that we were in the middle of a debate of a very important issue and that senators still had their light on prepared to speak?

507. 5:30:44

     Senators can call the question at any given time.

508. 5:31:08

     On the motion to table, the ayes are 23 and the nays are 30, so this motion has failed. Now the senator from the 31st has moved that we call the question. Is there objection?

509. 5:31:25

     All right. All those in favor of the senator from the 31st's motion to call the question on HB 295 will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

510. 5:32:39

     On the motion of, for the previous question, the ayes are 32, the nays are 21, and this motion has prevailed. So all right, so now we're in the posture of taking up question is on the adoption of amendment 1A sponsored by the senator from the 41st. Is there objection?

511. 5:33:00

     Amendment 1A. Is that...

512. 5:33:05

     Senator from the 41st, what purpose do you rise?

513. 5:33:08

     Mr. President, I ask for unanimous consent to withdraw amendment number two.

514. 5:33:12

     I'm sorry, withdraw it?

515. 5:33:14

     Y- yes, sir.

516. 5:33:15

     Okay.

517. 5:33:21

     Senator has asked that amendment number two be withdrawn. Is there objection to that? No objection. Amendment n- number two is withdrawn. Now we're to amendment, question is on the adoption of amendment one authored by the senator from the 29th.

518. 5:33:36

     Objection.

519. 5:33:43

     There is objection. All those in favor of amendment one as amended will vote yay. All those opposed nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

520. 5:34:26

     Recognize, uh, minority leader, senator from the 22nd. What purpose do you rise?

521. 5:34:30

     Parliamentary inquiry.

522. 5:34:31

     State your inquiry.

523. 5:34:31

     Is it not true that with amendment one there are still serious questions that although it tries to eliminate deputies out of this, there is a possibility the sheriff deputies could be actually sued in their individual capacity under this amendment?

524. 5:34:44

     I missed a lot of that, Senator. Can you repeat that?

525. 5:34:48

     That sheriff deputies could still be sued in their individual capacity under amendment one.

526. 5:34:54

     Senator is passionate about what he speaks.

527. 5:35:02

     On the adoption of amendment by the senator from the 29th, the yays are 29 and the nays are 24, so that amendment pass, has passed.

528. 5:35:15

     Now we move on to amendment number three, sponsored by the senator from the 45th. Is there objection to amendment number three?

529. 5:35:28

     Objection.

530. 5:35:28

     Is that objection?

531. 5:35:29

     Yes.

532. 5:35:29

     Okay. All right. There is objection by the senator from the 35th. All those in favor of amendment number three will vote yay. All opposed nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

533. 5:35:57

     Recognize the senator from the 35th. What purpose do you rise?

534. 5:36:00

     Parliamentary inquiry.

535. 5:36:01

     State your inquiry.

536. 5:36:02

     Um, is it not true that if you're losing a debate in the public square you should close debate if you have the majority, so it's the best way to go?

537. 5:36:12

     Oh, Senator, Senator.

538. 5:36:15

     Just checking. Thank you.

539. 5:36:18

     Oh, man. People lose and win debates around here all the time.

540. 5:36:30

     Recognize the senator from the 14th. What purpose do you rise?

541. 5:36:33

     Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President.

542. 5:36:34

     I can't wait to hear this one.

543. 5:36:36

     Mr. President, isn't it true that I'd love to hear one concrete real world example of a local government systematically failing to try to enforce the laws? I would love to hear one before this vote is taken, Mr. President. Is that not true?

544. 5:36:49

     Senator is passionate about what he speaks. On the adoption of the amendment number three, the yays are 44, the nays are nine, and this amendment is adopted.

545. 5:37:05

     Is there objection to agreeing to the report of the committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Questions on the passage of the bill as amended. All those in favor of the bill vote yay. Opposed nay. Secretary will unlock the machine.

546. 5:38:29

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are 30 and the nays are 22, and this bill having received requisite constitutional majority is therefore passed as amended.

547. 5:38:45

     Recognize the senator from the 29th.

548. 5:38:49

     Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. After fighting the senator from the 42nd, I would like to ask that, um, House Bill 447 be taken off the table.

549. 5:39:00

     Senator, Senator, let me... I, I, I went out of order and I apologize. This, I meant for, to let the 42nd go, 'cause he's, he's got a little resolution here I think we all, all appreciate here. Senator from the 42nd.

550. 5:39:15

     Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senate Rule 4-2.1A be suspended for the reading and adoption of a privileged resolution.

551. 5:39:25

     This... Is there objection? No objections. Secretary, read the caption.

552. 5:39:31

     Senate Resolution 1107 by Senator Strickland of the 42nd. A resolution recognizing April 2026 as Autism Acceptance Month and April 2nd, 2026 as World Autism Awareness Day and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

553. 5:39:46

     Is there objection to the adoption of the resolution? Chair hears none. The resolution is adopted. Senator, would you like to come s- speak, say a few words about that on, from the 42nd? Yeah, you do. Yeah, yeah, that's a good thing. Yeah.

554. 5:40:04

     You got two good-looking boys right there, Senator. I thought you might wanna point those out to everybody.

555. 5:40:09

     Well, thank you, members of the Senate. I guess it's a good time to hit reset after the last debate we had. Um, thank you all so much for adopting that resolution. I spoke on it earlier this morning about Autism Awareness Month. Happy to be joined today by members of my family. I have my wife Lindsay with me here, and my oldest son Charles Willis, and my youngest Beecher. And also, are they in the ga- my parents are somewhere.

556. 5:40:34

     They're up there.

557. 5:40:35

     They're up there.

558. 5:40:35

     Yeah, they are.

559. 5:40:35

     And yeah, my parents, Bob and Lynn Strickland are upstairs. You come in to join me?

560. 5:40:39

     Mm-hmm.

561. 5:40:40

     I don't know what Beecher's gonna say, but thank y'all so much for the opportunity to do this today, have the family with me. And am I saying my goodbyes too, or is this everything? Well, I'll be very brief. Thank you all so much for... It's 14 years ago that I came up here. And I came up here, I had my parents with me, my sister. Come on, Charles Willis.

562. 5:41:01

     Hey, hey.

563. 5:41:04

     You can-

564. 5:41:04

     Hello.

565. 5:41:04

     Not yet. Not yet.

566. 5:41:06

     Hey.

567. 5:41:06

     This is where it gets risky.

568. 5:41:07

     Ha ha.

569. 5:41:07

     Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. But at the time, I was this single, young, very green, spiky-haired kid, and, um, there was no Lindsey yet.

570. 5:41:21

     Hello.

571. 5:41:22

     And no, it was a little bit less chaotic back then, but-

572. 5:41:26

     I'm talking

573. 5:41:27

     ... truth... Hold on, let me finish this. One second. But, you know, truth is, I'd been chasing Lindsey for a little while. And she was already working up here.

574. 5:41:37

     That's true.

575. 5:41:38

     And when I first got... Y'all walk back this way. Go ahead and mic him one second. One second. When I first came up here, the very first day, I was going to stay in town that night and go to a dinner, and I knew no one here. And I was walking the halls and ran into two state representatives, had no office yet. And they said, "Hey, come over here and," I got my sticker, "and, um, hang out with us for a little while before you go to dinner." Well, those, those state representatives were John Burns and John Meadows.

576. 5:42:10

     And we were leaving to go to dinner that night. We ran into Lindsey in the hall, and she, and she said hello to me for the first time. And John Meadows goes, "Look at you. The first day up here, already got the women chasing you." And truth is, it was that fancy state rep badge that made Lindsey say hello to me for the first time. Um, but a lot has changed in those 14 years. And-

577. 5:42:37

     That's kind of the way you look with Lindsey in the hallways right there.

578. 5:42:40

     Oh.

579. 5:42:48

     It's very fitting that they're with me today being crazy, because it took me getting elected. It's all about timing, right? It's all about God's timing of things. It's all about timing when you run for office. It's all about timing. Thank you, Blake. It's all about timing of when you step away. The truth is, if I had not ran as a 28-year-old kid and gotten elected, I never would've connected with Lindsey. Wouldn't had these two crazy boys with here, with me. So they are my biggest accomplishment in my 14 years up here.

580. 5:43:19

     And I'll close with this, 'cause I have to close now. There's a timing of when you run for office. There's a timing when you leave. And I've often said, uh, to other people, there's three ways I see people leave here. You either get beat, you die, or you, or you retire and do it on your own terms. And I guess there's a hybrid number three. You try to run for higher office. Um, but I appreciate the opportunity to get to do this on my own terms, and I appreciate, um, God giving, giving me this moment.

581. 5:43:50

     Y'all giving me this moment. The truth is, I've had 10 contested elections over my years up here. I probably still shouldn't be here right now, honestly. Some of y'all know that. I survived two redistricting lawsuits, uh, survived a special session trying to stay up here. And I appreciate all y'all standing behind me all these years, and I appreciate even the ones of y'all who couldn't admit you're behind me politically all these years. Appreciate this opportunity, and thank you so much for the time here in the State Senate. And thank you, Jack, for the personal privilege of all this chaos you're seeing right now.

582. 5:44:23

     This is real life, and I look forward to whatever the next chapter holds for me. Thank y'all.

583. 5:44:28

     All right. Good job, Senator.

584. 5:44:55

     Good job. That was a good job. Say? Come back to order. Come back to order. All right.

585. 5:45:17

     There we go. Thank you. Good job, Senator. Good job. Good job, Lindsey. No, Dad. We appreciate that. I get to be president, too, and I need to, too. I, I recognize the senator from the 29th.

586. 5:45:39

     Good.

587. 5:45:41

     Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate that. I don't know how I follow that, but, um, I ask that House Bill 447 be taken off the table.

588. 5:45:51

     Secretary, read the caption.

589. 5:45:53

     House Bill 447 by Representative Gullet of the 19th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 4 of Chapter 9 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to fraud and related offenses so as to provide for the crimes of gift card theft, gift card forgery, and gift card fraud. To provide for definitions. To provide for penalties for violations. To provide for related matters. To repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes. Mr. President, I complete the order.

590. 5:46:15

     Is there objection? Hearing none, s- recognize the senator from the 29th. I'm sorry. Finish the caption. Sorry. Sorry, Senator.

591. 5:46:26

     Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Judiciary recommends that this bill do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Strickland of the 42nd District. Chairman, Mr. President, I complete the order.

592. 5:46:39

     Sorry about that, Reid. Sorry.

593. 5:46:42

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, friends, this is a very non-controversial piece of legislation, good piece of legislation. All this does is, um, create an offense when individuals commit gift card fraud. What we have found is a new industry that has taken hundreds of millions of dollars from consumers. People are putting out fraudulent gift cards, putting them in stores around the country. People are purchasing th- these gift cards assuming they are of value.

594. 5:47:15

     Only when they give them out as gifts or attempt to use them do they find out they're worthless. This is a good piece of legislation. Uh, Chairman Gullet over in the House and myself have been working on this for about, uh, three years, and I appreciate the opportunity for you to vote and pass this good legislation. It was, um, voted out of the House 168 to two, and it is good, and voted out of committee unanimously. Thank you for your consideration, and I yield the well.

595. 5:47:45

     Senator has yielded. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. The previous question is ordered. Is there objection to agreeing to the reported committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The reported committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. The question is on the passage of the bill. All those in favor of the bill, vote yay. Opposed, nay. Secretary will note the machine.

596. 5:48:41

     On the pass of the bill, the yeas are 49, the nays are one.

597. 5:49:14

     This bill having received a requisite constitutional majority is therefore passed. Recognize the senator from the 27th. Mr. President, first I'd like to ask you to have his consent to excuse the senator from the 30th. Without objection, the senator from the 30th is excused. And then I move that HR 1300 be removed from the table. Secretary, read the caption. House Resolution 1300 by Representative Ford of the 170th and others. A resolution recognizing the Honorable Penny Houston and dedicating a roundabout in her honor and for other purposes.

598. 5:49:46

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

599. 5:49:50

     Is there objection? Hearing none, secretary, finish the caption. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Transportation recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Dolezal of the 27th District, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Transportation offers the following substitute, uh, H- House Resolution 1300. A resolution dedicating certain portions of the state highway system and for other purposes. Mr. President, Senator Dolezal of the 27th District offers the following amendment. Amendment one, amend the Senate Committee on Transportation substitute to House Resolution 1300 by inserting between lines 249 and 250 the following, "Whereas Mr.

600. 5:50:23

     Robert Daniel Lockhart was born in Junction City, Georgia, and received his early education at the County Line School of Taylor County, Georgia," and for other purposes. Mr. President, Senator Dolezal of the 27th District offers the following amendment. Amendment two, amend the Senate Committee on Transportation substitute to House Resolution 1300 by inserting between lines 249 and 250 the following, "Whereas Mr. Robert Daniel Lockhart was born in Junction City, Georgia, and received his early education at the County Line School of Taylor County," and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

601. 5:51:05

     Is there objection? Recognize senator from the 27th.

602. 5:51:18

     All right, y'all, this is the House's road naming bill, uh, with a number of Senate additions. Excuse me.

603. 5:51:28

     Senator from the 18th, 38th, and 17th all have, uh, additions here. Stick with me on the amendments. I'm gonna withdraw amendment one. Uh, we'll roll with amendment two, 'cause that includes two additions we have for the senator from the 38th, and then we will wait for our Senate version to come back over from the House, agree to that, and that will be our end of road namings. I'll answer any questions if we have, Mr. President. You do have one question, Senator. Recognize senator from the 14th. Mr. President, does the senator yield? Yes. Senator, did you double-check that absolutely everybody that needs to be included in this resolution is included right now, Senator?

604. 5:52:03

     I triple-checked. Well, act- it was actually gonna be my next question. Thank you, Senator. Thank you. I'll yield the well.

605. 5:52:13

     Senator, I'll wait for, I'll recognize you for your motions.

606. 5:52:23

     Recognize the senator from the 27th. Uh, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendment one to HR 1300 be withdrawn. Without objection. And then, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to suspend Senate Rule 7-1.6B to allow for the immediate consideration of HR 1300 upon adoption of a lengthy floor amendment.

607. 5:52:48

     Is there objection? All right.

608. 5:53:04

     Does any other sp- speaker, any other senator wish to speak to g- for or against the measure? Chair hears none. The motion was granted for unanimous consent. So is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. Previous question is ordered. Question is on the adoption of amendment one. S- two, excuse me, I ap- apologize. On the adoption of amendment two on HR 1300 by the senator from the 27th.

609. 5:53:38

     Is there objection to the adoption of the amendment? Hearing none, the amendment is adopted. Question is on the adoption of the committee substitute as amended. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute as amended? Hearing none, committee substitute as amended is adopted. Is there objection to agreeing to the poor committee, which is favorable to the passage of the resolution? Chair hears none. Poor committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none, and the main question is ordered. Question is on the adoption of the resolution by substitute.

610. 5:54:09

     All those in favor of the resolution will vote yay, opposed nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

611. 5:55:18

     On the adoption of the resolution by substitute, the yeas are 52 and the nays are zero, and this resolution, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore adopted by substitute.

612. 5:55:34

     Recognize the senator from 56. Thank you, Mr. President, and I move the Senate agree to the House substitute for Senate Bill 143.

613. 5:55:45

     Secretary read the caption. Senate Bill 143 by Senator Albers of the 56th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 6 of Chapter 7 of Title 47 of the OCGA relating to retirement, retirement allowances, disability benefits, and death benefits relative to the Georgia Firefighters Pension Fund so as to provide for certain members to retire at age 50. To amend Article 7 of Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the OCGA, the Public Retirement System Investment Authority Law, so as to provide for an exception for the Georgia Firefighters Pension Fund to invest in assets rated below investment grade, to provide for related matters, to provide for conditions for an effective date and automatic repeal, to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes.

614. 5:56:19

     Mr.- Mr. President, the House offers the following substitute to Senate Bill 143, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 6 of Chapter 7 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to retirement, retirement allowances, disability benefits, and death benefits relative to the Georgia Firefighters Pension Fund and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

615. 5:56:43

     Is there objection? Hearing none, recognize senator from the 56th.

616. 5:56:55

     Thank you, Mr. President. Senators, uh, this is Senate Bill 143, which we passed, uh, about a week ago. Specifically, this bill, uh, has a couple of changes to the firefighter pension fund. There's an addition in Section 3 that allows, uh, the Georgia Tax Court, who's currently in the ERS, to move to the JRS. It's a simple move, but specifically the adjustments in the firefighter pension fund takes it up to 55 to retirement. Remember, this is a supplemental retirement fund. There are no tax dollars. This will allow some of our most experienced firefighters to stay employed, to continue their career, and more importantly, be able to continue working in their most experienced time.

617. 5:57:35

     This bill will keep your community safer and will be something that each one of you will wanna take back to the fire departments and the brave men and women who serve you in your districts. If there are no questions, I will yield the well and ask for your favorable consideration. You do have one question, Senator. Recognize senator from the 47th. Would this fine senator yield for a question? It would be my honor to yield. The, uh, one of the things that, that as I see it, this is gonna help protect more Georgians by putting more firefighters back into service that actually may be retiring and not going back into service.

618. 5:58:09

     Is that not true? Senator, that's absolutely true, and what is also true is the senator from the 47th has been such a stalwart supporter of the fire service. I remember coming to your district, uh, to some of the fire stations up there, uh, and you have always, uh, been a hero to that community. Well, appreciate you bringing the bill forward. Thank you. No further questions, Senator. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the well and ask for a green vote.

619. 5:58:34

     Is there any other senator who wishes to speak for or against the bill, the motion? Hearing none. Senators move that the Senate agree to the House substitute on Senate Bill 143. All those in favor will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, allot the machine.

620. 6:00:09

     On the motion to agree to the House substitute, the yays are 52, the nays are one, and this motion has prevailed.

621. 6:00:21

     Recognize the senator from the 1st. Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Senate agree to the House substitute to SB 586 as amended by Amendment 1. Secretary, read the caption. Senate Bill 586 by Senators Williams of the 25th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Code Section 16-11-107 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to interfering with, harming of, or aggravating the harming of a public safety animal or search and rescue animal so as to provide for accommodations of public safety animals and search and rescue animals that are injured or killed in the line of duty to provide for related matters, to provide a short title to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes.

622. 6:00:57

     Mr. President, the House offers the following substitute to Senate Bill 586, a bill to be entitled an act to amend ch- Chapter 3 of, of Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to livestock running at large so as to authorize a sheriff impounding certain livestock running at large to donate the livestock to certain nonprofit organizations, individuals, and entities to provide for notice, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes. Mr. President, Senator Watson of the 1st district offers the following amendment. Amendment 1, amend the House substitute to Senate Bill 586 by replacing lines one through 86 with the following, to amend Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to general provisions for eligibility and qualifications for office so as to provide that persons having certain financial interests shall be ineligible to hold certain public offices, to amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to general provisions for conflicts of interests so as to prohibit state public officials from having financial interest in certain state contracts or from transacting business with the state, to revise disclosure provisions, to revise definitions, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes.

623. 6:01:58

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

624. 6:02:02

     Recognize senator from the 1st. Without objection.

625. 6:02:13

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, this bill is, uh, from the House Rules. It was held, uh, due to the federal constraints, which is not in this bill. So let me just, uh, digress a little bit on SB 586. As chair of Health and Human Services and Health, uh, Appropriations Subcommittee, it is my job to make sure that Georgia's healthcare dollars are spent wisely, which means asking hard questions even when the answers are uncomfortable.

626. 6:02:45

     What I found was alarming. Jackson Healthcare had pocketed over $930 million in taxpayer dollars between 2021 and 2025

627. 6:02:58

     That's five hundred and ten thousand every single day. Armed with high-paid lobbyists and the right political co- connections, when I inquired about that line, I was told that this spending on staffing, I was told nothing could be done because of who the vendor was. That answer is unacceptable.

628. 6:03:23

     Their business model has driven up healthcare costs exponentially, hurt Georgians' access to quality care, and left taxpayers holding the bill, all while operating with little to no oversight. The fox was in the henhouse. This vendor had a green light to the state bank account and nobody was watching. Georgia taxpayers paid the price literally. I'm proud the legislature acted to close this loophole and restore taxpayer trust.

629. 6:03:57

     The fox won't be getting back in. Georgia taxpayers deserve better and I will keep fighting to make sure they get it. Let me just talk about what this bill does. If you look over on this section, this, this does not, uh, in section, section two, it, on line forty-two, the executive legislative judicial branch of state of Georgia, meaning, uh, it lists specifically which officers of the state of Georgia cannot do big time business relating to the state of Georgia.

630. 6:04:30

     And those are the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, the constitution of- officers basically. We're closing this loophole and I think this is important for the state of Georgia to do and I stand behind that. Mr. President, I'm happy to answer any questions. You do have one question, Senator. Recognize the senator from the forty-fourth. Thank you, Mr. President. Will the senator yield? Yes. Thank you, Senator. Um, I'm looking at lines thirty-two through thirty-four.

631. 6:05:03

     Is there any particular reason why the members of the Public Service Commission are not included in this legislation? You know, I think they're already included in, in this. I think that the, uh, the, us senators and as you know, senators and, uh, representatives cannot do business. If we do, there are some exclusions there. If we do, we report it if there's any significance there. All right. Thank you. You have no further questions, Senator. Thank you, Mr. President. I ask for your favorable consideration.

632. 6:05:34

     Thank you. Any other senators wish to speak for or against the measure? Hearing none. Question is on the senator's ask that we, the Senate agree to House substitute as amended to SB five eighty-six. All those in favor of the motion will vote yay. All opposed, no. Secretary, unlock the machine.

633. 6:07:02

     On the motion to agree to the House substitute on SB five eighty-six, the yays are forty-nine, the nays are zero and this motion has prevailed.

634. 6:07:18

     Recognize the senator from the nineteenth.

635. 6:07:39

     Try it one more time, Senator.

636. 6:07:45

     Recognizing the senator. Try the, try the, your microphone right next to you there, Senator. Forty-two. Forty-two. Thank you, Mr. President. I move the Senate agree to House substitute to Senate Bill 402. Secretary, read the caption. Senate Bill 402 by Senators Tillery of the nineteenth and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter five of Title forty-nine of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to programs and protection for children and youth so as to establish a pilot program relating to the provision of screenings, clinical evaluations, training services and resources for autism spectrum disorder to children in foster care, to provide for definitions, to provide for the division of family and children's services of the Department of Human Services to develop and implement such pilot program to provide for a final report recommendations, to provide for rules and regulations, to provide for automatic repeal, to provide for related matters, to provide for an effective date to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes.

637. 6:08:36

     Mr. President, the House offers the following substitute to Senate Bill 402, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter five of Title forty-nine of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to programs and protection for children and youth so as to establish a pilot program relating to the provisions of screenings, clinical evaluations, training services and resources for autism spectrum disorder to children in foster care, to provide for definitions, to provide for the division of family and children's services of the Department of Human Services and for other purposes. Mr. President, I complete the order.

638. 6:09:04

     Is there objection? Hearing none, recognize the senator from the nineteenth.

639. 6:09:17

     Thank you, Mr. President. Senate Bill 402 is a bill we passed out of here unanimously. The House has also passed a version unanimously that we passed again and then they've also sent 402 back. Remember we did the study on autism, found that students in our, or kids in our foster care program were six to seven times more likely to have autism than foster care. Clearly foster t- care does not cause autism. The reason they were ending up in foster care was because of autism. This bill takes and lays out three pilots in three regions. It'll be expanded one per year afterwards and we're gonna screen and, and look at these issues more deeply.

640. 6:09:50

     Uh, we want to make sure we prioritize screenings and clinical evaluations for services for children in foster care who've also been diagnosed with hyperactive, uh, hyperactivity disorder or reactive detachment disorder to see if we can help these children resolve these issues so that they'll be more likely to stay in their homes, uh, and not be in our foster care system. Happy to take any questions or if not, I'll yield the will. You have no questions, Senator. Thank you. I urge your favorable consideration. Agree to Senate bill, the House substitute to Senate Bill 402.

641. 6:10:19

     Any other senator wish to speak for or against the motion? Chair hears none. All those in favor of the motion from the senator from the 19th on agreeing to the House substitute on SB 402, all those in favor will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machines.

642. 6:11:40

     On the motion to agree to SB 402 to the House substitute, the yays are 52 and the nays are zero, and this motion has prevailed. Recognize senator from the 32nd. Mr. President, I move that the Senate agree to the House substitute to Senate Bill 431. Secretary, read the caption. Senate Bill 431 by Senators Kirkpatrick of the 32nd and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Code Section 20-2-670 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to disclosures and information required for permanent enrollment, a grade higher than third, provisional enrollment, and transfer of education records so as to require the enrollment of foster care students within two school days of a request for enrollment by such student's parent or legal guardian to provide for reporting non-compliance and for corrective action plans to revise provisions relative to provisional enrollment to provide for related matters through bill conflicting laws for other purposes.

643. 6:12:33

     Mr. President, the House offers the following substitute to Senate Bill 431, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to education so as to revise definitions of the term education record to include additional cross-references relative to access to student education records by parents and legal custodians to repeal a specific time limitation upon a parent or legal guardian's custodian's rights to request education records to replace certain terms used in such title with school business day to require the timely enrollment of foster care students and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order. Recognize the senator from the 32nd.

644. 6:13:08

     Thank you, Mr. President. Senate Bill thir- 431 is the bill that we passed unanimously about immediate enrollment of foster kids when they transfer to a different school. When it went over to the House, they added two things. One is they clarified some definitions that originally were in Senate Bill 268, the school safety bill, regarding, um, school business days and things like that, nothing controversial. And then they also took the sunset off the IPSE grants, the Inclusive Postsecondary Education grants, and, uh, they passed that unanimously.

645. 6:13:46

     So I would ask for your favorable consideration. Happy to answer any questions.

646. 6:13:56

     You have no questions, Senator. Thank you. I yield. Any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. The senator from the 32nd has moved that the Senate agree to the House substitute on SB 431. All those in favor will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machines.

647. 6:15:33

     On the motion to agree to House substitute on SB 431, the yays are 51 and the nays are zero, and this motion has prevailed. And I would just like to recognize our chairlady. Yeah, cl- clap for her a little bit. Yeah, there you go. Clap for her. I was just about to say.

648. 6:15:54

     Just like to recognize our chairlady and all the members of the Children's and Families Committee that, that we started, uh, when I first got elected as lieutenant governor. Y'all have done wonderful work on, in the foster care arena. You've done wonderful work in early childhood education and every, and, uh, all things pertaining to families in general. So we, uh, we greatly appreciated that. I think that marks maybe 20 bills that we've gotten done that go towards, uh, either childcare, foster care, DFCS, trying to improve, um, trying to improve the lives of our young people.

649. 6:16:31

     Thank you, Senator, and, uh, you fit that role very nicely, and we just appreciate your leadership on there, and we appreciate all the members who served on that committee as well. Actually, all those members on the Children and Family, stand up for me real quick so that I know. And everybody give them a round of applause there.

650. 6:16:55

     I hope, I hope whoever the next lieutenant governor is, 'cause I believe, uh, he or she is in the room right now, con- considering all y'all are running for it. But, uh, I hope y'all keep that committee in place so, um, to, 'cause it's been very, it's been a very good committee, and it's been a very meaningful one, so thank you again, Chairlady. Recognize senator from the 32nd.

651. 6:17:26

     Turn on my mic. Mic, mic. You got it on? Okay. Is it on? Okay. I just wanted to thank you personally for creating the committee and also your wonderful staff. Ines Owens has just done a phenomenal job with helping herd the cats and making sure that we moved our bills forward. So I think that was the last one that we had for this year, but I think we've made a big difference for foster kids, and I really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate that.

652. 6:18:14

     Chair recognizes senator from the 29th.

653. 6:18:18

     Mr. President, I move that the Senate agree to the House substitute to SB 173 as amended by Amendment 1. Secretary, read the caption.

654. 6:18:32

     Senate Bill 173 by Senators McLaurin of the 14th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to pleadings and motions so as to authorize movements to file notices of uncontested motions in superior courts and state courts, to provide for uncontested motions to be deemed granted, to provide for a review by chief judge of any judge with two uncontested motions deemed granted on his or her docket, to require management reports regarding ever s- e- each such review, to provide construction, to provide for related r- laws, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes.

655. 6:19:02

     Mr. President, the House offers the following amendment, uh, substitute to Senate Bill 173, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to pleadings and motions so as to authorize movants to file notices of uncontested motions in superior courts and state courts. Mr. President, Robertson of the... Senator Robertson of the 29th District offers the following amendment. Amendment 1, amend the House substitute to Senate Bill 173 by inserting after such copies on line eight with the following: To amend Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to general provisions relative to the Juvenile Code so as to establish the right of parties to obtain a full and complete record of proceedings under the Juvenile Code, to establish the right of the Department of Human Services to obtain a full and complete record of proceedings under the Juvenile Code in which it is permitted to participate by the juvenile court, and for other purposes.

656. 6:19:49

     Mr. President, that completes the order. Recognize senator from the 29th.

657. 6:20:03

     Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, this is a unique piece of legislation. It's as bipartisan as we can get. When you read the amendment and see the legislations that involved, the Hebrew phrase kumbaya comes to mind. Um, but SB 173, the original legislation, is very simple and well thought out. It deals when a superior court judge or a state court judge fails to rule upon a properly served pretrial motion before him or her which no objection has been filed by any party or any valid intervener within 60 days of the filing of such motion.

658. 6:20:51

     It's pretty, pretty self-explanatory you would think, but in our court system nothing is that simple. So on this bill, what we've added is a, um, a bill that also includes discovery, um, legislation brought forth by the leader of District 22. And all it does is opt in something that, that we've needed for a long time. It basically puts in the same discovery parameters and rules that we currently have in superior court.

659. 6:21:27

     It puts those rules in in state court. Does a better job of balancing the scales of justice. And again, from the senator of the 22nd.

660. 6:21:43

     Also, you'll find in here

661. 6:21:47

     an amendment in section...

662. 6:22:04

     on line 32 that states, "A party shall have the right to a full and complete record of any proceeding under this chapter." What this deals with is there are many juvenile cases involving the Department of Family and Children Services. Currently, the court maintains a transcript in those cases. Some of them are partial transcripts. All this does is give the Department of Family and Children Services access to the full transcript in a custody hearing involving defects.

663. 6:22:37

     What we have found around the state is sometimes those aren't available or incomplete. This is to make sure that the communications we have in the courts and in the case file are consistent, especially when we're talking about where children are being taken from families. And finally, in section four, it allows the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to establish a grant program with no funds from the state to help establish grants to provide ballistic windshields and side glass for agencies that apply and qualify.

664. 6:23:23

     And with that, I will yield the well, and if any of the co-authors of the legislation that's been amended in here cares to come up and, and explain in more detail what their, um, legislation proposes, then I welcome that and encourage that. And with that, Mr. President, I will yield the well. Senator's yielded. Recognize the senator from the 22nd to speak to the measure.

665. 6:24:01

     Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be brief. Looking at lines 68 on page three, starting at line 68 on page three, which talks about basically the discovery aspect of this. Currently, for like felony cases, those are your more serious cases, whether it's murder or armed robbery, something like that, the prosecutor has to give the defense everything they have. The defense has to give the prosecution everything they have. So you, both sides kind of know what the facts are in the case. In a misdemeanor case, though-

666. 6:24:32

     The prosecutor has to give the defense everything they have, but the defense does not have to give everything that they have. And so it actually allows the prosecution to be somewhat on at a disadvantage going into a trial, actually going into the trial because he or she does not know everything that the defense actually has. So it actually gives them a somewhat of a disadvantage. This just evens the playing field, same playing field we have even today on felony cases. It evens the now for misdemeanor cases such as DUI cases, family violence cases, and also some of your, um, shoplifting cases and things of that nature.

667. 6:25:04

     But the big thing that prosecutors do on this, uh, misdemeanor side are family violence cases and also DUI cases. That's where it really will make a difference and really will even up the playing field for the prosecution and for the defense. And with that, I'll take any questions, um, Mr. President, if there are any. Do have one question, Senator. Recognize senator from the 42nd. Does leader yield? Yes. Mr. Leader, isn't it true that your part of this bill you're talking about, the misdemeanor discovery part is something that our solicitors around the state have asked for for some time because it will create more fairness, it will recreate, um, reciprocal discovery in misdemeanor case like we have in felony cases, and help us hopefully have more justice for everybody in the system of misdemeanors.

668. 6:25:46

     Isn't that true? That's 100% correct. That's absolutely correct. Any other questions? No other questions, Senator. Thank you, Mr. President. Recognize senator from the 50th.

669. 6:26:12

     Thank you, Mr. President. And, um, I am coming down just to speak against this amendment. You know, I ran as a constitutionalist, and, uh, while I support our prosecutors and solicitors, I also feel like I need to stand up for the Constitution on this one. I, I, I heard that this will make the system more balanced, um, but when you're talking about prosecuting, the burden is on the state to prove their case, and the state has to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

670. 6:26:56

     When you subject defendants to these discovery rules, in my opinion, that's a burden shift, which is something I'm generally am not okay with. I, I, understand the argument that this is already done in felony cases, but I think in felony cases most times you've got defense attorneys involved that have more experience. In misdemeanor courts, I mean, these are... They're faster. You're getting people in there that most of the time do not have attorneys.

671. 6:27:29

     While I respect the provision in the bill right now that will not automatically opt someone in for these, a defendant in for discovery, the, the part that I still have concern with is in a multi-defendant case, if one defendant opts in, that subjects every defendant from opting in. I also have a little bit of pause on the provision that automatically opts someone in if they open up discovery under Title IX, which is the Civil Practice Act.

672. 6:28:02

     Um, I've tried to get some clarity on that. I think one issue that I, I, I believe would be a concern is in civil forfeiture or civil asset forfeiture cases. If someone has to go in and, and may have a lawsuit against the county for wrongf- wrongfully forfeiting, um, or seizing their property, this could open the door to automatic discovery in the criminal case.

673. 6:28:29

     So I'm gonna be a no, and I wanted to explain why I'm a no. Uh, just, it just goes back to principle. I think this is a burden shift. This is no, you know, to no offense of the solicitors or the prosecutors, I think they do a good job, um, but in this case I just have, I have some pause supporting this, this amendment due to the fact that I do think it's a constitutional burden shift. And with that, Mr. President, I'll yield the floor.

674. 6:29:00

     All right. Would any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Like to close out, senator from the 29th.

675. 6:29:12

     If, um, thank you, Mr. President. If I was in judiciary, I would be having to borrow $5 from somebody to give to the, uh, the chairman from the 42nd because I am not an attorney. But there's an opt-in provision. If the solicitor asks the defense for the discovery, the defense can say no. And my good friend from the 50th who is, if I had a partner in crime, he would be my partner in crime.

676. 6:29:44

     If we were charged together in a case, and he under excruciating pressure caved and decided to give discovery and I decided not to, then they would separate our cases. His case would be heard separately from mine.

677. 6:30:06

     What this does is it does not touch anyone's constitutional rights. The burden still rests with the state. 100% rests with the state. If I go in there and I know that my discovery as the defendant is going to exonerate me from the case, because what many may not know, a couple of things you may not know, and we've said this before, Perry Mason is not real

678. 6:30:37

     CSI is not real. All of that stuff is, is written in Hollywood for television. Most cases are done on, are, are carried out on circumstantial evidence. Rarely is a crime committed in the presence of a law enforcement officer.

679. 6:30:55

     Most cases are what you typically hear, "He said, he said. He said, she said," the victim and the defendant. And in many of these cases, when you look at the evidence on both sides, the solicitor general or the DA even, in a felony case, realizes that it's either best to attempt to negotiate a settlement of the case or dead docket the case, not moving the case forward.

680. 6:31:27

     That's the reality of it. Um, when the senator from the 22nd first brought this out, I think it was last year, and we all looked at it, we realized it was a very efficient way to move a lot of these cases through while maintaining the rights of those accused. It's a very forward-thinking way to do things. It does not touch on the constitutionality of it. And don't forget this, the people who languish many times in these misdemeanor cases are the victims.

681. 6:32:03

     This moves it through the system faster, efficiently, w- more efficiently, while maintaining the rights of everybody involved. And again, I have a tremendous amount of respect for my seatmate. He's the guy I'd want sitting next to me if a fight broke out, I can promise you, and I ask him a lot of legal advice. But on this one, the senator from the 22nd is right. I would ask for your support on this bill, because understand, the amendment is 75% of the bill.

682. 6:32:38

     There are other things inside that amendment that are extremely important. This is good legislation, and I ask that you vote green on this. And with that, Mr. President, I yield the well.

683. 6:32:53

     Senator from the 46, would you...

684. 6:32:58

     I have questions to yield. He yields. Senator has yielded. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure?

685. 6:33:08

     Hearing none. The senator from the 29th has moved that the Senate agree to the House substitute as amended on SB 173. All those in favor will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

686. 6:33:28

     Order. Senator from the 55th, what purpose do you rise? Mr. Speaker, uh, Mr. President, is it not true that we have a presumption of innocence until proven guilty in criminal cases? I think the senator knows what he speaks. Thank you.

687. 6:33:52

     Recognize the senator from the 54th. Mr. President, isn't it true that my seatmate just called you Mr. Speaker? Oh. This is very true, Senator, and I, uh, I pulled down a lot more votes for this title than that person over there did.

688. 6:34:15

     I recognize the senator from the 14th. What purpose do you rise? Parliamentary inquiry. State your inquiry. Mr. President, isn't true I waited till the last second to say how much lawyers like this bill?

689. 6:34:26

     Oh. Well, you notice everybody's eyes were glazing over, so you knew it was a lawyer bill. The senator from the 50th, he said the, the... Actually, let me, uh, let me announce this real quick. On the motion to agree, the yays are 41, the nays are eight, and this motion has prevailed. Senator from the 50th referred to you as his foxhole person. Weren't you a swimmer in college? What was your, uh, what was your specialty in swimming?

690. 6:35:01

     100 or 200?

691. 6:35:05

     1,500. 1,500? 1,500. Oh, 1,500. That's impressive, Senator. That's impressive. That's a big swimmer right there, man.

692. 6:35:22

     All right, you're good. This is good. Thank you. 40 seconds.

693. 6:35:47

     Recognize the senator from the 42nd. Mr. President, I move that the Senate agree to the House Amendment, to the Senate Amendment, to the House Substitute, to Senate Bill 207.

694. 6:36:00

     Secretary, read the caption. Senate Bill 207 by Senator Strickland of the 42nd and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend titles 20, 26, 31, 33, and 43 of the OCGA relating to education, food, drugs, and cosmetics, health insurance, and professions and businesses, to amend Chapter 4 of Title 25 of the OCGA relating to firefighter standards and training, to amend Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 35 of the OCGA relating to Georgia Crime Information Center, to amend Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 of the OCGA relating to first offenders, to amend Code Section 17-10-21 of the OCGA relating to vacating of sentence for trafficking victim defendants to provide for related matters, to provide for effective dates and applicability, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes.

695. 6:36:41

     Mr. President, the House offers the following amendment. Amend the Senate substitute to Senate Bill 207 by replacing lines through three with the, l- lines through the end with the following to amend titles 33 and 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to insurance and professions and businesses respectively so as to create a pre-clearance process in the licensing of individuals with criminal records who make an application to or are investigated by certain licensing boards and commissions and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes your order.

696. 6:37:07

     Recognize senator from the 47th.

697. 6:37:25

     Members of the Senate, that motion sounded complicated. I'll tell you, this bill has been very complicated to get to this point. This is my fourth year carrying this issue. This was a Senate priority that you all voted on at least maybe four times now. This is occupational licensing reform. This overhauls how our occupational licensing board deals with people with criminal records. It makes certain that, um, a board is gonna make sure that if you're gonna deny a license to somebody, that your past offense has a direct connection with the occupation.

698. 6:37:56

     In other words, someone with a petty offense, maybe something that, um, even a theft offense probably should not be working with people in a nursing home. But other types of offenses, they make you still go serve as a plumber or something like that. This is a second chance bill. This helps get people back to work, and this bill has been quite a journey. I wanna thank not just the lieutenant governor, Mr. President, your support on this bill. We've had press conferences over this in the past. Also wanna thank a lot of the advocates that got us to this point, the Georgia Justice Project, Metro Chamber, Georgia Center for Opportunity, Faith and Freedom Coalition, Unify US, Georgia Chamber, CPAC.

699. 6:38:34

     This has been an effort over the years. The House did strip some of the boards from the bill, but the bill is still something we should pass. It still has all the boards that are covered by our Secretary of State, and this is a bill that is gonna be pro-family, it's pro getting people back to work, it's helping get people out of our justice system, help people get jobs so they can return, be product mem- members of society, and hopefully create generational change for a lot of our families in our state. Happy to take any questions.

700. 6:39:05

     I will yield the well.

701. 6:39:08

     Is there any other senator who wish to speak for or against the measure? Hearing none, the senator for the 42nd has agreed to the House Amendment, to the Senate Amendment, to House Substitute on SB207. All those in favor of the bill will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

702. 6:40:31

     On the agree, the yays are 50 and the nays are zero. And nicely done, Senator.

703. 6:40:40

     Recognize the senator from the 45th.

704. 6:40:47

     Thank you, Mr. President. I ask that, uh, House Bill 309 be lifted from the table.

705. 6:40:52

     Secretary, read the caption.

706. 6:40:55

     House Bill 309 by Representative Clifton of the 131st and others. A bill to be entitled In Act to Amend Chapter 8 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to county police so as to require adoption of a resolution or ordinance and voter approval to abolishment of a police force that was created by such a method to provide for a referendum, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes. Mr. President, I complete the order.

707. 6:41:20

     Is there objection? Hearing none, senator from the 45th. Secretary, finish the caption.

708. 6:41:28

     Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on State and Local Governmental Operations General recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Dixon, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on State and Local Government Operations General offers the following substitute to House Bill 309. A bill to be entitled In Act to Amend Title 8, Title 12, and Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to buildings and housings, conservation and natural resources, and local government respectively, so as to revise provisions relating to inspections submitted by private professional providers, to revise provisions regarding denial or non-acceptance of permits, to require local issuing authorities, and for other purposes.

709. 6:41:58

     Mr. President, Senator Kemp of the 38th District offers the following amendment. Amendment 1, amend the Senate substitute to House Bill 309 by replacing "and Title 36" on line one with the following, "Title 50 and Title 36" by inserting between definitions and 2 on line 17 with the following, "To amend Code Section 50-14-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated and for other purposes." Mr. President, that completes the order.

710. 6:42:23

     Senator from the 45th, the floor is yours.

711. 6:42:40

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, Senate colleagues, I bring before you House Bill 309. Uh, we've added some things to it. Uh, the underlying bill, uh, what it, what it does is, and currently when a county wants to create a police department, uh, the governing authority must approve it and then they must go out on a referendum. Uh, what this bill would do if they decide to abolish that police force, um, instead of just having like a board action, they would have to go out on a referendum, uh, for the residents, uh, to vote on that. So that would be the change, uh, to that, that law on the underlying bill.

712. 6:43:14

     Uh, what we've added to it, Senate colleagues, I know we've debated and perfected, uh, this legislation. If you remember, Senate Bill 447 had to do with land disturbance permits, uh, soil and erosion control. Uh, we debated it in, in committee and on this floor. We passed that over the House. The House had carved out certain areas of the state of that, uh, with that bill. So, um, and this is good, uh, good policy, statewide policy to help with the affordability of housing here in the state of Georgia.

713. 6:43:45

     So we wanna send it back over clean, whole, so we've added it to 309. And if you remember what the bill does, is currently in law, uh, local municipality has 45 days to review plans. Uh, what we've changed is in the resubmittal, uh, of the review, they, they would have 20 days on the first resubmittal, and then thereafter it would be 14 days until the plan is perfected

714. 6:44:07

     and that it also, uh, the, the stick in the bill, we did change it in the House. Uh, we had the project would be deemed approved if the municipality didn't respond. Uh, it was changed to mandamus relief in the House. Uh, we've also, uh, had a few other perfections, uh, that we made in the House. There was a limit we put if, if a project triggers a DRI or a, a project of regional significance, uh, then the timet- the timetables would come off, uh, during that review process.

715. 6:44:40

     We also added in there if there's a state or federal agency that has to review the project, that those timetables would come off just because it's out of the hands of the local issuing authority and we don't wanna penalize them for delays that they can't control. Uh, with that, Mr. President, I'd be happy to answer, answer any questions or I'll yield well. We have no questions, Senator. Thank you, Mr. President. I ask for your favorable consideration. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Hearing...

716. 6:45:13

     I'm sorry, senator from the 38th, I almost skipped over you there. You have an amendment. Recognize the senator from the 38th.

717. 6:45:33

     Almost missed you there.

718. 6:45:38

     Thank you, Mr. President. I rise on this amendment. Uh, it is a friendly amendment to just make sure that we allow for teleconferencing to occur, uh, for board meetings. Uh, it does not reduce transparency or accountability. All meetings will still be open to sub- uh, to Georgia's Open Meetings Act, including full public notice and real-time public access. Right now, some entity, entities like the Atlanta Development Authority, Downtown Development Authority already have the ability to meet by teleconference, uh, including, uh, the Urban Residential Finance Authority, but they...

719. 6:46:15

     I'm sorry, the Urban Residential Finance Authority does not, so this would give them the ability to do that. Um, so it creates some consistency across the board. I'm happy to answer questions if there are any, but as I shared, friendly amendment. You have no questions, Senator. Wonderful. I yield the well. Thank you. Would any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Hearing none.

720. 6:46:39

     Is there objection to am- objection for the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. The previous question is ordered. Questions on the adoption of amendment number one, authored by the senator from the 38th. Is there objection to amendment number one? Hearing no objection, amendment number one is added. Questions on the adoption of the committee substitute as amended. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute as amended? Hearing none, the committee substitute as amended is adopted.

721. 6:47:12

     Is there objection to agreeing to the reporting committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The reporting committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Questions on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

722. 6:49:01

     On the passage of the bill, on House Bill 309, the yays are 47, the nays are zero, and this motion has prevailed, so.

723. 6:49:14

     Senator from the 24th has a special announcement for everybody here. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. The Senate has done it again. Oh, no. Hey. Here we go. We have won the victory. We have won the ticket to the auction on the raffle ticket for the Georgia Sportsmen's Caucus.

724. 6:49:47

     All right. A senator in this room has won. And you were-

725. 6:49:57

     Hey. Tell it all, brother. Tell it all. This is two years straight that we have won the auction of which one we want. So let's continue this this coming year. Thank you for all the support y'all gave us in donations and in tickets. Who won? Who won? Oh, you want to know who won? Oh. You know, he's a very busy man,

726. 6:50:24

     but the senator from the 45th.

727. 6:50:30

     Oh. Oh, no, he's too busy. He's too busy to win. The senator from the 45th, would you raise your hand, please? Go ahead. See, he don't pay attention. Hey. Hey. He is our winner. Hey, hey. We did it. We did it. He has the option of getting to go a half a day hunting or a rifle. So it's up to him, and we'll leave the leftovers to the House.

728. 6:51:02

     Thank you again. All right.

729. 6:51:14

     Congratulations, I guess. I don't... Senator from the 6th, do you know what, do you know what the big award is?

730. 6:51:26

     I'm not real sure, Mr. President, but I hope it's not a gun. I don't think they're allowed up where he's at. All right. All right. Well, moving on then. Recognize the senator from the 29th.

731. 6:51:41

     Mr. Pre- Mr. President, I ask that House Bill 1131 be taken off the table.

732. 6:51:48

     Secretary, read the caption. House Bill 1131 by Representatives Hong of the 103rd and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 4 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to warrants for arrest so as to provide for personal service of process for notice of a warrant application hearing, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

733. 6:52:17

     Is there objection? Continue with the... Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Judiciary recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Strickland, the 42nd District Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Judiciary offers the following substitute to House Bill 1131, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to criminal procedures so as to provide for personal service of process for notice of a warrant application hearing, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes. Mr. President, Senators Brass of the 6th District and others offers the following amendment, Amendment 1 to amend House Bill 1131 by on line 58 striking $1 million and replacing with $500,000.

734. 6:52:58

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

735. 6:53:06

     Recognize the senator from the 29th.

736. 6:53:17

     Thank you, colleagues. Very simple bill. All that's changed in this law is that an individual must be served personally if they are, if an arrest warrant is issued for them, requires personal service. In other words, you can't mail it, you can't call them, you gotta go see them. The other part that was amended on line 88 is it lifts any prohibition or conceived prohibition for any family member who wishes to post a cash bond for any of their family members who may be held in jail.

737. 6:54:00

     Uh, an amendment has been offered by the, uh, senators of the 6th and 27th. I have no issues with that amendment, and, uh, I would appreciate your support on this legislation for as long as my voice lasts. Thank you. I yield the will.

738. 6:54:22

     Any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Recognize the senator from the 6th. My favorite senator from Coweta County.

739. 6:54:38

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, the, the amendment's very simple. We're taking the cash escrow account down from a million to 500,000. This only affects just a few counties around our metro area, and those counties have already, most of those counties have already implemented this same cap by rule, and we're simply codifying it. Thank you. I'll yield.

740. 6:55:07

     Any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? All right. So is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. The previous question is ordered. The question is on the adoption of amendment number one, authored by the senator from the 6th. Is there objection? Hearing none, amendment number one is adopted.

741. 6:55:32

     The question is on the adoption of the committee substitute as amended. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute as amended? Hearing none, the committee substitute as amended is adopted. Is there objection to agreeing to the report of the committee, which is favorable to, favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Questions on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill will vote yay. Opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

742. 6:56:06

     Senator from the 15th, for what purpose do you rise? Yeah, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent- State your inquiry ... to excuse the senator from the 2nd, please. All right. Senator from the 2nd will be excused, but it'll be after this vote.

743. 6:57:03

     On the passage of HB 1131 by substitute, the yays are 47, the nays are 2, and this motion has prevailed. Recognize the senator from the 56th.

744. 6:57:22

     Thank you, Mr. President. I move that House Bill 1295 be hoisted from the table. Secretary, read the caption. House Bill 1295 by Representatives Cooper of the 45th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 4 of Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the OCGA relating to physician assistants so as to enter into an interstate compact known as the PA Licensure Compact to revise provisions relating to the Ge- Georgia Composite Medical Board to provide for date of implementation, withdrawal, and amendment, to provide for construction and severability, to provide for the effect of the compact, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes.

745. 6:57:55

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

746. 6:58:05

     Is there objection? Hearing none, Secretary continue. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Regulated Industries and Utilities recommends that this bill do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Cowsert of the 46th District, Chairman. Mr. President, Senator Albers of the 56th District offers the following amendment. Amendment one.

747. 6:58:24

     Amend,

748. 6:58:28

     amend House Bill 1295 by replacing an effective date on line 12 with the following. For contingent effectiveness upon appropriation of funds by inserting after check on line 29 the following, as provided for in code section 43-34-103.1, by replacing line 67 through 88 with the following, required if the physician assistant is an employee of the state or a county government. Mr. President, that completes the order for other purposes. Recognize senator from the 56th.

749. 6:59:01

     Thank you, Mr. President. This is a licensure compact bill for our physicians assistants. This is a collaborate process that we work with other states in order to have uniform standards. It allows us to bring physicians assistants in from other states that have the exact same type of education and background and get them working quickly. What does that mean for Georgians? That's our military spouses who are able to practice more quickly. That's people who are coming here that can help, uh, provide healthcare in our rural areas as well as our urban and suburban areas faster.

750. 6:59:32

     It will ultimately lower the cost of healthcare. This is worked on with the Composite Medical Board. Uh, this will also help us out with the CMS transformation grant application. This gives us extra points so we can bring extra dollars down. All of this, uh, combined is a great way for us to improve healthcare access and lower costs for Georgians. You have amendment number one in front of you, which is very simple, in working with the GBI and our system called GCIC, which many of you are familiar with, to make sure we have got the process for doing background and fingerprints done correctly to meet the compact.

751. 7:00:07

     If there are no questions, I would yield the will and ask for your favorable consideration. There are no other questions, Senator. Thank you, Mr. President.

752. 7:00:18

     Any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure?

753. 7:00:27

     Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. The previous question is ordered. The question is on adoption of amendment number one, authored by the senator from the 56th. All those in favor of amendment one... Excuse me, I'm sorry. Is there objection to amendment one? Without objection, amendment one is added. Is there objection to agreeing to the reporter committee, which is favorable to the pass of the bill? Chair hears none. The reporter committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Questions on the pass of the bill as amended. All those in favor of the bill will vote yay.

754. 7:00:58

     All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

755. 7:02:01

     On the pass of the bill, the yays are 49, the nays are zero. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed as amended.

756. 7:02:12

     This young, this young lady right here, my seat was right over there when I first started here 14 years ago. She was three years old on the first day right here. This is Stella Jones, who is now 17, so they grow up quick. Let's give Stella a big round of applause here.

757. 7:02:40

     And her beautiful mother is right over there, my wife Jan. And she, yeah, give her a round of applause.

758. 7:02:48

     As you can tell, Stella has her mother's looks, so therefore I'm in a lot of trouble here. So, but thank y'all for in- uh, allowing us to introduce them here today. Thank you.

759. 7:03:04

     Recognize senator from the 21st. Mr. President, I'd like to request that House Bill 1434 be lifted from the table.

760. 7:03:15

     Secretary, read the caption. House Bill 1434 by Representative Jenkins of the 136th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter 3 of Title 6 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to powers of local governments as to air facilities so as to provide for the identification of the airport affected areas, to provide for public notice and public hearing, to require the adoption, administration, and enforcement of regulations relative to the use of land in airport affected terms, to provide for standards for adoption of such regulations, to provide for consultation with the Department of Transportation, to provide for the adoption of local methods of enforcing regulations relative to airport area affected areas, to provide for a method for requesting variances, to provide for penalties, to provide for definitions, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes.

761. 7:03:54

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

762. 7:03:58

     Is there objection? Hearing none. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Transportation recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Dolezal of the 27th District, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Transportation Committee offers the following substitute to House Bill 1434, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter 3 of Title 6 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to powers of local governments as to air facilities so as to provide for the identification of airport affected areas, to provide for public notice and public hearing, to require the adoption, administration, and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

763. 7:04:29

     Recognize senator from the 21st.

764. 7:04:44

     Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, this is, uh, House Bill 1434. Good, clean, simple bill. Makes a lot of sense. Uh, this is, um, a bill that protects the airspace, protects around Georgia's public use airports. Uh, simply creates a consistent framework across Georgia to identify what are called airport affected areas, uh, and ensures that local governments adopt reasonable regulations to prevent unsafe obstructions, such as excessively tall structures or incompatible land use, uh, that could interfere with aircraft operations.

765. 7:05:15

     What this legislation does, it requires aerospace protection legislation at the local level, requires local legislation to use existing FAA, uh, defined services, uh, services, and requires, uh, GDOT guidance with local implementation. Mr. President, I will, uh, be glad to answer any questions. You have no questions, Senator. Okay. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the well. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none.

766. 7:05:45

     Is there objection previous question be in order? Chair hears none. The previous question is order. The question is on the adoption of the committee substitute. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute? Hearing none, the committee substitute is adopted. Is there objection to agreeing to the report of the committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question be in ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is order. The question is on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill vote yay. Opposed, nay. Secretary will unlock the machine.

767. 7:07:16

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are fifty-two and the nays are zero. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute.

768. 7:07:31

     Secretary will read the caption of House Bill 1142, or we gotta take it off the table. Chair recognizes the senator from the 42nd for a motion. Mr. President, I move that House Bill 1142 be removed from the table. Secretary will read the caption. House Bill 1142 by Representative Hagan of the 156th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Titles 15 and 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to courts and domestic relations respectively, so as to require certain agreements for certain offenses to be eligible for a pretrial intervention and diversion program, provide for the creation of a registry of recidivist domestic violent offenders, to provide for the maintenance of such registry, to provide for clerks of court to provide certain information to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, to provide for the registration of recidivist domestic violence offenders, to provide for the assessment of fees on recidivist domestic violence offenders, to provide for the removal of recidivist domestic violent offenders after a period of time, to provide for definitions, to provide for an effective date and applicability, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes.

769. 7:08:30

     Mr. President, that completes the order. Senator from the 41st, what purpose do you rise? Thank you, Mr. President. I ask for unanimous consent to excuse the senator from the 43rd. Without objection, the senator from the 43rd is excused. I recognize the senator from the-

770. 7:08:52

     All right, the senator from the 42nd has moved that House Bill 1142 be removed from the table. Is there objection? Hearing none, House Bill 1142 is removed from the table. Please finish the caption. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Judiciary recommends that this bill do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Strickland of the 42nd District. Chairman and Mr. President, that completes the order. Now, I recognize the senator from the 42nd to speak to his motion.

771. 7:09:26

     Thank you, Mr. President, members of the Senate. House Bill 1142 creates a domestic violence offense registry. And so in the bill, we define what a domestic violence offense is because that's not an existing criminal offense under Georgia law, but we define which, which types of offenses between different parties would qualify as an offense. And once someone has multiple offenses, they would then go onto a registry where individuals could look up people who have a history of committing domestic violence.

772. 7:09:58

     Happy to take any questions.

773. 7:10:02

     Senator from the 41st, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. Senator, yield? Yes, ma'am. Senator, um, can you just tell me what would happen in, in terms of the registry if someone were, um, convicted for a domestic violence offense that resulted in them being imprisoned for five years? Would they then go on the registry after they've served their offense, or would they essentially be... It's my understanding, I think they would essentially be on the registry while incarcerated. So just can you respond to that?

774. 7:10:33

     Yeah. I believe that's correct because it's dealt with upon conviction. And so this is something we discussed in committee. It's not in the bill, and we gotta figure out exactly logistically how this would work. But because it's based on a conviction, at the time of sentencing, it's something that the judge would have to provide notice to the defendant of. And the issue would be does the conviction qualify as a domestic violence offense? That has to be determined because that's not, uh, something in our Georgia law right now. And so I think that would happen at sentencing. And so, yes, I do believe, unless I'm misreading the bill the way it's written, someone could be serving time in prison while they're on the registry.

775. 7:11:09

     Do you further yield? Yes. So isn't it true that my concern is that someone would have spent time in prison on the registry the entire time, and then by the time they're released, they're no longer on the resi- registry, so therefore women are people who need to be warned about this person's behavior. Isn't it true they would not receive that warning because they're no longer on the registry? Well, I guess if they qualify to be removed from the registry, then that would be true.

776. 7:12:17

     So I guess

777. 7:12:24

     There's a motion to table from the senator from the twenty-ninth. Is there objection?

778. 7:12:33

     Without objection, House Bill 1142 is placed on the table.

779. 7:12:45

     Recognize the senator from the thirty-second.

780. 7:12:54

     Mr. President, I move that House Bill 1187 be removed from the table.

781. 7:13:01

     Secretary, read the caption.

782. 7:13:05

     House Bill 1187 by Representatives Hong of the one hundred third and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 8 of Chapter 11 of Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to provisional and final remedies in special proceedings so as to prohibit as contrary to the public policy of this state any contract or agreement that has the purpose or effect of concealing the details relating to a claim of childhood sexual abuse, to provide for the confidentiality of identifying information of victims of childhood sexual abuse, to provide for a short title, to provide for related matters, provide for an effective date, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

783. 7:13:36

     Senator from the thirty-second has moved that House Bill 1187 be removed from the table. Is there objection?

784. 7:13:44

     Hearing none, House Bill 1187 is removed from the table. The secretary will read the remaining caption.

785. 7:13:50

     Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Judiciary recommends that this bill do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Strickland of the forty-second District. Chairman, Mr. President, that completes the order.

786. 7:13:59

     Senator from the thirty-second, you're recognized to speak to House Bill 1187.

787. 7:14:18

     Thank you, Mr. President. This is the governor's bill. Let me start by apologizing to the longest serving floor leader in the Senate for presenting this bill on the governor's behalf. Um, this bill is, came from the First Lady and the Grace Commission, and it's called Trey's Law. It's named after Trey Carlock, who's a Texas resident who also lived in Atlanta for four years growing up, who was sexually abused as a child at a summer camp.

788. 7:14:49

     And in his civil lawsuit, he was required to sign an NDA that prevented him from sharing his experience. This silence contributed to lifelong trauma, and eventually he committed suicide in 2019. This bill prohibits the use of NDAs in civil settlements, specifically involving child sexual abuse and child trafficking. These NDAs silence survivors of sexual abuse in civil settlement agreements and forces victims to choose between compensation and their voice.

789. 7:15:22

     The purpose of the law is so that survivors can speak openly about the abuse that they suffered, help expose abusers and negligent institutions, and prevent harmful secrecy in future cases. So in short, this frees survivors to share their stories, to seek mental health support, to uncover patterns of institutional silence, and to deter future abuse. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

790. 7:15:49

     There are no questions, Senator.

791. 7:15:51

     Thank you. I yield.

792. 7:15:52

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none and previous question is ordered. Is there objection agreeing the report of the committee which is favorable to pass the bill? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none and main question is ordered. Question is on the passage of the bill. All those in favor of the bill vote yay. Opposed, nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

793. 7:17:19

     On the pass of the bill, the yays are fifty and the nays are zero. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed.

794. 7:17:29

     I want to recognize former Senator Preston Smith of the Fifty-Second. Senator Smith. Preston, he's leaving. Turn around. Oh, there he is over there. Good. Sorry. Welcome. Glad you're with us. See if you can do anything with the current senator from the Fifty-Second while you're here, please.

795. 7:18:09

     I recognize the senator from the Twenty-Ninth.

796. 7:18:11

     Mr. President, I ask that HB 52 be lifted off the table.

797. 7:18:16

     Senator from the Twenty-Ninth has moved that HB 52 be removed from the table. Is there objection?

798. 7:18:24

     Hearing none, it- HB 52 is removed from the table. The secretary will read the caption.

799. 7:18:30

     House Bill 52 by Representatives Rife- Rice of the 139th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Code Section 48-5-48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to homestead exemption by qualified disabled veteran, filing requirements, periodic substantiation of eli- eligibility, persons eligible without application, and retroactive re- re- award so as to extend a homestead exemption for unremarried surviving spouses or minor children of a disabled veteran to include any future homestead, to clarify language, to provide for related matters, to provide for compliance with constitutional requirements, to provide for a referendum, effective dates, and automatic repeal, to provide for applicability, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes.

800. 7:19:05

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

801. 7:19:06

     Senate recognition.

802. 7:19:07

     Oh, Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Finance recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Hufstetler, the Fifty-Second District chairman.

803. 7:19:15

     Future homestead.

804. 7:19:15

     Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Finance offers the following substitute to House Bill 52, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Code Section 48-5-48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to homestead exemption by qualifying disabled veteran, filing requirements, periodic substantiation of eligibility, persons eligible without application, and retroactive reward so as to extend a homestead exemption for unremarried surviving spouses or minor children of a disabled veteran to include any future homestead and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

805. 7:19:41

     I recognize the senator from the Twenty-Ninth to speak to House Bill 52.

806. 7:19:55

     Colleagues, this is one of those very simple pieces of legislation that come before us. I don't think anyone in this building appreciates the sacrifice that our veterans who serve in the military made for our country. And when they come back, there are certain benefits we give them.

807. 7:20:20

     And all we're asking in this legislation, in House Bill 52, is if the unmarried surviving spouse or minor children who are entitled to exemption granted under this code section own and occupy a new homestead should they purchase a new home after the disabled veteran passes away, that they are able to file for the exemption in the county where the new home is.

808. 7:20:51

     And once filed, that exemption shall be renewed from year to year. So basically, it is taking a benefit that we give to disabled veterans and handing that to their surviving husband or wife. So if they purchase a new home, that exemption goes with that home. And I'll yield for any questions. And if not, Mr. President, I'll gladly yield the well.

809. 7:21:17

     I don't see any questions, Senator.

810. 7:21:19

     Thank you, colleagues.

811. 7:21:21

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? The chair hears none and the previous question is ordered. The question is on the adoption of the committee substitute. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute? Hearing none, the committee substitute is adopted. Is there objection to re- agreeing to the report of the committee which is favorable to the passage of the bill? The chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none and the main question is ordered.

812. 7:21:51

     The question is on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill will vote yea. Opposed, nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

813. 7:22:59

     On the passage of the bill, the ayes are 50 and the nays are zero. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute.

814. 7:23:10

     Senator from the 27th, you're recognized. Mr. President, I move that House Bill 1272 be removed from the table. Secretary will read the caption.

815. 7:23:22

     House Bill 1272 by Representative Jones of the 25th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Title 7 in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to banking and finance so as to provide for use of certain terms in the advertisement in place of business of licensed payment stablecoin issuers, to provide for licensing of payment stablecoin issuers, to provide for third-party examination or investigation, to provide for payment of certain fees and costs of examination and investigation, to provide for suspension or revocation of a license and procedures thereof, to provide for cease and desist orders, to provide for removal of certain officers and members, to provide for a short title, to provide for legislative purpose and intent, to provide for definitions, to provide for related matters, to provide for an effective date and applicability, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes.

816. 7:24:03

     Senator from the 27th District has moved that House Bill 1272 be removed from the table. Is there objection? Secretary will read the caption, further caption. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Banking and Financial Institutions recommends that this bill do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Summers, Chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

817. 7:24:26

     I recognize the senator from the 27th to speak to House Bill 1272.

818. 7:24:36

     Thank you, Mr. President. This is a stablecoin bill for those of you, um, unlike the senator from the 6th, who don't know what stablecoin is. Stablecoin is essentially digital currency, uh, supported by blockchain technology backed by fiat. So, uh, different from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, this has actually got a one stablecoin equals one US dollar. And so that's the main difference. And for those of you that were here back in 2012, um, this body passed the Merchant Acquire- Acquire Limited P- uh, Purpose Bank Act that essentially allowed for transaction alley to come to North Metro Atlanta, um, an area that's, uh, the senator, uh, from the 56th represents.

819. 7:25:22

     It allowed Fiserv, Stripe, and others to set up, uh, shop here in our area. And we believe that by signaling to the financial markets, um, and financial businesses that Georgia is open for digital transactions, for stablecoin as well, that we have the potential to do the exact same thing here. For those of you that, um, are familiar with the Genius Act that passed at the federal level, this essentially, we believe, is the state r- regulation that closest matches the Genius Act and will allow us to p- potentially and hopefully become home for stablecoin transactions the same way we have been for credit card transactions.

820. 7:26:00

     With that, Mr. President, I'm happy to answer any questions. If there are none, I'll yield the floor. No questions, Senator. Thank you. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? The chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? The chair hears none and the previous question is ordered. Is there objection agreeing the report of the committee which favor the pass to the bill? The chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? The chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Questions on the passage of the bill.

821. 7:26:31

     All those in favor of the bill will vote yay. Opposed, nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

822. 7:27:36

     On the passage of the bill, the ayes are 50 and the nays are one. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed.

823. 7:27:47

     Recognize the senator from the 56th. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, move we take House Bill 1114 from the table. Secretary will read the caption. House Bill 1114 by Representative Zierta of the 152nd and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Part 2 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to competencies in core curriculum under the Quality Basic Education Act so as to allow for students in ninth and tenth grade to complete the high school graduation financial literacy course requirement, to provide for related matters, to provide for an effective date and applicability, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes.

824. 7:28:23

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

825. 7:28:31

     Senator from the 56th has moved that House Bill 1114 be removed from the table. Is there objection?

826. 7:28:41

     Without objection, uh, continue reading the caption. Mr. President- Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on, on Education and Youth recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Hickman, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Education and Youth offers the following substitute to 1114

827. 7:28:56

     House Bill 1114, a bill to be entitled an act to amend part two of article six of chapter two of title twenty of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to competencies and core curriculum under the Quality Basic Education Act so as to provide for content standards for digital literacy instruction, to require students in kindergarten through twelfth grade to receive grade-level appropriate instruction in digital literacy, to require the Department of Education to develop and publish model programs, to publish an annual report assessing and for other purposes. Mr. President, Senator Parent of the forty-fourth District off- and others offers the following amendment. Amendment one, amend House Bill 1114 by inserting before to provide for on line 14 with the following, to amend part 14 of article six of chapter two of title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to other educational programs so as to provide for the development and distribution of certain instructional materials and resources by the Department of Education in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Natural Resources and for other purposes.

828. 7:29:46

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

829. 7:29:50

     I recognize the senator from the fifty-six to speak to House Bill 1114.

830. 7:30:04

     Thank you, Mr. President. House Bill 1114 is a great measure to modernize our K through 12 curriculum by establishing comprehensive statewide standards for both digital literacy and financial literacy. It ensures all students are going to receive at an age-appropriate instruction level critical areas such as online safety, artificial intelligence, misinformation, responsible technology use, while equipping them with the practical financial skills, things like budgeting, investing, and fraud prevention.

831. 7:30:39

     Additionally, this legislation places a strong emphasis on risk awareness, particularly on online gambling and digital harms. It introduces a structured education on psychological, financial, and societal risks while explicitly prohibiting any influence required and combining that with reporting from the Department of Education to create a responsive and transparent framework that prepares our students to navigate both the digital landscape as well as the financial decision-making that they will need to make now and in the future with great awareness, responsibility, and resilience.

832. 7:31:15

     Also, along with this bill is an amendment, uh, from the senator, uh, from the forty-fourth, uh, which I support as well that I believe she'll come up to speak on. If there are no questions on the, on the bill, Mr. President, I would yield the will and ask for favorable consideration. There are no questions. Thank you, Mr. President. I now recognize the senator from the forty-fourth to speak to her amendment.

833. 7:31:53

     Thank you, Mr. President. This amendment would enhance, um, school safety by, um, getting information to parents and guardians about responsible firearm ownership around children. So the materials will be prepared by the Department of Public Safety, Natural Resources, and Education, um, collaboratively. And this is, um, language that I've been happy to partner with the senator from the forty-sixth on over the course of the, the last year, and appreciate the support of the senator from the fifty-sixth and others.

834. 7:32:25

     Happy to answer any questions, and if not, ask for your favorable support of, um, this common sense educational measure. I don't see any questions, Senator. Thank you. Um, would appreciate your support. I yield the will. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure?

835. 7:32:48

     The chair hears none.

836. 7:32:55

     And the previous question is being ordered.

837. 7:33:05

     The question is on the adoption of Amendment One by the senator from the forty-fourth. Is there objection to the adoption of the amendment? Yes. There is objection. All those in favor of the adoption of Amendment One will vote yay. Do you want to speak to your objection, Senator? He waives. All those in favor of the adoption of Amendment One will vote yay. Those opposed, nay. Secretary will unlock the machine.

838. 7:34:37

     On the adoption of the amendment, the yays are thirty-six and the nays are thirteen, and the amendment is adopted.

839. 7:34:48

     There's-- the question is on the adoption of the committee substitute as amended. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute as amended? Hearing none, the committee substitute as amended is adopted.

840. 7:34:58

     Is there objection to agreeing to the report of the committee which favor the pass of the bill? Chair hears none and the report of the committee is a- agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. The question is on the pass of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill will vote yay. Opposed, nay. Secretary will unlock the machine.

841. 7:35:19

     Yay.

842. 7:35:20

     On the pass of the bill, the yays are 46 and the nays are four.

843. 7:36:23

     This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute.

844. 7:36:52

     Recognize senator from the 48th.

845. 7:36:56

     Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Senate agree to the House amendment to the Senate substitute to House Bill 328.

846. 7:37:03

     Secretary, read the caption.

847. 7:37:07

     House Bill 328 by Representative Carpenter of the fourth and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to income tax, imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits so as to increase the annual aggregate limit for tax credits available for certain contributions to student scholarship organizations, to increase the time allowed after being pre-approved to make the contributions to provide for related matters, to provide for an effective date and applicability, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Rules recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Brass- Senator Watson of the First District, Vice Chairman.

848. 7:37:40

     Contributions.

849. 7:37:41

     Mr. President, the Senate offers the following substitute to House Bill 328, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter 2A of Title 20 and Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to student scholarship organization and income taxes respectively, so as to revise provisions for student eligibility, maximum scholarship amounts, to provide for military unions, students with individualized education programs, Section 504 plans or other designated disabilities, to provide for such designation, to prohibit members of the General Assembly and their spouses from receiving income from student scholarship organizations that receive certain contributions and for other purposes.

850. 7:38:12

     Disabilities.

851. 7:38:14

     Mr. President, the House offers the following amendment. Amend the Senate substitute to House Bill 328 by replacing lines one through the end with the following, to amend Titles 20 and 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to education and revenue and taxation respectively, so as to revise provisions for student eligibility and maximum scholarship amounts to provide for military students and students with individualized education programs, Section 504 plans or other designated disabilities and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

852. 7:38:44

     Recognize senator from, from the 48th. Oh, I'm sorry, senator from the 41st. What purpose do you rise?

853. 7:38:50

     Uh, parliamentary inquiry.

854. 7:38:51

     State your inquiry.

855. 7:38:53

     Actually, point of order. Um, I'm asking for your ruling based on Rule 7-1.10D to rule on the germane-ness of the House amendment to the Senate's, uh, substitute, given that it has multiple subjects in the same bill.

856. 7:39:12

     All right.

857. 7:51:22

     Recognize se- senator from the 48th.

858. 7:51:26

     Mr. President, I, uh, I move the Senate, uh... or I, I withdraw, um, my motion to agree to the House amendment to Senate substitute HB 328.

859. 7:51:45

     You, uh, re-

860. 7:51:48

     need you to withdraw your germane-ness question.

861. 7:51:53

     Yes, sir. I withdraw.

862. 7:51:55

     Thank, thank you, Senator.

863. 7:53:02

     Recognize senator from the 41st.

864. 7:53:04

     Thank you, Mr. President. I respectfully withdraw my, uh, question on the ruling of germane-ness.

865. 7:53:09

     All right. Thank you, Senator.

866. 7:53:18

     Recognize the senator from the 16th.

867. 7:53:23

     Mr. President, I move that the Senate agree to the House substitute of SB 261.

868. 7:53:36

     Secretary, read the caption.

869. 7:53:41

     Senate Bill 261 by Senators Harbin of the 16th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter 25 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to the Magistrate's Retirement Fund so as to provide for an early retirement benefit, to provide for employee contribution increase, to replace the statutory maximum monthly compensation used to calculate a benefit with an amount determined by the board, to increase the maximum n- number of years of service used to calculate a benefit, to provide for related matters, to provide conditions for an effective date and automatic repeal, to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes. Mr. President, the Committee of the Ha-

870. 7:54:11

     Oh, Mr. Pre- Mr. President, the House offers the following substitute to Senate Bill 261, a bill to be entitled in act to amend Chapter 25 of the Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to the Magistrate's Retirement Fund, so as to change the makeup of the Board of Commissioners of the Magistrate's Retirement Fund of Georgia to provide for an employee contribution increase to increase the number of years of service used to calculate a benefit, to provide for related matters, to provide conditions for an effective date and automatic repeal, to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

871. 7:54:44

     Recognize the senator from the 16th.

872. 7:54:59

     Thank you, Mr. President. SB 261 is a Magistrate's Retirement Fund of Georgia. It requires no state funding. It is totally funded by the magistrate judgeses- judges. And what this bill does is a couple of things. It changes the mix of their board. It allows them from four to five magistrates to be on the board. It increases their dues from 3.4 to 4%. It offers an early retirement option at 55 if they desire so, but a th- 3% reduction as they go forth and change their, as their multiplier for benefits from 4% to 5%.

873. 7:55:34

     It is 140% fu- funded. After this change, it's 128% funded, so it's fully funded as well.

874. 7:55:43

     And wish for your, uh, your favorable votes. No questions, Senator.

875. 7:55:57

     Would, does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Hearing none,

876. 7:56:05

     all those in favor of agreeing to the House substitute on SB 261, all those in favor will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

877. 7:57:18

     On the agrees to the House substitute on s- SB 261, the ayes are 53 and the nays are 0, and this motion has prevailed. Recognize the senator from the 50th, the longest serving floor leader- ... in the history of the state Senate. Let's give him a round of applause real quick.

878. 7:57:40

     It's such an honor. It's such an honor to have the longest serving senator or floor leader in the Senate. Well, thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Senate agree to the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to House Bill 999.

879. 7:57:56

     Secretary, read the caption. House Bill 999 by Representative Leverett of the 123rd and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 5 of Chapter 10 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to fees and costs of magistrate courts, so as to revise provisions relating to magistrate courts collecting sums and fees authorized by law to amend an act to amend Chapter 10 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to magistrate courts, so as to provide for nonpartisan election of magistrates approved May 14th, 2025, so as to correct a scrivener's error in the automatic repealer in said act relating to a constitutional amendment for the nonpartisan election of judges of the probate court to provide legislative intent, to provide for related matters through bill conflicting laws and for other purposes.

880. 7:58:34

     The Senate offers the following amendment replacing Frary with Fieri on line 14. Mr. President, the Senate offers the following amendment by Senators Tillery of the 19th and others by replacing Frary with Fieri on line 14. Mr. President. Mr. President, the House offers the following amendment to amend Senate Floor Amendment 3 to House Bill 999 by replacing the entirety of such amendment with the following, amend House Bill 999 by replacing lines eight and nine with the following, provide legislative intent to amend Code Section 15-10-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to general jurisdiction and authority of magistrates to act so as to revise and for other purposes.

881. 7:59:09

     Mr. President, that completes the order. Recognize the senator from the 50th.

882. 7:59:24

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, we passed this bill out. Some of you may remember there was an amendment that, and a misspelling of an amendment. It was kind of funny. Uh, it deals with magistrate fees, but then we also tacked on another amendment that increased the jurisdictional limitation, uh, for a magistrate court f- from 15,000 to 30,000. There's been a compromise reached. We're gonna bring that down to 25,000, and that is the change between the version we sent over and the version they sent back.

883. 7:59:54

     We're gonna agree to 25,000. Just ask that y'all stick with me on this one. Happy to answer any questions.

884. 8:00:03

     Do you have any questions? Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure?

885. 8:00:11

     Chair hears none.

886. 8:00:15

     All those in favor of agreeing to the House Amendment to Senate Amendment on HB 999 will vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

887. 8:01:29

     On the motion to agree, the ayes are 48 and the nays are one, and this motion has prevailed. Recognize the senator from the 23rd.

888. 8:01:45

     Thank you, Mr. President. I request that, uh, Senate Bill 556 be removed from the table, and that the Senate agree to the House substitute to Senate Bill 556. Secretary, read the caption.

889. 8:02:02

     Senate Bill 556 by Senators Payne of the 54th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Code Section 20-2-157 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to uniform reporting system for certain purposes, dual credit courses, and academic eligibility requirements to receive Hope Scholarship, so as to provide for the inclusion of advanced placement and International Bachelorette- Baccalaureate fine art courses in the calculation of grade point averages for determining student eligibility for the Hope Scholarships and other scholarships, to provide for applicability, to provide for a definition, to provide related matters, to provide for an effective date, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes.

890. 8:02:33

     Mr. President, the House offers all the way through HOPE eligibility of scholarships and other scholarships. Mr. President, the House offers the following substitute to Senate Bill 556, a bill to be entitled an act to amend titles 20, 31, 47, and 40- 48 and 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to education, health, retirement, and pensions, revenue and taxation, and state government respectively, so as to amend various provisions relating to higher education to establish the Dream Scholarship, to provide for policies, to provide for eligibility, to create an endowment fund for such scholarship, to provide for reports, to provide for the inclusion of advanced fine art courses in the calculation of grade point averages for determining student eligibility for the Hope Scholarships and other scholarships and for other purposes.

891. 8:03:09

     Mr. President, I complete your order.

892. 8:03:15

     Recognize the senator from the 23rd.

893. 8:03:31

     Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, this is, uh, Senate Bill 556. It is a House substitute to Senate Bill 556. It's a combination of multiple bills, uh, that I'll quickly walk through and then happy to take any questions. The, the core of this legislation deals with the Dreams Scholarship, which is the needs-based scholarship that was approved, uh, and, and funded in the amended, um, FY26 budget.

894. 8:04:02

     This allows the operationalization of the Dream Scholarship. It sets standards for eligibility. It sets standards for, uh, continuing to receive that scholarship, and it puts the hands, puts the funds in the Georgia Student Finance Commission, and it puts the, uh, implementation in the hands of the institutions, both in the university system of Georgia and the technical college system of Georgia. So first section is the Dream Scholarship. The second section deals with the original bill, the 556 bill.

895. 8:04:32

     Um, that bill allows for fine arts courses, advanced fine arts courses to be included in the Hope calculations for GPA. It was a straightforward bill. All of these bills went through the Higher Education Committee. All of them were fully vetted. So the Dream Scholarship was originally House Bill 413. Part Two was originally Senate Bill 556. Part 3 was a excellent add. S- uh, Representative Hawkins had s- House Bill 419, which allowed for Narcan to be placed in colleges and universities where they had, uh, automatic defibrillators at no cost to the state.

896. 8:05:15

     And then we moved on into some financial type areas. Section... Actually, let's, before we go there, um, the House included language for medical education, graduate medical education for needs-based scholarships for graduate medical education. This has not yet been funded, but it allows it to be considered, and we'll have more discussions as we move forward throughout the next, uh, session. Part 5 of the bill deals with, uh, uh, educational savings plans, 529 plans.

897. 8:05:47

     It raises the limit of contributions from around $325,000 to $550,000. It also gives the opportunity for you to invest in out-of-state plans where there are reciprocating agreements under certain conditions. And then, uh, finally in the bill, there's the opportunity for us to ensure that lottery shortfalls are correctly calculated. Currently, they're calculated on, uh, lottery revenue, and in reality, it needs to be on, uh, expenditures.

898. 8:06:17

     And what this bill now does is it allows for those, uh, shortfall reserves to be calculated on the lower of, uh, either, uh, lottery contributions or on lottery expenditures. So combination of a number of good bills. I'd be happy to take questions or I'll be happy to yield the well. You do have a couple questions, Senator. Recognize the senator from the 41st. Thank you, Mr. President. Does the senator yield? Absolutely. Senator, what can I help you with? Oh, Senator, first of all, thank you so much for bringing this bill.

899. 8:06:48

     It has so many great parts. Um, isn't it true that the portion related to the 529 plan was introduced by a former senator of ours, um, who is now currently running for governor? Is that not true? Um, I'm not aware of that. It is true, sir. Senator, but it, it, perhaps you are correct. Well, thank you so much for adopting a great Democratic idea. We are always grateful. Isn't it true? I gotta be honest with you, Senator, I think that was Hunter Hill that- ... passed that.

900. 8:07:19

     Could've been. Could've been. And he did run for governor. Could've been.

901. 8:07:26

     There are no other questions, Mr. President. Yes, sir. Yes, sir, you do. Um- Oh. Recognize the senator from the 1st. I'm the 1st. Thank you, Mr. President. Goodness gracious, I, I, uh, c- how many, uh, Christmas trees do, or how many ornaments we have on this Christmas tree? Well, now, now, now, Senator, if, if, if we were, if we were honest with each other, um, four- uh, 1413, House Bill 1413 came over, and we combined it in committee. So the vast majority of this legislation was vetted and put together, and we had, and we had vetted each of these bills individually, including 556.

902. 8:08:04

     So when the House got it back, uh, they wanted to ensure that certain components were included, and so they made some slight modifications.

903. 8:08:12

     Larry. Sitting out there. It's efficient, Senator. So I, I, so I didn't, I don't think I've, uh, got quite an answer on that. So how many, uh, how many ornaments do we have on this Christmas tree? This, the, it starts off with House Bill 1413. Okay. And then it includes House Bill 419. Okay. And then it includes Senate Bill 556. Okay. And, um, it does include a House, a, a, a component of a House bill that was not passed out of the House, but it dealt with retirement eligibility for part-time students.

904. 8:08:52

     Currently, uh, full-time student workers are not eligible for state retirement programs, and this just added one word, part-time. So s- I believe you're looking at four. I'm counting four. It's, the one that got my, uh, ears perked was the needs base GME unfunded aspect of that. Was that part of one of those bills? That, it was part of one of the bills that came, uh, to the Senate. Uh, in the wisdom of the Senate, uh, Higher Education Committee, we removed that.

905. 8:09:25

     Oh, okay. So you, this got re-added. And so it was not a part, it was not a part of the bill that we had approved. Uh, the House, uh, took a, a stronger position and took, uh, the modified 1413 bill, put it in 556 that we're dealing with now, Senate Bill 556, and we are now, um, that, that component is now back in it. Do you wanna clarify that now again? It, it was taken out and then put in and then modified. Does that count as five now? No, I don't believe so. I think I'm- Oh, okay.

906. 8:09:55

     All right. We're still at four ... I'm still at four, but, uh, my math- Still at four ... my math's a little shady. All right, so, and then the last thing that sort of, uh, got, perked my ears was we're changing the, the lottery formula and the- No, we're not. We're not changing the lottery formula. Okay. What, what was that? We're changing the way we calculate lottery reserves. Oh, the, okay, the way we calculate reserves. So currently- And that was in one of those bills? That was in, uh, 1413. Okay. It was in the original bill. Wow. Okay. That's a, that's a smorgasbord there. It's a, it's a- I think we might have an- ...

907. 8:10:27

     an excellent combination of higher education policy for the efficiency of government. The efficiency of government, all on the same bill. I, listen, I, I- These are not usually things you see before dinner. I, these are things- You know, it's the appetizer, President. Is it, is it not true that we usually see these things, like, at, uh, 12:15, 12:30 at night? We, we, we want you to be awake and alert and ask good questions, Senator. I, I gotcha. I've had my caffeine. I really appreciate that. I think we may have an amendment coming or- Uh, oh, I, I was wondering why we were, uh- ...

908. 8:10:57

     sitting here- Okay ... uh, having this conversation, but I, I int- I, I suspected that that was a possibility. All right. But, you know, you have to leave the well before we get that amendment coming around. That's right. You do. You have to. I, I really appreciate that, uh- And he's got a few more- ... uh, Senator ... he's got a few more questions, Senator. Oh, so you're okay. Recognize the senator from the 35th. Thank you. Does the senator yield? Absolutely, to my friend. All right. Is it not true that the chairman, um, heard all portions of these, uh, bills, and we had a vigorous debate from both sides of the aisle?

909. 8:11:31

     We had testimony from a variety of sources, and, uh, there were no surprises here. There are no surprises. The only surprise that we really have is that segments of the, uh, 1413 bill that was heard in committee are, or, or were removed, and then now they're back in, but in a different form, and I'll say in an improved form. Yeah. I- is it also not true that, um, no matter how you look at this, you have to appreciate the chairman's, uh, openness to dialogue, debate, and did not try to pull any fast ones on anyone throughout this entire process?

910. 8:12:10

     I appreciate that, Senator. Thank you very much, and it was a spirited discussion. And I believe there's amendment. I'd love to see it.

911. 8:12:24

     Ah, okay.

912. 8:12:28

     Senator from the... Senator, are you, are you still taking questions or...? Uh, I'm, I'm happy to yield, Mr. President. I think yielding would be wonderful. I'm happy to yield. Thank you, uh, and I look forward to a conversation about the amendments and, uh, moving forward, but I certainly appreciate the support of the underlying bill, Senate Bill 556. Thank you. Senator's yielded.

913. 8:13:12

     Recognize the senator from the 42nd.

914. 8:13:18

     Necessary, I guess. Okay. You wave? Okay.

915. 8:13:26

     Senator from the 34, what purpose do you rise? Parling inquiry. State your inquiry. Is it not true to maintain HOPE, you gotta have a 3.0 grade point average?

916. 8:13:39

     Senator, that's probably a question for somebody else to answer for you. Okay. Yeah, I was just checking because on Line 72 for the dreams, it went to 2.0, so I was just, I was going to ask a question, but he yielded the floor. I, I believe the, I believe 3.0 was the four-year designation, but I also think that HOPE is, uh, for technical colleges, you can have less than a 3.0. It's not gonna be for

917. 8:14:15

     Recognize senator from the first. Mr. President, I move that the Senate agree to the House Substitute SB556 as amended by amend, by amendment one. Secretary read the, read the amendment. Mr. President, Senator Watson of the First District offers the following amendment to am- to amend the House sub to Senate Bill 556, amendment one, by striking lines 344 through 373. Mr. President, Senator Watson of the First District offers the following amendment to amend amendment one to Senate Bill 556, amendment 1A, by inserting on line one in number- Renumber ...

918. 8:14:51

     and renumbering accordingly. Mr. President, that completes the order. Recognize senator from the first to speak to the amendment.

919. 8:15:10

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, what the amendment does, it removes the, the portion about needs-based graduate medical education that is unfunded, and in my opinion, risks the, um, risk the bill, total bill being vetoed, 'cause that has been a consistent theme by our governor in the past, that if you put that down there, uh, and unfund it, uh, then it generally gets a veto. So, uh, not to mention, it hasn't been thoroughly vetted. It has not been, uh, brought up by the appropriations chair and so forth.

920. 8:15:44

     Mr. President, I'll be happy to answer questions.

921. 8:15:55

     You do have a couple questions, Senator. Recognize senator from the 14th. Thank you, Mr. President. Does the senator yield? Yes. Senator, as the author of the bill, the Senate sponsor, is he favorable to your amendment? You know, I haven't discussed it with him, but I guess we can ask him online. Senator, it grieves my heart. Is it true that you continued asking questions of the Senate sponsor of the bill so that you would have time to put your hostile amendment on the desks? Is that true, Senator?

922. 8:16:25

     Um, no, not initially. Initially, I was asking because I will tell you it sounded like there were so many things on this bill and they sound that, like it had come and gone, not gone through the committee process and so forth. That's not why I did it initially. After I got it drafted, yes. Senator, thank you for your candor. Senator, is it true, do you further yield? Yes. Senator, is it true that if the senator had immediately sparked an awareness of what was happening and denied you the courtesy of continuing to answer your questions, that had he vacated the well in a timely fashion, you would not have been able to make this motion?

923. 8:17:01

     Is that not true, Senator? You know, I'll, the, the senator may know what he speaks, the timing of that. I just wasn't keeping up with it. All right, Senator. May you, uh, prevail or not on the field of battle. Thank you, Senator. Recognize the senator from the 41st. Thank you, Mr. President. Does the senator yield? Yes. Uh, Senator, is it not true that when we are concerned with whether or not funds are appropriated, that we often just say subject to appropriations? Is that not true?

924. 8:17:31

     Uh, would you repeat that, please? S- so I'll reframe it. Can you, can you explain why you didn't just add the lines subject to appropriations as opposed to stripping out the entire section? Well, I mean, I just don't think it's gone through the process, uh, you know, chair of HHS and health appropriations. I, that's the first I'd ever heard of this. And I just didn't think, I just did not think that was appropriate. Do you further yield? Yes. So do you fundamentally disagree with the policy of providing scholarships to medical students?

925. 8:18:02

     No, I, I don't, again, hadn't been vetted, hadn't heard about it until just now. Um, s- sort of probably not the thing we should do without, uh, further discussion. Do you further yield? Yes. Can you elaborate on perhaps the harms that you are concerned would be created if we were to pass this bill to include needs-based scholarships for medical students? Can you just talk about what harms could be possible in that? What, what the harm is? Uh, yes. The harm is that, uh, never been discussed, never appropriated, not run by the appropriations chair, HHS or anything like that.

926. 8:18:40

     And the governor's been pretty dang clear about these kind of issues and vetoes these, so the harm is that the whole bill is dead. Thank you.

927. 8:18:53

     Can we not just do Amendment 1A? Recognize senator from the 36th.

928. 8:19:00

     Thank you, Mr. President. Does the senator yield? Yes. Um, a- a- as a member of Higher Ed Committee, I don't have to repeat everything that's been said, but we, we did vet all those bills. We actually had hearings first and then, uh, the, the, it was, it was quite adroit on the part of our chairman, uh, the, the, how he put that together. We didn't view it as a Christmas tree at all because we had all the people there testifying and that, that had written and so on and so forth. But, uh, I, I, I wanna just lodge this at this point.

929. 8:19:33

     They're very significant, this, this bill is very significant and important. We had six months of hearings on needs-based funding for college students, and Georgia, with this bill passing, will be the 49th state that would, would be doing that, which has been very successful. Yeah. At this point, there are about four to five issues that are, uh, and we enumerated them at, in the bill. Are we, are, are, uh, this is gonna now have to, if, if your amendment attaches, then it has to go back to the House and, and, and places all of these issues that we're addressing in this bill, uh, at, at, at risk of not being able to get over, uh, by sine die.

930. 8:20:15

     Isn't that, isn't that, isn't that a concern that we should weigh? I'm glad we got to a question there, Senator. Thank you so much. Uh- Oh, don't worry. Happy to do it anytime. Thank you. The, uh, that is much appreciated. The, uh, yeah, the risk- Yeah, veto versus timing, you're correct, is, uh, is what I weighed, and, uh, I did not ... I think that I am saving this bill, if it, if anything, and I think that, uh, sending it back over at s- just after 6:00 versus a veto, I, I, I appreciate you, uh, pointing that out.

931. 8:20:52

     Uh, Mr. President, I think I'll yield the well. Thank you.

932. 8:20:54

     Senator has yielded.

933. 8:21:03

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Hearing none. Question is on the adoption of Amendment 1A. Is there objection adoption Amendment 1A?

934. 8:21:20

     No.

935. 8:21:20

     Hearing none, Amendment 1A is adopted.

936. 8:21:33

     Senator, would you like to be recognized?

937. 8:21:37

     S- Senator Major- Senator from the 31st.

938. 8:21:43

     Hold on.

939. 8:21:47

     For what purpose do you rise?

940. 8:22:02

     You waive? Okay.

941. 8:22:11

     So the senator has asked that the Senate agree to House Substitute on SB 556 as amended by Amendment 1.

942. 8:22:22

     Objection.

943. 8:22:23

     Do I have objection? All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying, or excuse me, by voting yay. All opposed, no. Secretary will lock the machine.

944. 8:23:01

     Senator from the 36th, for what purpose do you rise? Senator from the 36th.

945. 8:23:06

     No, no. Don't, don't-

946. 8:23:07

     For what purpose do you rise?

947. 8:23:08

     Don't, don't-

948. 8:23:09

     He's recognized.

949. 8:23:10

     He's recognized. She can speak.

950. 8:23:11

     Oh. Clarification, are we voting on the H- H- House Substitute... If by voting yes, we would be voting on this amendment yes, right? Is that right? So i- if you don't want-

951. 8:23:22

     Agree as amended, Senator

952. 8:23:23

     ... if you don't want, if you don't want to amend it with this last amendment, just, just, uh, vote no. Is that not correct?

953. 8:23:50

     I've, uh, never seen that before, but,

954. 8:23:56

     but you do have the, uh, the amendment has failed. You have to have 29 votes. The amendment has failed.

955. 8:24:10

     Senator from the 37th, for what purpose do you rise?

956. 8:24:12

     Uh, parliamentary, par- parliamentary inquiry.

957. 8:24:15

     State your inquiry.

958. 8:24:17

     Um, as, as an amendment, does it require a simple majority or a constitutional majority? Thank you.

959. 8:24:24

     Because it's agree as it amended, uh-

960. 8:24:26

     Thank you

961. 8:24:27

     ... it is, it'd be final. All right, so now it failed, so... S- I mean, Senator from the 23rd, for what purpose do you rise?

962. 8:24:38

     I, I request reconsideration for the l- prior vote.

963. 8:24:41

     Can we...

964. 8:24:49

     Do you want it on the, the amendment or you want it on the bo-

965. 8:24:52

     On the amendment. On the amendment.

966. 8:24:54

     Okay.

967. 8:24:56

     On his amendment, you want his amendment to pass? It just might.

968. 8:25:00

     I want it to pass.

969. 8:25:01

     His, his, the, the doctor, she said Dr. Watson.

970. 8:25:04

     So, Senator.

971. 8:25:05

     You good?

972. 8:25:06

     On a special action amendment for the motion, if it, if it fails, it just fails. Now, you can amend it again if you wanted to, but-

973. 8:25:15

     That's right. That's fine

974. 8:25:16

     ... that's the only other option you have. Okay, so here we go. Or you can take the advice of the 13th. All right, all right. Let's, let's get everybody's attention real quick. Settle down. Settle down. Here we go. We're almost done. I got a motion to signy die on the table. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. All right, here we go. So we're now to the original question, which is the Senate agree to the House Substitute to Senate Bill 556.

975. 8:25:49

     All those in favor will vote yay. All those opposed, nay. Secretary will lock the machine.

976. 8:25:54

     And vote.

977. 8:26:16

     Senator from the 41st, for what purpose do you rise?

978. 8:26:19

     Parliamentary inquiry.

979. 8:26:20

     State your inquiry.

980. 8:26:21

     Isn't it true that a green vote is a vote for dreams?

981. 8:26:29

     Senator is passionate about what she speaks.

982. 8:26:55

     On the m- on the motion to agree to the House substitute, the yeas are 36 and the nays are 17. And we're gonna do one more before we break for dinner. That, that one's gonna be a hard one to top. I recognize Senator from 56.

983. 8:27:18

     Thank you, Mr. President. I move the Senate agree to the House substitute to Senate Bill 23.

984. 8:27:23

     Secretary, read the caption.

985. 8:27:27

     Senate Bill 23 by Senator Albers, the 56th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 7 of Chapter 20 of the of, of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The Public Retirement System is Investment Authority law so as to raise the limit for the total percentage of funds that the Employees Retirement System of Georgia may invest in alternative investments to provide for related matters through bill conflicting laws and for other purposes.

986. 8:27:49

     Mr. President, Auditor Certification's attached.

987. 8:27:50

     Mr. President, an Auditor Certification has been attached. Mr. President, the House offers the following substitute to Senate Bill 23. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 7 of Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. The Public Retirement System is Investment Authority law so as to provide certain retirement systems the option to invest in real estate, to provide for an increase in certain retirement systems allowable alternative investments, to provide for restrictions on certain investments, to provide for related matters through bill conflicting laws and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

988. 8:28:23

     Recognize senator from 56. Uh, let me get everybody's attention. Let me get everybody's attention.

989. 8:28:34

     Thank you, Mr. President. This is a simple bill for our retirement systems. So our large retirement systems, ERS and TRS, will be able to invest up to 10% of their total assets into real estate. A very simple way for them to do what our other retirement funds have done and been so successful. But let me clarify, real estate in no way allows them, uh, from acquiring, purchase, owning, or managing single-family homes, 'cause this Senate has worked very hard to try and get single-family homes more available and to lower the cost. So if there are no questions, I will gladly yield the will and ask for your favorable consideration.

990. 8:29:07

     Do you have no questions, Senator?

991. 8:29:08

     Thank you, Mr. President.

992. 8:29:11

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none.

993. 8:29:18

     All those in favor of the motion to agree to Senate Bill, or the House substitute to Senate Bill 23 will vote yay. All opposed, no. Secretary, allot the machine.

994. 8:31:20

     On the motion to agree to the House substitute on SB 2- 23, the yeas are 49, the nays are 1, and this motion has prevailed.

995. 8:31:35

     All right, the House just recessed until 7:30.

996. 8:31:43

     I'm inclined, senator from the 2nd, for us to take a dinner break, too. What do you think?

997. 8:31:54

     Senator from the 20th, do you have any details on, I think the Pro Tem is providing dinner. There you are. There he goes. The floor is yours, Dunst. So tell me about it.

998. 8:32:05

     We got a, a good dinner for us after all this hard work, uh, we've been doing today. It's in the secretary's break room under the stairwell, which is kind of traditionally where we have it. Um, so, uh, should be good. Hope y'all enjoy it.

999. 8:32:21

     And I think we have something very special lined up for the, the Dean, I believe, of the Senate. So, uh, I don't know the details. Dean, all I know is, you know, Denise, Denise in my office is the one who's been coordinating it and organizing it and, and you know how Denise, how she does things. So she's, she's just proud to honor you today. So y'all please, uh, help join us with that. And let's, uh, let's stand at ease for dinner and we will, uh, we'll come back, we'll come back by 7:30.