Sesión en el pleno del Senado, 17 de junio de 2026 (día legislativo 1)

Transcripción

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

1. 0:21:41

   Good afternoon. Good afternoon. The Senate will come to order.

2. 0:21:48

   The time for convening has arrived. The Senate will come to order. All unauthorized visitors please exit the chamber at this time. I recognize the rules chairman. Secretary, senator from the 6.

3. 0:22:07

   Good morning, Mr. President.

4. 0:22:10

   Afternoon.

5. 0:22:11

   Good afternoon, Mr. President. Welcome back. I know we're all very excited to be here to do the people's business. There are no pages. Peace out.

6. 0:22:24

   You got a new suit on though, Senator. Looks good.

7. 0:22:31

   It's just cleaned.

8. 0:22:33

   Oh, okay. It look- I knew it looked shinier than usual.

9. 0:22:43

   All right, here we go. So we're gonna call to order pursuant to the proclamation by His Excellency Governor Brian P. Kemp, the time for convening special session of the General Assembly has arrived. The Senate will come to order. At this time, I'll ask all unauthorized personnel to exit the chamber. Secretary will read the proclamation from the governor convening a special session of the General Assembly. Secretary?

10. 0:23:10

    A proclamation convening the General Assembly of Georgia in special session. Whereas Georgia Constitution Article V, Section 2, Paragraph 7 grants the governor the power to convene a special session of the General Assembly stating, and thereby limiting its purpose. And whereas Georgia Constitution Article V, Section 2, Paragraph 7 grants the governor the power to amend a proclamation convening special session, uh, of the General Assembly. And whereas by proclamation dated May 13th, 2026, the governor has convened a special session of the General Assembly beginning at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, June 17th, 2026. And whereas the governor has determined that certain purposes warrant amendment to that proclamation dated May 13th, 2026, con- convening a special session of the General Assembly.

11. 0:23:47

    Now, therefore, by virtue of the power and authority conferred upon me by the Constitution of Georgia, I, Brian P. Kemp, Governor of the State of Georgia, do hereby convene the General Assembly of this state in special session beginning at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, June 17th, 2026, and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

12. 0:24:15

    All right. Senator from the 53rd or 51st, senator from the 51st. He's not listening. Senator from the 51st. The 3rd. You look, you look pretty tan, man. Where you been?

13. 0:24:35

    Florida. Have you?

14. 0:24:40

    The Free State of Florida. The, the free state of Florida, huh? All right. Well, you're looking good, man. You're looking good. All right, so we have a brand new senator here today. Senator from the 53rd, Mr. Lanny Thompson.

15. 0:25:10

    It is good to have the good senator. Congratulations. Welcome to your first special session here. We're excited to have you. And is there objection to the senator from the 53rd being seated- Yeah ... in his new role? Go back to Florida. What's wrong with you? Very without objection. Senator, congratulations. Glad to have you here. Let's give him one more round of applause here.

16. 0:25:46

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

17. 0:25:54

    Recognize senator from the 50th.

18. 0:25:57

    Thank you, Mr. President. I move to excuse the senator from the 19th for business outside the chamber.

19. 0:26:03

    Without objection, senator from the 19th is excused. Recognize senator from the 56th. Thank you, Mr. President. I ask we excuse the senators from the 32nd and 52nd for business outside the capitol. Without objection, the senators from the 32nd and the 52nd are excused. Any other motions to excuse? Recognize senator from the 33rd.

20. 0:26:25

    Thank you, Mr. President, and good afternoon, y'all. I just wanted to welcome you back, sir.

21. 0:26:32

    Thank you, Doc. I appreciate that, man. All right.

22. 0:26:39

    Yeah, right up. Come on. Recognize senator from the 43rd.

23. 0:26:44

    Thank you, Mr. President. I ask for unanimous consent to excuse the senator from the 10th.

24. 0:27:24

    Without objection, senator from the 10th is excused. All right. Secretary will call the roll. Senator, signify your presence by voting the yay switch. Secretary, unlock the machine.

25. 0:27:49

    Yes, sir, senator from the 33rd.

26. 0:27:51

    Mr. President, point of order. Isn't it true that the senator from the 53rd should count to 60 and then press his green button?

27. 0:28:01

    Senator knows what he speaks.

28. 0:28:20

    It is now time for the afternoon devotion. All senators, please take your seats and cease all conversation. I would ask the doorkeepers secure the chamber at this time. I, uh, today is my pastor of the day, or my good friend I was raised with in Jackson, Georgia. But before I introduce him, uh, join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

29. 0:28:51

    I pledge allegiance

30. 0:28:52

    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.

31. 0:29:04

    The Georgia flag.

32. 0:29:06

    I pledge allegiance to the Georgia flag and the principles for which it stands: wisdom, justice, moderation, and courage.

33. 0:29:15

    It is, uh, it is my pleasure today to have, uh, Jeremiah Hosford, uh, here with us today. Jeremiah and I grew up together. We grew up playing football and baseball and, and anything else we could get into in Butts County, Georgia. But Jeremiah has, um, grown into a wonderful, wonderful minister, uh, there in Butts County, and he's got a great following there at his church, and they're doing wonderful things. He's got multiple campuses now and, and, uh, he is, uh, really got a really good following and his, like I said, he's married with a lovely family.

34. 0:29:53

    And, um, just like I said, he's, he's somebody that, Jeremiah, I don't think when we were growing up, if you'd told us I'd be right here and you'd be right there, anybody would've believed us, right?

35. 0:30:04

    I would not have.

36. 0:30:05

    No, I, I don't think so. But, uh, but at any rate, he is a wonderful, wonderful, uh, human being, and his wife Lisa do a great job there at, uh, in, in serving and ministering to, to the people of, uh, middle Georgia. So please welcome Jeremiah Hosford.

37. 0:30:23

    Thank you. Thank you so much.

38. 0:30:28

    Mr. President, members of the Senate, thank you for the privilege of addressing this chamber today. And, uh, before we, uh, before we pray, I would like to read a, a couple passages of scripture. And you're, you're right, Mr. President, I would've never thought I would be here. And, uh, definitely the Lord has done a work in my life in a powerful way. Uh, because if you had looked at my life 20-something years ago, I probably should have been in prison or, or dead.

39. 0:30:58

    But Jesus Christ knows how to change a life.

40. 0:31:01

    Amen.

41. 0:31:02

    And so I can tell you my life's changed because of that. So I wanna read a couple passage of scripture and then we'll pray. 2 Chronicles 16 says, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him." And Jeremiah 32 says, "Ah, Lord God, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you." Let us pray.

42. 0:31:32

    Father God in heaven, we ask now in the name of Jesus for the manifestation of your presence, your anointing, your power, and even your glory in this chamber. Lord, today, on, on the, the people who serve this state, God, I pray now for divine wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in every matter. Spirit of the living God, would you help us today to know the mind of Christ and to have it in this time. We thank you now in Jesus' name. Amen.

43. 0:32:02

    Amen.

44. 0:32:02

    Amen. I just wanna share a few thoughts for a moment, and then I'll pray for everybody. All throughout the Bible, we read something that seems to constantly show up in every generation. You can trace it back in the Bible to the days of Noah. One thing that seems to happen in every generation is this: the God of heaven seems to pick the most unlikely, overlooked, and unqualified people to do the biggest things in their generation. I believe he does this so that we can look to, we don't look to ourselves, but we have to give him the glory.

45. 0:32:38

    Uh, the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians, it says, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty, and the base things of the world that, and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in his presence." I, I believe God is constantly looking for people in their generation that doesn't seem to have it all together.

46. 0:33:11

    I, I believe that, that he's looking for people that might not be the smartest or the strongest, but people that will allow God to use them to impact their generation. I, I believe that God is looking for people sometimes that other people said won't ever amount to anything, or maybe don't have it all together like other people, but God can use them to do something powerful in their generation. And I believe that we're all sitting here today because we want something powerful to happen in our generation right now.

47. 0:33:44

    And so today, many times in certain situations- In the earth or certain situations in a generation that seems to be tough, seems to be hard, God in that moment, if there's a problem, he seems to raise somebody up or raise a certain people up and also give them the answer for that situation. You know, in the days of Noah, God wanted a righteous family. So what did he do? He raised up Noah and his family.

48. 0:34:14

    He wanted to spare people, including the children of Israel, from starvation. So what did he do? He raised up a young man, a young man named Joseph who would become the prime minister of Egypt. He wanted to free the children of Israel from 400 years of slavery. So what did he do? He raised up a stuttering leader named Moses. He wanted to build and bless Israel, so what did he do? He raised up a shepherd boy. Matter, matter of fact, made him a king, and his name was David. He wanted to rescue the Hebrew people from the wicked plan of Haman.

49. 0:34:46

    What did he do? He raised up a young woman named Esther. He wanted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after they were demolished. So what did he do? He raised up a political leader named Nehemiah. And when man had grown so desperate and destroyed by sin, he raised up his only begotten Son named Jesus to pay the ultimate, ultimate price for sin. All these examples have several things in common, but I want to highlight one today. Every time there was a problem in the earth, God had a solution.

50. 0:35:20

    Yeah. Amen. And can I tell you, the Bible says he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yeah. God has a solution for whatever problem you may face. And the Bible tells us when we humble ourselves before him and when we ask for his wisdom, he will liberally give us his wisdom. I don't know about you, but I, I, I believe that I'm, I, I definitely think I'm a lot smarter right now than I was last year, at least I hope. It's according to who you ask right now. Amen. However, it doesn't really matter how wise I get, how intelligent I am.

51. 0:35:56

    I need God. Yeah. Yeah. I need the wisdom of God. Yeah. And we need the help of God. And I just wanted to stop by for a few minutes today and say, listen, regardless of your political position or regardless of what kind of reputation you may have in your communities, your regions, let's humble ourselves before God. Let's ask for the wisdom of God. Let's ask for the help of God in this chamber today, and let's ask for the Lord to touch our hearts because we're not here just to waste time, obviously.

52. 0:36:32

    I mean, y'all, you're here for a specific purpose. So that's the first- You need to realize there's a couple things he did. You have been raised up for this moment. Yeah. You're not here by accident. Yeah, people voted for you, but you're here on purpose. Come on. You've been raised up for this moment. The Bible says you're in the kingdom for such a time as this. Yeah. You're here on purpose. God knew you would be in this chamber before you were even a sparkle in your granddaddy's eye.

53. 0:37:08

    Come on. Yeah. You're not here by accident. You're here by providence. Come on. So as we're here today, let's allow God to touch our hearts. Let's allow him to do a work in us. Yeah. Let's realize that there may be differences of opinions, but brothers and sisters, God can give us wisdom- Yeah ... for the moment. Amen. Matter of fact, let's act like we're in church and say amen. Amen. There you go. Come on. And then secondly, I've already said this, but if we'll humble ourselves before God and ask God to give us the answer, this is what he'll do.

54. 0:37:47

    Number one, he'll give you the answer, but number two, he'll make you an answer. Yeah. Yeah. He'll make you an answer. And brothers and sisters, I love our great state. I know you do, too. You wouldn't be doing what you're doing. Let's ask for God to help us today. Yeah. You know, the Bible tells us in Micah 6:8, this is what he says. He says, "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, love mercy- Yeah ...

55. 0:38:21

    and walk humbly before the Lord your God?" That's what God ask of us. So today, they told me I had, uh, like, an hour and five minutes- ... but I told them I, I, I didn't need but, like, seven. That's it. I didn't need but seven. No, if you want an hour and five minutes of preaching, you need to show up at my church this Sunday, okay? I'm-

56. 0:38:45

    And, and I'll preach to you, but I do wanna pray for you. And I wanna ask for the presence and the anointing of God to be in this, in this chamber like never before today. Yeah. Amen. And that he guide you and leads you into his perfect will for this moment. Yeah. Can we pray?

57. 0:39:12

    Father God in heaven, I thank you- Yes ... for the privilege to be able to address such distinguished people- Yes ... that you've raised up for this moment. Spirit of the living God, be present in the chambers today. Yes. Help every person. I ask today, grant wisdom, knowledge, and understanding from heaven.

58. 0:39:43

    I bless them, I bless their families, and I pray right now that you would continue to watch over every one of them, prosper them, and Lord, I pray, continue to help them. Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before you. I ask this today, Father, continue to bless this nation, continue to bless our government, and continue to bless the great state of Georgia. In the name of Jesus, amen.

59. 0:40:15

    Amen.

60. 0:40:16

    God bless you. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

61. 0:51:21

    Amen.

62. 0:51:21

    Majority Leader. You ready? Recognize the Majority Leader. Uh-

63. 0:51:29

    Mr. President, I ask for unanimous consent that SR 1EX-

64. 0:51:33

    I, hold on one second. Hold on one sec. I'm sorry. Sorry about that.

65. 0:51:36

    It's all good.

66. 0:51:38

    Senate Resolution 1EX by Senator Walker XX and others, a resolution adopting the rules of the Georgia Senate for the 2026 special session of the General Assembly and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

67. 0:51:50

    Now.

68. 0:51:51

    Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I ask unanimous consent that SR 1EX, SR 1EX be engrossed.

69. 0:52:00

    Senator, the Majority Leader's moved that SR 1EX be engrossed. We have objection from the senator from the 41st. We will put this on the board for a vote. All those in favor of the motion from the Majority Leader vote yay. All opposed, nay. Secretary, unlock the machine.

70. 0:52:49

    Recognize the senator from the 2nd. What purpose do you rise?

71. 0:53:21

    On the motion to engross, yeas are 29, nays are 21. This motion has prevailed.

72. 0:53:58

    Recognize pro tem. Speak to the bill.

73. 0:54:06

    Thank you, Mr. President. It's good to be back with you all. I didn't know it'd be this quick, but it good to be, good to see everybody. Uh, as is required, we need to adopt rules for the special session. And these rules that are before you are s- very similar, kind of mirror the rules we have during the li- last five days of a regular session where we try to expedite our business.

74. 0:54:36

    And so all, all action that we take will be immediately transmitted to the House automatically, for example, like we do the last five days of session. The, the biggest changes we're making today is, uh, rule 4-2.8. It's gonna cut down the time for debate on local bills, contested local bills, from 10 minutes to three minutes. This only applies to local legislation. Uh, as you know, in the governor's call, uh, it allows for local legislation related to LHOST or FLOST, FFLOST.

75. 0:55:16

    Um, and so it's very limited in scope what local bills we'll be dealing with. And because these bills are gonna be pretty much mirror bills of each other, it's gonna be the same subject matter on all the bills, w- we don't, I don't think it's gonna require a lot of debate, but the debate'll be limited to three minutes per side just to k- allow us to, uh, handle our business expeditiously. And then rule 8-1.7, uh, the allotted time for points of personal privilege will be limited to three minutes instead of five.

76. 0:55:54

    Uh, beyond that, it's just basically changing dates and, uh, technical cleanup type, uh, not cleanup, but changes that are required because of the unique nature of this being a special session. Nothing subs- substantive. Um, if you've been up here be- very long and had been through a special session, this is very similar to how we've handled it in the past. I'd be happy to take any questions. Otherwise, I ask for your, uh, unanimous consent, please.

77. 0:56:26

    All right. Y- you-

78. 0:56:27

    Y-

79. 0:56:27

    Thank you. I yield the will.

80. 0:56:29

    So you do have one question, Senator. I'm sorry.

81. 0:56:31

    Okay.

82. 0:56:32

    Senator from the 41st.

83. 0:56:35

    Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, Senator Pro Tem, do you yield?

84. 0:56:38

    Yes, ma'am.

85. 0:56:39

    So, Senator, in section 5, uh, beginning on line 45, there's a reference to bills related to the congressional districts, house districts, and the senate districts. Is it not true that you all have agreed not to introduce any maps during this special session?

86. 0:56:56

    Uh, that's, that's what we announced earlier today. We will not be, uh, redrawing the maps during the special session. Um, we will be redrawing the maps at a future date.

87. 0:57:06

    Do you further yield?

88. 0:57:07

    Yes, ma'am.

89. 0:57:09

    So can you explain to me why these special rules still include things related to the maps if we are not making any changes to maps during this special session?

90. 0:57:20

    Well, the honest answer, which I'm always trying to be as honest as I can, of course, uh, like you do, is that we, um, uh, the f- initial draft of these rules and this version that you see in front of you anticipated that we might be, uh, doing reapportionment.

91. 0:57:38

    Do you further yield?

92. 0:57:40

    One more time. Yes, ma'am.

93. 0:57:41

    Yes. So is it not true that if you all had not engrossed this, that we could have amended these, this particular thing to not include anything about maps, and therefore we could have been on the same page as this? But is it not true that since you still have rules in effect about maps, uh, the minority caucus remains very reticent, reticent and hesitant to, uh, subscribe to these particular rules?

94. 0:58:05

    Uh, to the extent you can speak for the entire minority caucus, I guess you speak the truth. Um, and you are absolutely correct. Had we not engrossed it, amendments could be offered, as you well know. But it is engrossed, so, um, vote it up or down. Thank you.

95. 0:58:24

    Recognize the senator from the twenty-second.

96. 0:58:45

    Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be brief. Also looking at that page three on the potential rules, um, providing for if districts or maps were gonna be drawn, of course, we're, we're thinking that they would not be, but this language is still in there, so we kind of need to address it. One of the amendments that we actually would have had if it wouldn't be engrossed is that you would not engage in racial gerrymandering or partisan gerrymandering. And so that would have been the amendment that we have. And you say, "Well, how would we be able to actually do that?" I think this body is actually faced with a similar situation that Congress was faced with back in 1982, and that was after the City of Mobile versus Bolden.

97. 0:59:25

    And in that particular City of Mobile versus Bolden, and in that case, the court determined, similar to the court in Kale decision, determined that intentional discrimination was the key as far as bringing the Voting Rights Act was concerned. And Congress was so upset about that and so concerned about that, this is a bipartisan Congress, they actually amended Section 2 and said that what has to happen is Section 2 would have to show results and not intentional discrimination. That was a Democratic House, Republican Senate, and a Republican president who amended Section 2 based upon an erroneous ruling out of the Supreme Court.

98. 1:00:01

    We're faced with a similar type situation today. The ruling in Kale was not based on any real facts, was not based on any current law, and went against current precedent. What we could do as a body, instead of necessarily doing this performance act of drawing lines and fighting about that, we could actually pass the State Voting Rights Bill, is what we could do. And that's one of the reasons why we wanted to amend this to say that we cannot have partisan gerrymandering and also no racial gerrymandering. We could actually do a State Voting Rights Bill and respond the same way that Congress did in 1982.

99. 1:00:32

    So understand that was in 1982, a bipartisan Congress looked at a decision similar to Kale, basically the same decision, where they said you have to have intentional discrimination. And that Congress said that's almost impossible to show. No one can really show that. But yet you still could have the effect and you still could have discrimination. And they then amended Section 2. We're in that similar posture right now. A court has ruled and said that you have to have intentional discrimination, almost an impossibility that you can do. Instead of following that particular decision and going around and drawing maps and trying to draw people out of their districts and trying to draw people in certain districts, why don't we create our own statewide Voting Rights Act?

100. 1:01:08

     We actually had one that was pending, uh, this year, the Henry McNeel Turner Voting Rights Act, which would actually dealt with this issue too. So I would suggest before we start trying to get into this game, uh, uh, of drawing people in and out, why don't we look at that and say, "Hey, this is how we're gonna solve it." I believe it was said today about doing something the Georgia way. The Georgia way is not trying to use maps and games to actually draw people out of their districts or hurt people. The Georgia way is to say, "Okay, this is the area of contention. This is how we're going to deal with it." And also make this point too, because there's also a couple of issues I think that goes into maybe your thinking.

101. 1:01:43

     And it's always been the same critiques, and in the Kale case it was the same critique that took place by Judge Alito. One of those was that Section 2 created this requirement of proportional representation. Nothing could be further than the truth. Section 2 does not create a requirement for proportional representation. It never has created a requirement for proportional representation. Congress, in its basically, its, um, legislative history, said it does not create proportional representation. There's never been a court case that says it has to be proportional representation. So I'm sure you've been getting that from, um, certain places saying that this requires proportional representation and that would be, uh, wrong.

102. 1:02:18

     It does not require that. But this is one of the reasons why, again, I'm saying why don't we create our own statewide Voting Rights Act? Second one of the issues is people say the country has come so far. I'm sure persons have heard that too. Well, we've come so far, why do we need a Voting Rights Act? Even a statewide Voting Rights Act. This is what Congress said about that and exists even today. It is true with respect to most communities that they maybe have solved some of their racial issues. And in those communities, it would be exceedingly difficult to prove a case. But unfortunately, there are still some where you still have discrimination And that actually exists today too.

103. 1:02:52

     So what we're saying is, yes, in many of our communities in Georgia, you won't have this issue. And guess what? They won't be able to prove a case even under the Voting Rights Act, and that happens all the time. The fact of the matter is, people bring cases under the Voting Rights Act, and they win, and they lose. Our statewide Voting Rights Act right would also basically deal with this and say, you c- can bring a case if you can show these particular factors. But it would be exceedingly difficult to show those factors. That's the same exact thing that Congress did in 1982. They even said over and over, "It will be difficult to prove these cases." That's what we ought to do the same thing.

104. 1:03:26

     We ought to make it difficult to prove these cases. We understand, and Congress did the same thing, but we ought to not engage in this map-drawing contest that it seems like we're insistent on going, um, to do. One of the other aspects of this is that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act actually causes more racial tension because sexual t- Section 2 causes more racial tension. I'm sure you guys have heard that too. But in reality, it's what you guys are planning on doing if you're gonna try to draw these maps on partisan grounds, that actually is going to draw more racial tension.

105. 1:03:57

     Why do I say that? Because under the results test, which we also would have under our statewide voting rights, that test is carefully applied by the courts. It's responsible to look at the intent- or the result of the act, not necessarily the intent. When you go to an intent test, which you guys are basically gonna be talking about trying to do, that means that we have to question what your intent is. We actually, at that point in time, have to start going into it and trying to show that you actually are being racial or racist. That's what an intent test does. When you have a results test, that actually says, what we're gonna look at is what is the result of the particular legislation.

106. 1:04:33

     We're not gonna look at it, your intent. We're not go- going to this back and forth about who's racist or who's mean to Black folks. That's not gonna be the... That's not the requirement, and it's not the requirement currently. But when the Court went to this intent test, what takes place is I have to get into what your intent is, and then you have to play this game about that you don't know what the size of certain counties are. You don't know what the racial makeup of certain counties are. Why do that? Why not just go to a statewide Voting Rights Act, and we have, we create our own results test as far as the statewide Voting Rights Act is concerned.

107. 1:05:04

     So there is a way out of this, quite frankly, and it does not have to be that we come up here again fighting over maps. What we can do is take out partisanship, take out the racial aspect of it. Still have, if the effect is one that is discriminatory, there will be a remedy. But you take those two things out, make the districts compact, make them the correct size, and you actually will fi- find yourself with good maps that are actually fair for all citizens of Georgia. So we are at that same place that Congress found themselves in 1982, and they had a Republican Senate, a Democratic House, and a Republican president.

108. 1:05:40

     And instead of saying, "We're gonna use this particular decision to draw each other out," instead of going to war with each other over maps, they said, "Let's fix the problem." And what I'm saying today is, we have an opportunity to fix the problem, and that is actually create our own statewide Voting Rights Act, which is different from what the Supreme Court is actually looking at, and we can fix the problem in a way that we could do it the Georgia way. And not in this way that the path that I think we're gonna be heading down about us questioning each other's intent, about us questioning each other's values and morals, and actually having that kind of fight.

109. 1:06:13

     It's not necessary. We can do better than that, and there's a way out of this, and we ought to accept that we should do better than that. And I look forward to working with people as we pass the Henry McNeel Turner Voting Rights Act. With that, Mr. President, I yield the

110. 1:06:50

     floor.

111. 1:06:50

     I mean, I've got some folks lined up here wanting to speak, but everybody does realize that we're not redrawing maps right now, don't you? I think that made clear, so... But if you wanna come speak against something that's not gonna be going on- ... then I guess that's all right, I guess. But, but I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready to get out of here. And I done heard plenty of stump speeches in here, so. Though at any rate, Pro Tem.

112. 1:07:22

     Mr. President, I move the previous question.

113. 1:07:25

     All right. Pro Tem has moved the previous question.

114. 1:07:30

     Objection.

115. 1:07:30

     Got objection. All those in favor of the Pro Tem's motion will vote yay, all opposed nay. Secretary, enlighten the machine.

116. 1:08:40

     On the motion for previous question, the yays are 30 and the nays are 21. The mo- motion has prevailed.

117. 1:09:11

     All right, so now we're on to the question. Question is on the adoption of resolution. All those in favor of the resolution

118. 1:09:33

     will vote yay, opposed nay. Secretary, enlighten the machine.

119. 1:09:40

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

120. 1:09:42

     Thank you. Point of, uh, privilege here. Well, parliamentary inquiry, I should say.

121. 1:09:46

     State your inquiry.

122. 1:09:47

     Isn't it true that we just h- heard a rousing speech about transparency and, and listening and working together, and then in a matter of minutes, uh, we had no transparency. We have a bill that we have not seen, and the majority party has seen over and over again, and even changed it, uh, right before here, where we ha- can't even make a amendment. So isn't it true that transparency is not alive and well in the, in the state Senate?

123. 1:10:11

     Senator is passionate about what he speaks.

124. 1:10:14

     Yeah. I'll take that as a yes. Thank you.

125. 1:10:23

     On the adoption of 1EX, SR 1EX, the yays are 30 and the nays are 21, and this motion has failed. Secretary, read the resolution.

126. 1:10:43

     Senate Resolution 2EX by Senator Walker of the 3rd and Senator Anavitarte of the 31st. Uh, a resolution notifying the House of Representatives that the Senate has convened and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

127. 1:11:14

     Pro Tem, do you wish to speak to your resolution?

128. 1:11:18

     You waive?

129. 1:11:20

     We waive.

130. 1:11:20

     You waive. Any other... Is... Yes, sir, Senator from the 26th. For what purpose do you rise?

131. 1:11:33

     Parliamentary inquiry.

132. 1:11:34

     State your inquiry.

133. 1:11:36

     Mr. President, can you tell this body

134. 1:11:42

     what we gonna do about the, the QR code? I thought that was the problem that we didn't pass over on the House side. November, we got the election. We got to count votes. What are we gonna do about the QR code that we are having a problem with because of the machines that we have, that they can't do it without the QR code being suspended to, to go to next legislative session?

135. 1:12:12

     I believe we're down to that's the only thing we're doing here, Senator, is addressing the QR code. So, but Senator, you might want to talk to the, the Pro Tem over there, 'cause I think they've been working through all the details of it, so.

136. 1:12:27

     You, you, you know, part of the problem is miscommunication because folks that look like me came up here today because thought certain things were gonna happen, and that we, uh-

137. 1:12:47

     That's a, that's a fair statement, Senator, but, uh, I don't think these, uh, final decisions were made until few minutes before we ever got in the, in the, uh, chamber here. So, so I don't know, I don't think they were trying to mislead you. I know, I know I wasn't trying to mislead you. I, I would've picked you up in Macon and brought you on up here with me if I'd- ... I'd known we had to come, so.

138. 1:13:09

     You, you, you'd have picked me up? You'd have sent the driver to pick me up. That's what happened. But part of the problem is communication. Uh, Mr. President, isn't it true that with the particular things that we're, we're going to deal with, it would've been better had the majority leader met with the minority leader and tried to get some understanding about all of this prior to coming in and voting on it?

139. 1:13:45

     You have a good point there, Senator, and, uh, we need to talk to the majority leader and the minority leader about having better lines of communication with one another. They right there on the same row. So why don't y'all get together and start talking through this? I ain't talking about that Bernard. Don't put my business out. All right. Uh, is there objection to the adoption of the resolution? Senator from the 35th, what purpose do you rise?

140. 1:14:15

     Parl- parliamentary inquiry.

141. 1:14:17

     State your inquiry.

142. 1:14:18

     Um, isn't it true that we just received these Senate resolutions just a l- a few minutes ago?

143. 1:14:27

     Come on. Come on.

144. 1:14:28

     They what?

145. 1:14:29

     Just, just wanna better understand.

146. 1:14:31

     Put it out. Annoyances.

147. 1:14:36

     My understanding is they were printed this morning and placed on your desk, which is how the rules work.

148. 1:14:43

     Got it. Hap- happy, uh, 250th, America. Thank you.

149. 1:14:49

     Okay, Senator. All right. Is there objection to the adoption of the resolution? The chair is, hears none. The resolution is adopted.

150. 1:14:59

     One more resolution Se- secretary read the resolution.

151. 1:15:09

     Senate Resolution 3EX by Senator Anavitarte of the 31st and others. A resolution relative to meetings and adjournments of the General Assembly and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

152. 1:15:20

     Recognize the leader to speak to the resolution.

153. 1:15:33

     All right, y'all. I'm gonna try and keep this simple. It's not four lines, it's 58

154. 1:15:41

     Um, this resolution takes us through June 22nd, which is Monday. Um, what you don't see on here is if we don't finish on Monday, we will keep working through the week except for on Saturdays and Sundays, unless you really wanna be here on Saturdays and Sundays. I hear people in the room saying they don't even wanna be here, so let's, let's just vote and get this over with. But that's basically what this resolution does, Mr. President.

155. 1:16:12

     I said after Monday.

156. 1:16:15

     You do have a couple of questions, Senator.

157. 1:16:16

     Go for it. Let's have some fun.

158. 1:16:18

     Recognize the senator from the 55th.

159. 1:16:22

     Parliamentary inquiry.

160. 1:16:25

     State your inquiry.

161. 1:16:26

     Will the gentleman, will the gentleman in the well tell us why it is necessary for us to be in this august body on Saturday after Juneteenth, my birthday?

162. 1:16:40

     Well, as, as public servants of the people, um, I'm sure, Senator, in, in, uh, your district like my district, the work never stops for the people of Georgia. So regardless whether it's Monday or Saturday, the wor- the work is to be done. And a happy early birthday. Mine was on Flag Day last weekend.

163. 1:17:01

     Is it not true that Juneteenth is one of those days when people in the great state of Texas almost two and a half years later discovered that they were free, they had worked as slaves even though they were free? Is it not true?

164. 1:17:18

     Senator, we're, we're not working on Juneteenth to-

165. 1:17:22

     It, is, is it not true-

166. 1:17:23

     ... recognize what you're saying

167. 1:17:24

     ... is it not true that on Saturday that will intrude upon the Juneteenth, uh, plans for many of us because we have planned for the celebration of that time when people could not celebrate the freedom that we so preciously enjoy running up to two hundred and fifty years, and that we can make some alter- In fact, would the senator consider us working longer on Monday or longer on tomorrow and not coming on Saturday?

168. 1:18:03

     Well, Senator, I'll, I'll let you discuss with your caucus if you wanna be here longer than Monday. Um, but I think just like you, just like me, depending on what your values are and what your American ideals are, um, you know, whether it's a holiday, whatever, you try and put that into your life and community every single day. So I appreciate your comments.

169. 1:18:23

     Thank you, sir.

170. 1:18:28

     I yield the floor, Mr. President.

171. 1:18:29

     Thank you.

172. 1:18:29

     Let's go home.

173. 1:18:31

     Senator is yielding.

174. 1:18:35

     Is there any other senator who would speak for or against the measure? Senator from the 35th.

175. 1:18:54

     Senator-

176. 1:18:54

     Man

177. 1:18:55

     ... you just want to talk, huh?

178. 1:18:56

     Man. Tha- thank you, Mr. President. Um, I didn't plan on speaking on this bill, uh, but I think it, I think it needs to be said. I, I find it interesting that we come here and say, "Oh, we're all ready to get home," but we don't have to be here. We played around for 40 legislative days and pretended we didn't have time for QR codes, and now working people have to leave their jobs and affects the day-to-day. People can't pay their bills. I have employees. When I'm out, sometimes they can't go to work, and I gotta have one-on-ones with them about how we're gonna make ends meet leading up to, uh, Fourth of July.

179. 1:19:34

     And I come here and people are just cackling around and saying, "Oh, uh, we, we're ready to go." If we were ready to go, we would've done our jobs during our 40 days earlier, and here we are playing around with days. We're celebrating Juneteenth by, "Oh, we're gonna play with the maps. Oh, no, we're not. We're not gonna do it last minute. Oh, we're, we're gonna leave it in section five, but we're not, we're gonna engross it so you can't make any adjustments to it." We're playing games, and it's not funny. People are driving from all over the state. This is not a political speech.

180. 1:20:05

     Have you, have you seen the price of meat? Try to buy a steak or a burger, and we're up here playing around. I am not at work right now, and people are trying to pay their bills. Our office is doing 70% of what we normally do. My patients are trying to be seen in the summer before school, but I gotta say, "No, you gotta do it later and maybe miss school," because we're here playing around. If we really wanted to get things done, I know that we can move quick, right, Majority Leader?

181. 1:20:36

     When you want something done, things happen in, like, two days. But when we wanna do a QR code, we had two years to do it, and we didn't do it. There's real stuff going on. People are grieving. People have real stuff happening in their families, and we're playing games, press conference and saying, "Hey, let's work together. Transparency. Let's do all this stuff." We get here, we're praying together, "Oh, Jesus, uh, help us with wisdom and this and that." Yes, and then we get here and we start playing games again. "Oh, let's play around with the rules." Am I feeling spicy today? Yes, because m- my team at home, they are having trouble paying for bills.

182. 1:21:12

     Juneteenth is coming. Happy repar- uh, uh, reparations, Iran, but Black folks, when it comes to slavery, "Oh, we don't have money for that."

183. 1:21:24

     Like, this is serious business. Happy 200 and, uh, 250th, America, and just listen to how we celebrate.

184. 1:21:34

     People literally are taking off work, getting on buses, carpooling to get here to make sure their voice is heard, and we playing around. "Oh, we weren't doing anything anyway. What do you, what's the big idea?"

185. 1:21:47

     I'm tired of it. And I know this is how things are done, but I'm still gonna remind everybody that this is ridiculous. This is ridiculous. If we're gonna be here, let's get some work done. Why are we having a schedule where we can just pack it in in a day or two 'cause we know we can? You make the rules. We can be done tomorrow if we wanted to. But no, you gotta tell your people back home, I gotta tell my people back home, "Oh, we gotta wait and see what happens."

186. 1:22:22

     Are we done playing around? There's a reason why people don't trust their public institutions. Polit- politics, Congress, folks here in the state, they don't trust us because of this. I think it costs, what, $200,000 a day for us to just open up session day after day after day. People cannot afford rent. People cannot afford food, and we are here on a special session talking about everything else except that.

187. 1:22:54

     I yield the will.

188. 1:22:57

     Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. Previous question is ordered.

189. 1:23:06

     Would you like to close?

190. 1:23:17

     Be quick. Be quick.

191. 1:23:18

     Mr. President, I'm gonna be quick 'cause the senator from the 35th wants, from Cobb County wants to continue to make a mockery of Georgia and, and America. We wanna talk about the economy. We wanna talk about, once again, let's play the cliff notes and the highlight reel from the last session that the minority party voted against property tax relief. The minority party voted against income tax relief. The mi- minority party voted against getting rid of data center tax credits, and all the other things they wanna cry and scream about, about why Georgia is wrong.

192. 1:23:50

     Where's the optimism in the Democratic Party? It does not exist. The opportunity that they claim they wanna give people in their communities, whether it's in inner city Atlanta or rural Georgia, it does not exist. They come up here and talk a big game, but where are the policies? Where's the votes, senator?

193. 1:24:11

     So when you go back to Cobb County or Paulding County, Senator, I have the will.

194. 1:24:20

     Let's be honest with the people that, that we're serving. The same people that we wanna jack up their taxes, well, they don't have to pay a tax. The same people who wanna get out of poverty because of the economic policies that you wanna promote, that's not gonna give them a hand up and move them out to be successful and prosperous. Let's debate that. I'll debate that on every street corner in Atlanta all the way down to Valdosta. Bring it.

195. 1:24:50

     I mean, let's, let's debate it. But don't come up here and, and make a mockery of the Senate and the state and what the people are wanting us to do.

196. 1:25:01

     At the end of the day, this is all about supporting our constituents and defending the American id- ideals that I think we all try to aspire to do. We brought a calendar up here, and this should be a really simple discussion, but we wanna get off the rails, um, for whatever political agenda or organization that's helping you out th- back there in Cobb County somewhere. Well, let's move on. Let's vote. We can vote green and red, have our debates, and talk about it around the state.

197. 1:25:35

     Thank you, Mr. President.

198. 1:25:38

     Senator yields, and the previous question is then ordered.

199. 1:25:44

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the amendment? The chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered?

200. 1:25:54

     Yes.

201. 1:25:54

     Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none. Previous question is ordered. Senator from the 41st, would you have something you'd like to say? Not a word. Not a word? Not a word. You know I've always liked you, senator. I know. So have I. I'm g- I've always liked you.

202. 1:26:14

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

203. 1:27:21

     On the adoption, the yays are 45, the nays are five. This resolution has prevailed.

204. 1:27:32

     All senators who have bills and resolutions to introduce, please bring them to the secretary's desk at this time.

205. 1:27:41

     First reading of Senate Bill and resolutions. Mr. Secretary?

206. 1:27:46

     Senate Bill 1 EX by Senator Hodges of the 3rd, a bill entit- to be entitled an act to provide a homestead exemption for Clayton County.

207. 1:27:51

     State and local government.

208. 1:27:53

     Senate Bill 2 EX by Senator Hodges of the 3rd.

209. 1:27:55

     State and local government.

210. 1:27:55

     Senate Bill 3 EX by Senator-

211. 1:27:57

     Ethics

212. 1:27:57

     ... Burns of the 23rd. Senator f- Senate Bill 4 EX by Senator Williams of the 25th.

213. 1:28:02

     State and local government.

214. 1:28:04

     Senate Resolution 4 EX by Senator-

215. 1:28:06

     Ethics

216. 1:28:06

     ... Dolezal. Mr. President, that completes the order.

217. 1:28:23

     Recognize the majority leader for a motion.

218. 1:28:32

     So moved.

219. 1:28:34

     Hold on one second, Majority Leader. Secretary, read the message.

220. 1:28:38

     Mr. President, the House has adopted by the requisite constitutional majority the following resolution of the House, House Resolution 2 EX by Representative Strachan of the 104th, a resolution to notify the governor that the General Assembly has convened and for other purposes.

221. 1:29:12

     Is there objection to the adoption of resolution? Chair hearing none.

222. 1:29:24

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

223. 1:29:51

     Recognize senator from the 41st.

224. 1:29:53

     Parliamentary inquiry.

225. 1:29:54

     State your inquiry.

226. 1:29:55

     Isn't it true that this is simply letting people know that we have begun special session? Is that not true?

227. 1:30:01

     It is.

228. 1:30:02

     It's just a notification.

229. 1:30:03

     It is a special day for a special session.

230. 1:30:08

     What about

231. 1:30:08

     'Cause people don't know what they voting on.

232. 1:30:11

     Uh.

233. 1:30:33

     On the adoption of the resolution, the yays are 15, the nays are zero, and this resolution has prevailed.

234. 1:30:42

     Recognize majority leader for a motion.

235. 1:30:44

     Mr. President, move the Senate stand adjourned until 10:30 AM Thursday, June 18th.

236. 1:30:49

     All right. Senate, is there objec- All right, the majority leader's moved the Senate stand is adjourned until 10:30 AM on Thursday, June 18th. All those in favor, senator from the 24th, what purpose do you rise?

237. 1:31:06

     Mr. President, I'd just like to remind each and every one of you, if you don't have nothing to do this afternoon, there's gonna be a great ballgame on. Go Dawgs.

238. 1:31:20

     The Da- There you go. All right.

239. 1:31:22

     We need to pull-

240. 1:31:23

     7:00 tonight versus Texas

241. 1:31:24

     ... pull for the Dawgs, even y'all Georgia Tech fans. Pull for the Dawgs. We need to beat Oklahoma.

242. 1:31:32

     It's Oklahoma, huh? Okay.

243. 1:31:33

     Yep.

244. 1:31:33

     All right. Go Dawgs then. All right. All those in favor of the majority leader's motion to adjourn, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

245. 1:31:42

     Aye.

246. 1:31:42

     All those opposed, no.

247. 1:31:44

     No.

248. 1:31:44

     The ayes clearly have it. We're adjourned.