House Defense & Veterans Affairs Committee, January 27, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1147719790 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1147719790#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-01-27/house-defense-and-veterans-affairs This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays. [0:16:29] this day looking out for our service members. We also want to thank you for allowing all of us to return safely back to this place after a, a, a weekend of, of storms in some areas, snow in some areas, and in my area, only rain. So we ask you to continue to bless this committee and all of our members and our guests that are with us today. [0:17:04] Thank you for Christ's sake, amen. [0:17:07] Amen. Thank you, Representative. So for the committee, um, typically we're, we are gonna try to have our meetings on Tuesdays. Uh, of course, it does, we also have to schedule around some of the, the standing committees, and so, uh, but typically Tuesdays are gonna be the days that we're gonna try to meet. Currently we have, um, only, only a couple of bills assigned to the committee. I certainly expect that we'll have more. So we'll continue to schedule those, and then we'll also, um, we also wanna schedule, uh, some of our hearings to actually be informative for different topics. [0:17:41] So we're looking at different, um, items to include, uh, an, an update from Commissioner Ross from the Department of Veteran Services, which we're looking to do that as a combined, uh, hearing with our Senate counterpart to kind of just, uh, help just, just give one update, and then any others that arise. So, um, if you have any questions or concerns, just let me know. The two bills that we're gonna hear today, one is a carryover from last session, and the other is, uh, a new one for this session. So I'm gonna turn it over to Chairman Thomas, who's gonna chair the rest of the meeting while I present these bills. [0:18:21] All right. Thank you, Chairman Bonner. And, uh, it's a pleasure to be back with everybody. Uh, this is, uh, one of my favorite committees. Uh, I actually, the sever- I sit on EUT, which is one of the standing committees at this time, so, uh, sometimes I miss them. But I have to tell you, my heart's always with my veterans. So, uh, with that being said, uh, Chairman Bonner, just one quick question. Uh, I want to... Did you want to present 110 first, or did you want to present 985? You told me, I just- [0:18:50] Uh, 1, 110 if we could do that one first. [0:18:51] Yeah. [0:18:51] That's the carryover from last session. [0:18:53] All right. Uh, with that, uh, Chairman Bonner, uh, the mic and con is all yours, sir. [0:19:01] Well, thank you. Thank you, s- the members of the committee. Um, working off of LC461000, this is House Bill 110. This is actually a bill that we moved out of committee last year. Um, the committee was gracious enough to help us get this moving. This simply, uh, adds, uh, an additional state level protection for our active component service members. Uh, as you are aware, under the Military Lending Act, it prohibits a title pawn from doing business with service members, um, and prot- those protected, uh, protected folks. [0:19:34] And this simply adds a state level protection and a state level penalty, uh, in the event that that happens. And so as you see on the, on the second page, it spells out the penalty. It's, uh, subject to a civil penalty of four times the principal amount advanced in such pawn transactions. Um, that's... It really is a simple, straightforward bill. I'll be happy to answer any questions that you might have. [0:20:00] Okay. With that, I'll open up for questions. Seeing none, Chairman, you did a very good job explaining the bill. Thank you. Um- [0:20:07] Well, we- [0:20:08] And then- [0:20:08] ... we definitely went, uh, we, this committee did a lot of great work, I think, in fleshing this out last session, and really over the last couple of years, uh, on this, so appreciate that work. And I, and I think this time we'll be able to get her across the finish line. [0:20:22] Uh, that sounds good. Uh, Chairman Hitchens, I'm gonna recognize you for a question or a motion. [0:20:27] Motion. [0:20:27] Uh, go ahead. [0:20:28] Make a motion to pass. [0:20:29] Second. [0:20:30] All right, motion to pass with a second. All those in favor, aye. [0:20:34] Aye. [0:20:35] Any opposed? Measure m- passes unanimously. All right, let's move on to the next one. Oh, uh- [0:20:41] I did have a quick one. Sorry. I did have a question. [0:20:44] Uh, okay, I'll recognize you for the question, but we've already- [0:20:47] Oh, I'm sorry [0:20:48] ... we've alr- we've already taken action on it, but I'll recognize you. [0:20:51] I'll be happy to answer the question. What's your- [0:20:52] Uh, it wasn't blinking up here. That... Go ahead. W- If, if you don't mind, Chairman Bonner. [0:20:56] Yes, please. How- [0:20:57] Oh, hold on. Let me turn your mic on. [0:21:00] How will pawn shop, um, shops verify active duty or dependent status at the time of the transactions? [0:21:07] Well, these are the... So it is an important distinction. It's not pawn shops. It's, it's title pawn lenders. [0:21:13] Okay. [0:21:13] Um, so, um, there is a requirement for the individual to disclose, and so they are, you know, they are working to some degree off of the individual coming in, um, you know, that's requesting this. So, um, that's the, the primary way that they verify. Uh, and then, and then each company does go in and do audits periodically to make sure that they're not doing business with, uh, those types of customers. But it is an important distinction that it's not, it's not pawn shops, but title pawn. [0:21:44] Very, very different industries. Yeah. But thank you for that question. I appreciate that. [0:21:51] All right. Thank you. So we're gonna move on to House Bill 985. Um, Chairman Bonner. [0:21:58] Yes. [0:21:58] Please. [0:21:58] Well, uh, thank you. And again, I'm working off of LC46, uh, 1342, and I'm gonna ask commissioner, uh, of our Department of Veteran Services, Patricia Ross, to join me, uh, here at the table. Um, as this is a bill that was, that was brought to us by the department, and this is, this actually builds on legislation from last year Wherein this committee, uh, moved a bill and did get signed into law that increased the eligibility for certain members of the National Guard and, uh, Reserves to be buried in our state cemeteries. [0:22:33] And what we discovered in that is that, uh, there was some things that we needed to clarify, and there was also an additional group that was eligible for this benefit that, uh, I'll let Commissioner Ross kinda go over the details of the, of the updates that this addresses. [0:22:49] Thank you, Chairman Bonner, and thank y'all for having me here today. The big things that have changed since last year's bill was passed is the addition of the Hmong Laotian Special Guerrilla Forces. They fought alongside our CIA counterparts in Vietnam. They are now recognized for VA burial status or federal status. Uh, so we added that group as now being eligible for burial in a state veteran cemetery. In addition, as Chairman Bonner said, uh, we needed to clarify a few things. We found that it was difficult to prove that someone served their full length of service, that first enlistment in the Guard or the Reserve. [0:23:27] Uh, that was, that was difficult for some families. So we benchmarked what other states were doing and clarified that to simply said that they served not less than 24 consecutive months in the Reserve or Guard. Uh, the other thing that we ended up changing, um, if you're going down to, uh, line 42, uh, specifically, we found out that the date of, uh, you've served after August 1st of 1990, which was the beginning of Desert Shield, uh, that was too restrictive, and we were asked to move that back to the all-volunteer force date, so that's January 1st, 1973. [0:24:06] Um, again, still needing honorable service. And then, uh, the other big piece, 'cause the rest is with our Hmong Laotian forces, is, uh, clarifying dependency. So that is on line... [0:24:33] I'm having a hard time finding it. [0:24:41] Okay, I know it's in here. [0:24:57] Line 68. [0:24:59] There we go. [0:25:04] Okay, line 68. [0:25:06] Is that what it is? [0:25:07] No, it, um, it is about, uh, children. [0:25:13] And I know I looked at this before. [0:25:19] I apologize. Here we go. Line 49. So when we're talking about a spice- spouse, minor- minor child, or unmarried adult child of any service member, that was too broad and did not correspond to federal legislation that actually determines that for a child to be buried in a federal cemetery, a VA cemetery, they needed to be disabled prior to the age of 18. So all we're doing is pointing that back to US code title 38, where the definition of a minor child or unmarried adult child, uh, we meet the same criteria as the federal VA. [0:25:56] Sorry about that. [0:26:02] Okay. Um, so we'll open the floor up for questions. Uh, first on the list, Representative Griffin. [0:26:09] Yes, uh, thank you very much. I have a, a friendly question because I'm a Vietnam vet- vet, but I don't know anything about the Hmong Latino Special Forces Group. [0:26:24] So- [0:26:24] Can you tell me about that? [0:26:25] Right. So the, the Hmong people, as, as you well know- [0:26:28] Right [0:26:28] ... are indigenous to, uh, Vietnam and, and Laos and that, that, uh, Southeast Asia, uh, region. And this particular group, uh, that it applies to were actually, um... And, and a part of the reasons why they don't have the full Veterans Administration benefits is that they, they were employed by the CIA starting in 1961. And so these were the... And they were, uh, deemed to be special guerrilla units that worked directly for the, uh, CIA that, um, that did a lot of their work in, in Laos. [0:27:01] Um, and they, uh, fought alongside a lot of our own, uh, Special Operations Forces, uh, in country, both Vietnam and, and Laos. And, uh, very small population, but they were the ones that were the indigenous population that was trained to fight, uh, with our American forces. So it's, it's not a huge population. In, in fact, um, uh, there's about 300,000-some odd Hmong people within the United States, and roughly in Georgia, right around 3,000, 3,200. [0:27:35] Uh, and then once you whittle it down to the population that actually this would apply to, very small. But that's, that's the, the general history of that particular, uh, population as it relates to Vietnam. [0:27:48] Thank you. [0:27:49] Mr. Chairman, may I add one thing? [0:27:50] Absolutely. [0:27:51] And so what the Hmong guerrilla units have asked for specifically from the state of Georgia as well as what, uh, was approved at the federal level is that their service be recognized now that they have been repatriated to the United States. They are United States citizens. Um, as you can imagine, it was not good for them to, to be, uh, part of the guerrilla forces in Vietnam. And at the end of that war, many of them came to the United States. So it's that population we're covering. [0:28:19] All right. Thank you. Uh, you have a second question. Representative Jackson. [0:28:24] Thank you, Chair. Uh, I also have a friendly- Uh, question, and my question is around, um, are there any other groups that we need to identify? Because when I think about, um, I did not serve in Vietnam, um, but there were other groups, allies, NATO allies, foreign allies, that participated, uh, in the Vietnam War on behalf of the United States. [0:28:55] And so I just wanna make sure that, you know, we recognize this group, and rightfully so, but are there any other groups, um, so that way they're not going to create this perception in the State of Georgia that we recognize one group but we're, um, not recognizing another group. [0:29:16] Yeah, Representative Jackson, that's a great question. And to answer that, so part of the challenge is, is we're basing w- what Georgia Code or the recommendations to change Georgia Code based on federal law, which the VA defines who is eligible for burial in a VA cemetery. In this case, they have a- added the Hmong Laotian guerrilla units. They've not added any other group. [0:29:39] Mm-hmm. [0:29:39] Since we do take VA funding for the majority of the burials in both Milledgeville and, and Glennville, uh, we do have to follow federal code. So we can't be less restrictive than the VA allows us to be for burial. So this is the one group we're asking to be added because the federal government has added it to, to their burial, um, to their code that allows them to now be buried in federal VA cemeteries. Uh, but right now there's no other group. [0:30:11] And I, I would say to your, to, to your point, I, I do think that we, you know, it's incumbent upon us to advocate on behalf of various groups that we may deem to be appropriate. I mean, you know, say it was, uh, you know, Afghan interpreters, right? [0:30:25] Mm-hmm. [0:30:26] Or, or, or, or name, you know, name the nationality that, that worked as interpreters for, uh, our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, anywhere else in, throughout theater of operations. So, um, I, I would, I, I echo her comments. You know, we are, we're somewhat bound by, um, changes in federal code, but that, that would not prohibit us from advocating on behalf of other groups that, that were our, our, you know, not allies in the s- in the, in the sense as defined in, in code, but those that fought alongside our, our troops overseas. [0:31:01] So th- thank you for that question. [0:31:02] Yeah. Uh, may I one follow-up? [0:31:05] Y- yes, sir. [0:31:05] Well, so, so how will we, let's say, 'cause I think this is a very good bill, how will we inform them that they now have the, the eligibility in Georgia to be able to have the respect and honor that they rightfully deserve? [0:31:25] Yeah. Well, I'll, I'll let the commissioner speak to her, her official efforts. I will tell you that, um, once this was presented to me, um, uh, my, my staff, you know, the huge staff that we all have- We beg- and by staff I mean me, um, we immediately started researching, um, uh, among groups in Georgia, and we found a number of communities- [0:31:49] Mm-hmm [0:31:49] ... uh, that we're able to contact, you know, on- initially online. And in fact, I sent an email out to all of our colleagues who have a Hmong population within their districts to, to try to reach out to them. But, um, but the, you know, our, uh, my goal is to not just move this, but to, you know, uh, to incorporate that communication to the degree that if, if we're fortunate enough to get this to, to signature by the governor that, that we have members of that community that are here as a part of that process, so. [0:32:22] Yes, sir. And I would tell you, um, this is a very active group. As you can imagine, um, some of them are getting up there in age, but they come to my office every year to try and see if we could expand Georgia Code to be able to allow them to be buried in our veteran cemeteries. And so we already have connections within those groups. And as Chairman Bonner said, you know, we can definitely reach out if this was to pass. [0:32:47] Okay. Thank you. [0:32:49] All right, you have a c- a couple more questions. Um, Chairman Hitchens. [0:32:54] Well, I did serve in Vietnam, and I served in I Corps with the Marines, which is the northern from the DMZ down to Thừa Thiên. And I was very aware of the Hmong population that was there. I never did interact with any of them because they were pretty much the Vietcong on our side. Uh, they were undercover doing intelligence work. But insofar as other, uh, countries, you know, uh, I passed a bill about five years ago for the South Koreans. [0:33:19] Mm. [0:33:19] They were probably our biggest, uh, ally, and they lost, they had 18,000 casualties during the war. And I worked side by side with the South Korean Marines, and, uh, now they can get Georgia veterans licenses and Georgia license plates if they immigrated to the United States, became US citizens and Georgia citizens. And, uh, they're a proud people, and they, uh, they have their own organizations up in, uh, Gwinnett County, and, uh, they were very thankful. I mean, uh, they just beamed about it. [0:33:51] And in fact, they showed some of the, um, uh, showed me speaking, uh, during it, and, uh, somehow it got on South Korean television. And the president of South Korea, uh, sent me an all-expense-paid ticket to South Korea and put me up in a five-star hotel and took me everywhere in South Korea that I wanted to go for 10 days. So, uh, it's, uh... You, you never... They invite me up there all the time now for dinner, and, and, uh, they're very appreciative. [0:34:23] But they were great fighters. I've known them, I've known some of the, uh, North Vietnamese to walk five or 10 miles to surrender to us instead of the South Koreans. And when people ask me why they did that, I said, "They play by Asian rules-" [0:34:38] Mm [0:34:38] ... which are significantly different from, from the way we treat prisoners of war. [0:34:42] Yeah. It, it, it really is a fascinating, uh, the more you research into this particular group and what they did, it is fascinating because while, uh, while in Vietnam, we, the US was fighting a conventional war, um- [0:34:55] Yep [0:34:55] ... the, the Viet Cong was fighting a guerrilla war. [0:34:58] Right. [0:34:58] And then when it came to, um, uh, the efforts in Laos, um, the communists were fighting a conventional war, and the, the, these Hmong special guerrilla units were the unconventional force that essentially, uh, took the place of Americans in that effort. And so we, we owe them a lot. [0:35:18] And the reason I spoke to I Corps and being in the northern sector is because we bordered with Laos in the northern sector. In, in middle, uh, Vietnam and s- and the actual southern part of Vietnam, uh, Cambodia was on the other side of the river. But we also had other allies. The Australians, uh, Thailand, Philippines, and, and New Zealand were all our allies. Uh, they had varying levels of manpower and equipment over there, but, uh, the Koreans were by far our biggest allies. [0:35:49] Okay. Last is, uh, Representative Griffin. [0:35:52] Yeah, I'd like to make a recommendation. Once this bill is, is passed and bec- become law, uh, please get that information to the funeral homes. I'm a f- funeral home person. And get that out because a lot of, a number of just, uh, family members, American family members don't know all of their rights from the standpoint of, uh, uh, when they come into the funeral home and, and, and, and, and, and what they can use, uh, the VA cemeteries for. [0:36:31] And you know we have one there in Milledgeville. [0:36:33] No, that, it, that's, I ver- very much appreciate that. I will say, um, a, a number of these, uh, clarifications that we're making came to us, uh, you know, from the, the funeral home industry and a lot of our, our, our funeral home caucus here in the House. So yeah, that, that, and that is, as, as you know, I mean, that, that's the, uh, a lot of times the primary way that folks find out about their benefits is at unfortunately that end of life, and, and the funeral home directors are certainly a great resource for us. [0:37:04] Okay. Um, so I just have one quick comment. I love this legislation, and definitely want to see it move forward. I just, but you, there was one thing. You, you mentioned that, um, in order to get the VA funding, we have to match what the, the VA, uh, defines as identified veterans, I guess. Uh, correct? [0:37:25] Yes, sir. [0:37:26] Um- [0:37:26] That is correct [0:37:27] ... is there any maybe we can do some subsequent legislation that just kind of automatically identifies, um, whatever the VA calls out so that way, you know, we're not always having to change the code, but something maybe more general that just accepts the list identified by, um, the, you know, federal government? That, that, and again, it, it, this is spitball. Probably not the appropriate time to bring it up, but it just, I, I love this and, and this way it'll always be all-encompassing and we don't- [0:37:53] Well, the only, I, I mean, it's, the only, the, the only thing that I would see, and I'll defer to the commissioner on this, is that, like for instance, with this group, they, they don't have the full complement of VA benefits. The, they only have this benefit. And so, uh, it could be that subsequent, subsequent additions to federal code, I mean, you know, they may, they may recognize, uh, one group that has all the benefits or one group that has some. So I, it, I think it, I think it would be, you know, even though it, it does take, you know, time and effort to address these individually, a lot of times these are individual circumstances depending on the particular- [0:38:31] Okay [0:38:31] ... community recognized. [0:38:32] Yeah, that, that's fine. Like I said, it was just kind of a general question. [0:38:36] Yeah. [0:38:36] So. [0:38:36] And if I may, um, if I could, Mr. Chairman. [0:38:39] Uh, absolutely. [0:38:40] Part, part of the issue also is, um, in this case, the VA does not fund the interment of whether it be the Hmong, whether it be Reserve Guard or their eligible family members. And so as part of this legislation is our ability to charge for those burials to cover cost. Um, and so that's one of the reasons why it's probably a little bit more detailed than just to Chairman Bonner's point, just tying it back to federal legislation. [0:39:04] Okay. I, I think, yeah, that answered my question. It was just a general thought to make sure that if, if we did that way, maybe something a little more proactive, but n- happy to do it. And I think this is a great bill, again, um, a very friendly question. I, I am gonna go ahead and recognize, uh, uh, Repres- Chairman Sainz. [0:39:22] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, uh, to the chairman's point on the chairman's bill, um, I, I was wondering that too, 'cause I know we've had a couple of code sections, but, um, not that we're looking at that, but i- is one of the reasons also that we can, we can't be more restrictive, but we can be less restrictive if there's ever a group for some reason that the federal government does classify that we might have any hesitation on, or is that not necessarily the case? [0:39:50] Yeah. Thank you. If I may, um, we may be more restrictive, but not less restrictive in other, in, in order to continue to get VA funding for that active duty population and their spouses. Um, and so in this case, we are mirroring federal code, and that's a great point, tying it back to that. But we also do have to add in the language that we are, are having to charge since the VA does not pay for these interments. [0:40:14] So if we're ever in a, though we can't have the privilege which, uh, might be useful to add a group ahead of the federal government, if we ever have a supply issue for some reason and we need, we, we can pause on extending it to increased groups. [0:40:28] Yeah, absolutely. [0:40:29] Okay. [0:40:29] That would be the case. Yes, sir. [0:40:30] I apologize for talking in theory, but thank you. [0:40:34] All right. Well, in that case, I'll open the, the committee up for any motions. [0:40:40] Motion to pass. [0:40:40] All right, we, we got a motion to pass. Uh, Representative or Chairman Sainz. I got, who was the second? Chairman Hitchens second. Uh, with that, uh, we'll, all those in favor, aye. [0:40:51] Aye. [0:40:51] Any opposed? You pass unanimous. Thank you, Chairman Bonner. [0:40:55] Thank you. [0:40:56] Uh, Chairman Bonner, one quick, uh, administrative question. Do you want me to go ahead and close this out, or did you want to do it? [0:41:02] I do. You, you- [0:41:32] Have at it [0:41:32] ... you got the hammer. [0:41:33] All right. Uh, guess what? We are adjourned. [0:41:36] Thank you, sir. [0:41:37] Thanks. Appreciate it.