House Rules Committee, February 3, 2026

Transcript

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1. 0:13:30

   Morning, everybody.

2. 0:13:38

   If you will go ahead and take seats and we'll, we'll get started. Uh, we're gonna open the meeting. Ask, uh, Representative Williams, if you would, to, uh, open us with a prayer this morning.

3. 0:13:52

   God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way. Most holy and everlasting God, again we come thanking you. Thanking you for the many blessings. We thank you, Lord, for those things that we did not see, that you protected us from. And now, Lord, we gather as a unit. We ask you to be with us, control us, make sure that we remember that we sit for the people of Georgia, not for each other. For it is in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

4. 0:14:22

   Thank you, sir. Uh, it, it, it's come to my attention that some of the members may not have a binder at your desk where you're sitting. Let me encourage all the members to sit toward the front, maybe on the first three rows or so, so we'll make sure that we get everybody. But we wanna make sure. Has everybody got one now? We should have enough, but we wanna make sure everybody gets one. Okay. If, if not, let us know and we'll try to make sure we get those around to everybody.

5. 0:14:53

   Okay, let's go ahead and, uh, l- l- see what we got this morning. Uh, Representative Bonner.

6. 0:15:01

   Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I didn't realize you did this meeting just for me. I really appreciate that. Uh, it is an important bill. I'm bringing before you House Bill 980. Uh, this bill creates the Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission, which is a 15-member commission composed of appointees from the House, the Senate, and the governor's office. Uh, w- if, uh, passage of this bill will join 25 other states that currently have this, uh, and another 15 or so that have this pending. But this creates the commission that allows us to, uh, interact and, um, enhance our trade relationships with the country of Ireland, which as you may know, is the, is currently the largest English-speaking country that still is in the EU.

7. 0:15:42

   So by, uh, one of the benefits of this is gives, uh, us access directly to those EU markets through the country of Ireland. Uh, we've got strong cultural and economic ties with Ireland already. They're one of our larger trading partners, and this will further enhance that effort for us. There's no cost, uh, to the state. Um, and all of the funds that are, uh, utilized for this purpose are to be raised, uh, from private, uh, entities. So w- with that, Mr. Chairman, I'll entertain any questions.

8. 0:16:11

   Okay. Have any questions? Don't see any. Thank you, sir.

9. 0:16:15

   All right. Thank you.

10. 0:16:17

    Okay, don't have anyone else on the wall over there. Uh, Chairman Williams, you have a request, right?

11. 0:16:28

    Yes, sir.

12. 0:16:28

    That should-

13. 0:16:29

    In fact... Yes, sir. Can you hear me?

14. 0:16:30

    Yeah.

15. 0:16:31

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I bring before you this morning, uh, House Bill 945. It's halfway down on your blue, uh, on the, on the front of the blue sheet. It's LC620310S. Uh, this is the Department of Banking and Finance's a- annual housekeeping bill. As always, it comes with a, a full support of all the regulated industries. There's been many discussions and meetings over the off session, uh, and as we continue to streamline, improve efficiencies, and, uh, better protect the consumers of Georgia through our en- entire banking financial landscape.

16. 0:17:06

    Uh, there's three, um, measures in this, that are included this bill of a particular importance that I'd like to highlight. The first is, for the first time, we're gonna, uh, put some financial, um, uh, protections for, um, for our elderly population where there's suspicious activity, uh, or fi- or if, if there's suffici- suspicions of financial fraud. Uh, it will allow institutions that have been trained, uh, to spot financial fraud to be able to place a transaction hold of up to 15 days.

17. 0:17:41

    Um, uh, and again, this would only apply to, um, citizens that are 65 or older. Um, and it would, uh, allow financial institutions to request that, uh, senior citizens, uh, name a trusted contact on their accounts, uh, that the financial institution could reach out to in, in the, um, in the situation where they might suspect that a grandmother or a granddaddy were, wa- was being a, a, a, a victim or, or an apparent victim of a financial fraud.

18. 0:18:14

    And we know what's going on in our society these days on that. The second thing we're touching is first time, uh, there are, um, there are kiosks, uh, virtual ATMs that, uh, uh, ATMs across the state of Georgia that accept, uh, that, uh, you can do cryptocurrency transaction, transaction zone. And right now, there's really no consumer protections for these, uh, cryptocurrency ATMs. Uh, this bill would provide protections for the first-time, uh, user, uh- That they would be protected.

19. 0:18:52

    They could only, uh, deposit up to $2,500 on their first transaction. Uh, subsequently, after they've become a, a frequent user of the ATM, the transactions could go up to $10,000 a day. But importantly, there would be clear disclosures, uh, to the consumer, uh, that the, the transaction was irreversible, there was high risk of fraud in your, in cryptocurrency subject to volatility. And the third thing is, is, uh, adding some more, um, um, guardrails around litigation financing.

20. 0:19:27

    Right now, litigation financers, financiers who were, um, uh, approved d- during the tort reform legislation of last year, uh, have to register just one time. This will require annual registration of financial, um, um, litigation financers, financiers. Uh, in case the company was sold, they just want, we wanna know who owns, um, that not there's any criminals involved, and who owns the, a financial litigation firm. So, uh, that's a rather lengthy explanation.

21. 0:19:59

    Uh, Mr. Chairman, happy to take any questions.

22. 0:20:03

    Okay, we've got a couple of questions.

23. 0:20:04

    Yes, sir.

24. 0:20:04

    Chair Lady Cooper, you have a question?

25. 0:20:06

    Yes. Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's not really a question, it's a request. As this bill, it moves forward, could you consider maybe on, instead of just that one time at $2,500, maybe doing it two or three in case there's some way that they can get around them? This is the biggest area, uh, one of the biggest areas for fraud for elderly people in the nation, and they're taking hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars from people.

26. 0:20:31

    Yes.

27. 0:20:31

    So thank you very much, but-

28. 0:20:32

    It's, it's a great question, though, Chair Lady. The, uh, and I failed to respond that, that if, if, if the suspected financial abuse is reported within five days and it, and is, and is in fact financial fraud, then the kiosk operators will refund 100% of the transaction. So this, this is a huge win for consumers in it all by itself.

29. 0:20:56

    He may

30. 0:20:57

    After five days and you were able to prove it, uh, you do get your fee back, which is, right now, you don't get anything back. So it's a great step in the first, uh, in, in the right direction. But thank you.

31. 0:21:09

    Thank you.

32. 0:21:09

    Okay. Whip Parks, is that yours?

33. 0:21:13

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, thank you for the bill. I, I certainly appreciate, um, the safeguards to address, uh, financial exploitation, especially of the s- of seniors. The one question I had was, you know, is there any recourse, um, to overcome this five-day hold or, uh, you know, up to 15 additional days if it is something that, you know, an elderly person needs? You know, what if an elderly person has an emergency and needs these funds? Is there a, you know, bypass mechanism that would address that type of situation?

34. 0:21:43

    Uh, uh, thank you, Whip Park. To answer your question, that's what the trusted contact would be for. Obviously, the, the, no financial institution has to do this. But those that, uh, go through training, it's all about protecting the customer. Uh, I can see your concern. I would have s- similar concerns, but you could take it up the ladder rel- relatively quickly with management and get more eyeballs on the situation. This is just a good first step in preventing that fraud. Nobody wants to deny anybody access to their money for a legitimate purpose.

35. 0:22:16

    We just don't want the, anybody to be abused.

36. 0:22:19

    Thank you.

37. 0:22:20

    Thank you.

38. 0:22:21

    Okay. Don't see any other questions. Thank you, sir. Uh, Jim Cheokas.

39. 0:22:31

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, looking at house bill 704. And this bill simply, uh, eliminates the unnecessary reporting from the Department of Audits for one report that deals with architects and engineers that do business with the State of Georgia. We do it monthly, and then they give a comprehensive one annually. The monthly one, the people that submit the information to the Department of Audits, only about 70% do it on a monthly pers- basis, but 100% do it on an annual basis.

40. 0:23:17

    So the monthly reporting is inaccurate to begin with. We're not eliminating it, we're just going from monthly to annually. And I don't have a list, but I could show you what the report looks like. I didn't prepare adequately this morning. I had another meeting. And it's just a list of architects and engineers, and it just has the dollar amount of any contracts they do with about 100 state agencies and, and departments.

41. 0:23:51

    That's all it does. And I'll be happy to answer any questions.

42. 0:23:55

    Okay. I have a question. Uh, Leader Hugley, is that yours?

43. 0:23:59

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, to the gentleman, uh, talk to us about why it's important to remove the subcontractors from the reporting.

44. 0:24:10

    I, I'm sorry, I don't understand that.

45. 0:24:13

    As part of what you're doing, you're removing the requirement for them to list their subcontractors. Explain why that's important.

46. 0:24:23

    Uh, I, I don't, I don't know how to answer that because that's not what I understand the bill does. The bill simply goes from monthly to annually, which we're already doing, but eliminates the process for monthly. That's all it does.

47. 0:24:42

    So let me just ask you this then. Uh, why would you not go to a shorter interval? If you, if you say monthly is too burdensome, why would you not go to quarterly or semi-annually?

48. 0:24:56

    As opposed to going from monthly to annually. Okay. We've only got about 200 accounting personnel in the Department of Audits. And all we're trying to do is utilize their time wisely. That's all we're trying to do. Th- th- it, in committee, there was some off-the-wall questions that had no bearing whatsoever. From what I understand, but I wasn't in the legislature at the time, when this accounting was important, it was because they were afraid that the engineers in Atlanta, Georgia would monopolize the business of engineering and architecture throughout the state.

49. 0:25:44

    And they wanted to make sure that engineers in the rural areas and architects in the rural areas would have a shot at that business. That's, that's it. Well, I understand that transparency is important, and that's why I, I don't understand why we would go from monthly just to an annual thing. But I appreciate the bill. If I was, if I, I, I'm better prepared, I'd have brought a copy of the, of the document, and I'll give you one when we get to the chamber so you can see what I'm talking about.

50. 0:26:18

    Okay, we got a couple other questions. Whip Rashad. Yes, sir. Thank, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, thank you for bringing the bill, uh, Chairman Cheokas. As, as I read the, the bill, um, on 70 and 71, um, line 70, 71, it doesn't provide for any level. It says all, all contracts, architect and engineering firms. So, so it's, it doesn't seem to me that it would be removing the subcontractors.

51. 0:26:52

    It's all contracts, period, for architects and engineering firms with the state. Is that correct? Yes, sir. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Uh, Whip Park. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, along the lines of what Leader Hugley was asking and, and how, what you just stated earlier, you know, this monthly requirement was to prevent the monopolization of contracts, uh, with the State of Georgia. My understanding is that, uh, there's a 10% statutory limit, uh, with respect to state contracts.

52. 0:27:26

    Um, how are you, you know, with this bill, going to ensure that, um, we don't see this monopolization of state contracts, since my understanding of moving from a monthly report to an annual report would potentially create a one-year blind s- a, a blind spot, essentially, when it's retrospective as opposed to forward-looking? Well, as I said earlier, the source of the information, only 70% of the people are complying.

53. 0:27:58

    And so the monthly reporting is not accurate in the first place. Number two is that these accounting firms, when they, they bid on projects, I mean, not accounting, but these architectural firms and engineering firms, you know, when they get a, a contract, it's a long-term situation. They've got, it's like across the street in our new office building, that same architect and engineer is gonna be there throughout the project. So I, I, and historically, we haven't had any of that issue where one has monopolized.

54. 0:28:34

    There's over 400 on the list, and I'll be happy to show you a copy of it, because this passed out of committee unanimously last year. Thank you. Okay. Representative Evans, you have a question? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, Chairman Cheokas, the, I think the concern about the subcontractors comes because in lines 32 and then lines 40 through 42, it specifically crosses out language that talks about if there are subs that are receiving, uh, more than a certain dollar amount, that also has to be shared who those subcontractors are.

55. 0:29:13

    That's all crossed out. And then starting at line 70 is where we're being specific about what's gonna happen going forward, and that's not there. And since the state is not contracting with subcontractors, they're only contracting with contractors, that means that information goes away. And maybe that was inadvertent, but that's the concern, and I was wondering if you could speak to why we did decide to get rid of that subcontractor reporting. Okay. If, and as I said, I'm not completely prepared for this, and I apologize, but the way I understand it, these 100 agencies and departments do the, uh, do the, the, um, contracts out individually.

56. 0:29:55

    We don't have a state agency that's doing that, and it's based on the funding that we as the legislature provide. So, you know.

57. 0:30:08

    Okay. Uh, Leader Efstration. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Chairman Cheokas, is my recollection correct that when this bill was considered in committee, the department indicated that the issue was that either reporting is not being made, or when the reporting is done, the information may be inaccurate. And in order to provide actually greater transparency, there's a plan for there to be a dashboard where this information would be more accurate and readily available to Georgians who may want this information, actually providing greater transparency and greater public access.

58. 0:30:50

    Thank you, Mr. Leader. I, I appreciate you explaining it more, better than I have. Uh, and going to that, on the internet, it is on the internet. That's how they, they don't publish a book. They provide this information on the internet.

59. 0:31:06

    Every month it's available. And speaking to the dashboard, the dashboard is an interactive, uh, um, way of reporting on the internet. And so creating a dashboard, then the user could actually go out and, um, put in the parameters of what their search is on this report and find out, you know, how many contracts there were, what the amounts were, the length of time, the locations.

60. 0:31:40

    This report doesn't provide all that information. It's just got a dollar amount and a, a, a date, and that's it.

61. 0:31:49

    Okay. Thank you, Chairman Cheokas. Obviously, there are several questions about this. Let me encourage the members, if you have some questions, to try to get with the author offline and get your questions answered so you, uh, understand where we're going with that. Thank you, sir. Um, okay, let me tell you sort of where we are. Uh, we're not gonna set a calendar for tomorrow, Wednesday. We're gonna have Judiciary come over and visit with us tomorrow, so that'll, that'll take up some time.

62. 0:32:21

    Then it's my understanding that the Appropriations is gonna come out Thursday. We have a committee meeting Thursday. So what we will do as a Rules Committee is we will meet immediately upon adjournment of the Appropriations Committee and set the calendar f- for Thursday and put the budget on there at that time. So that's where we are there with that. So let's go ahead and, and set a, a calendar for Thursday now. It will be, uh, legislative day 13 under the, uh, modified structure 985.

63. 0:32:56

    Move.

64. 0:32:57

    Second.

65. 0:32:57

    Have a move and a second. Is there any opposition? It's on. So that will be our calendar for Thursday, but, uh, be aware that we will meet after the Appropriations finishes their meetings on, uh, on Thursday. Thank you.