House Judiciary Juvenile Committee, February 18, 2026
Video: https://vimeo.com/1166001245 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1166001245#t=<seconds>s)
Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-02-18/house-judiciary-juvenile

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.
[0:11:18] Good after e- good ev- good grief, I can't even talk today. Good afternoon. I was gonna say good evening. It feels like evening. It's been a long day.

[0:11:25] I'm with you. Yeah.

[0:11:27] I'm glad everyone is here today for Judiciary Juvenile, and certainly appreciate all the members who made an effort to be here with all the other meetings that are transpiring right now. We have one bill that we are taking up today. And Representative Panitch, if you can give us your bill number and your LC number, that would be extremely helpful.

[0:11:51] Yes.

[0:11:51] Well, go ahead whenever you're ready.

[0:11:52] Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. This is bill number 1283, House Bill 1283. LC number is 481757S as in Sam. Now, there has been more than one version of 1757, so if I start reading things and it doesn't look right to you, I think the, the, uh, most updated one was in your folder, so you should all have the copy.

[0:12:18] Got... That's what I have for it. It's, um, LC481757- ... S as in Sam?

[0:12:24] Yes.

[0:12:25] Okay. And I'd like to thank Holly Carter for doing this on the fly today.

[0:12:29] Yes. Thank you.

[0:12:29] You are a magical person, and we appreciate your hard work.

[0:12:33] She is truly an angel. Thank you, Ms. Carter. Okay. In my 30 years of practicing family law and criminal defense between Florida and Georgia, including my work as a domestic violence court coordinator, a public defender who defended, uh, defended a woman who killed her abuser, I've seen firsthand what happens when survivors of vi- family violence try to help. They are directed to one office to file a police report, another one for a protective order, another one for counseling, another one for help with housing if needed, another one for their children, and each time she has to tell the story again, each time she relives her trauma, and too often she gives up.

[0:13:16] Family Justice Centers change that. They bring law enforcement, prosecutors, victim advocates, social services, legal aid, and community organiz- organizations together under one roof if they want to. Instead of sending a survivor on a scavenger hunt across the county, we bring the help to her, and w- mostly her, there are men who would fit under this as well, in one safe trauma-informed location. This is not a new concept, and it's not even new to Georgia, but Family Justice Centers operate successfully in over 40 states.

[0:13:48] And where these centers exist, victims are more likely to follow through with prosecution, more likely to access safe- safety planning, and most critically, domestic violence homicides decrease. What 12, HB 1283 does is straightforward. It authorizes nonprofit organizations, counties, municipalities, and DAs to establish a Family Justice Center. It creates a governance framework. It positions the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to administer funding.

[0:14:19] It protects victim confidentiality, and it ensures that the co-location of services does not increase discovery obligations not already under the law that could chill participation by service providers. The bill does not require or mandate anything. It does not impose unfunded mandates on local governments. It creates a framework, a gold standard, a pathway for communities that wanna do better for survivors to be able to actually do it with clear legal authority and protections in place.

[0:14:49] Every one of us represents victims of, represents constituents who are victims of family violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and human trafficking. They don't only appear in some districts. They don't just happen in the cities. They happen every zip code in the state. We have an opportunity today to give our communities a tool that works. The Family Justice Center model saves lives, it's bipartisan, and it's supported by law enforcement, prosecutors, and advocates alike, along with nonprofits.

[0:15:22] I have with me, uh, Juliana, Juliana Peterson, uh, who is the executive district attorney in Fulton County. I invited her, along with other members. Fulton is our home county, so they are here to h- to assist. Uh, we also worked with a, uh, criminal justice coordinating council who provided some edits, which is why we have a sub, and I think with those edits, they are now neutral on the bill.

[0:15:52] All right. Um, we have a few questions before we let the witness leave.

[0:15:55] Sure.

[0:15:56] Okay. Um, Representative Taylor, do you have a question?

[0:16:00] Yes.

[0:16:00] Please go ahead.

[0:16:01] Thank you, Madam Chair. I, I understand the goal, I love the concept, but the may. So, uh, what is the purpose of the bill if it's selective? If it's an option for these entities to do this, why are they not already doing it? What does the law change about their actions?

[0:16:20] It allows some... I mean, right now there are a few, I think three in the state, four in the state. Uh, we need a lot more. This gives the structure, uh, the gold standard for what one should look like and how it should operate, and under what authority it operates for. Right now, they're kind of doing things piecemeal.

[0:16:41] Mm-hmm.

[0:16:41] And, um, also, I mean, if, if... I'm gonna ask my expert if she wants to-

[0:16:47] Elaborate.

[0:16:48] ... help or add something to this.

[0:16:48] And, and, and, and before, if you, Madam Chair, if I may.

[0:16:52] Yes.

[0:16:52] Um, the funding piece of it-

[0:16:54] Yes

[0:16:55] ... is that, that's probably why you're doing it as an elective, and can you kinda speak to the funding as well?

[0:17:01] Um, absolutely. Just, I don't think that works.

[0:17:05] Here. It's on. It's on.

[0:17:07] Oh, perfect. Thank you. Um, in terms of the funding, right now- This bill is just creating the mechanism for funding through the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. It is not actually appropriating funds. Um, but the purpose of course would be that, um, funding could come through the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, whether that be through gifts, donations, or grants, or of course also if there were to be funds ultimately appropriated, um, by, uh, the state legislature. Uh, that does not prevent, of course, um, local family justice centers from accepting, uh, donations to their center.

[0:17:43] Um, but it does absolutely give the Criminal Justice C- Coordinating Council the mechanism to provide that funding.

[0:17:50] Okay. Thank you.

[0:17:56] All right. Um, we also have a question. Thank you so much, Representative Taylor. And we also have a question, Representative Sharper, please go ahead whenever you're ready. You have the floor.

[0:18:04] All right. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Lady. Um, just a question for you. In your findings and in your s- research and also the ones that you already have in the state, um, what is the opinion of or have you gotten with, uh, GMA or ACCG?

[0:18:20] Uh, we talked to ACCG. They made an edit or an amendment, which I will bring up.

[0:18:25] Okay.

[0:18:25] Um, it's a minor amendment. It's important to them, but it's minor in terms of the entire scope of the bill.

[0:18:32] Okay, 'cause I think right here, you know, us hearing about it, uh, is a great thing, and also in everything you do is gonna be the awareness of it-

[0:18:40] Mm-hmm

[0:18:40] ... which is very important, and the encouragement of it. So I think if you have these stakeholders in place like ACCG, GMA, that are kinda, you know, giving you the thumbs up-

[0:18:50] Mm-hmm

[0:18:50] ... that would be a, a great direction.

[0:18:52] Yes.

[0:18:52] Yes.

[0:18:53] ACCG is here, and we-

[0:18:54] Okay

[0:18:54] ... have a friendly amendment, uh-

[0:18:56] Okay.

[0:18:57] We ask you-

[0:18:58] Okay. All right. Thank you, Chair.

[0:19:00] All right. Thank you so much, Representative Sharper. Um, we have a question. I believe it's Floor Leader Wade. Is that you? All right, please go ahead with your question.

[0:19:08] Uh, thank you, Chair Lady, and thank you for bringing this bill. Um, definitely, um, appreciate the effort, and I, I, being on the Education Committee and having that background, I really like the framework methodology. I understand from you that there's not any mandate specifically, so, uh, please accept this as a friendly question from somebody that is ignorant to some of the-

[0:19:28] Okay

[0:19:28] ... um, things you've laid out here. Um, how many family justice centers do we have currently operating in Georgia?

[0:19:36] At least four.

[0:19:36] Three.

[0:19:36] Three, sorry.

[0:19:37] Three.

[0:19:37] Three.

[0:19:37] See?

[0:19:38] Okay.

[0:19:38] She's an expert.

[0:19:39] Yes.

[0:19:39] And then h- how many, um, individuals are they helping on an annual basis? A, a rough estimate is fine. This is just for me to gauge kinda my thought about what this is gonna do.

[0:19:50] And I will also mention, um, so Fulton County is planning to launch our family justice center next year.

[0:19:57] Okay.

[0:19:57] We've already been in several years of planning, so we would become the fourth family justice center. Um, also represented here, and I think p- planning to speak today, is the family justice center from Waycross, Macon, and Cobb County.

[0:20:10] Okay.

[0:20:10] Um, so I, I know that they have very specific numbers. I know f- Waycross just handed me, uh, some, an excellent piece of paper that says, um, in, from October 24 to September of 2025, they received 325 crisis calls. They provided 3,642 services.

[0:20:29] Okay.

[0:20:29] Um, there were, I believe, 96 different matters of legal advocacy or temporary protective orders provided, and a total of 260 total clients served, um, in the service areas of, I believe, the counties of Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Coffee, Pierce, and Ware.

[0:20:46] Okay. Thank you. And then, uh, o- further question, Madam Chair?

[0:20:50] Just one.

[0:20:51] Uh, last one, um, I think. Um, uh, have you guys identified... Uh, uh, um, my assessment is that this is your intent to not just build a framework, but also build what can be a model, um, you know, ecosystem, if you will, to deal with these types of situations, which are obviously varied and extreme in certain cases, correct?

[0:21:13] Yes.

[0:21:13] Um, uh, do you have a, an idea of how many additional family justice centers w- would be needed to cover parts of the state that are currently not served at all?

[0:21:26] Mm-hmm.

[0:21:26] Or, uh, is there some discussion as to that? Or is this literally just driven by regional commissions or individual counties that are seeking to deal with partnerships of the n- the volume, the caseload, et cetera?

[0:21:36] So there are multiple... This bill would create multiple different ways in which a family justice center could be created-

[0:21:42] Okay

[0:21:42] ... in a community. Um, obviously, as I, we just mentioned for Waycross, that is serving multiple different, uh, regions. And I know even just... And I know also our partners can speak more to some of these-

[0:21:53] Okay

[0:21:54] ... individual items for specific geographical areas.

[0:21:57] Okay.

[0:21:57] But I will just say that multiple other states, for instance, um, essentially once they start establishing this, it just keeps growing. Tennessee, for instance, at this point, I believe, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, um, has as many as, I believe, 13 currently. They may already be building more. Um, and so really what you see is that individual communities see the need, see that this is kind of the direction that other communities are going in, see the benefits, and then start moving there.

[0:22:26] Okay.

[0:22:26] So it really could... Uh, we have many counties in this state, and it, it could be kinda the sky's the limit.

[0:22:33] Okay. Last clarifying and then I'll talk to the, the sponsor offline for some other nuanced questions. Um, do you believe that the current family justice centers and the additional one you're talking about are going to be located in the place of highest need in our state, or do we have a high needs area that is, I would say, a desert, if you will?

[0:22:53] Um-

[0:22:53] Thank you, Madam Chair.

[0:22:55] I, I c- I do, I do believe that South Georgia has a very strong need for probably more family justice centers. I was just kind of having that conversation earlier. Um, certainly Middle Georgia as well. Um, and just to be candid, it, it is tragic that Fulton County only now is finally establishing a family justice center, because we have a tremendous need, um, throughout the entirety of the county, not just South Fulton, but also North Fulton.

[0:23:25] Thank you, um, so much for those thoughtful questions. Uh, Representative Townsend, please go ahead with your question.

[0:23:31] Madam Chair, Representative, thank you for this bill. Appreciate what you're doing. Um, question for you, and, and you may have said it, and if it's in here, I apologize. So they're set up through basically is it per county or can you do a multi-jurisdictional kinda family court? It sounds like you can.

[0:23:46] A- absolutely, sir. Yes.

[0:23:47] So they just have to get the MOUs in place.

[0:23:50] Yes.

[0:23:50] I- is there anything structured, or is this trying to do statewide, uh, how to organize, or are you gonna let it morph depending on what the community needs are-

[0:23:58] So s-

[0:23:58] ... or how they wanna get together?

[0:23:59] Specifically in the bill, um, there are kind of four different ways in which a family justice center could be organized. Um, first is it could be directly by a county or municipal government. Um, secondly, it could be directly by a district attorney's office, um, and that would include solicitor, district attorney. Um, third, by a nonprofit corporation formed under Title 14 and designated to operate by a county municipality or combination.

[0:24:31] Um, and finally, in fourth, it will represent, for instance, um, the family justice centers created in Waycross where it is, uh, formed by a nonprofit that has been certified as a victim services agency, uh, by the CJCC for the purpose of serving one or more populations supported by the family justice center. So we are trying to give some flexibility there, particularly when you're kinda thinking about maybe some more rural, um, areas where kind of coming together with multiple communities might best serve the needs.

[0:25:03] Perfect. Thank you.

[0:25:04] Thank you.

[0:25:05] Great. Thank you so much, Representative Townsend. Um, all right. Are there any further questions from the committee for the bill sponsor at this point? All right. Is there anything else that you'd like to say before we, um, have some of these sign-up people come speak to us on the bill?

[0:25:20] Sure. I just wanna add, I've been focusing on, uh, victims of domestic violence, but there's also, this applies for children, uh, people who, who have been involved in human trafficking-

[0:25:31] Mm-hmm

[0:25:31] ... sexual assault. It's much broader than just, not just-

[0:25:37] Mm-hmm

[0:25:37] ... victims of domestic violence. It's, it's, it's a much larger, um, intent to provide services for a larger community.

[0:25:45] Thank you, Ms. Lawing.

[0:25:46] Yeah. Thank you.

[0:25:47] Um, w-

[0:25:48] Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead.

[0:25:49] Would it be permissible for me to kind of address some of those other areas?

[0:25:53] Well, she's gonna let me talk.

[0:25:54] Okay. Great.

[0:25:54] Sorry.

[0:25:54] Well, I just wanted to say, um, in the very first Article 5, it addresses the Family Violence Prevention Ser- and Services Act. Um, so family violence, of course, impacts more than, unfortunately, just the individuals who are battered. Um, and sometimes children are certainly battered. Um, just out of curiosity, is there any, I, y- just your experience, but have you seen one of these firsthand? I know obviously you've, you're involved, but have you had an opportunity to see this firsthand benefit a family in crisis?

[0:26:28] So I, uh, we don't have one locally, and so I haven't been able to send a client there. But I have clients who I have to say, "Go to this place, and then go to this place, and then go to this place-"

[0:26:41] Mm-hmm

[0:26:41] ... for them to receive services, and it shouldn't be so disjointed. The moment you create a barrier for a victim who is already, uh... Most statistics are most, I'm just gonna say, women don't leave the first time. They don't really leave. They may leave for the day, but then they go back. So it takes a lot for a victim of domestic violence to finally leave a relationship, and it's very dangerous. That's the most dangerous time for someone leaving a relationship, is actually when they leave.

[0:27:14] So to have one spot without barriers would be an enormous help. And I do know, one of the witnesses may be testifying, I heard this yesterday, that there's one of these in California where they were able to measure that h- domestic homicides went down and law enforcement homicides went down. Because for law enforcement, this is also the most dangerous thing, for them to serve a domestic violence warrant, to break up an argument. This is where you see law enforcement really exposed, and this would help reduce that risk to law enforcement as well.

[0:27:50] Great. Thank you so much. And as a former 911 dispatcher, I can certainly attest to the, uh, the escalation of domestic violence calls. I'm sure we've got some former police officers in the room, and current, that can attest the same. So thank you so much. All right. I'm gonna give you a break, and, um, let you catch your breath. We're gonna go down this list. Oh.

[0:28:13] I would like, if my expert could testify first.

[0:28:15] Oh, sure. Of course.

[0:28:16] Sure.

[0:28:16] Of course.

[0:28:16] Of course. She-

[0:28:17] Most definitely. I thought she was testifying with you. Yes, most definitely. Please go ahead.

[0:28:21] Thank you so much, uh, Madam Chairwoman. Um, as previously mentioned, um, as the executive district attorney over the Special Victims Division, uh, in the Fulton County DA's office, uh, I oversee six different units, including our Sexual Assault Unit, uh, our Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Unit, the Human Trafficking Unit, the Crimes Against Children, and all of Juvenile Court. Uh, I mention those units because all of them could be impacted, as well as our Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse units, by the creation of the Family Justice Center that our Fulton community hopes to see established in the next year.

[0:28:58] Um, and according to the Alliance for HOPE, which is the organization that really provides a lot of this framework, family justice centers are designed to minimize the need for survivors to navigate multiple agencies, going many places, and telling their story repeatedly. They offer a wide range of services, including civil legal services, law enforcement investigations, prosecution, medical examinations and treatment, counseling, and advocacy. And this framework has been shown to improve access to services, increase hope and wellbeing, and importantly, reduce recantation, reduce homicides, and increase successful prosecution of offenders.

[0:29:37] Uh-For six years, I actually led our Sexual Assault Kit Initiative unit to eliminate the backlog of untested rape kits, which I know this body has done such tremendous work with. We ensured every tested kit with DNA evidence was fully investigated with one goal: delivering long-delayed justice to survivors of horrific crimes. And what we covered, uncovered was deeply troubling. An alarming number of serial rapists who continued offending because the system had failed to act sooner.

[0:30:09] In case after case, the violence was preventable. If we had been more victim-centered and better coordinated across agencies, we could have stopped repeat offenders earlier. Georgia has made tremendous progress in how we handle sexual assault cases, but Family Justice Centers are the next step, strengthening collaboration, protecting victims, and building safer, less violent communities. I'd like to share just two different stories that I think really demonstrate the need for this.

[0:30:39] Just last week, our sexual assault unit prosecuted a case in which a young woman was strangled and beaten by her boyfriend. She was able to get away and go to her family's house, and she called the police from her family's home, and they told her she couldn't make a report to them because it wasn't their jurisdiction, and she'd have to go back to where she was assaulted to make that report. Sh- not shockingly, she didn't do that. Several weeks went by, and as statistics show us is likely, she reunited with her abuser.

[0:31:19] At a hotel, he strangled her repeatedly, he sexually assaulted her, and he nearly killed her. She was able to get out of the room, and because she remembered what the police had told her, she didn't leave that hotel. She ran for help, and she called the police, hiding in the kitchen of the hotel, terrified. And thankfully, police arrived. She didn't die, and that abuser is now serving decades in prison. But that is one story of one victim's experience that could have been radically different if a Family Justice Center had existed in that moment.

[0:31:54] But that one victim's story is representative of the thousands of victims of violent crime across Georgia, including children and victims of human trafficking. In my work, it has been my privilege to advocate for abused children and trafficking victims. One case stands out in my mind of a serial predator who had sexually assaulted women for years until he finally victimized a teenage girl and was caught after leaving her assaulted and beaten on the side of the road where she was found by police.

[0:32:24] She had many needs, and it required multiple agencies, including ours, the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy, counselors, DFCS, and countless others to surround her with the help she needed as a victim of trafficking. But the coordination of these services took tremendous effort, and one agency would learn she had run away, only for another agency to learn that information weeks later. While we were able to successfully fight for justice for this brave young woman, our efforts would have been even more successful if we had the support of a Family Justice Center framework.

[0:32:59] As we begin to establish the Family Justice Center in Fulton, we are also particularly grateful for the support of the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy, who could not be here today, to ensure that our most vulnerable population, our children, are protected. While this is the big picture, and these are some of the stories that we can all tell, studies and data do demonstrate the concrete impact of Family Justice Centers. Specifically, um, Family Justice Centers have demonstrated a significant impact on reducing domestic violence homicides.

[0:33:30] Cities with robust Family Justice Centers have seen dramatic drops in homicide rates, highlighting the effectiveness of this approach, including a 90% drop in ho- domestic violence homicides in San Diego City and County. Um, additionally, uh, Family Justice Centers with specialized protocols for the handling of non and near fatal, fatal strangulation assaults report the greatest reductions in domestic violence homicides. Effective interventions with stranglers is homicide prevention, and that is one of the things we want to emphasize, is this is not just about responding to crime, it is about preventing crime.

[0:34:09] Ultimately, the data also shows us that we have better survivor outcomes, and even looking to survivor response and focus groups, more than 230 focus groups of survivors in communities, uh, res- 100% of those survivors stated that they had a strong interest in going to one place to report what had happened to them. And finally, the framework has been considered an evidence-based best practice approach to serving trauma survivors by the US Department of Justice since 2007.

[0:34:43] Specifically, what this legislation would do is legally authorize the Family Justice Centers statewide, create oversight and funding mechanisms, expand coordinated law enforcement authority, protect victim privacy through consent-based disclosure, shield our nonprofit partners from open records exposure, limit, uh, criminal discovery to materials possessed by prosecutors, and extend some immunity protections. I wanna be clear what it does not do. It does not require or force anyone to create a Family Justice Center, because we want people to see the benefit and not feel that there is something forcing them to do it.

[0:35:21] It does not force anyone in a community to participate in a Family Justice Center if they do not wish to. It does not remove or limit constitutional rights of defendants. Uh, and in its current state, this bill is not appropriating funding for Family Justice Centers at this time. Um, it also defines what a Family Justice Center is, um, and then it also goes into the four different ways that we can establish, um, the Family Justice Centers that I already, uh, responded to in answer to a previous question.

[0:35:51] Um, I do also just wanna make clear, it does require kind of the establishment of a controlling board if it's a government-involved entity, but that is not a requirement, uh, if it is a solely nonprofit agency such as Waycross. It also does require, uh, reporting mechanisms. Family Justice Centers would be required to submit reports to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, um- On a basis determined by CJCC, and then ultimately CJCC would submit an annual report to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house.

[0:36:27] And at this time, if there are any questions, I can take those.

[0:36:30] Thank you so much. That was, uh, very detailed, and we certainly appreciate you being here and giving that testimony. You do have a couple of questions. We're gonna start with Representative Taylor. You have the floor to ask your question.

[0:36:41] Can you share with us... Excuse me. Can you share with us the timeframe that it takes to, to even set one of these up?

[0:36:49] Mm-hmm.

[0:36:49] And the cost, because listening to both of you s-

[0:36:52] Mm-hmm

[0:36:52] ... you speak, it looks like it's gonna... You gotta have a full staff-

[0:36:55] Mm-hmm

[0:36:55] ... counselors, the whole nine yards.

[0:36:58] Mm-hmm.

[0:36:59] And there's gotta be some funding for that. So how long... Can you share how long it takes to set a full center up?

[0:37:04] Mm-hmm.

[0:37:04] And I know it's gonna depend upon the size and the location-

[0:37:08] Mm-hmm

[0:37:08] ... but give us something to work with, and the cost, if you would.

[0:37:12] A- absolutely. And like any good lawyer, I would say it depends.

[0:37:16] Mm-hmm.

[0:37:16] Um, however, um, just to give you a sense of things, um, for Fulton in terms of how long it's taken, I believe we started first even talking about it in 2021. I think we really started seriously speaking to partners in 2023. So I think you're definitely looking at several years, and I know each of the different, uh, family justice centers here might give you a slightly different answer. But I would say if you're really gonna be serious about it, it's gonna take several years, because it includes really sitting down and talking to the different partners that you need at the table.

[0:37:49] In terms of funding, um, so the way that the Family Justice Center is meant to operate can actually reduce what you might expect for some of the costs. And by that I mean is you're bringing in already existing partners and agencies that are already, uh, paying their employees. So for instance, uh, the Atlanta Police Department is going to be one of our partners-

[0:38:12] Mm-hmm

[0:38:12] ... at the Family Justice Center. They already have existing, um, domestic violence and special victims detectives who would have a place at that Family Justice Center. Similarly to, you know, many DA's offices, you already have existing prosecutors who would just simply be placed in that center. Um, and that's kinda the same also for nonprofits who already exist. For s- instance, uh, Grady Hospital, who I believe is here today, um, their rape crisis center, they plan on placing many of their SANE nurses in the center.

[0:38:43] So that automatically helps reduce some of the costs that you're dealing with. Um, the next kind of really kinda big piece of the cost that you're looking at, of course, is the structure and the building that you're going into.

[0:38:55] Mm-hmm.

[0:38:56] Um, our, our hope and plan in Fulton is to go with kind of an already existing structure, uh, that requires ideally, uh, minimal refurbishing. But I know that looks different for different centers and what kinda their options in the community are. So it's really gonna look, to stand up a center could be anywhere from $1 to $4 million, but then operating c- costs on an annual basis, again, could be kind of several million dollars per year depending on, you're going to need at least a skeleton crew.

[0:39:29] For instance, most Family Justice Centers are gonna have an executive director that they hire-

[0:39:34] Mm-hmm

[0:39:34] ... to run the center. So you'll hire probably some staff to take it over, but you're not starting from scratch.

[0:39:41] Excellent. Thank you.

[0:39:43] Thank you. Um, I'm not sure if it's Floor Leader Wade or Representative Townsend who's next. If you wanna just raise your hand, whoever wants to take it.

[0:39:52] She answered my question.

[0:39:53] Well, that's-

[0:39:54] She eliminated me

[0:39:55] ... that's easy enough. Thank you so much. All right.

[0:39:58] You don't wanna arm wrestle me. Uh, and economists and bankers say it depends a lot, too. So, um, is there any, uh, uh, the existing facilities, do they have a component with the faith community? Um, because a lot of times there's nonprofits. I know, you know, our church has certain small outr- outreaches. We're very rural. Uh, we call ourselves a no collar church.

[0:40:17] Mm-hmm.

[0:40:18] Um, so it, is that, there's no prohibition on that being a community partner, correct?

[0:40:24] Absolutely not.

[0:40:25] Okay.

[0:40:25] And in fact, in the ideal framework, that is actually encouraged-

[0:40:29] Okay

[0:40:29] ... that we have faith-based partners.

[0:40:31] Okay.

[0:40:31] Um, and so the Alliance for HOPE, that's one of the things that they strongly encourage, is that we work with our faith-based partners, um, to ensure that we have chaplain services and the rest in those centers.

[0:40:42] Okay. Thank you.

[0:40:43] Thank you.

[0:40:43] Thanks, Madam Chair.

[0:40:44] All right. Thank you so much for that question. I was kinda curious about that myself, so thank you. Um, Representative Sharper, I believe you've got a question. You've got the floor.

[0:40:52] All right. Thank you. Thank you, Chairwoman. Okay. So basically when I look at this, so I'm looking at Family Justice Center as an umbrella.

[0:40:59] Mm-hmm.

[0:40:59] Okay, but you have all these services partners that can actually do some of the work that they already have expertise in. Um-

[0:41:07] Yes, sir

[0:41:08] ... my other question to you is, so when it comes down, I'm a technology person-

[0:41:12] Mm-hmm

[0:41:12] ... so therefore, when we look at the databases, uh, technology, when a person does come into your system, it's not so much that the Family Justice Center itself has to have some type of database or technology, but one of the partners need access to, let's say they've been somewhere else-

[0:41:29] Mm-hmm

[0:41:29] ... or, you know, they're on a certain list, or they've had certain cases. kind of run me through that, just real brief. If it's gonna be through your partners handling the databases-

[0:41:39] Mm-hmm

[0:41:39] ... of what's going on with that individual if they come so they don't have to have so many reproduction of services or being re-traumatized-

[0:41:46] Mm-hmm

[0:41:46] ... all the time, just that umbrella. So tell me that.

[0:41:49] Absolutely. In terms of an a- actual computer database, I think that could look different for different centers. I can tell you that typically the way that it works, and I, some of the wonderful experts who are gonna be testifying can-

[0:42:00] Okay

[0:42:00] ... walk you through what it might look like for them, is as soon as a victim walks into the Family Justice Center, they're going to be met, uh, essentially in the lobby by what we call a navigator.

[0:42:11] Okay.

[0:42:11] Um, and that navigator is essentially going to kind of do an intake form with them and determine what their unique, specific needs are.

[0:42:19] Okay.

[0:42:19] And then really walk with them from space to space in the Family Justice Center to make sure that all of their needs are met.

[0:42:27] Okay.

[0:42:27] Whether that be making a report to the police, whether there's a medical need, um-

[0:42:32] Okay

[0:42:32] ... that is taking place, or whatever that looks like. So there's going to be kind of that primary person that is, um, kind of physically connecting them. Um, and then I, I imagine the tech- kind of the database or the technology could look different based on the, the center.

[0:42:49] Okay. So the biggest thing I'm seeing here that you have the navigator-

[0:42:52] Mm-hmm

[0:42:52] ... that's gonna be already connected to certain resources-

[0:42:55] Absolutely

[0:42:55] ... that they need. Maybe 12 different resources-

[0:42:57] Yes

[0:42:57] ... but that navigator say, "You need this, you need this, you need that."

[0:43:00] Exactly.

[0:43:00] Okay.

[0:43:01] And, and I know for instance, I, I don't wanna speak for Cobb, but I know for Cobb for instance, they're gonna be walking them physically to some of those within the center-

[0:43:08] Okay

[0:43:08] ... and then also they might then bring in, um, uh-

[0:43:12] Some resources

[0:43:12] ... another resources, uh, to them at the center.

[0:43:15] Okay. Good. Thank you.

[0:43:16] Thank you.

[0:43:17] All right. Thank you so much, Representative. Um, is that you Representative Fincher, or is it... Oh, Representative Rice, please go ahead.

[0:43:26] Okay. Thank you very much for the bill. I definitely see, um, not just the benefit but, but a need being met and, and particularly for, um, as you said, people not having to repeat over and over trauma-

[0:43:40] Mm-hmm

[0:43:40] ... which would, um, often results in them not getting the help they need. Um, you said you, there's currently three. Um, where are those located currently?

[0:43:49] Um, so there is one currently located in Waycross. There is one located in the Macon area. Uh, we actually have DA Howard here to speak today.

[0:43:59] Mm-hmm.

[0:43:59] Um, and then there is also, um, one located in, um, Cobb County.

[0:44:06] Okay.

[0:44:06] Okay. And then this is just kind of a if and then, and it kind of, um, it, it goes along with the data-

[0:44:12] Mm-hmm

[0:44:12] ... you know, when we were talking about before. If one, because of unfortunate workforce shortages-

[0:44:17] Mm-hmm

[0:44:17] ... or anything, had to dissolve at some point-

[0:44:20] Mm-hmm

[0:44:20] ... is there a plan in place on where that, who would own, control the aggregated data and where it would-

[0:44:27] Mm-hmm

[0:44:27] ... flow to?

[0:44:29] I don't think that this bill specifically addresses that piece of things. Um, obviously we're not at the point yet, um, but I think the answer is yes, and I think Waycross can kind of go into that more kind of from their standpoint of things. Um, but obviously, thankfully so far we have not experienced that in, in Georgia of a Family Justice Center dissolving. But obviously, uh, unfortunate things happen. Now, one of the things that we try to create around the Family Justice Center is a plan for sustainability.

[0:44:59] Um, so the, obviously the intent is that just because kind of one person might step away or one agency might step away doesn't mean that the entire collaboration is gonna dissolve.

[0:45:11] Thank you. That answers my question.

[0:45:13] Mm-hmm.

[0:45:13] Like I said, very supportive-

[0:45:14] Mm-hmm

[0:45:14] ... of, of, of the work that's being done here, but was curious on that mechanism.

[0:45:18] Yes, ma'am.

[0:45:18] So thank you.

[0:45:20] Thank you so much, Representative Rice. All right, so great questions. Um, we do have a sign-up list, and I guess it's my prerogative as chair to kind of move things around just a smidge. So since ref- Waycross has been referenced so many times- Uh-

[0:45:38] And she's looking at me

[0:45:39] ... if it would be okay-

[0:45:40] Mm-hmm

[0:45:40] ... no, no, no, that's wonderful. I, I'm very impressed. My son-in-law is from Waycross-

[0:45:43] Mm-hmm

[0:45:43] ... so I'm, I'm very impressed that they have this family, family center there. Um, so if you would come up, if-

[0:45:49] Sure.

[0:45:50] Yeah. And we'll give you a little space.

[0:45:56] That's right. Thank you for making the long drive. I know how far Waycross is from here.

[0:45:59] Yeah, it's very far.

[0:46:00] So yes, and if you could just get a little bit closer to the mic so everyone at home-

[0:46:04] Oh, sorry

[0:46:04] ... can hear you.

[0:46:04] Can you hear me?

[0:46:05] No. Yes, that's wonderful.

[0:46:06] Okay.

[0:46:06] Thank you. And just state your name and what you do, and then go ahead with your comment.

[0:46:10] It's a lot. Um, I'm Michelle Gertman, and I'm the executive director for Valdosta Domestic Violence Shelter Sexual Assault Center, and I am the, also the executive director for the Waycross, uh, Domestic Violence Shelter and Family Justice Center, and I'm also the executive director of the Camden House, uh, Domestic Violence Shelter. So I have 16 counties in Georgia. And, uh, I would love to talk about justice centers. I'm very excited to, uh, for justice centers to be established in Georgia and be recognized, so that's very important.

[0:46:43] I've been a part of this process since about 2017 when I flew to Fort Worth, Texas to look at a Family Justice Center, and I got off the plane and got to Fort Worth, Texas and got to their Family Justice Center and said, "This is not happening in Georgia. I've got to just go home." Uh, and so I've been really, um, planning for my justice center s- since that time. I got home and said, "Okay, if we take the model that Texas has," because literally everything's bigger in Texas, and then till you get to Tennessee, and then they're even bigger than that. So I have seen about seven justice centers, and I have flew, uh, every one of my partnering agencies to different justice centers across the United States to see the concept so we could come back home and then design what our concept would look like.

[0:47:26] So for us in Waycross, we have nine different partnering agencies and we were very proud that public health is actually in our center. So some of those numbers that, uh, wasn't read was, uh, Department of Public Health has seen over 400 people in our shelter. We've only been open one year. There was no money for a justice center, and the model was like, it's like bringing, bringing anything new, like you had talked about too, it's like, how does it get funded? And it was on us to fund it. We're a domestic violence shelter. It's under our umbrella. It's not a standalone nonprofit on its own.

[0:47:57] And, um, it was a concept that people could not believe or get up behind or didn't understand how the concept would work. I think you talked about, um, going to different places. I, I thought, gosh, I should have brought a piece of paper and designed what offices we have so I could show you how a victim walks in the doors and goes to each, each department. Um, so in our center, we have domestic violence. You turn the corner and you go to the d- the Department of Family and Children Services, then you go to Child Support Recovery and Unison Behavioral Health. We have a law enforcement division of both of our city and county governments have detectives on site.

[0:48:31] And then we have our whole public health department where women receive services, immunization shots, wellness care. A lot of victims of domestic violence, when they come in shelter, they are pregnant and they've never received prenatal care. And so they're able to go and, and see the health department and get all that, all that they need from the health department as well as WIC services. And then we have mental health services and a counselor on site. So you just walk around that building. And then we have a, uh, a training center where we've had, uh, we bring, uh, first responders in to train about what a family justice center is, and then all of our other services under a domestic violence shelter.

[0:49:06] So what I've seen with the concept in our one year, I, I worked really hard, uh, to raise money to build our center and to pay it off. And I went to the bank and I was like, "I don't have any credit, but if you'll loan me a couple of million dollars, I won't owe it by the time the..." I want... There, some of them, they're here, was at my center on that day, but I said, "If you'll loan it to me, uh, I will pay it off, and I'll pay it off before the first day that we open." James Burchett, uh, Representative Burchett was at my opening. Russ Goodman was there. Buddy Carter was there.

[0:49:37] Uh, several, we had a good grand opening. On that day, the bank brought the note and we tore that note up, and we don't owe anything to this day.

[0:49:47] So, so our justice center is paid for. And so I go back to talking about, you know, what it really costs. And the funding, we don't get any state funding for our family justice center, but we go to OVW to Washington that pays for our navigator, and it's a very competitive process and there's very limited funding. So as justice centers grows across Georgia, first I wanna make sure that the nonprofits are recognized as a lead agency. And I go back to talking about who holds that information. Well, we're not state-funded, but we do get federal funding, so we are federally audited and federal, have federal oversight with CJCC, and they were very...

[0:50:20] They gave three pilot... Well, there was three pilot projects in Georgia gonna be given. There was 12 of us that applied. Three of us got it, Waycross, Cobb, and Macon. Waycross is the most rural justice center in America. And I also run Valdosta, um, Sexual Assault and DV, and it would've been very easy, Mr. Dexter's in here, been very easy to, to put that, uh, center in Valdosta because they have services. But when I sit there and thought about what, what is the need? The rural centers, we don't have taxi cabs and places to go, and you got one aunt that might take you to town one time in the week, and you gotta get all you can get.

[0:50:56] And what we saw is that follow through and prosecution was done. TPOs were being dropped because they d- they couldn't either make it to court or they were back with their, their abuser because there was n- there was nothing else they could do. Um, we just saw that the ga- we were, we, state agencies, independent agencies, uh, whether it was churches, domestic violence shelters, sexual assault centers, CASAs, child advocacy centers, the, the DAs, we were all doing good work. But we were creating gaps in services that we didn't mean to create because somebody could see you over here at 2:00, and then I could see you next week at 4:00, and somebody else could see you the next week at 6:00.

[0:51:35] And they were like, "I give up." And if I was a victim with no car and no money and no job, and I had to leave everything I owned and leave it back, I would give up, too. So it was easy for them to give up. And what we have seen, 325 crisis calls might not seem like a lot. We were thinking if we had 100 cases, that we would be, uh, that for our first year, that we would be a very big success. And so, but what we have seen is we've seen over 1,000 cases, and that we- we've increased our number by 5 and 600%. Our hospital got on board, so our hospital donated money.

[0:52:07] Actually, Friday, the, in two days, if I can get home, we're doing our grand opening for our playground equipment where Georgia Power and, um, and our ho- local hospital donated the money for our new playground at our Family Justice Center. Georgia Power was one of the first seed monies for all three of our programs to come along. So we raised, I raised money for our facility. I know that Macon is currently building a facility and raising millions of dollars. So I don't want to... I, I say that I love this concept. We've talked about making sure that we have autonomy, that w- it's not just governmental control, that nonprofits that are, are, are lead agencies, that we stay that way.

[0:52:45] And the information, if somebody drops out, stays with that lead agency, which has that oversight of CJCC at this time, and it will stay with, with that. So it'll stay in that database. And there is a certain database that you use. We follow the Alliance of HOPE and, uh, um, the Alli- there's 153 justice centers in America with 43 states. And we followed that national model, and it's, uh, it's very expensive to follow that national model, but it works. And those justice centers that have found to try to open up that does not follow the national model tends to close down or lose their partnering agencies inside those centers.

[0:53:23] So I think it's very important that the national model's recognized and CJCC, um, uses that national model as a part of the process and, um, and, and we've seen that it works.

[0:53:34] I talk fast, so sorry. No, that's actually awesome. No, thank you so much. Um, we, time is of the essence, but are there any questions for our witness? You gave us a great deal of information.

[0:53:46] Thank you.

[0:53:47] You did great.

[0:53:47] Thanks.

[0:53:49] Um, TBD.

[0:53:53] Oh, okay. All right. So thank you so much. Certainly appreciate you making the long trip. Thank you for what you do.

[0:53:59] Well, thank y'all. Thank you.

[0:53:59] That's amazing. Thank you. All right. In that same vein, um, Jamie Bormann. You're the crisis line in Macon, I believe.

[0:54:12] Thank you.

[0:54:16] Thank you for being here. It's a trip up from Macon- ... going through Henry County as well.

[0:54:19] Yes. Thank you so much for having me and allowing me to speak today. Um, I don't wanna reiterate the things that the other folks have said, but I just wanna take a minute. Um, we're also a nonprofit domestic violence and sexual assault program. We serve seven counties in Central Georgia. Um, we are, um, the lead agency for One Safe Place Macon, which is the Family Justice Center that we are, um, in the process of raising the money to open. We're renovating a 100-year-old school building. Um, and so we really appreciate the opportunity for this to, uh, be seen by the legislature and for, uh, the support.

[0:54:53] I just wanna take one second. And I became executive director of my organization in 2024, um, but I've been at the organization for 20 years. And prior to becoming the executive director, um, I worked in direct services, mostly in our legal services program. And what I saw was that the most successful cases were a result of partnership. It was a result of the fact that I had a good relationship with the prosecutor's office, or I had a good relationship with the sheriff's office, and I could call and ask for things to be done that made things easier for the victims that we were serving.

[0:55:27] And so when the opportunity came to have all of those folks in the same building doing this work, supporting victims, we jumped at it. Um, we, we, uh, we're very excited to have eight initial partners. Um, and our FJC director is here today, and she can talk more about it. But we had eight initial partners, and now we're over 20 partners for our Family Justice Center who anticipate either moving in the building- Thank you. Um, anticipate either moving into the building with us or at least being on call to come to the building if a victim needs those services.

[0:55:57] And so we're really excited about that growth and about opening up. Um, and I just, I think that what I, what I want to make clear is that Family Justice Cent- the, the framework for a Family Justice Center doesn't replace what domestic violence and sexual assault programs are doing in this state, it just enhances it. Because now we can close the gaps that are happening, um, that we see happening, that right now it might look like a phone call to a partner, but what would that look like for the victim if I could walk them down the hall to that person and they could have those conversations, um, in person and, and get the things they need all in the same day.

[0:56:32] Um, and, and one other thing that I wanna say is, um, we know that families experience violence. Like, you don't just have maybe a mom who's experiencing it in isolation. Sometimes their children, or let's say they have an elderly parent living in the home, those folks may also experience the violence. And a Family Justice Center really positions us to serve the entire family in the same place at the same time. So it's no longer that the child needs to go to the CAC on Thursday, and Mom needs to go to court for the TPO on Wednesday, and in the process has to meet with a legal advocate.

[0:57:03] W- with everything being in one building, the child may be able to see the CAC at the same time that Mom is meeting with a legal advocate to get the protective order. And so it really consolidates things and makes it easier for full families who may be experiencing, um, different traumas to get what they need all in the same place and at the same time.

[0:57:21] Okay. Awesome. Thank you so much-

[0:57:22] Thank you

[0:57:22] ... for being here. Uh, we do have one question from Representative Sharper.

[0:57:26] Okay.

[0:57:26] If you don't mind answering it. Sure.

[0:57:28] Sorry. Thank you so much. But I'm, I'm hearing here basically a one-stop shop, uh, which is very, very helpful, and also the flexibility of being able to coordinate the appointments-

[0:57:39] Yes

[0:57:39] ... like you're saying. So I think, you know, this is really good. It is, it is a safe space as well. So I appreciate, especially the work you're doing about Austin areas. Appreciate you a long time. Thank you.

[0:57:50] A- and to your point, um, we have employers in our community who people's ability to get promotions within those or- those companies are based on attendance. Well, if they have to miss four days to go to six different places-

[0:58:02] Mm

[0:58:02] ... that looks a lot different than if they can get all of their needs met in one day. Or if they have childcare, they've got... Michelle mentioned an aunt that might take someone to town once.

[0:58:10] Mm.

[0:58:10] If you got an aunt that'll watch your kids for one day- ... that makes a big difference to be able to get everything you need in that one day while you've got childcare, than try to coordinate childcare for five different days to go to six different places.

[0:58:21] Right. Like a, like a good grocery store where everybody, everything's in one store.

[0:58:25] Yes.

[0:58:25] So that's good.

[0:58:26] Yes.

[0:58:26] Thank you.

[0:58:27] All right. Thank you so much, Representative. All right. Thank you so much for being here.

[0:58:31] Thank you.

[0:58:31] We certainly appreciate your time and what you do as well. Thank you.

[0:58:34] Thank you so much.

[0:58:35] Thank you. All right. Um, let's see. Sarah Schnack? Schenk?

[0:58:41] Schenk.

[0:58:42] All right. I apologize. I took phonics in school. It d- does me well sometimes and others not.

[0:58:49] My last name might defy phonics.

[0:58:50] Yeah, it... Well, if you could come up and, um, give us your, your full name and what you do professionally.

[0:58:58] Yes. My name is Sarah Schenk, and I am the director of One Safe Place Macon, which, as Jamie already mentioned, um, is an initiative of Crisis Line and Safe House of Central Georgia. Um, I just wanna point out a couple of things, um, that in addition to what's been said, we talked about, um, Juliana gave a one, gave some really wonderful yet heartbreaking examples of where a Family Justice Center would've been useful. Um, what I want to share with you is a scenario where the Family Justice Center worked and worked beautifully.

[0:59:29] Um, I've had the opportunity to go to about 11 different centers as we've researched for Macon and for Georgia, and I had the opportunity to spend a week at a center, um, in North San Diego County. ... shadowing their director. And while I was there, um, a woman and her eight-year-old daughter came in, um, actively fleeing abuse. I'm talking ran out the door with the clothes on their back, actively fleeing abuse. And she knew to come to their Family Justice Center because on a prior DV call to 911, the deputy came out and said, "You need to get there.

[1:00:02] That's where you need to be. They'll help you there." And she didn't go at that time because we know there's often barriers in the way, but she remembered it. And so she grabbed her daughter, and she ran. Um, so the navigator did all the intakes, started coordinating services, and discovered that the mom had been strangled. And that increases your risk for domestic violence homicide by 750% and puts you at risk for stroke i- up to six months after the accident. It's, it's really the last warning shot. Um, and so they were able to say, "Okay, that involves a high-risk team.

[1:00:36] We need a high-risk team." Now, the way things are decentralized, we'd have to say, "Okay, can you get on Zoom next Thursday at 3:00? Can we do..." They were able to say, "Okay, we need the high-risk team. Anybody who's on site, get in the conference room. In 20 minutes, we're gonna sit down with this victim and coordinate together all the things that she and her daughter immediately need." As they were waiting to do that, um, Mom, and kind of pouring out her stress, said, "And today's my daughter's birthday, and this is what she's going to remember about her eighth birthday."

[1:01:09] Mm.

[1:01:09] And the navigator said, "Okay, maybe we can do something about that." Was able to go into the donation area, help-- Mom was able to pick out a party dress-

[1:01:18] Mm

[1:01:18] ... pick out donated toys. They found gift wrap to wrap it. They even found cookies and candles in the staff break room. And while the little girl was playing in the, in the trauma-informed playroom with a child advocate while Mom was getting services, they were able to plan an impromptu birthday party. And they said, "We're gonna postpone high-risk for 10 minutes, and if you are on site and you wanna come to a birthday party, get to the playroom." And so I was there. We went down to the playroom. Mom was able to give her daughter gifts. We were able to sing happy birthday and have a 10-minute Taylor Swift dance party.

[1:01:51] And that, it w- is a great example of that's not something we can do in the way that things are, are right now. It's the human touch. She was able to get the absolute crisis services they need. They got emergency shelter. They were working on TPOs. She was working with law enforcement to file the report, and the abuser was arrested that day. But the Family Justice Center was also able to see her as a human and a mom, and able to immediately mitigate some of the trauma for that little girl. And that, I think, is the magic that comes with this type of model.

[1:02:25] And we're seeing it already in Waycross. We're seeing it in Cobb. We're seeing it even in the planning in Macon and Fulton as we get ready to open. And Macon will be opening a pilot location this year as we continue to renovate our large building, and Fulton as well on their way as well. And y- that, that's, that's the power of this model, is being able to individualize and to serve the entire family and to break some of those generational patterns of trauma that we're seeing, um, that, that are really kind of holding, holding our communities and our families hostage.

[1:03:02] Thank you so much. Thank you for sharing that story. I think you just humanized this in a way that, um, was very impactful, so thank you. Thank you for what you do.

[1:03:10] Thank you.

[1:03:10] Thank you for being here. All right. Um, let's see. Next on the list, District Attorney Howard, are you here with us today? If you don't mind coming up, briefly talking about y- the impact you see in this field.

[1:03:25] Yes. Okay, so good afternoon, everyone. I'm District Attorney Anita Howard, um, elected DA for the Macon Judicial Circuit. Um, Oc- last October, uh, was my 20th year of being a prosecutor. And, um, I fully support family justice centers, and someone asked about a real story, uh, where the family justice center has helped. Um, we had a particular case where a young girl was molested by her father.

[1:03:57] Uh, the brothe- the younger brother was a witness, but at the initial forensic interview, he was not able to disclose. Um, after receiving therapeutic services, after going through the family justice center, uh, extension that, uh, of Camp Hope, he was able to, uh, disclose, uh, what, what he witnessed, and we were able to re-indict the case, and that case resulted, um, in a plea, and the father received a 50-year, um, sentence.

[1:04:34] And so that is a, and that happened in 2025. Now, where it would've benefited would've been another case, um, from our office that occurred in 2022. Um, you heard one of the individuals say that if a, there's a statistic that if a survivor, um, if they survive a non, uh, lethal strangulation, they are 750% more likely to be killed at the hands of their abuser, and that's where I heard the representative say awareness.

[1:05:10] Uh, we had an individual, Cynthia Berry, in our community. She did survive, uh, a strangulation, but she was killed at the hands of her abuser. Um, and, uh, if we can educate, uh, and co-locate to bring, uh, greater awareness to law enforcement, uh, prosecutors, all of the, um, folks who will be coloca- co-locating in the family justice center, uh, we have safer communities. For me, being a 20-year prosecutor, family justice centers, we've heard a lot, but they are ch- about public safety.

[1:05:47] It is about pro- uh, better prosecutions, prevention, and intervention. I know y'all have heard a lot, so I'll be short, 'cause I could say a lot. Ha, you know, I'm a lawyer. Uh, the last thing I wanna say is right now in my circuit, we have over 550, uh, domestic violence cases. Uh, so there is a great need.

[1:06:07] All right. Wonderful. Thank you so very much. Thank you for what you do helping survivors and their families, so thank you, and thank you for being here today.

[1:06:15] Absolutely.

[1:06:16] Um, sounds like you guys have a lot, a lot of wonderful things going on in the Macon area, so thank you.

[1:06:20] I thank you so much.

[1:06:22] All right. Um, let's see. Next up, I've got Lieutenant Justin Strom from the Atlanta Police Department.

[1:06:34] I figured it might be you.

[1:06:36] I think so.

[1:06:37] Thank you for being here.

[1:06:38] Thank you.

[1:06:38] Um, if you could state your name, and again, where you work, that would be wonderful, and what you do for the Atlanta Police Department.

[1:06:43] Yes, ma'am. Uh, first name Justin, last name Strom. Uh, city of Atlanta Police Department, uh, currently lieutenant, and I am over the domestic violence unit. Um, so won't reiterate a lot of stuff that you already heard today, just from a law enforcement perspective, um, you know, our ultimate goal is to always empower our victims and of course, keep our officers safe. And has already been mentioned here, domestic violence cases that we respond to are often the cases where we will either get into a fight, get hurt, or potentially get killed.

[1:07:19] Um, so I think the Family Justice Center will help prevent that. How? It will empower our victims. I think we've heard a lot of s- different stories today that in areas where these centers are not there, our victims kinda get the runaround because they have to go here, they have to go there. There's different, you know, times and places, and that's not empowering our victims. Um, what that would look like, we have a Fulton County Justice or we have a Family Justice Center in Fulton that could empower our victim.

[1:07:49] Instead of maybe calling 911, they've heard about what this system does, what it's there for. They would not need to call us. They could actually probably walk in there and start asking or getting the help that they need, right? Um, you know, so I think it's very powerful to have our victims have that opportunity. Um, and then again, just as a officer safety standpoint, right? What, what that could look like. Um, and then just in general, you've heard some statistics, but just where these centers have been set up, just reiterate some of them facts.

[1:08:23] There's been a 90% reduction in domestic violence homicides where these centers have been located, um, specifically San Diego, California, 75% reduction in Alameda County, California, 51% reduction in Brooklyn, New York. And then Guilford County, North Carolina, uh, they had 11 homicides that were domestic related in 2014, and when they set up their Family Justice Center in 2015, that dropped to one.

[1:08:55] So that's roughly like a 91% reduction in domestic violence homicides. And as law enforcement, we typically see a progression, right? It starts off small, and then it escalates to that strangulation and/or, uh, some type of kill- killing, right? And so again, just empowering our victims and having this there for them, I think, would speak volumes for our community.

[1:09:21] That's wonderful, and thank you for what you do to protect us.

[1:09:24] Thank you.

[1:09:24] Um, all of us right now are residents of the City of Atlanta, right?

[1:09:27] Mm-hmm.

[1:09:27] I mean, we're all in Atlanta, so thank you.

[1:09:29] Thank you all.

[1:09:30] And, and thank you for what you do for domestic violence survivors as well.

[1:09:34] Thank you, ma'am.

[1:09:34] Um, all right. Doc- Representative Sharper wants to say, um, something real quickly.

[1:09:38] Uh, first of all, appreciate what you guys do in the public safety. And one thing that people may not understand, and they can pull the statistics for this, an interesting fact for you, that whenever an officer is called a lot of times to a domestic violence situation, sometime they get in a crash going, because they know the detriment of what's going on, that it could end up in a death, and we've seen some officers get killed on the way-

[1:10:06] Yes

[1:10:06] ... trying to get there.

[1:10:07] Yes.

[1:10:07] But I think with this system, what we're talking about, the s- system and structure of what we're talking about today will for sure hopefully decrease the, the, the killing, for one, but also in the stage of when they're going for the first time, if they get everything they need as soon as possible, it will increase their situation of saying, "Okay, I'm gonna get the help I need, and I'm not gonna go back." So the more we can keep them from going back to those situations in a orderly structure of what you're trying to put together, that's gonna be a safer everybody involved.

[1:10:41] So I appreciate you, and, you know, be safe out there.

[1:10:43] Appreciate you. Thank you. And if I could just expound on that. So we do see a lot of victims. They, they come to us. They feel hopeless. They, they feel helpless. They feel they do not have the support, and that is, is absolutely what we're trying to fix, right? So thank you for that. Yes, sir. Thank you, ma'am.

[1:11:01] Thank you so much for being here with us today. Um, next up we've got Alexandra Hazer, is that correct, from Grady?

[1:11:08] Hazel.

[1:11:09] Hazel. Oh, okay. I think your pin skipped. Sorry. Please come and tell us what you do for Grady.

[1:11:18] Uh, so my name is Alexandra Hazel. I'm a sexual assault nurse examiner, and I'm the forensic nursing, forensic nursing coordinator for Grady Hospital here in Downtown Atlanta. Um, Grady is currently the only hospital in Fulton County that performs sexual assault examinations, which significantly limits access to forensic medical care for survivors. Last year alone, Grady provided care to 679 sexual assault patients. At present, these patients must be treated in the emergency department.

[1:11:49] While the emergency room serves a critical role, it is often crowded, overstimulating, and associated with long wait times. This environment is not conducive to trauma-informed care. Survivors of sexual assault have already endured significant trauma and often experience additional distress when receiving care in such settings. Establishing a family justice center would provide survivors with access to medical services in a calm, supportive, and patient-centered environment. A multidisciplinary center would allow individuals to receive medical care, advocacy, counseling, and other essential resources in one location, services that hospitals are not always fully equipped to provide.

[1:12:33] Uh, so I respectfully urge your support of this legislation to expand access to forensic medical care for all Georgians and to ensure that survivors receive compassionate, trauma-informed care in an environment designed to meet their needs. Thank you so much for being here and for sharing that testimony. Um, thank you. And thank you for what you and Grady do- ... for survivors of, of sexual assault. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Um, we have a couple more, but we're gonna have to give this room up really soon, so this is a time of, of, of the essence situation, I'm sorry to say.

[1:13:07] Um, we've got Kristin Couch of Spelman College. If you could very briefly- ... very briefly, um, share your comments on this. Good afternoon, all. I'm good at being brief. Uh, my name is Kristin Couch. I serve as the associate director for Title IX compliance at Spelman College. Um, I'm here representing colleges and universities, but because oftentimes, uh, this population is not always thought about when we're thinking about victimizations. Um, statistics show that every fall semester or the months between August and November, um, are what we call the red zone, and this is where 50% of reported sexual violence cases are reported to, uh, campus institutions.

[1:13:49] And that's not just my institution. Um, that's not just any of the institutions in Georgia. That's everywhere. So a family justice center could really benefit us in making sure that the resources, um, and especially the specialized care is expedited. But additionally, uh, as college, as we know about college students, they don't have a whole lot of money, and so transportation between one place to the next, um, agency after agency is just not feasible. So oftentimes, because of the reasons that Alexandra, um, Hazel just shared, we're often sending our students to different counties to get support, more specialized support so that that's not overstimulating to them, but that also the, we have the trust that, not that we don't trust Grady, but that, but that we also have the trust of the advocates who have done this work over and over again and who also come in and do education for prevention so that these things don't happen again.

[1:14:48] And with that, that's me. Thank you so much. And as a parent of someone who just ended their college career from graduating- Mm-hmm ... um, it, it's very frightening as a parent to send your child to college campus knowing that unfortunately they're in a vulnerable position. It's the first time they're managing themselves. Right. And, um- Right ... and, and things can escalate and happen. Right. And I certainly appreciate what you do. No. And thank you. Thank you for sharing with us today. That's great you... We did not mention that population before, so thank you for being here and doing so.

[1:15:18] Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. All right. Um, next up we've got Melissa Arthur. She's short and sweet. Short and sweet. Yes. And again, we're in a time is of the essence situation, I'm sorry to say. No, that's fine. Uh, my name is Melissa Arthur. I was, um, formerly the VP of Prevention Outreach for Partnership Against Domestic Violence, which is the DV agency for Fulton County as well as Gwinnett County. Um, through my time at PADV as well as currently, I was, um, pushing the initiative for Fulton County to open up a d- a family justice center.

[1:15:55] Um, working alongside with Grady in 2021, we realized that there were many gaps in Fulton County as lo- Uh, although we have many services here in Fulton County, there were some gaps. Um, and I think, um, I definitely don't wanna repeat anything anyone else has said, but one of the things that I think we should know about family justice centers is that it actually does fill gaps in the community. Um, for Fulton County, one of the hugest gaps that were here was the fact that we don't have a rape crisis center in Fulton County.

[1:16:27] Um, so of course, that partnership with Grady and just really talking to them about what, and dreaming big of what it would look like to have a rape crisis center within the family justice center. Um, we, with visiting many family justice centers, we've seen, uh, clinics for, um, bringing preventative measures into communities. We've seen child advocacy centers come into family justice centers. So sometimes, um, family justice centers also fill gaps that are lacking in a community, and I think that's the only thing, um, some of, that was not said, so I will take just the advantage of saying that.

[1:17:05] Well, thank you so much. And again, thank you for what you do. This is phenomenal to see. We have so many wonderful, caring individuals who are really supporting the survivors in our state, so thank you. Certainly appreciate you being here as well. All right. Um, let's see. Vivian, is it Eubanks? Ernst. Ernst is fine. Ernst, okay. Everybody just calls me Vivian. Vivian. All right, if you can come and sit down. You're with ACCG- I am ... and I believe, um, you would like to offer an amendment to this.

[1:17:37] Yes, I would. And it's friendly, unless I changed it. Okay. All right. I did not ch- I would never do that.

[1:17:43] Good afternoon. My name is Vivian Ernstes. I am Deputy General Counsel to ACCG. While I'm new to A- relatively new to ACCG, I am not new to local government. I was the county attorney for DeKalb County for eight years under Michael Thurmond, and have been representing local governments and counties for 32 years, um, some of those years before folks were born sitting in our audience. Um, as you've heard today, generally, this bill provides appropriate guardrails for the creation of family justice centers.

[1:18:16] It also is a permissive bill, so it is helpful to counties as they decide how they want to create a family justice center within their district attorney's judicial circuit or within counties or cities. And those guardrails are well-addressed in the bill. The one amendment that we would offer, if you will turn to lines 185 and 186 of the bill.

[1:18:44] When you look at, um, beginning at line 168, the bill offers a code section that provides for immunity, immunity that protects the folks who are doing the work who've testified earlier today, um, and deals with all of those things. At line 186, the one friendly amendment is to offer the words "of immunity" after the word "waiver." And let me explain why we are asking for that.

[1:19:14] If you look at code section, at subsection C, which is line 180 through 182, it preserves the immunities that already exist to cities and counties and employees. Line 183 allows the cities or the counties to purchase insurance to protect those employees, and all the, um, friendly amendment does is to make sure that that does not result in a waiver of immunity. That's it.

[1:19:41] All right. Mr.

[1:19:43] Thank you so much. This is a friendly amendment?

[1:19:45] Yes. Yes.

[1:19:45] Okay. So, um, Ms. Carter, are we good adding that?

[1:19:49] Yes, ma'am.

[1:19:50] All right. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much for being here.

[1:19:53] Thank you.

[1:19:53] All right. W- thank you, and, um, it's nice to meet you.

[1:19:56] It's nice to meet you as well.

[1:19:57] All right. We do have one more... Oh, we have a couple questions. Well, are the questions for the- Yeah, just appropriate, appropriate time. Okay. Okay. Guys, if you have a question, I want to make sure of the- Sure. Go ahead ... sponsor just to make sure they-

[1:20:11] Sure

[1:20:11] ... they're ready to respond.

[1:20:13] Thank you, uh, Madam Chair, uh, Representative Panitch. Um, since you were in there, and I was thinking this earlier and not knowing where you were gonna amend it, but obviously in 84 where you're saying, "Shall be authorized to procure liability insurance," um, you know, I'm not an insurance guru, but in the banking world, I know that there's kind of liability insurance and then there is E&O. I haven't scanned the rest of the bill to see if there's any specific, but when you have that many different agencies kind of co-mingling potentially in space and having different touchpoints, there may be a need for you to consider E&O insurance.

[1:20:49] I don't want to get in the weeds. This is one of my nuance, but because you brought it up in this code section, I, I'm not trying to muddy, uh, the water, but obviously there's kind of two different areas of insurance. Liability's covering one thing. E&O may be from one of your professional providers. I'm sure they have it.

[1:21:06] Mm-hmm.

[1:21:06] But I don't know if you think that that's something that would be useful to be included in your legislation. I'm not gonna die on the hill, but I just thought it was important for you to consider it.

[1:21:15] I think it would-

[1:21:16] Oh, go ahead.

[1:21:16] I think it would make sense to just strike the word liability from line 184 and leave it generalized as to insurance, and that way the family justice center and the community could decide what insurance they would like to procure for their-

[1:21:31] Okay

[1:21:31] ... agency or entity.

[1:21:34] Okay. All right. Thank you. That was very, that was very helpful.

[1:21:37] Thank you.

[1:21:37] Um, Representative Panitch, how are you feeling about this?

[1:21:39] I feel great.

[1:21:40] Okay.

[1:21:40] Very friendly.

[1:21:41] All right. Ms. Carter, we're good. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you for that. Um, all right, we do have one more speaker. Thank you so much.

[1:21:49] Thank you.

[1:21:50] All right, we do have one more speaker, um, Maisie Lynn Guertin from the, um, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Is that correct?

[1:22:00] Yes, it is.

[1:22:01] Okay.

[1:22:01] I didn't write it out. Sorry.

[1:22:02] Oh, it's okay. It's okay. I have a helpful person over here who's helping me out.

[1:22:06] Kevin is aces. Yes. Maisie Lynn Guertin. I'm the Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Um, I will just cut to the chase that we are focusing in on sections two and three. These are the sections of the-

[1:22:18] You're talking about

[1:22:20] Sorry. I thought I was.

[1:22:21] Thank you.

[1:22:22] Sorry. We're focused in on sections two and three. Um, these are the sections of the bill that impact what's, um, what we call discovery in criminal cases. This is the mechanism by which prosecutors and defense lawyers share evidence in a case when someone's being prosecuted. Um, and specifically, and I'm sorry, I'm looking at, let me pull up the sub-line number, but specifically at lines 241 and, um, 220, there's a term of art that's included in that sentence, and it is the possession, custody, or control.

[1:23:07] That term of art is defined in the discovery statutory rubric, which is found in, um, well, it's cited here s- in Title 17, where this code section's being pulled from in two and three. Um, we're con- we've expressed our concern to Representative Panitch about, um, the way in which this language is s- s- um, looking to protect these agencies. We understand that, um, the spirit of this language is to prevent

[1:23:44] Information records, reports, notes, data that would be held by these agencies that are a part of the family justice centers from automatically becoming something that the state possesses as part of a prosecution. We are not interested in accessing information that has nothing to do with the prosecution of a particular criminal case. But a couple of witnesses back mentioned, um, that for instance, a child advocacy center might be housed within one of these facilities. Child advocacy centers are the places where children are often interviewed who are the subject of a prosecution.

[1:24:22] So an alleged victim in a case might be taken to a child advocacy center, interviewed about the situation that, um, has occurred, and that interview, for instance, would then be part of the prosecution of the person involved. So in that investigation, that would be relevant and it would be like this term of art, in the possession, custody or control of the state, and subject to disclosure in order to protect the constitutional rights of the person being prosecuted as part of the prosecution.

[1:24:55] We want to be sure that defense counsel and defendants who are being prosecuted in our state can have access to the material that they're, you know, constitutionally, um, have a right to access without intruding on information that we have no business being in. We, we don't have an interest in trying to get more than we deserve, um, and don't believe that, uh, we have to do that. So we have proposed some language just very, um, right before the hearing, so we're ...

[1:25:26] This is all happening, it's by email. She probably hasn't even seen it.

[1:25:29] No.

[1:25:30] Um, with a hope that we can be sure to protect the information that we do not have a right to access while also not excluding information that would be a part of a prosecution.

[1:25:43] What's the language?

[1:25:44] Um, the language is here.

[1:25:49] I'm also a member of GACTL, and I'm a co-sponsor-

[1:25:52] Oh.

[1:25:53] ... of the, of the new discovery bill, so I'm very much attuned to what this is.

[1:25:58] She's attuned. Okay.

[1:25:59] And I hopefully we'll have a consensus. Whoa. Oh.

[1:26:03] Oh, yeah. Touch screens.

[1:26:04] I, sorry.

[1:26:04] I know. I hate, I don't-

[1:26:05] Touch screens.

[1:26:06] I, yeah.

[1:26:06] Touch screens.

[1:26:07] I'm not used to it either.

[1:26:09] My mother goes like this on my Apple.

[1:26:11] Let's see if I can maybe do-

[1:26:13] Sorry.

[1:26:13] It's okay. I just don't know where it is.

[1:26:19] And then my middle ageness pokes its head out. Sorry.

[1:26:22] All right. Let's don't talk about middle ageness.

[1:26:25] I know. When someone talked about how young people are in the audience, I was like, "Oh, I wish I was 30 again. That would be so nice." Okay.

[1:26:37] Yep.

[1:26:37] Don't touch it.

[1:26:38] Yeah, just don't touch it.

[1:26:40] And we, we certainly can hold another meeting because unfortunately we've got to vacate this room in eight minutes.

[1:26:47] Okay.

[1:26:48] So unless it was a very simple amendment.

[1:26:53] Can you see that?

[1:26:56] Mm-hmm. Um, legislative council and, um, I know Representative Panitch is reading. I think this would be friendly. Certainly there is a small reference that was pointed out by our wonderful policy analyst.

[1:27:11] That's fine.

[1:27:11] And, um-

[1:27:12] We'll continue to work on it-

[1:27:13] Yeah

[1:27:13] ... as it gets to the Senate. It, it's friendly.

[1:27:15] It's friendly?

[1:27:15] It's friendly.

[1:27:16] Okay.

[1:27:16] I'll send it to Holly.

[1:27:17] All right. Well, let, let's do this, if it's okay. Is it ... Let's, because we are, we're out of time, basically. Let's work with, um, Mrs. Carter, Ms. Carter over here, and I have another small amendment as well, um, that's just mechanics. Um, it really doesn't change anything, it just makes a reference to another subsection in the bill. So if it's all right with the bill's author and the committee, do you mind meeting again this week to further discuss? Um, I think everyone that came to speak, thank you. I think you were well heard. I think it was well worth-

[1:27:47] I'll just send it to Holly

[1:27:47] ... your time being here today. Certainly appreciate everything everyone does.

[1:27:51] I'll just send it to Holly.

[1:27:52] You can send it to Holly.

[1:27:53] And they're very rapidly trying to put this together over here. You, you think you can do it now?

[1:27:57] Yeah.

[1:27:58] Oh, okay.

[1:28:00] They're here.

[1:28:01] All right. Well, we've got, well-

[1:28:02] You got it?

[1:28:02] Well, they've got to talk to Ms. Carter, so-

[1:28:04] They're sending it to Holly.

[1:28:05] Okay. All right.

[1:28:07] Um, yes. She doesn't have a computer, do you?

[1:28:09] Speak, speak it.

[1:28:09] Yes, she does.

[1:28:10] Yep. Got it.

[1:28:11] She can speak it.

[1:28:11] And she can do it that way.

[1:28:12] Got you.

[1:28:13] Let, let's speak it and do it please.

[1:28:14] Okay.

[1:28:14] I think it's a short amendment. It's about a little bit of language.

[1:28:17] It's like five lines, six lines.

[1:28:18] Five, yeah.

[1:28:19] Okay.

[1:28:19] Oh.

[1:28:19] Okay. But will you please send it to me electronically?

[1:28:21] I just did.

[1:28:22] Verbatim. Thank you.

[1:28:23] Yep. Yep. Yeah. Yep.

[1:28:24] Yes.

[1:28:24] Just a question.

[1:28:25] Yes.

[1:28:25] More process. Would you entertain a motion to pass before we take up amendments, or do you want ... How do you handle that?

[1:28:32] Well, if, if we're in that posture, um, we can certainly do that, and then we can move forward with it, uh, rather than do a substitute since we're gonna be moving forward today. Thank you for that. All right, so, um, with the will of the committee regarding House Bill 1283, got a motion do you pass?

[1:28:48] Second.

[1:28:49] Got a multiple seconds. Thank you both.

[1:28:51] Yep.

[1:28:51] Um, all right, so it's got a motion do pass, got discussion. We've got couple of amendments.

[1:28:57] Yeah.

[1:28:58] All right. Um-

[1:28:59] I also have an amendment.

[1:29:00] You have an am- ... Okay, so we have three amendments.

[1:29:03] It's short.

[1:29:03] Holly, how you feeling over there?

[1:29:05] Are they all electronically?

[1:29:07] No, but one of them is, like, six words.

[1:29:11] Okay.

[1:29:11] All right. Well, go ahead.

[1:29:12] It's line 136, uh, under the laws of the state, strike the period, add a comma, unless they do not receive state funds.

[1:29:22] I got you.

[1:29:24] All right, so 136.

[1:29:31] Do we have a motion on that amendment?

[1:29:32] So moved.

[1:29:33] We got a-

[1:29:34] Second

[1:29:34] ... motion and second. All in favor of the amendment to line 136, say aye.

[1:29:39] Aye.

[1:29:40] Aye.

[1:29:40] Any opposition? All right, thank you. Amendment passes. All right, um, we have another amendment.

[1:29:49] Um, I believe this is... And I guess it's gonna be my amendment. Um-

[1:29:53] Line 6, can we do, can do anything with that?

[1:29:55] That's... Well-

[1:29:56] Immunity

[1:29:57] ... we're gonna... Well, we're gonna-

[1:29:59] Yes

[1:29:59] ... we're gonna let... Let's see. On line 186, um, for later Wade... Or I'm sorry.

[1:30:07] Yeah, that's fine.

[1:30:07] This came from... Where'd this come from? This came from-

[1:30:09] I, I brought it up.

[1:30:10] Okay. My-

[1:30:11] I'm gonna go to ACCG-

[1:30:12] ACCG. I'm sorry

[1:30:13] ... with a friendly amendment

[1:30:13] There's so much happening here. Thank you.

[1:30:15] All right.

[1:30:15] ACCG mentioned. Um, well, Representative Sharper, if you'd like to give the amendment.

[1:30:20] All right. Well, in 186, "Shall not be construed as waiver add of immunity," period.

[1:30:27] So adding "of immunity" to lines 186. And, and well, and I was gonna say, and furthermore, striking the word "liability" of 184, I believe.

[1:30:38] Yes.

[1:30:39] That's right.

[1:30:40] Thank you.

[1:30:40] Okay. All right. Thank you so much for that amendment. Are we good, Ms. Carter? Thank you. All right. All in favor of striking liability from 184 and adding "of immunity" to line 186, say aye.

[1:30:52] Aye.

[1:30:52] Aye.

[1:30:53] Any opposed? All right. Thank you. Um, the next thing I have, looks like we're looking at line... Wait, 187?

[1:31:08] No. Flip back to 80, line 87. And this is, I think this is gonna be a friendly amendment. Um, bill's author's welcome to discuss this further. But, um, amend to state, "Pursuant to paragraph number three or number four of subsection B," and this is just referencing.

[1:31:31] So s- strike three and add four?

[1:31:34] Um, no, no. Pursuant, the whole thing in quotes. "Pursuant to paragraph three or four of subsection B."

[1:31:42] So moved.

[1:31:43] All right.

[1:31:44] Second.

[1:31:44] Got a motion, got a second. All right. All those in favor?

[1:31:47] Aye.

[1:31:47] Aye.

[1:31:47] It'd be or four.

[1:31:49] Any opposition?

[1:31:50] I'm still reading it.

[1:31:51] You're still reading it? Okay. This is something legislative council and, um-

[1:31:56] It's referencing the nonprofits

[1:31:57] ... Yes

[1:31:57] ... 101.

[1:31:58] Yes.

[1:31:59] Aye.

[1:31:59] We had not done that before, and so it references them.

[1:32:01] It's referencing, it, it, it refers to paragraph three, but not paragraph four.

[1:32:06] The two nonprofits.

[1:32:07] It's fine.

[1:32:09] We wanna make sure our nonprofits are represented.

[1:32:11] Yeah. It, it helps. It-

[1:32:13] Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah

[1:32:13] ... helps.

[1:32:14] Okay. Yeah, that-

[1:32:14] Thank you

[1:32:15] ... all right. So we're good on that?

[1:32:16] Yes, it's friendly.

[1:32:17] All right. All right. We're-

[1:32:19] Legislative council, we're so impressed with you today.

[1:32:22] Thank you. And then-

[1:32:24] Every day

[1:32:25] ... every day, every day, especially today though.

[1:32:26] Yeah. No, it's good.

[1:32:27] All right. And then lastly-

[1:32:31] Oh, okay. So there's a, there's a concern

[1:32:33] ... is there, there's a concern?

[1:32:35] Hold on. I, I didn't. I'm sorry.

[1:32:36] Can we not say and or four?

[1:32:37] I can't say four.

[1:32:38] Or four because that makes nonprofits have to do all the

[1:32:43] Oh. Well, unless the only-

[1:32:47] Do we have opposition to this?

[1:32:48] The committee provides, but then it makes them go into, like, the articles of incorporation.

[1:32:53] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[1:32:53] It puts all the extra burdens on the nonprofit.

[1:32:54] Yes. Oh, go ahead. I don't-

[1:32:56] Yes, Chairman Gullett.

[1:32:57] Yeah. I just wanna recognize, uh, Director Rosslee. She's about to leave, but, um, she's with the Georgia Commission on Family Violence. And, uh, she just, just wanna say hello. And, um, I'm sure she's giving a thumbs up that she's good with this legislation. Yeah.

[1:33:09] Thank you.

[1:33:09] All right.

[1:33:09] And thank you for being here today. And, uh, Chairman Gullett, thank you for recognizing the director. We appreciate all you do. Thank you. All right. So it looks like we've got some...

[1:33:20] Okay. Um, I think the concern on just the paragraph three and four, as I'm hearing, is that it adds obligations to n- the nonprofits that don't currently exist.

[1:33:31] That got pulled.

[1:33:33] Now, if that's the will of the committee, that's-

[1:33:35] Well, we certainly don't wanna over-obligate them at this point. And then we have another amend... All right. At this point-

[1:33:40] Can we table?

[1:33:41] Like, we're gonna have to table it, 'cause I know, I know we've run out of time. Um, you had too many wonderful speakers here today. Um, which is great. I, I think it's good for us to have this discussion. Um, it, I think, you know, this is a very positive thing. I think, you know, there's, there's interest in it, this moving forward, definitely. So if you could just get a substitute.

[1:34:00] Yes.

[1:34:00] Um, and I'm sure Ms. Carter would be happy to work with you on that. Um, I can see now we've got several people from Health here, so we're going to table this for now. Um, and we will come back together soon and, and take up this bill. Thank you.

[1:34:14] Um, anything else from me today?

[1:34:16] Just

[1:34:16] All right. You may set motion and second. Thank you. Thank you so much for everyone being here today. Meeting adjourned.

[1:34:23] You're my boss.

[1:34:24] Yes, ma'am. Like-