House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, February 18, 2026

Transcript

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1. 0:13:32

   All right. Thank y'all for being here. We're gonna go ahead and get started. Um, we're all kind of pushed back a little bit today as all our committee communities got pushed back as they tend to do sometimes this time of year. But, uh, trying to go ahead and get started so we can, uh, get done with our business, and then we're gonna move down to room 406, um, in this building to join the Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee, uh, to hear a bill with them. So I'll start with, uh, Representative Cummings is gonna open us up in prayer.

2. 0:14:04

   Mic is yours.

3. 0:14:05

   Thank you. Dear Lord, please bless this committee, the members, and the people that our decisions will impact. Let us be wise and grateful. Thank you. Amen.

4. 0:14:18

   Amen. Thank you very much. All right, our, uh, first bill, we're gonna do HB 1265 first because, uh, Chairman McDonald has to present in another committee, I believe, as well. So Chairman McDonald, if you're, if you're ready, we'll go ahead and start with yours. And, uh, if you have anybody that wants to join you. Vince, are you gonna join him?

5. 0:14:45

   Yes, sir.

6. 0:14:45

   All right, it's a treat. All right, we got Vince up here today.

7. 0:14:58

   Mr. Chairman, whenever you're ready.

8. 0:14:59

   All right. All right. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen of the committee, I've got House Bill 1265, which is LC63-0090. I appreciate you allowing me, uh, to present House Bill 1265, which I've titled the Mile-a-Month Act. This bill is simple in concept, but powerful in impact. It says if you flee from the Georgia State Patrol or Department of Public Safety, every mile runs an equal mandatory month in jail.

9. 0:15:32

   One mile, one month, no probation, no plea downs, no exceptions. Members, we're here today because too many innocent Georgians are being injured and killed by criminals who choose to run from law enforcement. High-speed pursuits are no longer rare events. They are becoming routine, and the public is paying the price. Just this week in Savannah, a school teacher lost her life when a fleeing suspect ran a red light and caused a fatal crash. The very next vehicle in that intersection was a mother with her two children.

10. 0:16:04

    They were seconds away from being the next headline. That teacher went to work that morning expecting to come home to her family. She didn't, and for what? Because someone decided that running from the police was worth the risk. The reality is, most people who flee from law enforcement are not doing it for traffic violations. They're running because they have drugs in their car. They're running because they have outstanding warrants. They're running because they're already criminals, and they think the, the system is weak. And unfortunately, too often they're right. Our current system allows people who are endangering the public to be released on OR bonds, only go right back out and do the same thing again.

11. 0:16:41

    There's no real deterrent. HB 1265 changes that. This bill applies specifically to the Department of Public Safety, the Georgia State Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, and Georgia Capitol Police. These are the agencies handling most of the dangerous high-speed pursuits on our highways and interstates. Once an officer determines that a driver is intentionally fleeing and establish a pursuit, they call 1080, and the mileage is logged. And for, from that point on, every mile equals 30 days in jail.

12. 0:17:15

    This is not discretionary. This is mandatory. Let me be clear about something important. This bill is not about punishment for punishment's sake. It's about deterrence and public safety. We're trying to change behavior before tragedy happens. We're telling criminals, "If you run in Georgia, you will sit in jail, period." Not a fine you can ignore, not a slap on the wrist, not a plea bargain. Real time equals real consequences. The bill also includes enhanced penalties for aggravated fleeing, excessive fleeing, causing a crash, hitting another vehicle or pedestrian, driving under the influence, or leaving the state of Georgia during a pursuit.

13. 0:17:55

    In those cases, it becomes a felony with mandatory prison time. Again, no proba- no probation, no early release, no sentence reductions.

14. 0:18:07

    Members, we pass laws every year that react to trav- tragedy after it happens. This bill is designed to prevent the tragedy in the first place. Every officer I've spoken s- spoken to says the same thing. Criminals run because they believe they can and get away with it. HB 1265 changes that calculation. It puts fear back into the decision to flee, and sometimes fear saves lives. We as legislators have a responsibility not just to criminals, but to the families driving next to them, the teachers going to work, the children riding in the back seat, and the troopers risking their lives to protect all of us.

15. 0:18:44

    This bill sends a clear, strong, and unmistakable message. Georgia will not tolerate people turning our highways into racetracks. Georgia will not tolerate criminals gambling with innocent lives, and Georgia will not tolerate fleeing from our law enforcement. One mile, one month. That's the deal. And I respectfully ask this committee to move on HB 1265 and help us keep Georgia roads safe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

16. 0:19:10

    All right. Thank you. Lieutenant Mooney, do you have anything you wanted to add, or are you just here to answer questions if there are some?

17. 0:19:19

    I'm, I'm just here to assist, uh, assist in answering questions, but our, excuse me, our agency does totally support this legislation.

18. 0:19:25

    Okay. Thank you, sir.

19. 0:19:28

    Questions from the committee. All right. Uh, y'all kind of hit them both at the same time. We'll go with 18 first. Representative Cummings. Thank you, Chairman. Um, thank you for this bill. I just have one question. Um, there's a Bill 40-6-395 where Georgia already imposes stricter penalties if you're going 20 miles o- over while eluding the police. Will this bill impact that bill, or will they cancel each other out, or will it be both at the same time?

20. 0:19:59

    The, to... Are you referring to going 20 miles above the speed limit? In that case- While you're fleeing, right. In Georgia, you get stricter penalties now. Yes, ma'am. This one- So would the miles per hour be added to the miles traveled? Yes, ma'am.

21. 0:20:15

    So how would that work? You're getting a m- you're getting a mile per month- A mile- ... plus- One mile per month, yes, ma'am. No, no, months, your months in jail per mile you drive from- Right, right, right. Sorry about that. Yes, ma'am. No worries. And then in addition, you would get more jail time because you were going over 20. No. You, you... This is only when you're run- This is to... I really don't know that answer. Um, but I, I'm, I would think that, and I'd have to ask leg counsel on that, um, to some clarification.

22. 0:20:47

    Well, it might depend on which one they're charged under. If they're charged under both, I would say the wrong thing antique, so they would get the lesser of the punishments. Okay. Okay. If they're similar crimes.

23. 0:21:00

    Okay, uh, 17. Thank you. Um, my question is more just out of curiosity, what is the average of somebody fleeing? How many miles is it? It, it can go anywhere from a half a mile to six, seven miles. Okay. Sometimes more, sometimes less. All right. I appreciate it. And, and, uh, Representative Ridley, I think also, so a mile in, e- even though a mile's a mile, but a mile in Atlanta- Mm-hmm ... the metro area, is different than a mile out in rural Georgia. Oh, absolutely.

24. 0:21:30

    I mean, you know, with the red lights and the kids and the people walking on the street, and that's, that's the danger here- Mm ... is, is e- when it, when it initiates, you know, where they get on the interstate or sometimes they feel like they can get off the interstate and, and use people and vehicles as shields to get away from law enforcement, and that's what they do. They, they get on these side roads, and they have no, no, uh, no care for, for whether the light's red or green. Absolutely. Thank you. And, you know, and I, I, I ask, you know, it's just kind of talking about this, is I learned a lot of this by taking the time and going out and riding with our state law enforcement, and I'd, I'd, I suggest everybody do that.

25. 0:22:06

    You really see, you know, what's going on out there and the reason for this bill. Okay. Representative Neal. Thank you to the chair. Um, thank you to the author. Now I know why you didn't want me here. Um You're always welcome. It makes sense now. Um, so, uh, we spoke about this. Yes, ma'am. I did not know it was here and ready, um, because I was trying to collaborate with you on some solutions.

26. 0:22:41

    Um, I, I just...

27. 0:22:46

    I, there's a few concerns. Um, I think when it comes to balance in the system, you know, one person getting charged one way versus another, and I know it's based on the, the mileage, and then, um, we talked about what an actual deterrent is. You know, we had that conversation, and that this would also require some level of marketing to the masses. Um, 'cause if you don't know that it's a... Well, it's like you have, people have to know what the, um, implications are.

28. 0:23:23

    Not saying we're encouraging them, like, "Hey, I'm gonna, I'm gonna run from the police today. I'm only gonna go two miles." But at the same time, there has to be some level of

29. 0:23:33

    equality when it comes to charging people. Um, and then we also have some issues related to kind of, um, what, um, Representative, um, Cummings mentioned about, you know, we already have a, a number of other, um, punishments on the books. And then, um, I know the, um, attorney, you know, referenced, um, the lesser of the punishments. We also, too, already, we already have an issue with, uh, stacking, um, uh, stacking of charges, and then it's like, you know, I feel like we just keep adding these layers.

30. 0:24:08

    But we were trying to, when me and you were speaking, we were trying to s- talk through deterrents and what is an actual deterrent. Um,

31. 0:24:20

    I...

32. 0:24:24

    Like I said, I didn't know this was the bill , so, uh, there's, there's more to say, but I haven't really had a chance to kind of work through it. I didn't know we were ready for this today, um, if I'm honest. But, um, if we're still here, uh, Chair, you can come back to me.

33. 0:24:44

    Okay. Well, I don't see any more lights blinking. Um, and as soon as I say that, I get lights blinking. Uh, 23, Representative Richardson. Yes, sir. Thank you for the bill, sir. Uh, isn't it Georgia law that you do not try to elude, um, a, a, a police officer or lights and sirens or when you get your license, that's part of the test, I think. Yes, sir. Am I correct or not correct on that?

34. 0:25:14

    Yes, sir. There should be, there should- So everybody knows that if somebody's behind you, or that you're supposed to move over and, and get out of the way, uh- Yield to the emergency vehicle. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So, uh, I think anybody with a driver's license or that has driven for a time should know that this is something you should do if there's someone or an officer trying to, uh, pull you over for some reason. Yes, sir.

35. 0:25:42

    Okay. Um, Representative McCollum, your light was on. Do you still want to- Well, I was gonna make a motion if there's no other questions. I don't see any other questions. Now would be the time that we would entertain a motion. I make, okay. I make a motion- Motion do pass. Second. Okay, we have a motion do pass and a second. And I was gonna ask if there's any discussion, but we already have a light blinking. Representative Neal. Yes. Um, yes. Thank you to the chair.

36. 0:26:13

    Uh, thank you to the author. Um, I don't know where I'm at with the bill right now. I thought we had more time to work on it. Um, uh, I'm not completely against it, but I... let me wrap my head around it. I'm not sure where I am today. Um, w- we just have to have more conversations. So I'm not against it. You know, I support you in a lot of things you do. I just thought we had more time. Sure. And I, I respect that. And, and, you know, time is, is gonna be on our side when you vote for it on the House floor, and we get it to where we can work with it going over to the Senate.

37. 0:26:43

    And maybe you have some ideas that I might could change, so look forward to working with you.

38. 0:26:52

    Okay. Okay. That, uh- Representative Cummings is staring at me. I apologize. We, um, we have the motion and a second, but I do want to, uh, allow, before I took that motion, we did have one person sign up for public comment. So Brian, I apologize. Do you wanna come up to the, uh, podium and, uh, give us your astute legal opinion? That's very kind of you. Uh, and I won't belabor the point. I know you already have a motion on the table. I did just kind of want to echo some points. And first, I do want to say I have a ton of respect for, uh, Chairman McDonald, and I know we'd actually worked on this a couple years ago when I was still at the House.

39. 0:27:27

    So it's something that we've... I know he's spent a lot of time on and he's really tried to be thoughtful of. And I think in the bill, in a lot of ways, you could tell with the gradual penalties, he was trying to do so. To echo what, uh, Representative Cummings had said, though, 46-390 feet, th- sorry, 46-395 is existing current law. And I want to point out that on its face, it looks like it's less strenuous than what this bill does because in that case, for a first, second, or third conviction, it was a high and aggravated misdemeanor, but then on a fourth or subsequent, it went to become a felony.

40. 0:28:03

    But that was in subsection A of, like, of 46-395, so existing law. Subsection C, as, as Representative Cummings mentioned, and it says any person who is essentially fleeing, and then when one of these situations occurs, if they speed in excess of 20 miles an hour over the speed limit, strikes or collides with another car or person, is the proximate cause of an accident, flees in traffic conditions that place the general public at risk of receiving injuries, and then commits... There's a few other violations in like sidewalks, lane drags, stunt driving, but also mentions, you know, reckless driving or leaving the state, which I think is similar to, I think, the subsection D in this bill.

41. 0:28:41

    Where I, where I want to point out, though, that, again, that subsection C of existing law is already a felony of 1 to 10. So if you commit that on a first violation, my understanding is that's still a felony, and what's interesting about it is it can't be reduced to a lesser offense, merged, or served concurrently with another, and it can't be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld. So, and again, 1 to 10, $5,000 to a $10,000 fine. Again, existing laws, I think that would be somewhat sufficient as is, because again, that could be on a first conviction. But I understand what everybody's going for, and obviously, no one wants the public or law enforcement to be put in a difficult spot.

42. 0:29:16

    But as always, I like to point out when we already have something on the books that I think does it. But that said, if this bill moves forward, I'd be happy, we'd be happy to work with the chairman to hopefully maybe find some compromise if there is. So we appreciate your time. And happy to answer any questions if you have any, but otherwise, I'll leave you alone. Okay, thank you. Uh, Representative McCollum, did you have a question for Brian? I did. Okay, go ahead. So to, to her reference, was sh- was she speaking of, um, uh, the super speeder law? She said 20 over.

43. 0:29:47

    No, so that's actually in this statute. It's referencing, like... It's cross-referencing other statutes. So I think it just says 20 miles over the speed limit. Okay. So, so I guess my question is, if you have... You're in the city, and you have somebody fleeing, and they're running 35, which, you know, it might only be 10, 10 miles over. Um, and they, they run through all these lights and go five miles, and then they finally get caught, and then they go to court, and they're gonna get released because they never got over the speed limit.

44. 0:30:21

    Um, is that not what we're tr- what we're trying to discourage by this bill? Sure. Well, I d- I definitely think it is trying to discourage that and... But I want to just point out, though, there's other provisions in here, and one of them is reckless driving. So if somebody commits the offense of reckless driving in the course of this, if somebody strikes or collides with another person. But in your, um... Let's, let's say there's no accidents, which I would find hard to believe, but, I mean, I guess I'd defer obviously, uh, to the officer. I mean, he knows more than I do on that front. But it also says flees in traffic conditions that place the general public at risk of receiving serious injuries.

45. 0:30:57

    I would, I mean, I would have to imagine in most fleeing situations, especially in the city, it's so dense that that would be a pretty easy one, or at least would be a reasonable, uh, provision to already be having, you know, as part of this. So follow-up, Mr. Chairman. Sure. So in, in your scenario, um, a- and, uh, I don't know if you ever watched this vi- video, State Boys. It's on YouTube all the time. I wa- literally watch it all the time. Usually the only accident- I've heard of it, yeah ... is when the troopers pa- pit them.

46. 0:31:27

    Okay. Uh, but, but the, uh, you know, there, there's numerous times that they're chased at low speeds through the city, and there's no accident or anything. And finally, like I said, the, the troopers stop them. Um, and, and to... A- and I'm not an attorney by any means. Uh, um-

47. 0:31:46

    So if you have that scenario, d- do, and you, they, the trooper goes through all that, carries 'em to jail- Mm-hmm ... do they, they bond out or get released on the re- on recognizance right then because potentially that, I mean, would- It's pos- Versus this bill saying, "Hey, you, you went four miles. You're gonna, no matter what, you're gonna spend," you know. It's possible. I, I do think as it's been mentioned, you potentially run into equal protection violation potentially because you have two statutes that are eerily similar, one dealing with law enforcement at large, one dealing, I think, with DPS, uh, Capitol Police, uh, uh, state patrol.

48. 0:32:29

    There might be another one in there as well. So I, I do think there's some potential there that an attorney could argue that, and they would get the lesser sentence out of the two crimes, which I, I don't think would be the intent. Um, I mean, that's why I'm saying there, there's, I think, a possibility to come up with some compromise language in there that actually adheres to that maybe on, like, a second or third violation, right, where you're guaranteeing it. Uh, but I just, I think as it stands right now, I mean, I, they could, I guess in theory they could bond out. But again, it is a felony that they would be charged with. Well, well, and then to, to your- And I appreciate your questions.

49. 0:33:01

    I really do. Yeah. A- and to your point, the, the first violation kills one of my, my kids or, you know, that- Sure ... it doesn't matter first violation or not, it's still- Yeah ... you know, somebody dies, right? No, I agree. And then I think, and that would be awful, and obviously no one would want that, and I'm not advocating for that- Yeah ... by any means. Um, I, but I would say in that instance, again, felony violation, one to 10, I mean, it, it, once convicted, at least they can't, you know, have it probated or anything like that. I would have to imagine in taking the, the bond decision there, the judge would, you know, would be considering that factor as well because there was a serious violent injury, obviously a death.

50. 0:33:37

    Right. And then one- Okay ... one last, one last follow-up. Please make it the last one. Yeah. We got other questions over here. Okay. The, so to follow up, the, the ignorance of the law is not a defense, is that correct? That is accurate. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Uh, Representative Neal? Uh, yes. Thank you. Uh, we would've been doing this in a back room on our side. You know that. But no, okay, so a few questions. So first question is, do you see any constitutional issues with disparate treatment when it comes to charging here? Potentially. I, I mean, I think it's ...

51. 0:34:09

    I just wanna, I mean, the other bill, again, is dealing with law enforcement at large. This one is dealing with, uh, it's a new code section, a new crime essentially dealing with, uh, again, just these, these, uh, you know, these, uh, law invest- law investment offices, right? And it would seem odd to me that you have the law enforcement at large, the general crime that can be charged differently and lesser in some cases than- Right ... the new crime, which is more narrow. But I mean, that's, again, I, that's not for sure. I mean, I think somebody would essentially make, they would definitely make the argument, and I think there could, they could potentially win on it.

52. 0:34:45

    It would be, it would be interesting to see. I, I don't know the answer to that. Now, so I don't know if you know this side of it, but, but so for instance, if I've ever been in a car chase, if you are the lead car- Mm-hmm ... it's your chase. Sometimes if you lose them or what have you, sometimes it might shift to another city. It might shift to the county, or the troopers might pick it up. So in this bill, when would your mileage start? And is your mileage being clocked if the trooper is not the lead car? So say for instance, sometimes there's like a pile-on on these car chases.

53. 0:35:17

    So if I'm, I'm chasing and I'm chasing out of Clayton- Sure ... and I hit Fulton, Fulton jumps in. They say, "Oh, troopers are on the road. They're jumping in, too." But trooper car is, like, number three, four, five, 20. Sure. Um, am I being charged for the 50 miles I went with the other 20 trooper cars that are behind me? So when the charges come, am I stacked for 20 trooper cars times 50 miles I went? Like, and, and, like, where does the charging start?

54. 0:35:47

    Is it the trooper has to be the lead car on the chase? I don't think it has to be the lead car. I mean, I, I think it, it does say within the bill, uh, that it actually attempts to tell you when that mileage starts, which I'm trying to find right now. Brian, may I be, can I chime in here? Of course. So this, you, and you talked about county and city. This has nothing to do with county and city. This c- only applies if a Georgia state trooper gets involved in a chase. And- Well, that's the thing, so gets involved. Are they- Yes ...

55. 0:36:17

    are they initiating the chase? It's when a trooper, uh, tells dispatch, "I'm involved in this chase. I'm 1080." And you know, you'll have cameras, you'll have location, and that's where, that's where it'll start. So the troop- if a state law enforcement gets involved in, in this chase, that's when it will, will, will take over. Well, I say that because sometimes there are a lot of officers that don't need to be there that say they're gonna be, you know, part of a chase just 'cause they wanna, you know, be a part of the chase. And I'm trying to see where that starts and where that stops, 'cause sometimes, as you probably know, it gets excessive with the amount of cars that are involved in a police chase sometimes, some of which don't need to be there.

56. 0:36:55

    And so I'm trying to see, is this be- is this bill making it where the trooper has to be the lead car in order for you to start getting charged under this? I don't, it does not say that anywhere in the bill. It, what, like, what's your intent? It says when- What, what, what, what would be your intent? Uh, my intent is for troopers and, or, or capital police or, uh, commercial vehicle enforcement, if they are involved in a chase, when they say they are 1080 and involved in, in, in this pursuit of someone fleeing, uh, officers, that's when it starts. Even if it's not their chase to begin with? Because they, who, who, they, they didn't just go get in it.

57. 0:37:27

    I'm, I'm saying, I'm saying- Yeah. Yeah. Um, I'm trying ... It's, it's everybody's chase. We're a support agency, so we, we won't get involved unless we're requested to. Uh- Okay ... and then, then once we're, we're, we're requested and get involved into it, then, then we'll log ours. Okay. Okay. And just to follow up, I would, I would imagine that mileage would start once you did get involved, I think, based on the bill. That's my, I mean, that's my reading of it at least. Okay. Okay. Um-

58. 0:37:52

    Oh, sorry. I was cutting you. Uh, Representative Richardson.

59. 0:37:57

    Uh, Representative McDonald, so this would more or less, um, codify that if it was a chase, this is what it is, and it kind of takes the opinion of the judges at different municipalities or different areas out of it?

60. 0:38:15

    Yeah, I would, I would look, you know, you look at different, different parts of our state. Uh, you know, judges in Forsyth County may be different than judges in Fulton. Judges in, uh, I guess your Columbia County different than, uh, uh, Augusta's, uh, Richmond. So, you know, just even though, even though you border, different opinions matter on, uh, from our, from our judicial. And this, this makes an even playing field, letting those that, that wanna flee from law enforcement, especially our state police, don't do it. You talk about education, I know that came up earlier.

61. 0:38:48

    Uh, you look at our Move Over bill. I mean, I think it's, it's done really well and kind of educated our public, that people know when they see blue lights or even orange lights. Now, people are really trying to get over for safety reasons. Uh, criminals, they have networks. When this starts hap- when this law, when everybody votes on this and it passes and governor signs it, the, um, the, they're gonna tell each other. It's, I mean, they, they do talk.

62. 0:39:11

    Okay. Um,

63. 0:39:15

    I got just a couple questions, Brian, before you sit down.

64. 0:39:18

    Sure.

65. 0:39:18

    Um, and, and some of them have already kind of come up a little bit, so I think the goal here is to obviously, um, section C of 46-395, I guess, is that the aggravated, uh-

66. 0:39:36

    Yeah

67. 0:39:36

    ... fleeing statute?

68. 0:39:38

    Pretty much.

69. 0:39:38

    I'm-

70. 0:39:38

    Yeah. Fleeing while doing something else and one in that list, yeah.

71. 0:39:41

    Yeah. So I, I think that was a good change when that was put in. Um, but I don't think it's had the desired effect, 'cause I don't think people are, are fleeing much less.

72. 0:39:53

    Yeah.

73. 0:39:53

    And, uh, these are, are really dangerous. Now, I do applaud state patrol and a lot of local agencies that will, that have gone through PIT training and learned how to perform that maneuver to try to stop these chases very early on if they're able to. Um, but the, the goal is, is, is obviously the, the deterrent is not strong enough.

74. 0:40:16

    Mm.

75. 0:40:16

    Um, and I think that's what, uh, in fact, I know that's what Chairman McDonald is trying to do, is trying to stop these before they start so people don't get hurt. Um, there's many other ideas on it that folks have about, you know, law enforcement not chasing at all or, or in certain situations, and I think that creates more of a problem. The one, in fact, in Savannah, they weren't even actively being chased. They were just, they had been pursued because they had a warrant on them. Law enforcement was not actually chasing them, but they still were fleeing. And so just because the police don't continue to chase you does not mean that the offender is gonna stop or start driving any better.

76. 0:40:50

    So, um, that is why I have concerns about those approaches. This one, though, from a technical standpoint, um, you know, and, and, uh, a term that I learned while in law school with you in the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee that I also serve on- ... um, the rule of lenity. Is this a, is that a concern here with this because you have two s- similar crimes that are as, has different punishments?

77. 0:41:20

    With overlapping elements, yeah. I mean...

78. 0:41:22

    And, and, and I'm not gonna put you back in your in your, in your analyst attorney role working for the, the House. I can, uh, I can lean on Jenna since she's here as well. But, uh, or both of you can chime in. Um, would it be, from a technical, uh, possible legal standpoint, would it be better to amend that section of 46-395 and change the punishments there rather than trying to add this new code section in 46-395.1, uh, to avoid some of those problems?

79. 0:41:56

    'Cause what I don't want to happen is I don't want us to do this and then it get tossed out-

80. 0:42:01

    Sure. I think, I think there'll be-

81. 0:42:02

    ... in a court challenge, so.

82. 0:42:03

    Obviously, I defer to Jenna, too, and, uh, you know, a great, phenomenal attorney. I, I would think it'd be a potentially cleaner approach to avoid that, but again, I, I defer.

83. 0:42:13

    Okay. All right. Just a, uh, just a thought. Unfortunately, I thank you for, for coming. Sorry I skipped over you. We got so excited-

84. 0:42:20

    That's

85. 0:42:20

    ... with our motions that I, I went ahead and took it. Um, but we are actually in the discussion phase of this, and we are, um, have a motion and a second. Is there any... I knew better. Representative Neal.

86. 0:42:37

    Yes. So, um, you know, when you came to me, you know, what I said was actually sincere. Um, I, I agree with everything you're trying to do, and I just wanted to do it right to his point. That was the only thing.

87. 0:42:48

    Uh.

88. 0:42:48

    And, and so I don't know if we're gonna move it through, uh, based on everything now, but at the same time, I, I was sincere about we can do this and we can make it clean. Um, but I guess I'll just, whatever the body wants, you know, I submit to that.

89. 0:43:02

    Okay, thank you. All right. Well, we are up to the will of the committee, and we have a motion and a second. All those in favor, uh, say aye.

90. 0:43:11

    Aye.

91. 0:43:12

    All those opposed, say no.

92. 0:43:14

    No. No. No.

93. 0:43:16

    Okay. The ayes have it, and you will be on to Rules, Mr. Chairman-

94. 0:43:20

    Yeah. Thank you

95. 0:43:20

    ... if you'll give your rules form.

96. 0:43:21

    Thank you, committee.

97. 0:43:21

    Yep.

98. 0:43:22

    We'll talk.

99. 0:43:22

    Thank you.

100. 0:43:25

     All right. And Representative Neal, whenever you get, uh, situated there, your bill is gonna be next. And, and you have a committee substitute, uh, to House Bill 1080.

101. 0:43:36

     That's correct.

102. 0:43:36

     Which is LC630072S. You all should have that in your packet. So that's what we're gonna be working from.

103. 0:44:01

     Whenever you're ready.

104. 0:44:19

     All right.

105. 0:44:31

     Thank you to the chair. Thank you to the committee. I present to you House Bill 1080, LC630072S, the Georgia Public Safety Support Fund. For years, uh, some of us have been contemplating how we can facilitate the ability for the state to support local entities that may need additional funding for various initiatives without having to continue to go through an arduous appropriations process, or wait for us, this body, uh, over a 12-month span.

106. 0:45:05

     Whether we want to support a local technology upgrade for a South Georgia court system that needs additional funds, to supporting an initiative in North Georgia and a law enforcement entity with a initiative they want to, um, fund, such as bulletproof vests, you name it, um, we have the ability to do that under this bill. So presently, when a local entity needs funding, they have to go through our appropriation process or pursue a fund separately, legislatively. This bill is a supplement to that, which allows for entities to be supported and funded faster than having to wait for us yearly.

107. 0:45:40

     Additionally, this bill allows for private entities who want to contribute to public safety initiatives to be able to do so as well. For instance, when we had the riots in Georgia a few years ago, businesses across the country wanted to support Georgia. They wanted to, you know, give money to our law enforcement, um, during that time. But unfortunately, if the agency did not have a foundation or a method to receive those funds, it was difficult for them to get that support, the additional money they could've used. This bill changes that.

108. 0:46:11

     Under this bill, it creates a grant fund under the current preexisting Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and uses the current preexisting council and their current grant issuance process to administer the grant. All we have to do is appropriate the money, and/or a company or entity can donate privately. All this bill is doing is establishing a new fund under the preexisting structure with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. We are not creating a new structure or process.

109. 0:46:41

     And with that, I stand for any questions.

110. 0:46:47

     Okay. Thank you. Any questions from members of the committee? All right. Chairman Anderson.

111. 0:46:56

     Thank you. Thank you for bringing the bill. Uh, just a quick question, and I've, I've just kinda going through the, the sub here to see if I could tell. Are you anticipating this would be pre-funded through a, uh, uh, an appropriations by the legislature?

112. 0:47:10

     Yes. So we can either pre-fund it, or, um, private dollars can fund it as well. Either or.

113. 0:47:16

     Okay.

114. 0:47:20

     Mm-hmm.

115. 0:47:24

     Representative McCollum.

116. 0:47:26

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, so I'm not, uh, I'm not familiar exactly how this, this grant system works, but-

117. 0:47:35

     Mm-hmm

118. 0:47:35

     ... so how, work, walk me through, so if somebody makes a donation, the, the different entities or municipalities or they, they apply for a grant.

119. 0:47:44

     Mm-hmm.

120. 0:47:46

     And so say, for instance, and I'm just curious, say, for instance, who, who, who, uh, ha- grants the grants, I guess you'd say, j- as far as the different, you know, counties as they put them in? They just, do have a process in place?

121. 0:48:00

     Yeah, CJCC has their, the current process they already use for other grants they, um, administer. They use that same process, same board. Nothing changes.

122. 0:48:10

     And then, uh, if a, say for instance, a big corporation says, "Hey, I wanna donate to this fund, but I want it specifically to go to Fulton County."

123. 0:48:21

     Mm-hmm.

124. 0:48:22

     Um, say for instance we, our, our, when we had a disaster down in South Georgia there.

125. 0:48:27

     Right.

126. 0:48:27

     C- is that allowable? Could they say, uh, could they earmark their donation to a certain entity?

127. 0:48:34

     Now, earmarking, um, they, they, they're not, they can't be really prescriptive on earmarking. But what I was advised is when they do have an is- instance, instance like that, um, the donor will let them know the intent, and then they need the person that in, that is to receive the money to send in, um, the request, um, asking for the money that was allocated for them. And w- I was told from the director that they would consider all those factors when they're about to, you know, disperse the fund.

128. 0:49:05

     Okay. Great bill. Thank you.

129. 0:49:06

     Thank you.

130. 0:49:08

     All right. Representative Richardson.

131. 0:49:12

     Uh, do you know how many local law enforcement agencies have the foundations?

132. 0:49:20

     I don't know percentage wise. I know that, to my knowledge, I don't know if a lot of them do have a foundation, 'cause that, that requires them to be able to put a process in place. A lot of times they don't have a facilitator of a foundation, of a, any type of nonprofit. It's just a whole another feat. But with this bill, they don't need one.

133. 0:49:39

     Right.

134. 0:49:40

     Yeah.

135. 0:49:40

     Okay. Um, okay. Well, thank you. Thank you very much for the bill.

136. 0:49:44

     Thank-

137. 0:49:44

     Appreciate it.

138. 0:49:45

     Absolutely. Absolutely.

139. 0:49:47

     Yeah, I think to that point, um, foundations, there are some larger departments that have foundations, but a lot of your smaller departments that really could use these funds, um, it is too cumbersome for them to try to create a 501[c][3], set up the foundation, do that sort of thing, and it just, this is just another, a- another arrow in the quiver, so to speak, to try to get some, um, funds to our, our law enforcement agencies, and, uh, try to help get them support. And I do like that, uh, if you look on page four, uh, line 67 through 74, it puts some really good guardrails around that, just in case anybody has concerns.

140. 0:50:26

     It, it does make it, um, you know, uh, it's, it's not allowed to be used for direct cash payments to individuals, donations, gratuities, or extra compensation prohibited by the Constitution, provide for lobbying or political activities, or things like that. So it is pretty specific what these funds can be used for. It's just to support the operation, um, training, um, equipment, and that sort of thing for, for some of these departments. And so wanted to make sure we pointed that out.

141. 0:50:57

     Uh, Representative McCollum.

142. 0:51:00

     At the proper time, I make a motion do pass.

143. 0:51:03

     Uh, now would be the time, and I will entertain that motion. We have a motion do pass. We have a second.

144. 0:51:08

     Second.

145. 0:51:08

     Any further discussion? All in favor say aye.

146. 0:51:14

     Aye.

147. 0:51:14

     Any opposed say no. All right, your bill passes. Thank you very much.

148. 0:51:20

     Thank you, sir.

149. 0:51:20

     All right, we are going to be adjourned, and we will meet back in room 406 in 15 minutes to, uh, have the joint meeting with the Techno- Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee. Thank y'all.