Georgia CommonsHouse Rules Committee, February 18, 2026
2025-2026 Regular Session · 341 CAP · 39 min
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.
The video is the General Assembly's, played from its Vimeo channel. Select any time below to play that moment. Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Agenda
Summary
Written by an AI model (gpt-6.1-sol) from the transcript. It is not part of the record, and the video is what was said.
The committee heard presentations on HB 1113, HR 1113 and HB 320, then handled committee referrals and set the day's floor calendar. It returned HB 18 to Health, HB 949 to Technology and Infrastructure, and HB 1191 to Motor Vehicles without stated opposition. The chair corrected a mistaken reference to HB 966. The committee placed eight listed bills on the floor calendar without stated opposition: HB 419, HB 541, HB 943, HB 964, HB 970, HB 1096, HB 1182 and HB 1202. A reference to HB 97 did not lead to a clear decision in the transcript. No vote was shown on the three bills presented at the start.
Bills discussed (16)
Each account covers the stretch of the meeting it names. The bill's number is said in that stretch, unless it was the only bill on a committee's agenda.
HB 1113. Georgia Defined Contribution Plan; exclude part-time students from membership
From 0:32:37 · turns 19 to 23
The sponsor said HB 1113 would exclude part-time students from the Georgia Defined Contribution Plan, extending an exclusion already available to full-time students. The sponsor described this as a small administrative change. A committee member asked whether the exclusion would cover work-study students, and the sponsor confirmed that it would. No vote was shown.
HR 1113. Congress; recognize chronic federal deficit spending as the root cause of inflation and long-term economic instability; urge
From 0:33:24 · turns 24 to 27
The sponsor said HR 1113 would urge Congress to develop a plan to balance the federal budget within 10 years. The sponsor argued that inflation was affecting families across the country and expressed hope that other states would join the effort. No questions or vote followed.
HB 320. Waste management; require recycling of solar panels
From 0:34:39 · turns 31 to 32
The presenter said HB 320 addresses recycling solar panels at the end of their useful life. Compared with the version presented the previous year, the presenter said a recent committee change removed some registry requirements placed on the department. The presenter asked for support. No questions or vote followed.
HB 18. Dual Enrollment Act; residency requirement for eligible students; provide
From 0:35:21 · turn 32
The committee approved returning HB 18 to the Health Committee without stated opposition. No discussion of the bill's contents occurred.
HB 949. Aviation; prohibit launch or intentional landing of unmanned aircraft systems from or on agricultural land
From 0:35:31 · turns 32 to 33
The committee approved returning HB 949 to the Technology and Infrastructure Committee without stated opposition. The chair explained that the committee referrals were intended to allow further work in committee rather than changes in the Rules Committee.
HB 966. Garden City, City of; mayor to fill any vacancy in the office of mayor pro tempore; provide
From 0:35:44 · turns 33 to 34
The chair initially announced that HB 966 would return to the Retirement Committee and declared the motion approved without opposition. After a committee member questioned the number, the chair said the reference was a mistake and identified a different bill as the intended subject. The transcript therefore does not show a final decision to return HB 966 to committee.
HB 1191. Motor vehicles; additional military medal awards eligible for special veteran license plates; provide
From 0:35:49 · turn 33
The committee approved returning HB 1191 to the Motor Vehicles Committee without stated opposition. The chair said the referrals would allow bills to be worked out in committee rather than through changes in the Rules Committee.
HB 419. Education; require possession of opioid antagonists by institutions within University System of Georgia
From 0:36:52 · turn 35
The committee placed HB 419 on the day's floor calendar under modified structured rules without stated opposition. There was no discussion of its contents.
HB 541. Education; tuition equalization grants; expand definition of an approved school to include certain institutions which offer programs in nursing
From 0:37:01 · turn 36
The committee placed HB 541 on the day's floor calendar without stated opposition. There was no discussion of its contents.
HB 943. Social services; establish a pilot program for autism spectrum disorder to children in foster care; provide
From 0:37:10 · turn 36
The committee placed HB 943 on the day's floor calendar without stated opposition. There was no discussion of its contents.
HB 964. Revenue and taxation; state and local title ad valorem tax fee; exempt certain motor vehicles used in fire protection services for local governments
From 0:37:18 · turn 36
The committee placed HB 964 on the day's floor calendar without stated opposition. There was no discussion of its contents.
HB 97. Community Health, Department of; expansion of Medicaid; provide
From 0:37:30 · turn 37
The chair mentioned HB 97 while setting the calendar, followed by an exchange about structured rules. The transcript does not show a motion or a clear decision to place this bill on the calendar.
HB 970. Quality Basic Education Act; expand which healthcare professionals may conduct preparticipation physical examinations
From 0:38:11 · turn 38
The committee placed HB 970 on the day's floor calendar under structured rules without stated opposition. There was no discussion of its contents.
HB 1096. Public Health, Department of; provide that if certain employees of a county board of health become employees of such department such employees will retain accrued annual and sick leave
From 0:38:19 · turns 39 to 40
The committee placed HB 1096 on the day's floor calendar without stated opposition. After a brief exchange about bill numbers and debate rules, the chair repeated the bill's identification and confirmed its placement. There was no discussion of its contents.
HB 1182. Agriculture; soil amendments; provide for additional prohibited acts
From 0:38:27 · turns 39 to 41
The committee placed HB 1182 on the day's floor calendar without stated opposition after a brief exchange about bill numbers and debate rules. There was no discussion of its contents.
HB 1202. Georgia Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Advisory Board; correct a scrivener's error in a cross-reference
From 0:39:01 · turns 41 to 42
The committee placed HB 1202 on the day's floor calendar without stated opposition. There was no discussion of its contents.
Official records of this meeting
- 2026 House Journal, pp. 702 to 734 (February 19, 2026)
Transcript
43 turns. Select a time to play that moment of the video.
- 0:27:27
Oh, we gotta send back.
- 0:28:52
Morning, everybody. We did a 250 unit? I didn't hear that one. I heard America first. Good morning, everybody. Good morning.
- 0:29:04
Good morning. Good morning. If you would, uh, we'll take our seats and we'll call the meeting to order. And we're gonna call on, uh, Dean Greene to open us up with a word of prayer this morning.
- 0:29:16
Father, pray. Almighty God, as we come before you, let us realize that we are servants of the people. Let us realize that we are here to do good. And Father, we just pray for thy blessings upon us as we go about the business of the people. And Father, we thank you for the opportunity to serve the people of the state of Georgia. Father, we ask you to bless our rules chairman and the members here as we make those decisions today.
- 0:29:49
Be with us and guide us and direct us. And Lord, we just thank you for the opportunity for you to carry us over those rough spots in our lives. And Father, we do have those rough spots. And Father, we ask you now to be with us and guide us and direct us in all things. In thy holy name we pray, amen.
- 0:30:08
Amen. Thank you, Dean. Now you know why I've called on him to g- do the prayer for us this morning. We all need a little extra help today. Uh, before we get started, I'd like to recognize some folks. Uh, Leader Hugley, I think you had a guest that you'd like to recognize.
- 0:30:25
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As you know, this is community health day, and we have the best FQHC in Columbus, Georgia, and Dr. Asante-Hilks is here, and we'd like to welcome her to our meeting.
- 0:30:37
W- wave your hand back there so we can recognize you. Okay.
- 0:30:47
Thank you. We're glad to have you visit with us today. Dean Greene.
- 0:30:52
Thank you, Mr., uh, Chairman. Members, I have a very special guest this morning. He's ha- His son is here paging. This is the probate judge of Sumter County, Michael Rogers. Michael.
- 0:31:07
Judge, stand up. Welcome.
- 0:31:14
Thank you.
- 0:31:15
Chairman Williamson.
- 0:31:16
Uh, thank you. Thank you, M- Mr. Chairman and the members of the committee. I have the oldest guest that is in attendance today. I would like y'all to, uh, recognize General George Washington's aide-de-camp, Mr. Chamberlain from Walton County. He's in the back of the room. But good, good to have you here.
- 0:31:34
Yeah.
- 0:31:40
Morning, General. Glad to have you visit with us today. Uh, I also have some guests, uh, visiting us today. Uh, uh, Benji Thompson's in the back with a group from Bulloch County up here today. And Benji, we're glad to have all you guys from Bulloch County visiting with us today. Hope you have a good day. Thank you for being here.
- 0:32:04
Okay, let's go ahead and we don't have any members against the wall this morning. How about any committee members have anything you want to...
- 0:32:15
Carter Barrett, actually wants to-
- 0:32:16
Oh, excuse me. Carter Barrett in the back. I didn't see you there. I'm sorry. Come on up to the podium.
- 0:32:27
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen. Uh, I have two items to present this morning. Uh, HP 1113, halfway down on the third page is, um, LC56-0501. Uh, Georgia House Bill 1113 proposes to amend the Georgia defined contribution plan by excluding part-time students. Uh, currently full-time students are already excluded. This extends that exclusion to part-time students, a small administrative change.
- 0:32:58
Oh, well, we do have a question. Uh, Leader Hugley, was that you?
- 0:33:02
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So I wanna make sure that I'm understanding. We're, we will be excluding people like work study students and like that? Is that what we're talking about?
- 0:33:13
Yes, ma'am. That's exactly right.
- 0:33:17
Okay. Don't see any other questions on that. You have another one also, Mr. Chairman.
- 0:33:21
Yes, sir. Uh, coincidentally, the other is HR 1113, uh, which is a funny coincidence to have two 1113s. Um, HR 1113 is, uh, LC number 650023. And HR 1113 is an urging resolution for the Congress of the United States to come up with a plan to balance the federal budget within 10 years. And, uh, this, anyone who knows me knows that I have a dr- a dragon made out of paper currency on my bookshelf.
- 0:33:55
I carry a silver dollar in my pocket everywhere I go from 1886, and I've been warning everybody I know about the, the perils of inflation for 15 years. And, and inflation is roiling every family in America today. And so I'm hoping that th- this body, uh, can, can lead the charge to other states to do the same, to encourage our friends in Washington, D.C. to come up with a plan to balance the budget.
- 0:34:22
Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you, sir.
- 0:34:25
Thank you.
- 0:34:25
Okay. Did we have any, uh, members of the committee?
- 0:34:30
I did.
- 0:34:30
Yeah. Trey
- 0:34:34
Thank you, Mr- thank you, Mr. Chairman. I bring forward the committee, uh, House Bill 320, LC443357A. I presented this last year. It deals with, uh, solar panel recycling at the end of their life, uh, cycle. We made a slight tweak, uh, in committee, uh, here recently from the bill last year to take away some of the, uh, registry re- registry requirements that have been placed on the department. That's the changes from last year, and I'd ask, uh, for support.
- 0:35:06
Okay. I don't see any questions. Thank you. Any other members? Okay. Let's do a little, uh, housekeeping here before we set a calendar. Um, do I hear a motion to recommit House Bill 18 back to Health? Moved. Second. I have a move and a second. Any opposition? It's back. Motion to recommit House Bill 949 back to Technology and Infrastructure?
- 0:35:37
Moved. Moved. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's back. Uh, House Bill, recommit House Bill 966 back to Retirement? Moved. Any opposition? It's back. House Bill 1191 back to Motor Vehicles? Moved. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's back. Okay. What we're trying to do is get these bills worked out in committee rather than having to do room substitutes, and we've got a little time, so we feel like that's probably the best way for us to do that.
- 0:36:12
Chairman Martin? Mr. Chairman, I just didn't see a 960. Did you mean 969? Sorry. Yes. I just thought you sounded 966. I couldn't find it on the sheet, so just wanted to make sure I had the right one. B- beg your pardon. 969. 969 instead of 966. 969. I misspoke. Any objection? Okay, it's back. Thank you. Okay, let's set a calendar for today, day 20.
- 0:36:49
Under modified structure, House Bill 419? Moved. Moved and seconded. Is there any opposition? It's on.
- 0:37:01
House Bill 541? Moved. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 943? Moved. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 964? Moved. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on.
- 0:37:30
House Bill 97- Structure. Structure. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Structure. Yeah, under structure. Okay.
- 0:38:07
Okay, we're set. That was structured. House Bill 970? Moved. Any opposition? It's on.
- 0:38:19
House Bill 1096? Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1182? That's under structure too. That's under structure. 1070. Hmm? 1070. 1070's under structure.
- 0:38:48
1096. 1096. Is there any opposition? It- it's on. 1182?
- 0:38:58
Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1202?
- 0:39:06
Moved. Moved and structure, uh, moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. Okay, that sets our calendar for today. We'll see you in the morning at 9:00. Thank you.