House Rules Committee, February 25, 2026

Transcript

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1. 0:24:01

   Morning, everybody.

2. 0:24:14

   Good morning, everyone. Hey, Buddy. Anything you want.

3. 0:24:28

   Morning, everybody.

4. 0:24:39

   Good morning, everyone. It's a great day in the neighborhood.

5. 0:25:00

   Good morning. Um, I'm gonna ask Dean Greene to open our meeting today. We'll call it to order and ask him to open with a word of prayer please, sir.

6. 0:25:12

   Thank you. Let us pray. Almighty God, as we come into thy presence this morning, we come with a servant's heart, knowing that thou knows the way that we should go, and Father, we pray that you will guide us and direct us. And Father, we thank you for the people of the state of Georgia, for its citizens, and Lord, we just thank you for the opportunity to serve them.

7. 0:25:43

   And Father, help us to make those right decisions. We have a huge responsibility. Be with us in these days that we are loaded with many decisions to make. Guide us and direct us, oh Lord. Forgive us of our sins and shortcomings, and be with us day by day. In thy holy name we pray, amen.

8. 0:26:04

   Thank you, Dean. Okay, folks, uh,

9. 0:26:11

   by my count, we've got about 150-plus bills that are up for consideration, and we've got a good many folks who are gonna be requesting bills today. So I, I really need to ask for your help and cooperation. Uh, when the members that want to present your bill, please, if you would, give us the page number and the bill number, and it makes it a lot easier and quicker for the members to thumb through there and find your bill. So if you'll work with us on that.

10. 0:26:43

    And then to the members, if you have questions, we certainly wanna let you ask your questions, but if you would, try to be succinct with it. And, uh, if we need to, maybe there'll be some questions offline, you might wanna have a conversation with the author a little later. But we wanna try to be fair to everybody, wanna listen to those who have requests and those who have questions, and so I'm just asking you to, uh, to work with me on that if you would. Okay, let's go ahead and we'll begin, uh, with Representative Ehrhart.

11. 0:27:22

    Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I present for your consideration HB1076, which is the second bill, second from the bottom on page three. HB1076 is a public safety bill with the purpose of protecting the lives and wellbeing of law enforcement officers as well as members of the general public. The bill would make it a felony to use a motor vehicle to knowingly obstruct, hinder, block, or otherwise interfere with the law enforcement officers in the discharge of their lawful duties. The reason for carving out obstruction with a motor vehicle from the general obstruction code is because of the dramatically enhanced risk of danger and personal injury associated with using a 4,000-pound vehicle to obstruct or block an active, uh, law enforcement operation.

12. 0:28:03

    Mr. Chairman, that is the bill, and I ask for the committee's favorable consideration.

13. 0:28:07

    Thank you. Don't see any questions.

14. 0:28:09

    Thank you.

15. 0:28:09

    Thank you. Representative Huddleston.

16. 0:28:17

    Yeah.

17. 0:28:21

    I am s- uh, speaking on House Bill 942, LC443245. It's not in the book, but I got a call from the speaker's office last night, and they said for me to come to Rules.

18. 0:28:35

    What's... Give me the number again, please.

19. 0:28:37

    House Bill 942.

20. 0:28:44

    It's not on there.

21. 0:28:46

    It's on the general calendar.

22. 0:28:49

    Do you see it?

23. 0:28:50

    Yeah, it's on the yellow sheet.

24. 0:28:52

    Yeah. It, it's still on the general calendar, but since you're here, give us a quick description please.

25. 0:28:58

    Okay. Thank you. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is located, for the past 80 years, in Clayton County. Clayton County, however, has not been able to, uh, uh, to get, collect taxes, and so this bill would allow us to be able to take taxes, uh, collect taxes for property, on public, public property-

26. 0:29:22

    Yeah

27. 0:29:22

    ... in the, at the airport.

28. 0:29:26

    Okay. Thank you.

29. 0:29:27

    And that... Okay. That's the bill.

30. 0:29:29

    Okay.

31. 0:29:29

    I hope that I get to pass it. Thank you.

32. 0:29:33

    Okay.

33. 0:29:36

    Oh.

34. 0:29:36

    Yes, ma'am. That's good. Thank you. No questions.

35. 0:29:38

    Oh, okay.

36. 0:29:38

    Yeah.

37. 0:29:41

    Chairman Camp. You can go ahead and do it. He done the introduction. Go ahead, Beth.

38. 0:29:50

    Good morning, Mr. Chairman and committee. Um, today I bring HB1138, and we are looking at LC461474S. It is on page four. It's about seven from the bottom on page four of the blue sheet. This bill allows pharmacists, who are highly trained healthcare professionals, to provide certain contraceptions directly. Um, for those with limited access to a physician, this simply means timely, convenient care.

39. 0:30:21

    It does not replace the role of the doctor. It just expands access and gives patients more options to contraception.

40. 0:30:31

    Pro Tem has a question.

41. 0:30:33

    Please, uh, tell us, Madam Chair, what was changed in committee on, in the bill?

42. 0:30:39

    Yes, um, let me see. Let me grab the bill here.

43. 0:30:44

    Civil liability was removed. Let me find the line number where it was removed. This is a substitute. Um, it was amended in committee. Civil liability, yes. Um... Oh, gracious. I'm looking. Here we go. Um, line 163, um, it, before, it said, um, "Is not subject to civil liability or criminal culpability or professional discipline." Um, and I believe that appeared in one other location and also in the description.

44. 0:31:24

    Excuse me. Do you mean immunity from civil liability or do you mean civil liability?

45. 0:31:29

    Well, the, the purpose of this is the pharmacist would not be held liable if they followed the protocol set forth by the Medical Composite Board. Um, so that, they were acting under the, the scope of the protocol. If they veered from that protocol, they would be liable for everything. But as long as they stayed in that scope, it provided protection, um, and umbrella protection, much like it, what, um, pharmacists receive for other vaccines.

46. 0:31:56

    And is that what was removed?

47. 0:31:57

    Yes, that was removed. Thank you very much.

48. 0:32:00

    Okay, don't see any other questions. Thank you.

49. 0:32:03

    Thank you so much.

50. 0:32:08

    Yes, ma'am, come on up. But-

51. 0:32:10

    Yep

52. 0:32:11

    ... hold it just one second. Before you do that, uh, Representative Williams, calling you to make an introduction.

53. 0:32:19

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members, we have some distinguished guests with us this morning. Today is Liberty County Fort Stewart Day, and we have the command from Fort Stewart led by Brigadier General Lucas Bradley, I'm sorry. Brigadier General Bradley. General Lucas is in Poland, who is the, the Deputy Commanding General. We have Colonel Weaver, who is the Garrison Commander, and we have the chaplain of the day who will deliver the word in no less than 30 minutes, and- We're certainly glad to have each of you here with us in the Rules Committee.

54. 0:32:59

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

55. 0:33:08

    Thank y'all. We're glad to have you visiting with us today and appreciate the important work that you do for this country and your service. Thank you very much. Yes, ma'am, go ahead.

56. 0:33:17

    Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, distinguished guests. I'm here on House Bill 1283, LC481779S.

57. 0:33:30

    Oh, I'm sorry, page six, middle of the page.

58. 0:33:33

    1283, page six.

59. 0:33:38

    HB1283 is both a victim safety bill and a law enforcement safety bill. It creates a statutory framework for family justice centers, co-located centers where survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and human trafficking access law enforcement, prosecution counseling, and legal services under one roof. Domestic violence calls account for set 29% of officer line-of-duty deaths. Where family justice centers exist in other states, domestic violence homicides have dropped as much as 90%.

60. 0:34:12

    When victims have a safe place to go sooner, it saves their lives and it saves law enforcement lives. This is not a mandate. It creates no new state agency. It simply gives communities the legal, the legal framework to do, and the oversight to do this correctly. Thank you.

61. 0:34:28

    Thank you. I don't see any questions. Thank you, ma'am. Senator Kirkpatrick, come on up.

62. 0:34:36

    Thank you, Mr. Chair. Happy to be back in the House Rules Committee for the first time this year. Hopefully not the last. Uh, this is Senate Bill 383. It's on page eight, near the bottom of the page. And this is an agency bill for GBI, and it relates to the Child Fatality Review Commission. The purpose of this is to reduce child fatalities by focusing on whether certain, child deaths are preventable and by providing recommendations for the reduction of future child deaths.

63. 0:35:09

    It clarifies the responsibilities and functions of the review committees, moderni- modernizes outdated technology and terminology, and provides realistic timelines so that we can better understand and analyze child deaths in the state. Thank you.

64. 0:35:25

    Okay, don't see any questions. Thank you, ma'am.

65. 0:35:30

    Thank you.

66. 0:35:30

    Yes, ma'am, come on up.

67. 0:35:37

    Good morning, Mr. Chair and committee. Uh, today I present HB1390. It can be found on page seven, uh, sixth from the top. This is a public safety bill that focuses on reckless stunt driving. Also can be known as drag racing. This is a problem not just in the city of Atlanta, but in the state of Georgia. And what this bill does is focuses on the vehicle as the vessel, and would allow, when a person is arrested and convicted, uh, of a violation, that the car could be considered as contraband and declared an, as contraband.

68. 0:36:16

    The intention of this bill is to create an additional layer of deterrence from reckless stunt driving and drag racing.

69. 0:36:23

    I have a question.

70. 0:36:24

    Have a question, Representative Lewis. Go ahead, Secretary. Kelley.

71. 0:36:29

    Thank you, Mr ... Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Representative Willis-

72. 0:36:33

    Yes, sir

73. 0:36:33

    ... uh, thank you for bringing the legislation. I've certainly seen, uh, this as an issue in Atlanta when we were up here for session, and it looks like we're ... I mean, this is, feels like civil asset forfeiture. Is, can they not currently seize these vehicles through civil asset forfeiture?

74. 0:36:51

    So currently, there are asset forfeiture procedures in place. Specifically, there is a, um, hold harmless clause right now. So if the driver is young, for example, and the title is in a parent's name, for example, uh, there will be notification to the parent, and then a warning the second time the car could be, uh, seized. However, this bill specifically, instead of focusing on the behavior, focuses on the vehicle as the asset, and under the first offense, once convicted, if arrested and convicted, then the car could be seized.

75. 0:37:26

    It adds a extra layer of protection for, um, deterrence, but also, they could also use this existing process to get their car back, but this is just specific to drag racing.

76. 0:37:37

    Follow-up, Mr. Chairman, if I can. Uh, what happens if they get rid of the vehicle before they are prosecuted?

77. 0:37:44

    What happens if they get rid of the vehicle before they are prosecuted?

78. 0:37:48

    Before they're adjudicated by, before the final adjudication.

79. 0:37:51

    Well, currently, if they get rid of the car, currently someone can be arrested for this, come out, and go get their car out of the impound lot. So there's a quick turnaround currently. This is an additional layer just to add the deterrence. If they get rid of the vehicle, uh, before they are convicted, then, you know, the, the-

80. 0:38:11

    I like what you're trying to do. I think we gotta put more a- you know, tools in our, you know, prosecutor's hands for this. Maybe we can talk offline to, to make sure we're on the same page.

81. 0:38:19

    Okay.

82. 0:38:19

    Thank you.

83. 0:38:20

    Whip Burchett.

84. 0:38:21

    And Mr. Chairman, if I may, I also have HR-

85. 0:38:24

    Wait just a minute. We got a, got another question for you.

86. 0:38:26

    Oh, sorry.

87. 0:38:26

    Hold it just one second please, ma'am.

88. 0:38:28

    Thank you for bringing the bill.

89. 0:38:29

    Yes, sir.

90. 0:38:29

    Um, isn't it true that the bill removes the requirement that there have to be a prior conviction, uh, to go ahead and take the asset? Is that right?

91. 0:38:39

    Yes, sir.

92. 0:38:40

    All right. And then we had this discussion in committee with regard to, uh, the civil asset forfeiture provision, and, and in the, the original bill, or the original version, wasn't it that, um, upon arrest, what was it, arrest? Uh, being charged and arrested that the civil asset forfeiture can move forward. Wasn't that correct?

93. 0:39:00

    Yes, that was the original language.

94. 0:39:02

    And then fo- uh, following up, there was some consternation or concern that you might be civil, you might have a civil asset forfeiture before, um, someone is adjudicated, and, uh, that's why the language was changed. Is that correct?

95. 0:39:16

    Yes, sir, in committee.

96. 0:39:16

    All right. Thank you for bringing the bill.

97. 0:39:18

    Thank you.

98. 0:39:18

    Okay, have one last question. Representative Evans.

99. 0:39:22

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative Willis, just to follow up on the last two points, 'cause I know it's confusing to think about, for the committee to think about the interplay between civil forfeiture and this, which is declaring it contraband, which is different. The civil forfeiture action, isn't it true we don't touch it, but this, to get, to get the car declared as contraband, you have to have an arrest and a conviction? So there's not gonna be a situation where something's gonna happen to the car under this bill before a conviction, 'cause you have to have a conviction first.

100. 0:39:51

     Yes, ma'am.

101. 0:39:51

     Thank you for bringing the bill.

102. 0:39:52

     Yes, ma'am.

103. 0:39:54

     Okay. Uh, Representative Willis, you said you had one other, too, please?

104. 0:39:58

     Yes, sir, HR 952.

105. 0:40:00

     Excuse me?

106. 0:40:01

     HR 952. I'm sorry? Oh, page seven, fourth from the bottom.

107. 0:40:07

     HR 952. Okay.

108. 0:40:09

     Yes, sir. Same page. Fourth from the bottom.

109. 0:40:14

     Go ahead. Yes, ma'am.

110. 0:40:14

     Yes, sir. This is, uh, HR 952, asking for a house study committee on risks associated with hair straightening products and healthcare outcomes.

111. 0:40:23

     Yeah. Ho- hold on a minute, guys. It's, we're having difficulty hearing. Uh, just give us that again. Just speak right into the mic and help us hold the noise down, please. Thank you.

112. 0:40:36

     Yes, sir. Again, this is House Resolution 952, uh, requesting a study committee on risks associated with hair straightening products and healthcare outcomes.

113. 0:40:46

     Okay. Don't see any more questions. Thank you.

114. 0:40:48

     Thank you, sir.

115. 0:40:53

     Yes, ma'am, come on up. Give us the page number and then the bill number. That'll make it move quicker.

116. 0:40:57

     Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're on page two, third from the top, HB 626.

117. 0:41:05

     HB 26 extends the retention period of rape kits taken after sexual assaults when the victim chooses not to immediately report that assault to police. Right now, that evidence can be disposed of after 12 months. Um, we want to extend it to 30 years to bring it in line with how we keep, keep all, uh, assault kits.

118. 0:41:27

     Okay. Don't, don't see any questions. Thank you.

119. 0:41:30

     Thank you.

120. 0:41:32

     Representative Buckner.

121. 0:41:35

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, page three, sixth from the bottom, HB 1058. Um, I bring this on behalf of the request from the Methodist Home for Children. This piece of legislation simply amends the code to allow employees to voluntarily designate the nonprofit for which they work as the beneficiary of their employer-sponsored life insurance policy.

122. 0:42:03

     Okay. Don't, don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Representative Au.

123. 0:42:11

     Good morning. Um, I'm bringing to you HB326. It's on the first page, uh, one bill down from the middle hole punch. Maybe easier to find than counting. Uh, this is the Non-Opioid Coverage Parity Act. Uh, this bill directly results from the study committee in 2024 on alternatives to opioids for pain management, chaired by Chair Lady Dempsey. Uh, what this bill aims to do is to require that the State Health Benefit Plan cover non-opioid based pain medications at rates no less favorable than they cover opioid-based pain medications.

124. 0:42:42

     And the problem it's aiming to solve is this: sometimes providers may develop a prescription bias towards opioid-based pain meds simply because a patient's health insurance may not cover a newer, non-opioid based pain med at the same rate. And we know that even a short course of opioid use, um, as short as three to five days, can increase a patient's risk for addiction and dependence. So what we're trying to do is mitigate that risk if appropriate alternatives are available. Okay. Uh, Chair Lady Dempsey has a question. Yeah, I just wanna... Excuse me.

125. 0:43:12

     I just thank you for bringing it. I know you were on the study committee and understand, and also understand where the department is on this bill particularly. But doesn't the first line of this say it's a mandate?

126. 0:43:26

     So your question is, is it a mandate? Is it? It does say, in your language, it says it's a mandate. That it requires the State Health Benefit Plan to- No, it says mandate. Okay. Isn't that in the language? I just wanna make sure. Is that still in there? Uh, yes. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Uh, Speaker Pro Tem. Thank you. I had a couple questions. So it- can you give an example of a non... You would know better- Yes ... than any of us. What is a non-opioid- Speaking to my opinion. So I'm gonna give one example that directly informed this legislation. There is a newer local anesthetic that is a long-acting local anesthetic because it's a time release, right?

127. 0:44:01

     And it works very well, in particular for total joint replacements. I'm sure Dr. Kirkpatrick can talk about that. But, um, it really obviates the need for as much, um, Percocet, for example, after surgery. However, because it's a newer pain medication, some insurance companies will only cover it at the rate that they cover the older version. So what ends up happening is either the patient has to pay the balance, which is a couple hundred bucks, or the f- the, uh, the facility, be it the outpatient surgery center or the hospital, has to eat that cost, right? However, it works so well that some patients getting a total knee replacement, as Dr., um, Newton can attest, don't need any opioids at all, right?

128. 0:44:37

     So it's, you can see it's a clearly, um, good alternative for patients, but when it's not covered, it makes people loathe to prescribe it or use it because of the cost. Thank you. Okay, no other questions. Thank you. Thank you. Chair Lady Silcox.

129. 0:44:54

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I bring to you, um, it's on page four. It's House Bill 1137. It is eight from the bottom of the page, and this bill is simply extending an existing 1%, um, sales tax for 10 years for MARTA. Okay.

130. 0:45:18

     Thank you, ma'am. Don't see any questions.

131. 0:45:22

     Come on up. Good morning, Mr. Chair. Representative Barnes presenting HR752. It's on page seven towards the bottom. It's to create a study committee for, uh, cosmetology and barber schools to understand, uh, the needs, conditions, and challenges facing them and, uh, the workforce pipeline in our state. Thank you, Representative Barnes. Don't see any questions. Thank you.

132. 0:45:53

     Thank you. Senator, am I seeing double?

133. 0:45:57

     Mr. Chairman, I'm back. I missed one of my bills on the blue sheet. Okay, go ahead. On page eight, Senate Bill 160, and this has to do with the very dangerous activity of reckless stunt driving. And what it allows is the use of a new technology called, well, it's not that new, ISAs, which are intelligence speed assistance devices, which are like a governor on a car. And so it allows a pathway for someone with a license suspended by a conviction for reckless stunt driving to apply for a permit that would require one of these devices to be placed on the vehicle, and it matches very closely the ignition interlock law that we already have.

134. 0:46:44

     Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. You. Question. Comment. Oh. Okay, go ahead. Good morning. Go ahead, sir. Good morning, Chairman, and, uh, members of the committee. I have HB1024. Um, it's middle of page three. This, uh, bill has to do with homestead exemptions in a bankruptcy case. Um, it has not been, uh, updated for about 11 years. So when you file bankruptcy, there are certain assets that you can keep.

135. 0:47:16

     And so currently, you can keep up to $21,500 of your equity in a home, uh, or $43,000 if it's titled jointly. Um, what this bill will do is increase that to $50,000 for individual and $100,000 for a joint, um, a joint titled home. Um, this is for, uh, debtors who file bankruptcy who are current on their mortgage. So if they're not current on their mortgage, they're most likely not gonna be able to keep their home or be on a payment plan where they have to pay it back anyways.

136. 0:47:54

     Um, so this is for mostly people who are filing bankruptcy, who are current on their mortgage, who want to be able to keep their property. Don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you.

137. 0:48:08

     Yes, ma'am

138. 0:48:12

     Good morning, Chair. Good morning, members of the committee. Uh, let me direct you to page five, HB1221, middle of the page. Uh, this is a bill that will protect consumers in the home association, homeowners association context. Uh, it's to bring homeowner association law in line with the standards in foreclosure law, um, and other debt collection law. Basically, what the bill does is if a homeowner fails to make a homeowners association payment, it provides that the homeowners association must give notice, uh, to the homeowner, uh, and a 30-day opportunity to cure.

139. 0:48:45

     Uh, to the extent there is any kind of litigation, all attorneys' fees, uh, must be reasonable that they wanna collect from the homeowner. Um, that's what the bill does. Thank you, ma'am. Don't see any questions. All right. Thank you.

140. 0:49:04

     Yes, ma'am, go ahead. Uh, good morning, Chairman and Committee. I am presenting House Bill 1397, which is in, on page seven towards the center.

141. 0:49:23

     I'm sorry, 1392. Forgive me, it's my first time in Rules. 1392? Yes, sir. Okay. Page seven, 1392. Yes, it's towards the, the center. Um, so this bill, uh, reduces the outdated on-site casket requirement from eight to four, reflecting the families today often make their selection from catalogs or display options. Um, this is going to help small funeral homes as well as rural funeral homes, and it still protects the consumer protections.

142. 0:49:56

     Can you clarify? There was a subcommittee substitute that was, um, provided, and it reduced it from eight to one. Okay, got a question for you. Representative Williams?

143. 0:50:09

     Yes.

144. 0:50:10

     You waive? Okay.

145. 0:50:14

     Don't see any other questions. Thank you. Thank you.

146. 0:50:21

     Jim Reilly, go ahead.

147. 0:50:25

     Thank you. Uh, page six, uh, third from the bottom, House Bill 1324. Um, and this is, there's currently whenever the president did the big beautiful bill, um, suppressors, the, they had a $250 tax stamp on 'em was taken off. Now, there's a lawsuit that's been filed. Uh, they're currently under the National Firearms Act. With th- if this lawsuit's filed, it'll remove them from that. So all we're doing is setting up, um, statute in the State of Georgia to house those under, under the state.

148. 0:51:00

     Okay, got a question. Butch Parks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is there any law enforcement agency that supports this bill that would make it easier for criminals to get gun silencers? Well, it'd be really hard for them to get an onsi- get a silencer, because you have to go through a background check even if you buy one. Then even though you've been approved, you have to wait three days. You have to have a trust to transfer it in somebody else's name, like if you have a son or somebody you want to be able to keep it. It's got a serial number that's hooked directly to you. It can't ever be sold. Um, so it, it would, it'd be hard for anybody to really get one unless they stole one, I guess.

149. 0:51:32

     S- so are there any law enforcement officer, uh, organizations that support this bill? Um, I haven't really asked, but all of them support su- suppressors 'cause most of them use them for hunting. Thank you. Okay. Representative Evans, you have a question? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative, um, w- what is the utility of a silencer- So what a- ... for an everyday person on the street? Okay. Well, for examp- I'll use a great example. If you have a firing range close to you or you got neighbors, like out in the country where we shoot guns, this right here just quietens them down.

150. 0:52:05

     It's not like on the movies where it's really quiet. It just quietens them some, um, where it's not so loud. That's the whole purpose of them. Was there any consideration, then? I can appreciate that neighbors, um, though I feel like most of these gun ranges are built sort of out away from homes. But if that was the concern, was there any discussion in committee, or would you be open to, um, limiting silencer use in gun ranges so that we don't have to worry about them being used on the street to sneak up on victims of domestic violence or to otherwise keep police from finding perpetrators?

151. 0:52:39

     No. W- well, we use them hunting a lot. Uh, whenever we're hunting, uh, hogs or deer, you can use them there where it's not so loud because, like you said, used to, everything used to be out from everything, but now you've got home, homes that's moved in closer. And so it's just a, I mean, everybody's always just used them kind of quieting them down. I mean, if you fire off a high-powered rifle, it's really loud, and if you hunt, you can't use ear protection because then you can't hear stuff coming. So that's the whole reason we use them. Um, so I mean, that's, they've always been accepted here in the State of Georgia.

152. 0:53:10

     They've always been, uh, legal. Um, now it don't take anything away from that. If you get caught with one that you're not supposed to have, it's a 10-year, uh, prison sentence and $250,000 fine u- under federal charges. Well, what about, h- was there consideration, understanding the hunting example, though I would certainly want to prioritize victims of domestic violence over hog hunters. But i- if that is the concern, was there any discussion about limiting to the, to the use during hunting and at gun ranges only? I haven't, no. I, I didn't- Would you be opposed to that?

153. 0:53:41

     Uh, probably so. And why? Just- Well, just because I don't think I ought to be able to just own a gun just to hunt and certain things with it. I mean, if I want to go out and shoot clay with it, or I want to go out and hunt, or, I mean, I think I should be able to use it for protection. I think that there's some- But we're talking about the silencer only, not the gun. Well, I know, but I mean, you're, that's what I'm saying. I don't want, you're limiting one, one thing. You might as, I mean, the gun's not limited, so why would you limit something that's attached to the gun? Well- Okay ... for, for protection of victims, but thank you.

154. 0:54:11

     Okay. We've got several questions. We're gonna take a couple more, and then if we don't get to everybody, we'll have a little discussion offline. How about that? Representative Williams Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Quick question. I don't know very much about the parts. In Savannah, Georgia, they have detection equipment where they can hear gunshots and rush to the scene of a crime. My first part of this question is, will that affect their ability?

155. 0:54:43

     Secondly, all the school shootings I've seen, it helps law enforcement to hear the gunshots and direct toward the perpetrator. Will that lower that? No, you'll still be able to hear it. It just quietens it down a little bit. It's, it's still loud. Um, like I said, it's not like on the movies where you just hear a little, it sounds like a pellet gun. It's still really loud. So you'll still be able to hear the gunshots. Um, so I don't, I mean, I've heard that, somebody asked me about that before. You'll still be able to hear it just fine.

156. 0:55:16

     Chairman Stephens. Uh, just to be clear, these are not silencers. These things are loud. Uh, they just take a little of the edge off of, and you'll still be able to hear the, uh, the things that pick it up will still be able to pick them up. That's exactly right. It just won't pierce your eardrum. That's exactly right. Yeah. Leader Huguley, do you have a question? You waved. Okay. No more questions. Thank you. Okay. And I got one more bill. Okay. On page seven, House Bill 1362.

157. 0:55:46

     Um, what this bill does is it sets into law, I think, something that's really good and ethical for all of us to, um, to believe in. Uh, if you're a constitutional law or statewide officer, uh, elected official, um, you cannot have state contracts or federal contracts. Uh, it's kind of putting the fox in front of the henhouse. Uh, and that's all that bill does. Okay. Don't, don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Wait, I'm sorry. Wait just a minute. There is a question.

158. 0:56:17

     I didn't see the light. Thank you. Thank you. Chairman Petrie. Um, thank you. When does this go into effect? Um, currently the way it is, when, uh, upon the governor's signature. Okay. Our bills normally go in effect on July 1st. Is this trying to influence and keep anybody that has not announced they're running from running? I don't think so. I mean, I'm just- Because I think by the time we get out, we're all, everybody's gonna already gonna be qualified already anyway. All right. Okay. Okay. Just wanna make sure. Okay. Thank you. No more questions.

159. 0:56:47

     Thank you. Representative Franklin.

160. 0:56:54

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My, my bill is the fourth one down on the first page. It's House Bill 158. Currently, what, uh, the situation is now when you file for a corporation in, in, uh, Georgia, it goes to the secretary of state. You can go in that database and find information on it. But if you file a trade name or doing business as, it's required that you file it in the county that they're, that the company does business in. So that means if you wanna find or research that, you have to go to every 159 counties in Georgia to be able to look that up, that information up.

161. 0:57:25

     This bill doesn't change any of that, but it just requires that the county, the clerk, send it to the, uh, the, uh, superior court clerk's corporate authority to be able to house it there so that it's one stop place that you can go look up the trade names or doing business as. No money changes. The clerks still get their $15 from filing admin fees and all that. The only thing is it just adds that one spot to look it up. That's all the bill does. Okay, no questions. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Chairman Petrie.

162. 0:57:54

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We're on page nine, six bills down, HB 1085. This is substitute 1085. This measure very simply takes current statutory tax credits for ins- incentive tax credits and job tax credits and makes them transferable expressly for forestry manufacturing. This is a targeted, well-researched bill to deal with the, uh, uh, cascading losses of mills related to forestry manufacturing in Georgia.

163. 0:58:32

     That very simply describes the bill. Mr. Chairman, glad to take any questions. Thank you, sir. I don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Yes, sir.

164. 0:58:44

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To the committee, I'm gonna be speaking today on, uh, House Bill 874. This is on page nine. It's at the top of the page. It will be LC443451S. Uh, this bill is, uh, known as the Georgia Taxpayers Privacy Protection Act. This piece of legislation is aimed at enhancing taxpayer privacy in property tax records. The bill would prohibit the disclosure of taxpayers' telephone numbers when property tax records are sold, transferred, or shared to third parties. The intent of it is to protect personal contact infor- information from being publicly exposed or misused while still allowing government agencies, uh, to use the data internally for their tax administration.

165. 0:59:26

     Okay. Thank you, Representative Huddleston. Don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Chairman, come on up.

166. 0:59:35

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. Uh, House Bill 1305, it is four up from the bottom on page six. Uh, this bill would enable the licensure of home inspectors and home inspection companies throughout the state. They are currently unlicensed, and, uh, they're inspecting the work of a lot of general contractors and tradespeople who are required to be licensed. And so it would provide for, uh, public protections and, and give them some recourse and require insurance for these inspectors.

167. 1:00:06

     Okay. No, no questions, Chairman. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, sir, Representative Townsend. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is, uh, page eight, bottom of the page, HB 565. This is peach tax credit. Basically, it just ups the allowed amount to twen- 25 million and caps it out there, up from 15. Quite a few s- public schools are using this for literacy projects. Career Academy's using it to enhance their programs like big, heavy machinery and construction and areas like that. So this is a win for education.

168. 1:00:37

     Okay, no questions. Thank you, sir.

169. 1:00:39

     Thank you.

170. 1:00:41

     Chairman Gunter.

171. 1:00:45

     Thank you, members. I have House Bill, uh, 1201. It's the seventh down on page five. Uh, this bill, this bill simply updates the requirement that smoke detectors installed in new homes meet, uh, the ninth edition of the UL 217 standard language or later. Currently, law already requires smoke detectors to be installed in new residential developments in construction, uh, but these devices, uh, today aren't necessarily certified to the most standard current UL 217 safety standard. Happy to answer any questions.

172. 1:01:15

     Okay. Don't, don't see any questions.

173. 1:01:18

     Thank you.

174. 1:01:18

     Thank you, sir.

175. 1:01:22

     Representative Reeves, come on up.

176. 1:01:24

     Thank you, Chairman Parrish, members of the Rules Committee. I have two insurance bills on page six and a few other bills. Uh, the first insurance bill on page six is House Bill 1344. This is the product of the House Blue Ribbon Insurance Rate Study Committee appointed by Speaker John Burns to make insurance more affordable for hardworking Georgians, and it has a number of provisions such as increasing fines on insurance companies, cracking down on insurance fraud, enforcing uninsured motorist laws more vigorously, and, uh, having all information considered by the insurance commissioner when reviewing rates, including violations and misconduct, and it also improves claims and storm processing.

177. 1:02:03

     Glad to yield for questions.

178. 1:02:04

     Okay, I don't see any questions. You got another one?

179. 1:02:07

     Yes, uh, Chairman Parrish. House Bill 1274. Uh, this bill was requested by Insurance Commissioner John King during the work of the Blue Ribbon Insurance Rate Study Committee. This is the auto excess profits bill. Uh, this model comes from Florida and several other states. In Florida, it reduced insurance premiums by a billion dollars for one particular company. What this says is the line item in the insurance rate filings of anticipated profit, if a company underestimates that by 5% or more, uh, for three consecutive years, then they must file a rate decrease.

180. 1:02:40

     And what that does is that encourages the companies to be modest when they file the rates and pass on savings to consumers on the front end. And if they're caught, uh, exceeding it by 5%, they must file a rate decrease, and they'll face other penalties. Glad to yield for questions.

181. 1:02:55

     Okay.

182. 1:02:55

     Um, a few-

183. 1:02:56

     Don't see any questions on that bill.

184. 1:02:57

     A few more bills. Uh, House Bill five, or 1028 on page three. Request that to be recommitted to the House Judiciary Committee, the DA pay increase bill.

185. 1:03:09

     Give me that number again.

186. 1:03:10

     Uh, 1028, Chairman, on page three.

187. 1:03:17

     Okay.

188. 1:03:20

     And Mr. Chairman, uh, House Bill 1042 on page three, this came back from the Judiciary Committee after being recommitted. It added a subsection J on the judicial security real estate bill so that title examiners, uh, can review the records, uh, under safeguards to keep the judges safe.

189. 1:03:41

     Okay.

190. 1:03:41

     And two more bills that address the bureaucracy, uh, came out of Regulated Industries.

191. 1:03:48

     Go ahead, while you're here.

192. 1:03:49

     Tha- thank you, Chairman. Uh, House Bill 1254 on page four, uh, this was examined at length in Regulated Industries. This is a follow-up from the professional licensing bill last year, House Bill 579, which came out of the House Blue Ribbon, uh, Study Committee on Professional Licensing. The Secretary of State testified that that has expedited, uh, license, uh, processing and provided benefits to our licensees. There were three licensees taken out of the bill last year: geologists, auctioneers, hearing aid dispensers.

193. 1:04:21

     They were further studied by the governor's office, director of appointments, and deputy chief operating officer. This bill moves those, uh, two of those three, auctioneers and geologists, from a board to the Professional Licensing Division. It moves the hearing aid dispensers board to the audiologist board. It combines two boards into one with giving the hearing aid dispensers two seats. And then as to cemeteries, it moves them from a freestanding board to the Professional Licensing Division. This conforms to other states and streamlines government.

194. 1:04:55

     Okay, I don't see any questions.

195. 1:04:56

     And one final bill. Uh, House-

196. 1:04:59

     We, we're gonna set aside a day for you.

197. 1:05:02

     I, I'm, I think I'm close to being done, uh, once we look after the DAs and Judiciary.

198. 1:05:06

     You are. I believe you do.

199. 1:05:06

     House Bill 1247 on page five. Uh, this is the codification of the Georgia Supreme Court's, uh, decision in Eternal Vigilance Action and Raffensperger versus Jackson. It codifies the non-delegation doctrine.

200. 1:05:21

     Okay, hold on. We got a question. Whip Parks.

201. 1:05:26

     Thank you, Mr., thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, to the author of the bill, um, wouldn't this essentially, um, uh, replace the judgment of the subject matter expertise with the judge? And would it not increase the ability for activist judges to essentially undermine well-studied rules and regulations in a variety of industries across the state?

202. 1:05:45

     Whip Park, it would not, for one reason. This pertains to legal matters only, and here in the 250th anniversary of America, it ensures that elected officials make the law, judges interpret the law, and the executive branch spend 100% of its time carrying out the law and not making new law. No fourth branch of government, only three, with the people making the law, judges interpreting the law, and this pertains to legal matters. Subsection B, I added it, uh, for the petition for review for factual findings, subject matter factual findings. That is not part of this law.

203. 1:06:15

     That is exempted.

204. 1:06:16

     Thank you.

205. 1:06:16

     This is legal matters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

206. 1:06:20

     Whip got another question. Representative Evans, do you have a question?

207. 1:06:25

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Representative. Um, I, I ha- uh, the, the court decision is the court decision, and the judges are gonna have to follow the court decision because it's the Georgia Supreme Court, and then there's also the Chevron decision, and so obviously those are laws. Um, I'm concerned that this goes further than those. Um, and my, my main concern is- While we don't want, while I don't think any judge would ever just say, "This is what the agency says, and so this is what I say," but are we, I'm concerned we're taking away, and can you explain to me why I perhaps shouldn't be concerned that we're taking away a judge's ability to even, um, consider, um, and, and weigh in his, his or her mind perha- perhaps a little bit higher than, um, you know, the absence of information, what, what might come out of an agency?

208. 1:07:13

     Why do we wanna take away a judge's ability to decide what weight to put on, um, agency interpretation, agency expertise, agency opinions?

209. 1:07:22

     On agency opinions on scientific or factual matters, those are exempted. This is the law. If you have a constitution, a statute, a regulation, some sort of a regulatory document, uh, the citizens of Georgia would be on a level playing field with agencies in arguing to the judge what the interpretation of the law should be. But it remains the province of the judge under this bill and under the non-delegation doctrine in Georgia law, which has been around, but it was clearly stated recently by courts, and we wanna put it in code so that the entire state bureaucracy and the 11 million citizens of Georgia can have a clear reading of three branches of government, not four.

210. 1:07:59

     But you don't want to limit the judge's ability to consider agency opinion-

211. 1:08:04

     Oh, yeah

212. 1:08:05

     ... do you?

213. 1:08:05

     The, um, and Representative Evans, they certainly can consider it, but they're considering two sides, and the judges get to make the interpretation. They are not, uh, delegating, uh, the legislature and the judges are not delegating to the agencies. The judges are interpreting the law based on two presentations and not having a thumb on the scales against the citizens of Georgia.

214. 1:08:26

     Okay. Thank you.

215. 1:08:27

     Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

216. 1:08:30

     Kelley, wait, wait just a minute. I got another, I got another question. Hold on. Representative Kelley.

217. 1:08:34

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative Reeves, I just wanna clear that up, too, because I, I do wanna make sure our judges have the opportunity to consider, uh, all the information they feel relevant. But you don't have anywhere in here that says they cannot consider. It just says, "Shall not defer."

218. 1:08:49

     Absolutely. They can consider.

219. 1:08:51

     Shall not defer.

220. 1:08:51

     That's right.

221. 1:08:51

     That means to blindly follow.

222. 1:08:54

     That's right.

223. 1:08:55

     Thank you. They can still consider it.

224. 1:08:56

     Absolutely.

225. 1:08:57

     Thank you.

226. 1:09:00

     Thank you, sir.

227. 1:09:01

     Thank you.

228. 1:09:03

     Representative Douglas, come on up, buddy.

229. 1:09:06

     I promise I don't have 10 bills.

230. 1:09:08

     Thank you.

231. 1:09:08

     I only have one.

232. 1:09:09

     Thank you.

233. 1:09:12

     One day.

234. 1:09:12

     One day, yes. I am on page four, seven down. HB 1122, and it's basically a, um, a one-time test. It is called a PAD test, and PAD stands for, uh, peripheral artery disease, which is known as the silent killer in our arteries. It's from, uh, it's for our lower extremities in our body. For anybody that has, um, uh, this is to help prevent amputations and for people losing limbs.

235. 1:09:45

     And our veterans are, are, um, I had a meeting with a vete- veteran this morning, and it prevents them from losing a limb, and their quality of life is already at a low level coming back from the war, and this, this helps them keep their quality of life.

236. 1:10:05

     Don't see any questions. Thank you, sir.

237. 1:10:07

     Thank you. Thank you, committee.

238. 1:10:09

     Tim Smith.

239. 1:10:12

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. If you'll look on page five, fourth down from the top, you'll see 1196, House Bill 1196, and this would update Georgia law by providing for criminal trespass for someone who knowingly causes a foreign object to enter an animal enclosure, and if someone were to interfere with the operation, functionality, or integrity of the cage that the animal's in or the enclosure or other area where that wild animal is housed or otherwise contained. This is a little cleanup from the bill we had a couple of years ago dealing with different zoos across our state.

240. 1:10:49

     Okay. Don't, don't see any questions. Thank you.

241. 1:10:51

     Last one.

242. 1:10:52

     Oh, you got another one? Okay. Go ahead.

243. 1:10:53

     Yes, just one last one. I'll be brief. Uh, this is gonna be the first one on the top of page seven, House Bill 1348. This is dealing with receivers here in our state. Currently, there's no incentive for receivers to wrap up the process, and they can actually build businesses out of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. And this bill would make it to where the receiver has incentivized, uh, interest in the business's efficiency, and it would provide a 5% ceiling at which they could collect fees for their receivership duties.

244. 1:11:27

     Okay. No questions. Thank you.

245. 1:11:29

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

246. 1:11:31

     Representative Crawford.

247. 1:11:34

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning to members of the committee. I'm bringing before you House Bill 688, and it's found on page two, about the middle of the page. A pretty simple bill that will update our service of process procedures for litigation. Right now, it can be done by regular mail. This would update it to certified mail. The reason for this change is, is that certified mail or first class mail, it provides legally admissible proof of mailage, uh, mailing, tracking, and delivery, so there's no ambiguity, and it would protect all parties in any legal proceeding.

248. 1:12:14

     Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you.

249. 1:12:16

     Thank you.

250. 1:12:17

     Tim Hilton.

251. 1:12:22

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. If you turn with me to page six, we're gonna look at House Bill 1290. That's House Bill 1290 on page six. 1290 seeks to end the sexual exploitation of an elder person, disabled adult, or resident of a long-term care facility by making three specific changes. It changes the standard from coercion to consent. It removes the requirement that a person must be a caregiver or in authority position. And lastly, it closes a loophole by, uh, adding sexual abuse of an elder or a, a individual with special needs to the, uh, sexual offender registry commensurate with the, uh, sexual ex- exploitation of children.

252. 1:13:01

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

253. 1:13:03

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

254. 1:13:05

     Chairman Parsons.

255. 1:13:09

     Hello. Thank you, Chairman. I'm asking for House Bill, uh, 1301. It's the sixth one up from the bottom on page six. And what this bill does, it clarifies the language in the, in the code r- regarding, uh, b- background, uh, checks, th- uh, criminal checks that are done on, uh, on people for employers. Uh, this is done th- by private companies. It's sold from one company to the other, and making sure that the information is correct, and it's adding to the things in the code, such as arrests, indictments, convictions.

256. 1:13:44

     It adds, uh, record restrictions, vacated offenses, offenses discharged, and pardons. And I think the last li- uh, line of the bill kind of wraps it up and says, "What a, uh, sealed criminal history infor- record information shall not be reported if restricted and sealed by court order, uh, or as a matter of law as of the date such report is furnished." This helps employers, uh, know that the record that they're looking at for a prospective employ- ee is, uh, is up to date and correct.

257. 1:14:16

     Uh, got a lot of, uh, um, employers, especially with these, uh, warehouses, looking for employers ... Uh, they're looking for employees. It helps the employees who might not get a job if something on there that's been r- uh, restricted is, it doesn't show up on the report, and it can help them, uh, go on with their life and provide for their family and, and for themselves. Oh, yeah. And I would just ask that, uh, that be put on the floor. Okay, don't see any questions.

258. 1:14:46

     Thank you, sir. Thank you. Tim Clark.

259. 1:14:53

     Thank you, Chairman. I'm asking for, uh, House Bill 951 under modified structure, page three, third from the top. And this is adding, um, onto a bill we passed last year that got signed by the governor to, uh, add orthotics, prosthetics devices. Um, last year we added the commercial healthcare plans. This year it's adding the state healthcare plan and the Board of Regents, so it brings parity across the state, um, so those in this community can just live normal lives like being able to have a device to take a shower and go to the gym.

260. 1:15:23

     Okay. And I'd be glad to take any questions. Don't see any questions. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you.

261. 1:15:31

     Tim Wade. Leader Wade. Thank you, Chairman. Uh, we're on page four, c- uh, colleagues, committee members. Uh, fifth from the bottom, House Bill 1164. This is to, uh, do basically two major things. One, to require State Board of Education to appoint an audit committee, uh, that will meet a certain minimum number of times a year, and to enhance and bring into the 21st century a communication process between state agencies and our local bo- school boards in the process of enhanced audits to detect issues more quickly.

262. 1:16:03

     Happy to answer any questions. Have a question. Uh, Whip Parks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, is it not true this bill would essentially take away power from locally elected boards and give state bureaucrats the authority to void agreements made by local elected officials? I don't see it that way. I spent 16 years o- on the school board, and I knew that there were certain actions that if I took, I could be removed as a school board member from any governor. What this does is it sets in motion four tiers. First being a fiscally sound, which I believe are the vast majority of our school systems in this state.

263. 1:16:37

     They could champion that in their local messaging. Then there's a moderate risk, and those ratchet up. It's only under that fourth critical, meaning potentially on the brink of insolvency, is when the state department of audits would come in and, um, try to give them a process through a, uh, result-oriented corrective action plan. So I, I really don't see it as any officials takeover. It's a matter of protecting the taxpayers and ensuring that state dollars, which are fl- flowing to the locals, are monitored and audited, uh, on an annual basis.

264. 1:17:11

     Uh, so, uh, per lines 169, 174, and, uh, t- from 252 to 256, thank you for confirming, uh, my question. Um, with respect to, uh, lines 187 to 190, if the school system is in a financial mess, um, why would a top-tier turnaround expert wanna take a job if their contract is limited to 12 months? Are we accidentally make it, making it more difficult to help these schools turn around by limiting, again, the ability of, of someone who may be an expert in schools?

265. 1:17:42

     Uh, Mr. Chairman, I know, uh, I'm happy to have a direct conversation offline. I don't think that that's actually the, the determination. It would be in a situation where if that superintendent was derelict in their duty, that then they would be remanded to have a minimum one year to create a sense of urgency to get back to doing the job. Most of the time, most school systems, boards will have let that superintendent go, and it would not be applicable. But in the event that there is a split board, they can't make that decision, this shortens it to make sure that they address it.

266. 1:18:14

     If it's a new superintendent that was not there during the time or the root cause of those audit findings, that would not apply. One quick more question, Mr. Chair. Per lines 515 to 519, for systems in a critical fiscal emergency, uh, your bill permits the state to withhold advanced funding. If a district is already out of money, again, wouldn't cutting off their cash flow just make it more difficult for the state to then come in and resuscitate a school that's collapsed? It would be a may, not a shall, so it would depend on the situation, and that would be an opportunity for the state board to recommend.

267. 1:18:47

     So thank you. Thanks. Okay. Don't see any other questions. Thank you, Chairman. Tim Dubnik. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. If you'll turn to page five, go to the very last bill on the bottom of the page, House Bill 1259. This bill simply provides clarification and minimum standards of performance-

268. 1:19:09

     For a local educational agency who wants to run a virtual school with a statewide attendance zone.

269. 1:19:19

     Okay. No, no questions. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator Williams.

270. 1:19:26

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I'm on page eight, fourth from the top, Senate Bill 29. I've covered this one before on DNA sampling of someone who's been arrested of one of the seven deadly sins, a felony, and this would go a long way in solving crimes and proving innocence.

271. 1:19:49

     Okay. Don't, don't see any questions. Thank you, sir. Thank you. And seven down, Senate Bill 146. This has to do with protection of cemeteries and burial grounds. It outlines and specifies what is an abandoned cemetery and outlines, uh, penalties for disturbing graves and, uh, and how to move graves if, if need to from the DOT or some other issue, agency.

272. 1:20:21

     Okay. No questions. Thank you. And number 11 down, or five up, Senate Bill 239. This is a bill that would separate the license of a funeral director and embalmer. Right now in Georgia, you have to be an embalmer before you can be a funeral director. All of the states contiguous to Georgia, uh, have split license. So if a military family were to move into Georgia and someone was a funeral director in another state, they could not get licensed in Georgia because they're not an embalmer.

273. 1:20:55

     So it, it would help somebody go to work and much needed, and, uh, no pushback hardly from anybody on this. Okay. Is that it? Yes, sir. Thank you. No more questions. Thank you very much. Yes, sir. Thank you. My senator, Senator Burns. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, committee. I'm on page eight, six down. This is Senate Bill 74. We've had robust discussion in this committee before. This is a child protection bill. It ensures that children are not exposed to obscene or harmful material.

274. 1:21:27

     Uh, we had robust discussion and vetting in the Judiciary Committee. I want to thank the Judiciary non-civil for their work. I want to acknowledge the fact that we accepted the amendment from the West Georgia Regional Library System, and the current version, uh, is their language. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I stand for questions. We do have a question. Whip Park. Mr. Chairman, is it not true that senators only have to present a bill once before, f- f- for it to be considered? I thank you for that. Yeah. I just want to come and thank, and thank the committee for their consideration.

275. 1:21:58

     Y- yes, just one time's enough. Thank you. Chairman Jones.

276. 1:22:07

     Thank you, Mr., uh, Chairman, to members of the committee. Um, I have House Bill 1365, page seven, four down. This is a simple bill that went through Judy unanimously. This would increase the Atlanta Circuit by one superior court judge. The Fulton County Commission is in full support, as are all 20 superior court judges of the Fult- of the Atlanta Circuit. Sir, I'll stand for any questions. Okay, we do have a question. Uh, Chairman Hawkins?

277. 1:22:39

     Uh, yeah. Uh, would this displace the, uh, the, uh, additional judge in Hall County since I believe we only do three? Uh, sir, that's a great question. Uh, the top three in Hall County- I like a good answer. Yep. The short answer is no. Uh, the top three will not be displaced. Uh, Fulton County was fourth by .0001, and right now, they have not gotten a new judge since 2009. They've grown about 26%, so right now they could probably use 26.

278. 1:23:09

     This only moves them to 21. And one of the things I'd like to point out, that since many of them did not opt into the new pay bill last year, they're saving about three quarters of a million dollars, and this will cost 600,000, and Appropriations is in support. And you said they were what place, what place? They were in fourth place by, like I said, one- one thousandth of a decimal point. So this is in addition to the three. It's not in place of the three. Okay. Don't, don't see any other questions. Thank you. Okay, I have House Bill 1230.

279. 1:23:40

     This is page five, sixth from the bottom. First, I want to thank PAC for all of the work that they did in helping us draft this bill. This went through TII, uh, unanimously. The Sheriff's Association is in full support. Effectively, we have a true issue with the amount of drones that are being used to move contraband into our places of incarceration, may they be, um, our jails or our prisons, and I should have mentioned due to prisons, the Department of Corrections is also in full support of this bill, and this would basically place it into Title 42 and make it a felony to deliver this contraband into our jails, prisons, or any other place of incarceration.

280. 1:24:20

     Okay. Don't, don't see any questions. Thank you. Okay. One more, sir. Um, House Bill 1272, page six, four down. I saved the best for last. This is Stablecoin, which is basically would make Georgia the very first state to authorize the issuance of Stablecoin based on the Federal Genius Act of July of 2025. I want to be crystal clear, Stablecoin is not Bitcoin. I would argue in the next five years, Stablecoin will become the de facto dollar.

281. 1:24:53

     In terms of deposits, every Stablecoin is backed by either one US dollar or a short-term Treasury defined as less than 90 days. So when we talk about a real backing, that backing is truly there for the Stablecoin. The advantages of Stablecoin is effectively cross-border payments and facilitation of payments. Conveniently, the CEO and chairman of the largest bank in the United States just yesterday, Jamie Dimon, announced that they have been so successful in using Stablecoin and the public blockchain by which it moves on, that they are now contemplating a massive transition from what we all consider the Fedwire, ACH, et cetera, to Stablecoin because of its efficiency and lower cost.

282. 1:25:37

     Um, I recognize that this is a 40-page bill, uh, and I understand that we're on a time crunch, but I saved this one for last. Uh, I asked the chairman just in case there were questions.

283. 1:25:47

     Do have a question, Tim Williams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To the author of the bill, is it, uh, true that the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance does support this bill? Yes, Mr. Chairman, you are spot on. Not only are you a sponsor of this bill, which I appreciate, the Georgia Department of Banking is in favor of this bill, and they testified as such in committee.

284. 1:26:10

     I don't see any other questions. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Okay. Okay, we've exhausted our friends on the wall over here. Any committee members have a, uh, request for a bill that you want to present? Okay, go ahead, uh, Representative. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have two bills. First is on the bottom of page four, HB 1185. Uh, this bill is brought partnership with the governor's office to update the business court statute to, um, hopefully result in more businesses incorporating in Georgia.

285. 1:26:46

     That's for the committee's favorable consideration. Okay, I don't see any questions on that bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My next- Go, go ahead. I'm sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. My next bill is on page seven, HB 1396. This would allow for data tracking of unsheltered homeless individuals in the HMIS system, um, for entities, uh, in the Atlanta area that are not receiving, um, government money currently.

286. 1:27:17

     This bill has had no opposition, had no opposition in committee, and I'm not aware of any opposition to the bill. Okay. Don't see a question. Got one, two. You got a bill or a question? I got two bills. Okay. Chairman Stevens. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, let's see. The fir- I have two bills. Uh, the first on page six, uh, House Bill 1329 is the annual drug update bill. Jamie has one, too. Okay.

287. 1:27:48

     No questions on that bill. You have another one? Uh, on page eight, second from the bottom, House Bill 519, uh, allows for these employers to receive a tax credit up to $500 per person, um, $10 million aggregate for these employees that are hard to hire, uh, moves them away from welfare and gives them a job. Includes things like, uh, disabled veterans. Okay. Secretary Kelley, you have a request.

288. 1:28:20

     Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. On page five towards the bottom, House Bill 1236, uh, simply says that when a health plan is looking at making a determination as to whether they should, uh, approve or deny recommended care by a medical provider in our state, that the person who is responsible for making that denial should also be a medical provider licensed in this state. Okay. No questions on that. Thank you, Mr.

289. 1:28:50

     Chairman. Also, on page six, uh, towards the bottom, House Bill 1303, uh, came unanimously out of our Judiciary Non-Civil Committee. It creates a, uh, crime of child endangerment when an individual has certain controlled substances around minors under the age of 14. Okay. Don't see any questions on that. Thank you. That the... Okay.

290. 1:29:20

     Speaker Pro Tem. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I'd like for the committee to, um, consider HB 1293, which, um, makes changes to the TCSG Dual Achievement Program. It's a pilot program, a five-year pilot program. It makes it permanent. It, um, would create a funding formula. And this program allows younger adults to, um, obtain a high school degree while they also work towards certifica- certificates in, uh, different fields.

291. 1:29:58

     And it, um, it, the, the provisions of the bill take, take effect in '28 to give us time to develop the funding formula, which would allow for advising and tutoring of 18 to 22-year-olds to help them get over the, the, um, finish line. I'm happy to answer any questions. Okay, I don't see any questions on that. Uh, Vice Chairman Leverett has a... Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have two bills I'd like to present to the committee. The first one is on page five at the top, House Bill 1195.

292. 1:30:32

     Speak right into that mic. Uh...

293. 1:30:37

     There you go, Mr. Chairman. Uh, later I'll do my rendition of the song Feelings. I think you'll really enjoy it with this mic. Um, House Bill 1195, that is just a little cleanup. The Senate Bill 105 from last year, which provided for veterinary tele-triage and telemedicine. We're just sort of cleaning up one of the provisions. There were some geographical limitations on telemedicine and tele-triage, which were effectively prohibiting veterinarians or poison control centers from advising people who call in if they have an animal that gets, uh, into some kind of, uh, uh, poison or harmful substance.

294. 1:31:10

     So we're just, uh, kind of fixing that, removing that, um, uh, geographical restriction. And then the other bill is House Bill 1364. Um, that's toward the top of page seven. They're both actually third from the top on each page. Uh, but 1364 just removes a process that we added, I think, two years ago and a year ago to provide for foreclosure of, um, timeshare interests. Um, and the, the, the two kind of processes we added have not been used, didn't turn out to be quite as, uh, beneficial as we thought we would, so we're just cleaning the code up by taking them out.

295. 1:31:47

     Uh, and as Representative, uh, or Chair, Vice Chairman Kelley noted, uh, you all get a, a, a free three-day trip for listening to my presentation of that bill. Thank you.

296. 1:31:57

     Okay. I don't, don't see any questions. Uh, Chairman Powell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, I bring to you three bills. HB1197 on page five. This is annual COAM, uh, legislation that we're still working to clean up a lot of things over at the bureaucracy over at the lottery. Uh, this would allow dart and, the coin-operated dart and billiard games to be used, uh, that they could give non-cash redemptions for these tournaments.

297. 1:32:28

     Uh, this, uh, gives clear notice that the, uh, COAM division would give clear notice of any violations to any violator. Uh, this establishes a progressive discipline plan for these folks. Uh, and it also allows the, um, any hearing officer appeal to go straight to the business court. Okay. Don't see any questions on that. You got another one? Second bill, House Bill 961. This is a surprise billing for, uh, consumer protection on ambulance services.

298. 1:32:59

     Uh, ran into a situation that there is no surprise billing on that. And when people who call 911 for an emergency service, whether it's a private ambulance or a public ambulance, uh, that they will know clearly that the insurance or the, uh, poverty guideline would apply on Medicaid reimbursement, but it's a surprise billing for am- for ambulance services. Okay. No questions on that one. And last but not least, H.R. 1348.

299. 1:33:30

     Uh, when the State of Georgia in the mid-'90s went to appointed school superintendents, there's still a lot of jurisdictions in this state that feel like the people who spend their money and administer their local schools should be elected. This would allow those counties, through local legislation and a referendum, if it's their wish, to have an elected school superintendent. Okay. No questions on that. Thank you. Chairlady Taylor. Thank you, Mr.

300. 1:34:00

     Chairman. Committee, uh, I bring to you two bills. The first is on page one, halfway down, HB 461, and this is the Interstate Sexual Predator Prevention Act. Uh, it actually just adds several words to exi- existing law that says if someone travels from another state, that's added. Um, and that's all the bill does. What number is that? 461. Okay. The second bill is on page five, second from the top, HB 1192.

301. 1:34:35

     This is a result of our Public Health Study Committee. This will allow a county employees who have reached their maximum, um, I guess their career ladder, and they can transfer to the state without losing their accrued benefits. Okay. I don't see any questions on that. Thank you. Okay. Uh,

302. 1:35:00

     Chairman Newton. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, page six, uh, midway down, House Bill 1275 under medical practice. This is, this is, uh, relates to stem cell therapies that are being used in Georgia. But right now, the, the materials can only be, um, obtained from out of state. This, this bill establishes a process to where, um, stem cell therapy material can be processed and, and manufactured in Georgia.

303. 1:35:28

     Okay. Is there a question? Do you have a question, Representative Evans? It, the l- the board's lit up, so if you have a question, just kind of raise your hand so I can see. Go ahead, uh, Representative. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Chairman Newton, my concern, um, that I wanted to ask you about was, I can't find my copy of the bill all of a sudden, but I think it was around line 66 where it talks about, uh, the stem cells have to be basically kept, manufactured, everything in Georgia. And you, so you wouldn't be able to use stem cells that came from outside of state.

304. 1:36:00

     And so my question is two. One, doesn't the... It's been a while since I took con law, but that feels like it runs afoul of the interstate commerce clause where we can't restrict interstate commerce. But then secondly, I have concerns that we don't have the supply if we limited it to in state and that those that desperately need stem cells for medical and fertility issues would be cut out of treatment. Oh, no, you're absolutely right, and I asked questions about that as well. That, that, that particular is only the, only the portion that has to be done in Georgia under this is the, uh, retrieval, manufacture, storage, and use together.

305. 1:36:34

     And then those have to be done in Georgia. And it just says they have to be, um, if they're done in Georgia, they have to be done in a facility either registered with the FDA or, or one of several other organizations that are, that are, that oversee this kind of therapy. There's no, there's no interstate commerce prohibition on that. It's just if, if it's, if it's retrieval and manufactured, stored in, in Georgia, then it has to be in a, a FDA-approved or registered, FDA-registered or, or facility. Well, I, I- I'm glad to get with you offline and- Well, I, I hate to get offline about it 'cause, I mean, I think that's why we have these meetings out loud, and I, that, that's a, such a theme we keep hearing.

306. 1:37:14

     I mean, I, I have real concerns 'cause this limits it. I mean, it says you have to be, the stem cells have to be retrieved, manufactured, and stored in a facility in Georgia. So I don't know how that's not limiting it to Georgia.

307. 1:37:28

     I'm glad to go over it more. That's certainly not the intent, and that's not the, that's not the objective. And, uh, and the people who've answered those- Speak into your mic there so we can hear you. Oh, sorry. That, that is certainly not the intent, and that it, and the, um, um, the retrieve, manufactured, and stored has to be in a facility that's registered with the D- with the FDA or one of the other organizations. Uh, it doesn't apply to anything that comes from out of state. Well, would you be, would you be opposed to deleting the word Georgia? I mean, as long as it's registered with the FDA, I don't know why we would wanna limit our citizens' ability to have access to the stem cells.

308. 1:38:07

     Right, I don't have an, I don't have an objection to that.

309. 1:38:10

     Thank you.

310. 1:38:12

     Okay. Uh, let's see. Sh- Shelly Cooper, you have a request?

311. 1:38:18

     I have a request and a question.

312. 1:38:19

     A question, okay. Excuse me. Go ahead.

313. 1:38:21

     Okay. What was the reason given for them having to do it in Georgia? Succinctly, why, why would we have to do it here?

314. 1:38:30

     There's, well, there's no... Right now, these therapies are being used in Georgia, and the material is obtained from other states where it's legal to manufacture, retrieve, and store. And so we wanted to be able to do this in addition in Georgia, and as long as it was with, at facilities that were, uh, registered with the FDA or otherwise overseen by other credit, accreditation organizations if it's gonna be done in Georgia.

315. 1:38:54

     I, I would just like to say I agree with my colleague that that restricts it, and we have a problem with people getting what they need.

316. 1:39:00

     I'm glad to clean up the language if we need to send it back.

317. 1:39:02

     Okay. Let me encourage y'all to continue your conversation if you need to offline there. Okay. Chairman Hawkins, did you have a request?

318. 1:39:11

     Oh, yes. Thank you. On middle page six, HB1278. This was brought to me by the Board of Dentistry. It deals with conscious sedation mainly used for children and young adults. They have found that they're having, uh, difficulty getting these, uh, permits out and license out through Middle South, and especially Southwest Georgia. So they're changing the insight, uh, portion of the requirement, and it's to be replaced by examinations and other means by the board. I think it's very important, um, bill.

319. 1:39:44

     Um, then on the, uh, page seven, top of page seven, HB1374. This is a revisit on electronic funds transfer that we addressed years ago. It seems that, uh, the, the, uh, h- health plans and CMOs have come back a little, uh, come back again with these types of payment plans where they charge the provider to be paid by these virtual credit cards. This bill explicitly s- makes it an opt-in so the provider and, and/or his staff knows what they're signing.

320. 1:40:16

     And then, uh, on the top of page eight, HR1204. This is something that came out of our, uh, cancer access committee. Uh, it is, uh, we found that Georgia's, uh, the, the, the incidence of lung cancer in Georgia is higher than the national average, and there are some techniques in, in treatments and detections that are new onboard and recognizing, uh, especially one of those that does biopsies in, in hard to, uh, reach places of the lung. We ex- we, uh, expect this to increase survival rates in the state of Georgia.

321. 1:40:51

     Okay. Shelly Cooper, did you have a request or a question? Okay, go ahead.

322. 1:40:57

     Okay. Thank you very much. On page six, House Bill 1295. It's about six or seven from the bottom. It's another one of the licensure compacts, and this one's for the physicians assistants.

323. 1:41:09

     Okay.

324. 1:41:12

     Okay.

325. 1:41:17

     Let's see. Uh, Chairman Newton, did you want to make a motion?

326. 1:41:23

     Mash your button there.

327. 1:41:28

     Try that.

328. 1:41:29

     Is that... Oh, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I'd like to move that we return HB1275 back to committee.

329. 1:41:36

     Okay.

330. 1:41:36

     To the Health Committee.

331. 1:41:38

     To the Health Committee.

332. 1:41:39

     To the Health Committee. Yes, sir.

333. 1:41:39

     Okay. We have a motion that we recommit that to the Health Committee. Is there any opposition? It's back in the Health Committee.

334. 1:41:47

     Thank you, sir.

335. 1:41:48

     Okay. All right. Yeah. We've got a little housekeeping business we need to take care of here now before we set a calendar. Uh, do I hear a motion to recommit House Bill 1073-

336. 1:42:05

     Moved.

337. 1:42:05

     Second.

338. 1:42:06

     Back to Motor Vehicles. It's been moved and seconded. Is there any opposition? It's back. Have a motion to recommit House Bill 1028 back to Judiciary?

339. 1:42:20

     Moved.

340. 1:42:20

     Second.

341. 1:42:21

     Moved and seconded. It's back. House Bill 1224 to, to recommit to Ag and Consumer Affairs?

342. 1:42:31

     Moved.

343. 1:42:32

     Second.

344. 1:42:32

     Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's back. Okay. There's a light on back here. You... I- I'm sorry. Go ahead.

345. 1:42:42

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I was waiting to push my button. Um, I have HB892, it's on page two, and, uh, it's a very simple idea. It would limit the, um, hours of massage establishments from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM. It's to address human trafficking. We have places that are 24 hours in business, and a legitimate place does not need to be open 24 hours. And so it's a way to-

346. 1:43:08

     Mm-hmm

347. 1:43:08

     ... uh, address that economically. I have two in my district now, and we all know what's happening there, so thank you.

348. 1:43:15

     Okay.

349. 1:43:16

     So we can do it later.

350. 1:43:18

     All right. Thank you. Sorry, I didn't see your light on there. Okay. You ready to...

351. 1:43:25

     Yeah.

352. 1:43:25

     Okay. Okay. Let's set a calendar for today. This will be day 24. Under modified structure, House Bill 320.

353. 1:43:39

     Moved.

354. 1:43:40

     Second.

355. 1:43:40

     It's moved and seconded. Is there any opposition? It's on. House Bill 634.

356. 1:43:49

     Moved.

357. 1:43:49

     Second.

358. 1:43:50

     Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 689.

359. 1:43:59

     Moved.

360. 1:43:59

     Second.

361. 1:44:00

     Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 792.

362. 1:44:09

     Moved.

363. 1:44:09

     Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1024. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1030. Moved. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1329. Moved. Second. Moved, second. Any opposition?

364. 1:44:40

     It's on. Okay, under structured.

365. 1:44:49

     House Bill 519. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. Under structured, House Bill 1001. Moved. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition?

366. 1:45:06

     Objection.

367. 1:45:07

     Have an objection. Okay. All those in favor of House Bill 1009 being added to the calendar... Let's do it this way, hmm, 1001. All those in favor of adding that, say aye.

368. 1:45:26

     Aye.

369. 1:45:26

     Those opposed, say no.

370. 1:45:29

     No.

371. 1:45:29

     I think the ayes carry that. Okay, that'll be our calendar for today. Now, uh, let's set a calendar for tomorrow, Thursday. It'll be day 25.

372. 1:45:45

     Under modified structure, House Bill 1262. Moved. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. Okay, House Bill 1263. Moved. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1274. Moved. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition?

373. 1:46:17

     It's on. House Bill 1344. Moved. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. Okay, it's my understanding that we'll probably go in at 9:00 in the morning, so we will not have a rules meeting in the morning. But, uh, we'll be back in, in touch with you as we move along. Thank you for your cooperation and your patience today. We're adjourned.