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Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee

Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, February 25, 2026

2025-2026 Regular Session · 307 CLOB · 1 h 02 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.

Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the summaries Georgia Commons wrote, under headings that name them, then the whole transcript with its times. View raw is the transcript alone.

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 considered two bills and voted unanimously to recommend both for passage. SB 551 would remove the egg-candling license requirement discussed by the sponsor for small egg sellers. SB 278 would require folic acid fortification of corn masa products, with exemptions. Members discussed the proposed health benefits, manufacturing and distribution concerns, and how the requirements compare with other states. The committee amended the snack-food definition to remove references to package size and consumption between meals, then approved the committee substitute as amended.

Bills discussed (2)

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.

SB 551. Standard, Labeling, and Adulteration of Food; eggs; repeal provisions

From 0:21:10 · turns 34 to 108

The sponsor said SB 551 would remove the egg-candling license requirement for people selling eggs from backyard flocks. The sponsor described candling as a grading process rather than a food-safety measure and said the Department of Agriculture must provide free classes, testing and licenses despite growing demand. According to the sponsor, removing the requirement would free department staff for other food-safety work, while large producers would remain subject to federal rules. A committee member asked what production level triggers federal oversight. The sponsor did not know the precise threshold and described the bill as addressing small, direct farm-to-consumer sales. The chair added that larger suppliers face food-safety audits and retailer requirements. Members expressed support for reducing regulation, and the committee unanimously voted to recommend passage.

SB 278. Standards, Labeling, and Adulteration of Food; corn masa flour and wet corn masa products to contain certain amounts of folic acid; require

From 0:30:05 · turns 116 to 413

The sponsor presented a committee substitute for SB 278 requiring folic acid fortification of corn masa products, with exemptions for cottage foods, food-service establishments and snack foods. The sponsor said fortification could prevent spina bifida, particularly among Latino families whose diets rely more on corn than wheat, and reduce future state care costs. Asked why prenatal vitamins were insufficient, the sponsor said the relevant fetal development occurs before many people know they are pregnant. The sponsor also said voluntary fortification efforts had not succeeded. Members questioned whether the snack exemption would treat small and large bags differently. A food-industry witness supported the exemption and warned that differing state requirements complicate manufacturing and distribution. The chair raised similar concerns. A Food Fortification Initiative advisor said the proposed level matches federal rules and compliant products could be sold in other states. Asked about results, the advisor cited about a 35% nationwide reduction in relevant birth defects after wheat-flour fortification, but said Alabama's requirements had not yet taken effect and California assessments showed increased product availability, not yet health outcomes. A member asked about fortification costs, but no estimate was provided. The committee adopted an industry-supported amendment removing package-size and between-meal language from the snack definition, then unanimously recommended passage of the substitute as amended.

Transcript

418 turns. Select a time to play that moment of the video.

  1. 0:18:50

    How is everybody doing today? I'm sorry that I'm w- a few minutes late. I finally left the, uh... Would you like to be recognized, Chairman Burns?

  2. 0:18:59

    Oh, I'm just glad you're here.

  3. 0:19:00

    Oh, thank you. I finally left. They're still debating a bill in public safety, so.

  4. 0:19:05

    Okay.

  5. 0:19:05

    Uh, anyway, we have some, uh, some special guests here I thought. Uh, where, where's some of our... We had some folks from the Agri-Business Council here.

  6. 0:19:15

    They were here.

  7. 0:19:15

    They l- Did they leave? I, I, I was three minutes late.

  8. 0:19:17

    They were in here.

  9. 0:19:18

    Yeah. Good Lord.

  10. 0:19:21

    You got the pie?

  11. 0:19:21

    Huh?

  12. 0:19:24

    I want to thank you.

  13. 0:19:24

    I actually gave... Yeah, and thank y'all.

  14. 0:19:26

    I want to tell you how good it was.

  15. 0:19:27

    For the, uh, the pecan pie. I gave mine to the young folks that work in Senate press. I'm afraid it won't affect their waistline as much as it will mine. Um, all right, we're gonna call this meeting of the Senate Agricultural and Consumer Affairs Committee, uh, to order. And I think I would like to start off with the peach farmer from Hall County, from LA, Lower Alto. Uh, Chairman Echols, you 16?

  16. 0:19:55

    Yes, sir.

  17. 0:19:56

    Would you like to start, uh, start us off with a word of prayer?

  18. 0:19:59

    Y'all bow with me. Heavenly Father, Lord, we just thank you for today and all the many blessings that you've given us, Lord. Just be with us as we go through this, uh, committee meeting. And, and I pray, Lord, that we have open minds as we, um, debate these bills and, and listen to the folks who, uh, to, uh, the folks who brought them. And just pray that they're for the betterment of, uh, citizens in the State of Georgia. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

  19. 0:20:23

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. All right, uh, we have Chairman Anderson. Your light is blinking. I assume you want to be recognized, and I'm gonna do so now, our vice chairman.

  20. 0:20:33

    Uh, Mr. Chairman.

  21. 0:20:34

    Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman.

  22. 0:20:35

    I didn't know you had a w- a lopsided committee.

  23. 0:20:42

    Yeah, we do, Vice Chairman.

  24. 0:20:43

    Okay.

  25. 0:20:43

    Even my-

  26. 0:20:44

    And we, we, we even have some, our friends that are-

  27. 0:20:46

    Got someone over there.

  28. 0:20:47

    Eh, eh, we even got one of our friends on the left's on the right, see.

  29. 0:20:50

    That's it.

  30. 0:20:50

    Stand for your seat.

  31. 0:20:52

    Yeah.

  32. 0:20:53

    I like the left.

  33. 0:20:54

    I, I, I appreciate you, uh, uh, recognizing that fact.

  34. 0:20:59

    Amen.

  35. 0:21:01

    All right. There we go. Let me get my glasses. Um, all right. We're gonna start off, uh, members of the committee, with SB 551. Uh, Chairman Watson, the floor is yours. Would you like to tell the committee what you got?

  36. 0:21:19

    Right here, Mr. Chairman, is fine.

  37. 0:21:20

    I think right, if you're okay with it, Mr. Chairman, right there is fine with me. Uh, you're number 11. Is that correct, Mr. Chairman?

  38. 0:21:27

    Yes, sir.

  39. 0:21:28

    Okay. Go ahead. Floor is yours.

  40. 0:21:31

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, uh, I guess if you will, uh, give me one, uh, personal point, I'd like to, uh, let everybody know that I have a leadership, uh, Colquitt County group there in the back row that are supporting me on this. So, uh, y'all wave, everybody. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. Thank y'all for, uh, for being here. They wanna see how it works, so.

  41. 0:21:52

    They vote for you?

  42. 0:21:54

    Oh, yeah. 100%.

  43. 0:21:55

    Wait a, wait a minute now, uh-

  44. 0:21:56

    They're gonna make it a longer bill.

  45. 0:21:58

    Yeah, yeah. Well, I wanna show them how efficient we are in government, Senator. Um, this is a, this is a good red tape rollback bill.

  46. 0:22:06

    Red tape rollback.

  47. 0:22:07

    Uh, getting rid of government regulations and, uh, helping out our Department of Agriculture. This is a, a bill that I brought to them. Um, quick background on it is, uh, across our state, uh, you currently have to have a egg candling license to sell eggs, uh, from your backyard, um, across the state. So if you have a backyard flock and you make, uh, have eggs, you don't make eggs, but produce eggs, um, and you wanna sell them at a local farmer's market, um, you have to have a egg candling license from the Department of Agriculture.

  48. 0:22:41

    Um, the Georgia Department of Agriculture has to provide these licenses, uh, and classes with a test, uh, free of charge. Uh, they offer these, uh, classes monthly, um, but the demand has been tremendous and growing over the last, uh, few months and years. And so we have high demand for this. They cannot charge anything for this. Um, when you candle eggs, um, it's, uh, it's, you're grading the eggs. It's not a food safety issue. It's a, it's a grading issue to, uh, determine if the eggs are, are fertile or not.

  49. 0:23:16

    And so, um, and, and I think the, the history goes back to a long time ago. They would candle them by using a actual candle, and that's how they were able to shine the light through the egg to determine this. So, um, being that we've got so much demand for this, it's not a food safety issue, we're one of only few states that still require a candling, uh, license. Um, so we are basically just, uh, telling the department that they do not have to, uh, require this anymore. And if you have, uh, backyard, uh, eggs and you wanna sell them to your neighbor or your kids sell them out in the front yard, you can do so without breaking the Georgia State law.

  50. 0:23:55

    And so it just allows the department to free up, uh, some staff and, uh, do some other food safety things. Again, this is not a food safety issue. It doesn't affect large scale. Uh, they're all under, controlled under federal law. Um, so we just, uh, wanna try to help our folks out across the state sell their farm-raised, uh, eggs and not be in violation of state law. And that's what the bill does, Mr. Chairman, and I'd be glad to take any questions if there are any.

  51. 0:24:24

    All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We're lighting up here, Mr. Chairman.

  52. 0:24:26

    Oh, my goodness.

  53. 0:24:26

    We're gonna start off, we're gonna start off with Chairman Anderson. Go ahead, Chairman.

  54. 0:24:29

    Go ahead.

  55. 0:24:30

    Mr. Chairman, I'd like to make a motion at the proper time to get a dear friend of mine back home off my back about this issue.

  56. 0:24:39

    All right. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We don't let us forget that, sir. All right, now we're going down to Chairman Echols.

  57. 0:24:47

    You had, Senator Watson, you had me at red tape rollback.

  58. 0:24:51

    Uh, I also, uh, I don't know if I want to fight him or not, but I, I'd would like to get his neighbor, Chairman Anderson's neighbor off his back, but I make a motion do pass.

  59. 0:25:03

    Well, I was gonna make that motion.

  60. 0:25:04

    You said you want to get your neighbor off your back. You didn't say you wanted to make a motion.

  61. 0:25:07

    No, he, he said, he said at the proper time, but I tell you what we'll do, uh, Mr. Chairman, we'll let you second it. How about that? Um, number 12. Number 12. All right. Uh, Senator Howard.

  62. 0:25:18

    Serious question.

  63. 0:25:18

    Oh, serious question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As, as, as a city boy-

  64. 0:25:22

    As a city boy

  65. 0:25:22

    ... uh, who does not raise-

  66. 0:25:25

    And a freshman. That's right.

  67. 0:25:26

    A freshman. Yeah, a freshman.

  68. 0:25:27

    Tell me.

  69. 0:25:27

    Yeah.

  70. 0:25:28

    Okay. You got another one.

  71. 0:25:28

    Red, Red, Red, Red Tape Rollback.

  72. 0:25:30

    That's it.

  73. 0:25:31

    Okay, okay. Um, I know we have a lot of, uh, a lot of friends here and who are all about a smaller government. Isn't that right?

  74. 0:25:40

    That's actually true, Senator.

  75. 0:25:40

    Um, at, just so I can better understand, when I talk to my neighbors in Cobb and Fulton County, uh, what, what's the threshold from where it becomes a backyard operation of just, you know, is there a certain number of eggs before it turns into this is federal, this gets into federal territory? What's that threshold?

  76. 0:25:59

    Um, I don't know what that threshold is, but I do know that, I mean, a large scale producer, I don't know what the volume level is, but they're gonna fall under federal law. They've got to get different licenses, different rules and regulations are filed by them. These are people that just decide one day that they want to go buy some chickens and they want to, you know, start making eggs, whether it be a project for their kids or just 'cause they enjoy it and are, and spend time with their family and they want to raise their own eggs 'cause they know where they come from. Um, so this is really on a, a small direct from the farm to consumer basis where at a commercial level, uh, you're, you're gonna have contracts and you're gonna be large scale.

  77. 0:26:38

    And so the folks that we're talking about in this, um, and I know the department is here, and if they need to step in, um, and, and help with this, um, they can. But, uh, the volume, um, they think would, you know, 50 flats a week, and I don't know how many eggs, eggs that is, but, um, they're, uh...

  78. 0:27:01

    Yeah, and I'll add too, if you don't mind, Mr. Chairman.

  79. 0:27:04

    Please, yep.

  80. 0:27:04

    Uh, when you get talking about these large operations, just like, so, uh, Chairman Watson and I, we, we, we're, we sell to big, uh, grocery, grocery, grocery stores, right? And so we have to do all kind of food safety, uh, social responsibility audits. We're Global GAP, PRIMUS certified, all that kind of stuff, you know. And so when these bi- these larger operators, that's, that's what they would be, but for small backyard, it's, uh, just two, two completely different business models, if you understand what I'm saying.

  81. 0:27:34

    And they, and I, the, the, all the retailers, we, there's a lot that we have to go through. Now, that goes into another story about but I won't belabor the point about how some of the things that farmers have to go through, uh, versus on down the supply chain.

  82. 0:27:49

    Sure.

  83. 0:27:50

    But, um, I want to ask a question. Uh, uh, Chairman Watson, is it gonna make any difference whether or not these eggs are gonna be poached, scrambled, or fried?

  84. 0:27:57

    It will not. We hope there's a lot more of that going on.

  85. 0:28:01

    All right. I think we've got a, we've got a, uh, a motion. I believe it's, uh, uh, Senator, uh, Chairman Anderson, you wanted to make a motion?

  86. 0:28:09

    Mr. Chairman, I'm, I'd be delighted to make a motion to get my best friend off my back back home. Senate Bill 551.

  87. 0:28:19

    All right.

  88. 0:28:20

    Do pass.

  89. 0:28:21

    Do pass. And I believe I had promised the, the wild man from Hall County down there that he could second it.

  90. 0:28:28

    Make the motion, we second it. I second it.

  91. 0:28:31

    All right. We have a motion and a second.

  92. 0:28:33

    I second your motion.

  93. 0:28:34

    Yeah, we're, we're-

  94. 0:28:35

    I second your motion.

  95. 0:28:36

    And wow, we, people are fighting to second the motion on this bill. It's-

  96. 0:28:39

    Good, good bill, Mr. Chairman

  97. 0:28:40

    ... good bill.

  98. 0:28:41

    Red Tape Rollback.

  99. 0:28:41

    Good bill. Well, I think we're just trying to show off for the folks from Cockpit County back there, show them how good a senator you are. Isn't that right?

  100. 0:28:47

    That's right.

  101. 0:28:48

    Yeah.

  102. 0:28:48

    Senator Anderson.

  103. 0:28:49

    Oh, all right. You're recognized, Chairman Anderson. I can see it in your eyes.

  104. 0:28:52

    Sir, I, I, I want, I'm all for this bill, but I am kind of disappointed in the ethics chairman for not demonstrating handling of eggs.

  105. 0:29:06

    Tell the senator, tell the senator, "Chairman, he'd lay a egg."

  106. 0:29:08

    Um, would you, uh, Chairman, Chairman, would you feel more comfortable if we could get you down to Cockpit County and get you to a tutorial on that? All right. We have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? All right. All in favor, please signify by saying aye.

  107. 0:29:25

    Aye.

  108. 0:29:26

    Is any opposed? All right. Passes unanimously.

  109. 0:29:30

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee.

  110. 0:29:31

    All right. Thank y'all. Now, we're moving on to, uh... I know everybody's got plenty of places to be, but we've got, we have another bill here that we, we've heard testimony on before. Um, Senator Harrell, you, you want to, you want-

  111. 0:29:48

    He's walking out on you.

  112. 0:29:49

    Yeah.

  113. 0:29:49

    No, they, they want you. They want you to have the chance.

  114. 0:29:52

    They were here.

  115. 0:29:52

    I, I hope, I, I hope, uh, Chairman Watson, that they're, they're happy with your performance and not disappointed. I don't know.

  116. 0:30:00

    No.

  117. 0:30:00

    Okay. Um, before you, uh, members of the committee, we have Senate Bill 278. Um, we do have a, a, uh, committee sub. Uh, the committee sub is, uh, I believe you're gonna be working on LC, uh, Senator Harrell, tell me if I'm correct, and this is LC60-0324S.

  118. 0:30:20

    Correct.

  119. 0:30:21

    Okay. All right. Good deal. Um, you need to turn your mic on. I apologize for that. I've never gotten used to all this, but I have gotten better than I once was. So the floor is yours.

  120. 0:30:33

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, so we've talked about eggs. Now we're gonna talk about corn, which is making me hungry for some eggs and grits.

  121. 0:30:40

    Hey, yeah.

  122. 0:30:42

    This is the Corn Masa Nutrition Enhancement Act. My office has, uh, nicknamed it simply the Corn Bill. And being a, a, a girl-Who was raised in Indiana, I think that's appropriate for me to be taking on a, a corn bill. Um, we have heard this bill before. If, if you remember, it's been almost a year ago, but we had a whole one-hour hearing on this bill where I brought a panel of experts, and y'all had lots of questions and got lots of answers.

  123. 0:31:12

    Um, I've brought one of those experts with me today. Sharon, would you like to introduce yourself?

  124. 0:31:17

    Yes. Thank you. Um, my name is Sharon Bostrack. I am a technical advisor with the Food Fortification Initiative.

  125. 0:31:24

    So a couple decades ago, uh, we discovered that we could prevent a, a, a disability called spina bifida, um, by making sure that women of reproductive age had enough folic acid in, in their system. Um, spina bifa- spina bifida is a neural tube defect, and it, it occurs very early in pregnancy, often before a woman knows she's pregnant, when the spine is developing. And it doesn't close properly, which can cause a, a lifetime disability.

  126. 0:31:59

    Um, it happens so early in pregnancy that women should have enough folic acid in their system even before they're pregnant. So it, it, it, it becomes, like, too late once they go for their first prenatal visit and get put on prenatal vitamins. Oftentimes, that's too late. So a couple of decades ago, when we discovered this, uh, this connection between folic acid and neural tube defects or spina bifida, um, there was a movement to fortify wheat.

  127. 0:32:30

    And so this was, like, two decades ago, 'cause I remember because I was actually the executive director of the organization, the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia, and we actually worked on, on this effort to try to get this folic acid, um, fortifying wheat. And so we, we did do that two decades ago, and the rate of spina bifida has decreased. But we realized that it wasn't decreasing in the Latino community, and that's because they don't eat a lot of wheat. They eat corn.

  128. 0:33:01

    So what this bill does is it calls for the fortification of corn flour with folic acid so that the Latino community can get enough folic acid, so we can get the rate of spina bifida down in the Latino community. This is a very costly disorder as well, and y'all know that I always come to you to make sure we, um, adequately fund the NOW/COMP waivers. Um, well, this is somebody who grows up with spina bifida is somebody that, that may fall under the need for these NOW/COMP waivers, which we always have a hard time finding enough money to cover.

  129. 0:33:36

    So this can save the state money, um, down the road. Uh, so, um, I'm going to... So basically, we're fortifying the, the flour. We do have three exceptions built into, um, to the bill. We- there's an exemption for the cottage food industry. There's an exemption for food service establishments like restaurants, and there's an exemption for, um, snack foods. Um, so I'll, I'll stop there, and, um, if there are any questions or...

  130. 0:34:11

    All right. We have, uh, uh, Chairman Watson.

  131. 0:34:19

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, good, good bill. Obviously, uh, uh, very supportive, and, um, the, uh, migrant population, uh, we obviously, uh, use a lot of them in, in our, in our industry, and very supportive. I did have one question on, um, lines, uh, 43 and, uh, where the definition of snack food.

  132. 0:34:41

    Mm-hmm.

  133. 0:34:42

    Um, typically is, snack food means a product that is intended for immediate consumption, is typically prepackaged in small or single-serving portions, and is primarily consumed between meals, including... So, so what sizes does that entail? Um, I know they have small bags, and we have big bags. Um, I don't want manufacturers to have to have different formulas for... I, I think it's a pretty simple fix, um, maybe even striking that, where we don't include that.

  134. 0:35:15

    I don't want a formula for a small bag and a formula for a big bag. We can just let it all be the same. Does that make sense? Or do you wanna answer?

  135. 0:35:25

    It, it does, and I had a version of this bill that did not have an exemption for, um, snack foods, and that's actually how I wanted to move forward. Um, but the... I had some, um, feedback from the industry who wanted the exemption. Um, so you're saying that it may be difficult to fortify a larger bag but not fortify a smaller bag?

  136. 0:35:50

    Well, just talking about cost, I guess. Um-

  137. 0:35:53

    Well, the thing is, you could. If, if you're, if you're manufacturing a large bag of something, this doesn't mean you can't, um, fortify the smaller bag. You... If, if it was the same, if it was going through the same part of the manufacturing process-

  138. 0:36:06

    Right

  139. 0:36:06

    ... I think you would go ahead and do both, and you would just n- not... You don't have to follow this exemption.

  140. 0:36:12

    But if they're, if they're... So would they have to do this for a big bag? Would they have to put-

  141. 0:36:18

    I think according to this definition, yes, because it, it says, uh, snack is defined as a small or single-serving portion.

  142. 0:36:28

    But you can go in the grocery store, and you get a little, uh, handbag or small, small bag, and you can get a big family-sized bag. So is the family-sized bag of chips-

  143. 0:36:40

    The family-sized bag of chips would be fortified. The smaller one would not have to be, but it could be.

  144. 0:36:51

    Mr. Chairman, I've, I've, I've... Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that your, your concern is, is there having to be two, two different, um- Basically, a manufacturer, well, take, say like us, we're, we make cobblers. You'd have to have a different recipe from a two-pound cobbler to a three-pound cobbler to a five-pound cobbler. And so-

  145. 0:37:09

    You wouldn't have to, though.

  146. 0:37:12

    Well, you would have to if you're talking about precedents and having to have different ingredients.

  147. 0:37:19

    Different ingredients.

  148. 0:37:20

    Yeah.

  149. 0:37:20

    But you could fortify the smaller one, too.

  150. 0:37:22

    Yes, you could.

  151. 0:37:23

    There's nothing ... It's not illegal to-

  152. 0:37:25

    Right

  153. 0:37:25

    ... fortify the smaller one.

  154. 0:37:26

    Right. Um, there's not, you're correct. But still, you're creating two different precedents. This is based simply on a, a small bag versus a, a larger bag. In other words, if you go in there and it's, you've got, you go into a gas station and you have the small bags, then you've got the, the big drab bags, you know, versus the regular-sized bags is what I'm saying. But what do we got, number 13? Uh, is that Chairman Burns?

  155. 0:37:50

    Uh, uh, just a, a question if I could, Mr. Chair. I, I think the product is the same. We're talking about packaging here, and we've got industry folks who can-

  156. 0:37:56

    Right

  157. 0:37:57

    ... speak to packaging. And, uh, ultimately, they're not gonna make this stuff in small sizes. They're gonna make it in a large volume, and they're gonna fortify it, and they're gonna then put it in various package sizes. Is that not true?

  158. 0:38:11

    And maybe we can get a, maybe we can get a, a, a, someone from the industry to kind of speak to this. While we're doing that, I would beforehand, I, I, I have another question. Just as a refresher, and I think we discussed this the last time we heard the legislation, we're gonna fortify, uh, corn- con masa flour, uh, with folic acid. And, uh, my only question is the cost associated with that, uh, fortification.

  159. 0:38:38

    Okay. So I brought Kevin up here. Sharon can answer that question.

  160. 0:38:42

    All right. Well, we'll start with, uh, we'll start with Kevin. Kevin, it's okay. Help us understand snacks.

  161. 0:38:48

    Uh, so, so thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all, uh, to the author for including us and for including this language on, on snack food. And I, and I, I think the, um, gray area you're talking about is in the second part of line 47, where it says, "Is typically prepackaged in small or single serving portions," because it does exclude, to your point, Chairman Watson, the larger bag of chips, which would be problematic for manufacturers. Um, while we all support the goal of, um, and no- nobody wants spina bifida, and we're sympathetic to those issues, this is a challenge, um, having a, a, a group of laws across the country.

  162. 0:39:31

    If you have every state that's calling for different fortification laws, it really creates a complex distribution system, and there's a huge difference in the way that you fortify, uh, a tortilla versus a tortilla chip. They're, they're totally different. So the, the, the snack food definition, which the, the, um, Senator Harrell has been gracious enough to allow us to include, is important to us, but we do think that there is some confusion in that second part of line 43.

  163. 0:40:03

    That's actually line 47 on mine. Um ...

  164. 0:40:07

    Is it line 47 or 48?

  165. 0:40:10

    It's 48.

  166. 0:40:11

    48 and 49. Excuse me. It starts-

  167. 0:40:13

    Yeah

  168. 0:40:13

    ... at 47.

  169. 0:40:14

    What LC is that?

  170. 0:40:16

    This would be LC 60-0 th- Sam, I can't see.

  171. 0:40:21

    6032.

  172. 0:40:22

    60-0324S.

  173. 0:40:24

    Okay. I got a different one.

  174. 0:40:27

    7C.

  175. 0:40:27

    Yeah, I'm s- you have another one. You have a committee sub in your, in your bracket, Mr. Chairman.

  176. 0:40:31

    All right. Yeah, I got it now. I see it. Gotcha.

  177. 0:40:33

    Yeah. It turned to-

  178. 0:40:34

    I'm sorry. I was on the wrong one.

  179. 0:40:36

    Yeah, no worries.

  180. 0:40:37

    Mark.

  181. 0:40:40

    Um, Chairman Watson, uh, uh, Chairman Anderson is wanting to ask a question. You want me to yield to him, or you have another question?

  182. 0:40:47

    Um, no, I, I, I think, uh, they've, they've answered it. I, I, and I can, I have sympathy with that, as I, I know how it is at, at my place when we have to put stuff in different packaging. Different, you know, items go in different boxes, and somebody will call in an order, and we have to run out here and say, "Stop, stop, stop. We got to put it in a different box. We got to pack it different. We got to do different things," and just don't want to get into that with this, where they got to, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, we made too many."

  183. 0:41:10

    It's kind of-

  184. 0:41:10

    "We got to, we got to-

  185. 0:41:11

    Yeah.

  186. 0:41:11

    "Y'all stop. We got to change the bags. We got to do this," you know?

  187. 0:41:13

    You sound like, uh, Mr. Chairman, you sound like when I get that call when we're packing blueberries, and we find it's taking us three hours to get everything work to be packing in pints or in six ounces, and the next thing you know, by the time you get everything working, they want you to be packing in 18 ounces.

  188. 0:41:26

    Yeah, exactly.

  189. 0:41:27

    And then, then next thing you know, you got blueberries all on the floor. But anyway, Chairman Anderson, uh, go ahead.

  190. 0:41:32

    Um, the question probably is for Ms. Perry. Um, how does this bill relate to all the other states? I mean, d- is it put us in line-

  191. 0:41:46

    Absolutely

  192. 0:41:47

    ... with all the other states to, to solve the problem you was talking about earlier?

  193. 0:41:52

    I, I, I, I only know that there's a few states that have done this, California being the, the first to really-

  194. 0:41:58

    And Alabama.

  195. 0:42:00

    I, I don't think Alabama's passed yet.

  196. 0:42:02

    Sharon, Sharon is the person to answer this question.

  197. 0:42:08

    Thank you for the question, Senator. Um, this would be in line with what Alabama, they, Alabama passed a corn masa fortification bill last year, and they've passed some amendments this year, and this definition is in line with what Alabama has just passed.

  198. 0:42:22

    Is other states looking at it, too?

  199. 0:42:24

    Yes, Oklahoma, as well as Oklahoma has an actual bill in place. Um, Texas is moving forward with one. A lot of these bills are actually driven by neurosurgeons, um, because they're the ones operating on these spina bifida cases, so they're very motivated for this prevention. So I know of efforts by neurosurgeons in Oklahoma, um, Texas, Tennessee, and Oregon.

  200. 0:42:48

    And-

  201. 0:42:48

    What is the other states doing?

  202. 0:42:51

    Um, as I mentioned, Alabama has this definition of s-

  203. 0:42:55

    No, I'm talking about the North Carolina, South Carolina. I mean, what, do they have any- all the other states, do they have any type of law- Pertaining to this bill

  204. 0:43:07

    So at the federal level, it is allowed. It, there's a, there's a federal regulation saying that you can add folic acid to corn masa and corn masa flour, but it's not required. Um, my organization did a supply chain assessment a number of years ago, and we found that most corn masa was not being fortified. So, um, that's kind of what started this state-level push to, to increase the amount of folic acid fortified products that are available.

  205. 0:43:35

    Okay. Thank you.

  206. 0:43:37

    And that's something that I think going forward, and I've, I've talked with, with Senator Harrell about this, and obviously we're... I'm sup- I'm supportive of, of the, the proposition, um, or we wouldn't be here today. But also, I wanna caution everybody about, um, just in general as a policy across the country when states start passing their own ingredient laws and food laws, it is, um... S- And I'm not, I'm not saying that to...

  207. 0:44:07

    I, I'm supportive of, of, you know, what we're doing, but let me tell y'all, it's just like they passed a law in Texas. They got it where bleached flour, if you have bleached flour in your product, there's about 40 different ingredients, you have to have a warning label. So Wonder Bread's gonna have to have a warning label. When we talk about affordability, do y'all know what that means? When you think about, take my, uh, the business that we're in, we're making collars. It's got bleached flour in it.

  208. 0:44:38

    That's what everybody uses, bleached flour. But we have seven different flavors, and we're in 40 different states. And the proposition that we could go in and have to have 280 different packages because each state has their own ingredient requirement or labeling requirement. So the states that are doing this stuff more and more at the time, I do think that eventually, and I told Senator Harrell this today, there's gonna be a court case that's gonna go to the Supreme Court. And I'm not an attorney, but I think the Supremacy Clause is gonna take over, and it's gonna say federal law dictates this stuff because you take Peligrew, Alabama, where we're selling collars there, and they're go- and they're going to Florida, they're going to Georgia, they're going to Alabama, they're going to Tennessee.

  209. 0:45:15

    Um, and so when we talk about affordability, could you imagine what that would be as far as adding to food cost? Um, I say that not particularly in relationship to this bill and what this, this measure here would do, but there is a difference, I think, in, in, it's w- when, when adding folic acid to, uh, tortillas versus chips from my understanding. But at any rate, I'm just saying that to, to let everyone know that, you know, as we go forward and we're t- trying to decide policy, um, and I've been transparent with you about that.

  210. 0:45:48

    Oh, we've had these discussions, right?

  211. 0:45:50

    Yeah. I mean, it's-

  212. 0:45:50

    We've talked about this a lot.

  213. 0:45:51

    Yeah. I mean, it, it's, uh, it's one of those deals where, uh, you know, every, every, if every state starts... That you have to have a different formulation for every state and a different package for every state, and you've got DCs in grocery stores, and those DCs are, are sending, uh, product to three different states because they're in a proximity because that was where it would be, you know. That's just the logistics of that. But, um, I've got number 15 here.

  214. 0:46:21

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To the author, just help me understand the

  215. 0:46:28

    neurologists or neuroscience, which, which one? Neurologists?

  216. 0:46:31

    Neurosurgeons.

  217. 0:46:31

    Neurosurgeons. They've identified spina bifida is higher in the Hispanic population.

  218. 0:46:36

    Twice as high.

  219. 0:46:37

    Twice as high.

  220. 0:46:37

    More than twice as high.

  221. 0:46:38

    And so you have kind of targeted a staple food in the Hispanic population so that you can get folic acid specifically to pregnant women.

  222. 0:46:51

    Women of reproductive age. You actually wanna get, um, it, it into them before they're pregnant because the neural tube is developed in the fetus so early.

  223. 0:47:00

    Okay. Do we do anything like this with any other product?

  224. 0:47:04

    Well, we do folic acid in, in wheat products.

  225. 0:47:08

    For this reason, or I guess there's other health benefits?

  226. 0:47:11

    Yeah, for exactly the same reason.

  227. 0:47:11

    Okay.

  228. 0:47:11

    We just left... We, we didn't r- When we fortified wheat with flour 20 years ago, we forgot to think about the different diet of Latino people. So we're really going back to correct a mistake.

  229. 0:47:27

    Yeah. And my understanding is, uh, Senator, is that they, uh... It was after World War II when we started fortifying wheat. But w- I believe it was 1998 or 1999 that there was, uh, a ruling from USA said that if you are going to fortify wheat, then you have to put folic acid in it.

  230. 0:47:45

    Okay.

  231. 0:47:45

    Um, so that's, that's kind of where we're at.

  232. 0:47:47

    And it's been very successful.

  233. 0:47:51

    Thank you.

  234. 0:47:51

    Yep. Thank you.

  235. 0:47:56

    I might add to that in terms of the state by state that the amount of folic acid would be consistent across the states because it's following the science, right?

  236. 0:48:08

    Yeah.

  237. 0:48:08

    Yeah.

  238. 0:48:08

    We have tried to keep it consistent for 40 or 50 years now.

  239. 0:48:09

    But no, I understand what you're saying, but you've got 50 different states, and all 50 states may not pass this bill, or there may be three states that do it-

  240. 0:48:17

    Right

  241. 0:48:17

    ... or six states.

  242. 0:48:18

    Right. But the food pro-

  243. 0:48:18

    And then it, and then if it's a-

  244. 0:48:20

    The food producers can just... If they're having to do it for Alabama and Georgia, but they also sell in North Carolina, they can, they can do it in North Car- North Carolina too. They can-

  245. 0:48:30

    Right

  246. 0:48:30

    ... they can choose to just-

  247. 0:48:31

    Unless that legislature decides that they wanna go to a different formula or a different amount of folic acid. That's the only thing I'm saying.

  248. 0:48:37

    I don't think that would happen because-

  249. 0:48:39

    Yeah

  250. 0:48:39

    ... it's following a science.

  251. 0:48:40

    No, I un- understand. All right, uh, number 12.

  252. 0:48:44

    Thank you, Mr. Chair.

  253. 0:48:44

    Senator Howard.

  254. 0:48:45

    Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I appreciate this topic very much.

  255. 0:48:49

    Okay.

  256. 0:48:49

    Um, and forgive me for trying to catch up. I know this is, uh, been a topic-

  257. 0:48:53

    You're the newcomer.

  258. 0:48:54

    I'm the newcomer. Uh, this has been a year into it. But as I'm catching up, can you help me understand, um, I guess the differences as far as strategy and set, um, prenatal vitamins? You know, folic acid is a big part of prenatal vitamins. It's targeted, you know, it's for women who are considering... I mean, I guess not always, but that's one way you can target, uh, a vitamin supplement

  259. 0:49:18

    Can you help me, um, understand strategy between a vitamin strategy versus, um, um, of supply chain and of a whole-

  260. 0:49:27

    Sure

  261. 0:49:28

    ... segment-

  262. 0:49:28

    Sure

  263. 0:49:28

    ... of food supply?

  264. 0:49:29

    The vitamin strategy doesn't really work because-

  265. 0:49:32

    Yeah. That's the question

  266. 0:49:33

    ... the, um, the neural tube develops in the fetus so early that by the time most women get in for their first prenatal care appointment, realize, realize they're pregnant, go in for their pr- first prenatal care appointment, start on prenatal vitamins, it's too late. And so the strategy is to up the amount of folic acid in all women who could get pregnant so that when they get pregnant, they already have that folic acid in the system 'cause if you wait later, then it's too late.

  267. 0:50:06

    Uh, I thought... Well, I guess you shut yourself off, didn't you, Senator Howard? No, that's it. Okay. Uh-

  268. 0:50:15

    Als- also, I might add-

  269. 0:50:17

    Sure, go ahead. Yeah, Senator.

  270. 0:50:17

    Yeah, sorry. I, I, I might add, too, that when we had the hearing, um, uh, there was a lot of discussion about how, um, this effort has, has tried for a very long time to get this done voluntarily and has not been successful. That's why we moved to a state-by-state strategy.

  271. 0:50:33

    And we met with, we met with, we met with several folks throughout this. We, you know-

  272. 0:50:39

    Right

  273. 0:50:39

    ... you and I have. We met with the folks that came out from Texas. Um-

  274. 0:50:43

    Right.

  275. 0:50:46

    Okay. Uh, Senator Kemp.

  276. 0:50:48

    Yeah, thank you so much for this and continuing to educate us on a very important issue. Um, I, I think you just raised something that was really important. I just wanna make sure I'm clear. So if Georgia were to do this and let's say Alabama is doing it, as I understand they're working on, you know, updating the, the law that they passed, and so you're starting to have kind of a regional effect, right?

  277. 0:51:08

    Mm-hmm.

  278. 0:51:09

    So if folks are distributing to Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, they could still sell the products that are required to have the amounts in Georgia and Alabama because they don't have a certain requirement that, you know, there's a certain level of folic acid in, in them, but you're still meeting their laws by distributing now what is required in Georgia and Alabama in the other states that are surrounding. Is that correct?

  279. 0:51:39

    Um, thank you for the question, Senator. Not 100% sure if I understood, but, um, there would be nothing stopping producers from distributing the same products that meet the requirements in Georgia to any other state.

  280. 0:51:53

    Got it.

  281. 0:51:53

    There's no state with prohibitions and it would match, um, the level in the bill matches the federal level.

  282. 0:51:59

    Got it.

  283. 0:52:00

    Does that answer your question?

  284. 0:52:00

    Yes, it does. Thank you.

  285. 0:52:05

    All right. Do we have any further questions?

  286. 0:52:12

    No further questions?

  287. 0:52:15

    All right. What's the... What... Let's see here.

  288. 0:52:21

    Uh, Mr. Chairman, if there are no more questions, I would like to make a motion do pass.

  289. 0:52:25

    All righty. We have a motion do pass. Do we have a second?

  290. 0:52:33

    I'll second. Okay. We have...

  291. 0:52:37

    Senator Howard, what number? Are you 12? 12. Okay. Um, we have a motion do pass and a second, and I think, uh, we have, uh... Well, my light's blinking here, Mr. Chairman, so I guess that's, uh, Chairman Watson.

  292. 0:52:52

    Yes, Mr. Chairman. If, if, if it would be okay with the author, is, would it be okay for us to just strike that line, um, where we're not talking about different sizes? Would that help bring everybody together on this? Um, I guess it would be line 47, 48 and part of 49. Part of 47, part of 48 and part of 49.

  293. 0:53:13

    Can you give like-

  294. 0:53:13

    From-

  295. 0:53:13

    ... the start word and the end word?

  296. 0:53:15

    From, uh, "Delete is typically pr- prepackaged in small or single serving portions and is primarily consumed between meals." Just strike that one line there and go till it reads, "Snack food means a food product that is intended for immediate consumption including but not limited to chips, crisps or extruded food products." Where we're just talking about chips in general, um, and, and not getting into this size or that size or, um, big sizes, little sizes.

  297. 0:53:46

    I just, I know how that is back home. Um-

  298. 0:53:50

    What would you think about keeping the, "Primarily consumed between meals," but striking the single serving portions? Um...

  299. 0:54:07

    Striking...

  300. 0:54:09

    So you'd strike from line 47 starting with the word, "Is"-

  301. 0:54:14

    Mm-hmm

  302. 0:54:14

    ... and go through line 48 ending with, um, the word, "Portions"?

  303. 0:54:25

    So, it's immediate consumption and is-

  304. 0:54:29

    "Snack food means a food product that is intended for immediate con- consumption and is primarily consumed between meals including but not limited to." So we're striking, "Is typically packaged in small or single serving portions."

  305. 0:54:48

    Snack to me means, does mean eating between meals.

  306. 0:54:52

    Okay. We've got, um- You can, you can repeat that ... why don't we- Go ahead and repeat that. Yeah. Re- re- repeat, uh, Senator, do you wanna, do you wanna make that in the form of a motion? I mean, you're, what you're proposing to do.

  307. 0:55:08

    Y- yeah, I'd, I'd, I'm make a motion to strike, uh, "Is typically prepackaged in a small or single serving portion and is primarily consumed between meals." That is my, my motion.

  308. 0:55:19

    Okay. That is your motion. Is there a second?

  309. 0:55:22

    Second

  310. 0:55:23

    Is there any discussion about this am- amendment? We've got Chairman Burns.

  311. 0:55:27

    Question. I, I would, uh, I'd just like to ask the, uh, food and beverage industry to weigh in on this amendment. Is that a-

  312. 0:55:33

    I was... Yes, sir. I was planning on doing that.

  313. 0:55:35

    Yeah. I- I'd like to know-

  314. 0:55:35

    But I was, I was waiting for everybody to get done asking their questions.

  315. 0:55:38

    Again, I think the issue is does that make a clear distinction about what a snack food is? I think that's the question.

  316. 0:55:45

    Mr. Chairman, we, we support Chairman Watson's amendment.

  317. 0:55:48

    All right. Thank you. I, I just need to make sure that we're on the same page.

  318. 0:55:51

    Yes, sir.

  319. 0:55:52

    All right. Chairman, uh, Watson. Do we have any more lights lighting up? Okay. Um, is, we have, uh, the bill has been, uh, motion do pass and a second. There has been a motion to make an amendment. Uh, did we get a second on that? We did. Was it Sarah? Did... Okay. So Chairman Anderson seconded it. Is there any further discussion on that amendment? Okay. All in favor of the amendment, please signify by saying, "Aye." Aye. Any opposed?

  320. 0:56:23

    Okay, now we're gonna take a vote on the bill as amended. So, uh-

  321. 0:56:29

    Further discussion

  322. 0:56:30

    ... is there any further discussion on the underlying bill as amended? Oh, okay. Uh-

  323. 0:56:36

    Mr. Chairman, I got one question.

  324. 0:56:38

    Bill Carden.

  325. 0:56:39

    It is complicated.

  326. 0:56:40

    Um, Mr., uh, Whipp. Uh, okay. Uh, just, uh, I tell you what, Chairman Summers, if you'll just give me one second. Ch- Chairman Anderson beat it-

  327. 0:56:48

    No

  328. 0:56:48

    ... beat you to it. Chairman Anderson, what?

  329. 0:56:52

    One serious question about the whole bill, that the chairman needs to know, and I need to know, and everyone in here needs to know. Does this gonna affect the taste of our grandmamma's cornbread?

  330. 0:57:05

    No.

  331. 0:57:07

    Okay.

  332. 0:57:07

    Absolutely not.

  333. 0:57:08

    All right. All right. Cha- hey, Chairman Summers.

  334. 0:57:09

    That's a good question.

  335. 0:57:11

    Chairman Summers, what-

  336. 0:57:11

    A very good question

  337. 0:57:12

    ... what number are you?

  338. 0:57:13

    Uh, 14, I think.

  339. 0:57:14

    14, okay. Go ahead, Chairman Summers.

  340. 0:57:17

    I've... Uh, the author, uh, also mentioned 47 and 48 is over to preparation. Is that, was that part of that motion, or is that in or out of it?

  341. 0:57:25

    No, Chair.

  342. 0:57:27

    It's out of it.

  343. 0:57:29

    It's fine.

  344. 0:57:30

    What was the question?

  345. 0:57:30

    I think you're on the wrong LC, Mr. Chairman.

  346. 0:57:32

    LC.

  347. 0:57:32

    You, we, we need to be on the LC with the S on the end of it for committee substitute.

  348. 0:57:36

    Oh, hell. No wonder. All right.

  349. 0:57:38

    Okay. All right. Uh, I'm sorry. Sorry about that, Mr. Chairman. Uh-

  350. 0:57:41

    Oh, well, you just go on

  351. 0:57:42

    ... all right. Let's see. Um-

  352. 0:57:46

    Thank you

  353. 0:57:46

    ... Senator Howard, did, am I... Uh, is your s- microphone supposed to be on?

  354. 0:57:50

    Yes.

  355. 0:57:51

    Okay, it is on.

  356. 0:57:52

    Thank you.

  357. 0:57:52

    All right.

  358. 0:57:53

    I, I turned it off last time. Um, thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, just a, a couple questions about, well, one question about, uh, states that have implemented this. I think you mentioned Alabama. Um, and there's been some amendments. I just wanted to get an idea of what, what were some of those amendments based on after having a year having it implemented. And I have a second question about, uh, has there been any-

  359. 0:58:17

    You know, give it one chair, one question.

  360. 0:58:18

    Oh, I'm sorry.

  361. 0:58:18

    I'm just kidding. I'm kidding. Go ahead.

  362. 0:58:19

    There, there will be a second question. I'll wait, I'll wait for the appropriate time.

  363. 0:58:22

    No, you go, go ahead.

  364. 0:58:23

    Uh, I, but if you want to start, do this one, I can ask the second one later.

  365. 0:58:27

    Yeah, so the main amendment was the definitions, just to make, um, it very clear what all was covered in terms of products. Um, so that was the main one, and then kind of during that process, the snack amendment got added, um, by our friends in the food industry.

  366. 0:58:42

    And if I may, the s- uh, second question was, uh, have we seen any, um, positive or results of fortifying this particular food as far as trying to reduce some of the rates of spina bifida?

  367. 0:58:54

    Mm-hmm.

  368. 0:58:55

    'Cause it's such a rare thing anyway. You know?

  369. 0:58:58

    I don't know if you would... This haven't been in law long enough to see any results.

  370. 0:59:02

    Exactly, yep.

  371. 0:59:03

    Yeah.

  372. 0:59:03

    So we can, we can see from, from wheat flour, um, when that was implemented, it was about a 35% reduction nationwide in these, these, these birth defects. In terms of Alabama, it actually hasn't been implemented yet because we build in, um, time for producers to change their packaging and things like that. So it hasn't gone into effect in that way yet in Alabama. I will say, um, in California we've s- done some market assessments, um, myself and some of my colleagues at UC Davis, and we have seen, um, increase in, you know, that availability of fortified products.

  373. 0:59:35

    And-

  374. 0:59:35

    It's too early to really say if effective. It's obviously takes time.

  375. 0:59:38

    That's about, uh-

  376. 0:59:38

    Yeah.

  377. 0:59:38

    Senator, that's about like when I go on a diet. You know, I go on a diet-

  378. 0:59:41

    Yeah

  379. 0:59:41

    ... and 30 minutes later I expect to be lost 20 pounds.

  380. 0:59:44

    Yeah, yeah.

  381. 0:59:44

    So, um-

  382. 0:59:45

    You got your stats?

  383. 0:59:46

    That's right. Um, Ch- so, uh-

  384. 0:59:49

    Call the question, Mr. Chairman

  385. 0:59:49

    ... Chairman-

  386. 0:59:50

    Last snack

  387. 0:59:51

    ... y- yes, sir. We, we got one more. We got Chairman Hatchett, and then we're, uh, we're gonna call the question.

  388. 0:59:55

    Just for the purposes of discussion, and I'll yield to ledge counsel. Lines 71 through 77 in the definition section, we put corn masa flour at the end of each sentence, so it reads, "Offers for sale or uses as an ingredient in the manufacture of snack foods corn masa flour," and then it repeats on two with a different, s- slightly different definition. Would it be better or clearer to put, "Uses corn masa flour as an ingredient in the manufacture of snack fl- foods"?

  389. 1:00:33

    I just, to me, with corn masa flour at the end of the sentence, for some reason that's just triggering

  390. 1:00:44

    as not flowing properly in my mind. Could you weigh in on that, ledge counsel?

  391. 1:00:51

    Sure. I, I'm sorry, sir. Are you-

  392. 1:00:53

    I'm sorry. What, what, uh, what number are you, dear?

  393. 1:00:56

    So it would be... Oh, go ahead. Line 71-

  394. 1:01:00

    Two

  395. 1:01:00

    ... through 77.

  396. 1:01:05

    71 through 77.

  397. 1:01:13

    I, I don't know if we're looking at the same bill.

  398. 1:01:16

    Are you at the right LC number?

  399. 1:01:18

    Do you have the S on the end of it?

  400. 1:01:19

    Uh, no, I'm not on the sub. So on the sub-

  401. 1:01:21

    I'm that way too

  402. 1:01:22

    ... I apologize. Let me see.

  403. 1:01:23

    'Cause you said definitions. You said definitions, so...

  404. 1:01:28

    So this would be... Oh, you corrected it in the sub.

  405. 1:01:32

    Oh, there we go. So we have a, we have a, a, we, we're ready for to vote on the amendment. Uh, all in favor of the amendment offered by, uh-

  406. 1:01:41

    We already did that

  407. 1:01:42

    ... uh-

  408. 1:01:42

    We already voted.

  409. 1:01:42

    Oh, we already voted on the amendment?

  410. 1:01:43

    Yeah.

  411. 1:01:45

    Okay, now we're voting on the underlying bill. I'm sorry. Okay. All in favor of the bill as amended?

  412. 1:01:52

    Aye.

  413. 1:01:52

    Aye.

  414. 1:01:52

    All right. Is there any opposed? All right, bill passes unanimously. This meeting is adjourned.

  415. 1:01:58

    Thank you very much.

  416. 1:01:58

    Thank you.

  417. 1:02:09

    Thank you.

  418. 1:02:09

    Thank you.

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