House Education Committee, February 26, 2026

Transcript

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1. 0:15:19

   Folks, we have one of our authors here, and we also have a quorum, so, uh, we're gonna sh- show that we're efficient with time. Now, I walked six flights of stairs getting here, so, uh, I, I'm a little out of breath as we're trying to get rolling. Uh, let me welcome the visitors that are in the room, and I'm sure we're gonna see more, 'cause I left a bunch getting on the elevator down there. But thank you, visitors. Let me ask, uh, educators in the room, teachers, hold your hand up.

2. 0:15:52

   There we go. Let's welcome them, members. Uh

3. 0:15:59

   Those that are in the room that, uh, work with kids every day, you're, you're daily heroes. So thank you for your efforts with our, our young people and, uh, molding this future for us. Um, the, uh, um, committee members, let's open up with prayer. Let me see. Representative Glaize, can you open us up down there? What number are you, by the way?

4. 0:16:25

   10.

5. 0:16:25

   Number 10.

6. 0:16:26

   Yes, sir.

7. 0:16:26

   You have the microphone.

8. 0:16:28

   Lord, we thank You again for this opportunity to do the work of the people. Be with us today and give us wisdom as we move forward in good legislation. In Jesus' name, amen.

9. 0:16:40

   Amen.

10. 0:16:41

    Great. Thank you. Members, let me state to you that, uh, as you know, our, our time is condensed as we have quite a bit going on, uh, today and back in session by 1:00. Uh, I have bragged on you repeatedly on the concise questioning, the meeting, uh, with the authors beforehand. I know we have, uh, a couple of subs before us today, um, so we will definitely need to make sure that we've got the right one we're reading from.

11. 0:17:18

    But, uh, these are very well-vetted-by-you bills, and looking forward to seeing if we can move four more bills on at this time within this committee. Um, I, I haven't done a count of late, but, uh, we have d- we have done, uh, more than 20 bills. And, uh, we are trying to get those over to the Senate and get them, uh, um, debated on the floor and, uh, and into their hands in the Senate.

12. 0:17:52

    So just know we're gonna continue that. Very likely, I will tell you committee members, and I'll try to remind you, we will, uh, be calling meetings as we're getting closer and closer to crossover. Um, I, I am getting a tremendous push on all bills that are sitting in our committee right now, and we're having to use your time wisely, is what I'm saying, but I have the intention on calling a meeting or two to see if we can continue to move some bills through.

13. 0:18:26

    So just, uh, be on the alert for Monday right off the bat with that. And, uh, with that, we're gonna call our first bill sponsor up, which is HB 1402, and I think I see, uh, Representative Hagan. Didn't you come in? There you go. Have a seat right there. If you would, I believe you have a substitute. If you would read your LC number, and then I will turn the microphone over to you.

14. 0:18:53

    Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee. It's LC492711S, which is the same sub that was heard in subcommittee-

15. 0:19:02

    Perfect

16. 0:19:03

    ... earlier.

17. 0:19:03

    And it's yours.

18. 0:19:04

    No changes to that. Well, along with the good work that this committee has been doing, um, especially with what we saw this Tuesday in the chamber with those good measures to, um, help our students have the tools they need to succeed in life, I've got another measure here that, um, would help with our literacy rates, I believe. It encourages... Or no, it doesn't encourage. It requires screening for vision and hearing for all public school students pre-K through three, and this would occur at the school where they are so that they will have it done.

19. 0:19:44

    I've worked with Department of Public Health on this, the Lions Lighthouse Foundation, and thank you, um, Representative Lumsden, uh, Lupton for, for organizing that, Dr. Gary McGiboney and Mrs. Dale Burns to craft this. So what will be required, like I said, are the vision screenings and the hearing screenings for all of our public school students pre-K through three. It would occur at the school. Parents could opt out.

20. 0:20:15

    Otherwise, the students will be screened. The parents will be notified by a letter with wording that will be provided by DPH if their child fails either one of those screenings. The data collected, and there's specific data listed in the bill that, that DPH requested, would be sent to DPH in-house. And why we're excited about that is because this can help us going further to look and see how, as the students are being screened, the ones that do not pass their screening, uh, we'll be looking at how many of them receive glasses, hearing aids when they need it and, and what the test scores look like following those, those, um, improvements to their vision and hearing.

21. 0:21:02

    Um, annually, DPH will be required to report back to the General Assembly the, uh, the data that they collect so that we can, this committee particularly, could use that to, uh, look at what, um, further, uh- ... legislation we might like to push. Um, to assist with this, there is a grant involved, it, which would be administered by Department of Education. It's a one-time grant, one-time-only grant of $15,000 per school system.

22. 0:21:35

    This should be able to enable them to purchase the required vision screening and hearing screening tools that they need so that they can do that, uh, screening there at the school. Also in the bill, it does allow for the school to, if they choose, have an agreement with an, a, an outside organization to come in and do the screening. Many of our schools already have Lions Club come in and do screening in elementary school, so this would allow for them to continue to do that if they're meeting protocols that DPH sets, which the Lions Club s- currently does.

23. 0:22:15

    Um, Mr. Chairman, that is the bulk of that bill. Also added i- in the substitute was language that would require local schools to provide written notification to parents or guardians of each student who does not achieve grade-level reading proficien- proficiency. We wanna make sure these parents are aware where their children stand as we continue to partner with them to make sure our children are reading proficiently.

24. 0:22:48

    Mr. Chairman, that's, that's the bill, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

25. 0:22:51

    Great. Thank you, uh, Representative. Great bill. Um, as, as the members know that I live this as a parent with a child that had very poor vision, and, uh, luckily that we were able to catch it about, uh, few months into his, uh, career, but that put him a few months behind. I've also been given information about, uh, the data, if we could catch more of these or all of these, the, and, and get them the corrective vision, that the literacy rate would be able to go up, uh, dramatically.

26. 0:23:28

    Um, and, and I can't remember what percent of, uh, the kids or that, that rate, but I have seen that data where the, it definitely impacts the learning of a child trying to learn to read.

27. 0:23:41

    Absolutely. The Lions Club reports when they screen, they're sending notices home to between 20 and 30%, typically, of the students who don't pass their vision screening. But I do know there's a school system who's implemented this and an- and another program that I think the Literacy Council will be looking at later that dramatically improves their literacy scores almost immediately once they receive the glasses and hearing aids they need. So I think, I think along with everything else this committee's doing, that we've got some potential here to really improve our scores and help our students.

28. 0:24:14

    Well, Representative, being one that has glasses and hearing aids, thank you for this bill.

29. 0:24:19

    Yes, sir.

30. 0:24:21

    Number 26.

31. 0:24:23

    Thank you, Mr. Chair. I can't match that. I have, uh, glasses. But, uh, I have been wearing glasses since I was age four, and I think the hearing is definitely something need of, need to be addressed. So I really appreciate what you're doing, Chairman Hagan, uh, at the appropriate time.

32. 0:24:38

    Number 10. Give my mic around. Number 10.

33. 0:24:42

    Thank you, Chairman, and I certainly thank you for bringing this bill. As a part of the Committee, um, on Absenteeism, we heard from, um, the Lions Club and visited, and we certainly wanted to connect to the low-hanging fruit. This is low-hanging fruit. I'm so glad that this is now a bill and that parents will have support from their school system to make sure that their children have these type of, um, hearing devices or glasses if they're needed to make sure that we make s- every child in Georgia gets to learn, um, and that this does not become a hindrance.

34. 0:25:22

    At the proper time, I will second this.

35. 0:25:24

    Had to. That's, it is, uh, number 26. It's appropriate time.

36. 0:25:30

    Yes, sir. I'd like to make a motion to approve.

37. 0:25:33

    Got a motion.

38. 0:25:34

    Second.

39. 0:25:34

    Got a second. Seeing no other discussion on, uh, HB 1402 LC492711S. Glad I got my glasses on so I could see that. Um, all in favor say aye.

40. 0:25:56

    Aye.

41. 0:25:56

    Um, all against it. Same sign. Your bill passes. Thank you-

42. 0:26:03

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman

43. 0:26:04

    ... Chairman. Good bill. All right. S- Members, thank you. Thank you for that questioning. Very good on that bill. We got another bill here. Uh, let's go to HB 1302, the second one I have here. Uh, floor leader, if you would come to the podium. And I'm gonna ask you what I ask all the others, read that LC number to us, and, uh, then I'm gonna turn the microphone over to you.

44. 0:26:32

    Thank you, Chairman. I'm working off of, uh, LC492730. This is a substitute from the bill we originally went over the other day.

45. 0:26:43

    Okay, 3-0 and then, um, ECS. Okay.

46. 0:26:47

    That's correct, yep.

47. 0:26:49

    I got you. Microphone's yours, floor leader.

48. 0:26:51

    All right. Well, Chairman, Committee, it's good to be back with, uh, you again today. And, um, I wanna start off by just reminding the committee of a few things I mentioned the other day in subcommittee. Uh, I know when we see a 47-page bill, it gets a little concerning. Um, but I want to also point out that 20 pages of this bill, um, are substantive and 27 pages of this bill either repeal A name change, a clean up existing code.

49. 0:27:21

    Uh, so over half of the bill is just purely clean up language. So I would ask for y'all to give me some grace in knowing that it's, uh, it's not just 47 pages of all new things. There's a lot of things in here that we're cleaning up, again, to better align our workforce development programs in the state that run K through higher ed and all the partners that are a part of that. My son David's not with me today, but he was with me on Monday when he, when I presented this bill, and, uh, I think I've mentioned to y'all before, I'm, I'm from Cartersville, went to Cartersville High School.

50. 0:27:54

    I took CTA courses myself. Uh, my son's enrolled in them. My daughter's enrolled in them. I believe in the power of CTAE and what it does for all of our students statewide in changing lives. And that's what, that's why I'm so excited about this bill and why I think that this is, uh, something that our state, uh, will truly benefit, the students of our state will benefit from, uh, here today, the Education and Workforce Strategy Act. This is, of course, the final piece of Governor Kemp's Workforce Development package that aims to build a structure that ensures the important work done over the past several years, that y'all have been a part of, uh, continues.

51. 0:28:35

    And I'm honored to have Alex Huskey with me today, the Governor's Education Policy Advisor. This legislation does this by designating the Governor's Office of Student Achievement, so GOSA, as the lead coordinator to bring together the agencies that have participated in the Governor's Workforce Strategy Team. This is the same group that envisioned and implemented the Georgia Match program, which y'all remember as the letter that all of our seniors are now getting that tells them where they're eligible for admissions, uh, at a university system or technical college in their area, how they can get connected up to the Hope Grant or the Hope Scholarship, who they need to talk to, and making sure that they're aware of those opportunities.

52. 0:29:18

    Um, which is the state's, also part of the state's high-demand caree- career list, this legislation, and of course, the top state for talent, has all been a part of legislation leading up to this. So to align with these new responsibilities of GOSA, uh, the name would be changed. So it's not a new agency. It's just gonna have a name change. It's gonna be the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy. The State Workforce Investment Board, who has been tasked with a greater role in overseeing workforce development efforts, would be assigned to the Governor's Office of Student Achievement to prevent any image of bias from one agency over another.

53. 0:30:02

    Additionally, this legislation would codify the requirement for the technical college system and the Department of Education to submit a unified Workforce Investment Opportunity Act plan and Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act plan to the federal government as they did for the first time this past year. So it's actually already been done. This just simply puts it into code and says that that's the process that they follow going forward. And they did an excellent job doing this already, and I want to commend the commissioner, Greg Dozier, and the Department of Ed and our state CTAE director, Dr.

54. 0:30:40

    Barbara Wall, for working together, uh, on aligning the Perkins plan, uh, as a part of that. These plans govern federal funds geared towards workforce development that the state receives with WIOA providing training and education services to youth and adults and Perkins supporting CTAE programs. And I mentioned to you earlier, y'all have heard this before, the Perkins funds started originally 1917, the first federal funding of any education program in our nation.

55. 0:31:12

    It was for agricultural education. It, it expanded into home economics at the time, which is now called Family and Consumer Sciences, and then all of the other programs that we now know as a part of CTAE through the years have been included in Perkins funding as well. So this is federal funds that we receive that help to support these programs. Now, we also fund these programs with state dollars through the Quality Basic Education Act, and there's specific line items in there for the weights on how these programs earn dollars.

56. 0:31:42

    But for the purpose of our conversation today, we're only focusing on the WIOA plan and the Perkins plan and the creation of those plans, which of course, again, are federal dollars. To ensure the clarity and accessibility of the newly created workforce reports over the past few years, House Bill 1302 would create one comprehensive state workforce plan that incorporates the federal plans, state required reports, and goals that the state will strive for in this space, with the plan being updated on the same cycle as the federal plans.

57. 0:32:20

    The bill, at the request of the Federal Department of Labor, also designates TCSG as the state apprenticeship agency. And I'm gonna share a little bit more about that in just a minute because I know for those of you that were here on Monday, you heard some concerns expressed to us by our apprenticeship, uh, programs. And, uh, I'm very encouraged that we were able to get this sub that we have before you, and I'll talk a little bit more about that. But Monday, those groups raised concerns surrounding some of the language. Uh, we met with them, myself, Alex, uh, and several others, Mark Peavy from TCSG, for, uh, approximately an hour after that meeting, and we listened to every single person that was around that table, asking them what needed to be included in this bill that would, uh, help them to be at ease and comfortable with what we're trying to accomplish here, which is not to shut any of those programs down or to dissuade them or to allow the technical college system to take them over.

58. 0:33:19

    There was a lot of things that we discussed, and we had an open conversation, and I was, I'm very proud that we were able, um, to clear that up. Um, as a matter of fact, several of those individuals are here today, and I know that, Chairman, we don't take, uh, comment in full committee, but I would like to ask them, uh, if you were a part of that meeting on Monday, if you would just please stand so that we can recognize, um, the fact that we have several of them here today. Uh, some of them didn't come back because once we settled the concern, there was no need to come back.

59. 0:33:51

    But for those that are here, thank you for taking the time, uh, to be here with-

60. 0:33:55

    Let, let me interrupt just for a second, Floor Leader. First, thank y'all. The, you know, the effort that, that, that, we need teamwork and we need teamwork down here to make sure that we're developing a good policy. So thank y'all, and thank you for coming up here.

61. 0:34:10

    Lastly, this legislation, along with the governor's budget recommendation, set in motion a plan to develop a new career navigator tool as the governor announced at his workforce summit last fall at the Georgia World Congress Center. If you were able to attend, you'll remember his remarks about that, and that is something new that all students will be able to take advantage of. This tool will assist Georgia students and job seekers in finding their best fit when it comes to continuing their education or pursuing a career within our state.

62. 0:34:43

    Many of these items in this bill and in the workforce development bills of the previous years have been proposed because of the joint study committee on dual enrollment for highly skilled and talent at younger ages. And again, I want to thank Chairman Matt Dubnik and Chairman Matt Brass, as well as Representative Ballard, for their efforts and contributions to this important work. Ultimately, if we want to maintain our state status as the top state for business, we must have a homegrown workforce ready to fill the new jobs that are coming to our state.

63. 0:35:18

    This bill ensures that this is the case and will play a pivotal role in making Georgia the top state for talent. Now, that, in its essence, is the summary of, of what the bill does. I want to again reiterate that GOSA is not going away. We're not creating a new state agency. We're just changing its name. The previous work that GOSA has done, all of that continues to, to go on. We've just now added this responsibility to their t- uh, plate of managing this collaborative process for the development of the WIOA and the Perkins plans.

64. 0:35:54

    Uh, and we're not having to come up with new funding for that because we're able to repurpose existing funds that they had, uh, to help provide additional support for that, that new work. Um, I also want to mention just some of the changes, uh, because again, I, I can't stress this enough. We s- we went through a lot of conversation to make sure we got this right, specifically about the apprenticeship programs. Um, but on lines 595 through 597, um, we have added the language.

65. 0:36:26

    It says, "Place the consistent with Part 29 of subtitle, Code of Federal Regulations, to ensure TCSG acts in compliance with these regulations for all of the duties required in 1 through 9 duties," and that's lines 598 and 619. On line 619, it says, "After the Department of Education," we added, "sponsors, registered apprenticeship programs, and other relevant programs." This ensures that sponsors as defined on line 562, this includes labor unions and other existing apprenticeship programs, are required to be included in the coordination of this work.

66. 0:37:08

    On line 633, we replaced word transferred with reported. That was something that they asked that we consider, and we have included that. And lastly, on line 1171, "Make the effective date of this code section designating TCSG as the state apprenticeship agency January 1, 2027." It had previously been an earlier date. This now gives more time for them to prepare, and everyone was very appreciative that we, we granted that additional time for those changes.

67. 0:37:44

    So that is the part that we substituted. That is the new language that we worked on. Everything else in the bill has remained unchanged from the original version, but I just wanted to re- reiterate those changes that we made, um, with those apprenticeship partners that we work with and, and that we need. So Mr. Chairman, committee members, that is in essence what this bill does, and I'm happy to entertain any questions that you all might have about, uh, what you have presented before you today.

68. 0:38:17

    Great. Thank you, Floor Leader, and thank you for the teamwork from you two working with the different groups after the subcommittee. I was there, and your collaboration and willing to make the bill better, um, was obvious. So, uh, I know you did a lot of work in, in a short period in time. We do have quite a few questions.

69. 0:38:37

    Okay.

70. 0:38:37

    Let me see. I'm gonna ask members, 'cause there are quite a few. We are under a time gun. Get your best question out for me. I think the first one I saw was number 11.

71. 0:38:51

    Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Thank you so much, and I'm so glad that you had a conversation with some of the, uh, other people who were here to, who expressed their, um, concerns. I'm ha- Where does this new Office of Education and Workforce Strategy fit within the, the, the, excuse me, the Department of Education itself, the State Department of Education itself? I'm having a hard time figuring out where that-

72. 0:39:18

    Yeah. So it's just simply GOSA.

73. 0:39:20

    Okay. Okay.

74. 0:39:20

    And, and it's just a name change.

75. 0:39:21

    So it's where it is now.

76. 0:39:22

    So it's where it is now.

77. 0:39:23

    Okay.

78. 0:39:23

    And Dundor, who runs that, continues to run that, except they just have this added responsibility over the coordination of all of these entities, the Department of Labor, the Department of Ed, the technical college system, the university system, as we all work on a unified workforce development plan. That's the only change to GOSA again, which now becomes the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy.

79. 0:39:47

    Gotcha. One follow-up. Quick. Chair?

80. 0:39:52

    Ooh.

81. 0:39:52

    Hello, Chair. Chair?

82. 0:39:55

    Uh, wait a minute, wait a minute.

83. 0:39:55

    How does, how will this-

84. 0:39:56

    Yes, go ahead. You've got it

85. 0:39:57

    ... yeah, how will this affect curriculum? Like, I mean, is this gonna go all the way down to, to kindergarten where we've, we've got, like, trucks and wrenches all of a sudden instead-

86. 0:40:05

    Sure

87. 0:40:05

    ... of teddy bears and skipping ropes, or what?

88. 0:40:07

    No, no. It, it, it, it won't go down into that early of grades. Although this committee in prior years has passed legislation that does authorize agricultural education, uh, to be taught-

89. 0:40:19

    Right

90. 0:40:19

    ... in the elementary grades. Uh, but this is really m- mostly focused on the middle school, high school, and post-secondary programs that we have. Uh, and then, you know, the high-demand career list, because remember last year in previous legislation we're, we're trying to encourage our education partners to align to the high-demand career list. We're not forcing them to do that, but if they do align, they're eligible for additional funding for those programs. And also most importantly, the students themselves are eligible for 100% tuition at the technical college if they pursue a high-demand career.

91. 0:40:54

    So that's part of this conversation, having all of these entities together and working to make sure that we're on the same page and that we've got the goals of where we need to go, and that, that it's seamless. That's the concept behind what we're, we're trying to accomplish.

92. 0:41:12

    Okay.

93. 0:41:12

    All right, I'm on.

94. 0:41:14

    I'll try to do this by the order that I saw 'em blinking. Number three, Representative Howard on the-

95. 0:41:20

    Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, uh, uh, Representative Gambill for the, for the bill. I guess after hearing all of the feedback from the other, the unions and all, I know you say you worked with them. Sounded like their main, one of their primary concerns was, were the apprenticeship programs. I, I remember some of them said they had 25,000, somebody had 7,000. How and where in this bill did we correct some of that? Where th- that, that won't be transferred-

96. 0:41:52

    That's right

97. 0:41:53

    ... out of, out of the, out of that, what they're doing?

98. 0:41:56

    Yep. And, and that's, that... Let me remind y'all too that the high school, if you're familiar with work-based learning, youth apprenticeship programs, my daughter's doing work-based learning right now, that's not what we're talking about that was in question the other day. The, the things that were in question the other day were the federally recognized apprenticeship programs, which is at a whole nother level and, in complexity. And so as I mentioned, uh, just a minute ago in the summary of changes for what we added, we added every single request that the, the group that we met with for that hour, uh, asked us to, to give them the assurance that the technical college system is not trying to run their program, regulate their program, take them over.

99. 0:42:39

    Um, and, and so with those changes, and I'm, I'm happy to, to read them again if you want me to, um, it, it addressed those concerns.

100. 0:42:48

     I guess spec- I mean, specifically, uh, will it impact them? Will they still be able to operate as, their apprenticeship programs, or do they still... I, I notice you changed the word from transfer to report.

101. 0:43:00

     Right.

102. 0:43:01

     So what impact does that have if when they do report, what's the action behind that?

103. 0:43:08

     The benefit is we know who they are and what they're offering, and we're aware of it. Right now we are not 100% sure of all the different apprenticeship programs that are out there, and that language change also gives them the assurance that we're not transferring their responsibilities to the technical college. We're only allowing them to report, which was again, a recommendation to us from the Federal Department of Labor. That's where this concept came up from. Um, but the state needs those apprenticeship partnerships.

104. 0:43:40

     The state is not interested in taking any of those apprenticeship programs on themselves. Uh, and Mark Peavy's here with me from the technical college system, and if, if Mark, you would like to address that specifically, um, that was a big part of why we wanted to give them the assurance that they are partners at the table. No one is trying to take them over, and we got there with the language, uh, that we've added in the substitute.

105. 0:44:05

     Mr. Chairman, I'll absolutely confirm exactly what you just said. That is not the, wasn't the intent of the bill. The idea is to give the state apprenticeship, uh, agency legislation specifically gives the state a bird's eye view into all of the apprenticeships that are going all over the state right now. Um, the, the, if, if the governor asked Alex as an example to tell him how many apprenticeships there are in the state of Georgia, we don't have the capacity at the state level to be able to look at those. That only happens at the federal level. This designation will give TCSG as an agency the ability to see all of those and have oversight over those, but we certainly are not taking over those programs and, and we appreciate the partners that worked, uh, at the table with us to help us, for, us to help them understand and to get these, uh, small language changes to make sure we're all on the same page, that we are not taking over those programs.

106. 0:44:51

     We're just helping the state get oversight over all of them, so.

107. 0:44:54

     Okay. Let, let me keep us moving. Number 26.

108. 0:44:58

     Thanks, Mr. Chair. Real quick, it's gonna be, uh, first, thank you for this bill. Great bill for technical education. Way to finish it out after we, something we started three years ago. My question's gonna be 664 and 667. Are those two dates still fine from what you're doing? I just wanna make sure everything's still good date-wise, and at the appropriate time.

109. 0:45:21

     Don. We'll give you a moment to check. Number 10, you're gonna be on deck in just a moment.

110. 0:45:32

     I'm still getting there.

111. 0:45:35

     It's page 27. I'm sorry.

112. 0:45:40

     Yes. Uh, yes, because remember, the on- the, the additional time that was given was just specifically for our par- apprenticeship partners. The rest of the bill, this is original language and this is, uh, a- achievable. It's been accounted for in the governor's budget recommendation, and so this, this won't change. This is doable, and it does not interfere in any way with those apprenticeship programs that we gave that additional time to, uh, to bring them on board.

113. 0:46:08

     Perfect. Thank you.

114. 0:46:09

     Okay. Number 10

115. 0:46:14

     This is a lot. This is, um, a monumental piece of legi- legislation, and for many of you who know my background, I, I love workforce development and connecting to access opportunities. But I'm worried about one thing, the Director of Literacy reporting abilities. In section three, it states that the Director of Literacy would no longer work in coordination with literacy, um, related jobs in the alliance.

116. 0:46:46

     So I'm, I'm trying to figure out how we're working-

117. 0:46:49

     Yeah

118. 0:46:50

     ... strongly on literacy, and then we actually wipe that out.

119. 0:46:55

     Yeah.

120. 0:46:55

     And then the Department of, of, of Education, I'm trying to figure out-

121. 0:47:00

     Yeah

122. 0:47:00

     ... are they still the umbrella?

123. 0:47:02

     So-

124. 0:47:02

     I- I'm, I'm really confused.

125. 0:47:04

     That's a, that's also a fair question. And remember, I told you 27 pages deleted old language, and that would be, in this case, there was an alliance of agency heads that had existed going back to, uh, Sonny Perdue, and that is now being deleted, and we're changing that name, of course, the references to that, to this new Governor's Office of Workforce Strategy. But I wanna assure everyone in here that that work, that GOSA or this new Education Workforce Strategy Agency has been doing on literacy, uh, in no way stops, changes, or shifts momentum and focus from what we've done.

126. 0:47:41

     Number one, I did not wanna have the wrath of Dale Burns in any way, and so that, that again is just language that we're cleaning up. It does not change GOSA's work as it relates to literacy and the things that we've all been a part of voting for, uh, that have been... or that are helping to improve literacy in our state.

127. 0:48:04

     Thank you. Let's go on to number two.

128. 0:48:07

     Thank you, Chair. Floor leader, uh, appreciate the bill, and I was not in subcommittee, so I'm kind of processing-

129. 0:48:14

     Sure

130. 0:48:14

     ... uh, all of this live. My biggest concern is about increasing the size and the scope of this newly formed entity-

131. 0:48:22

     Mm-hmm

132. 0:48:22

     ... uh, to a point where we bi- bitten off more than we can chew. Um, to Rep. Glazer's earlier point, mean, GOSA has a, a, a critical role and focus today. Um, workforce preparedness is also an additional significant scope and set of responsibilities, so joining the two.

133. 0:48:42

     Mm-hmm.

134. 0:48:42

     What is the capacity gonna look like for this newly formed entity to do both of those jobs well? Uh, I, I'm, I support alignment, and we want connectivity between, uh, both focus areas, but not at the expense of diluting the impact and current work that each separate entity is tasked to do.

135. 0:49:02

     Right. The, the, the added responsibility to the Governor's Office of Workforce, uh, Education and Workforce Strategy is purely from a coordination standpoint. So the real work that's already being done does not change. TCSG is the one that carries out that work. The Georgia Department of Education carries out that work. The Georgia Department of Labor carries out that work. The University System of Georgia carries out that work. That, they're, they, they're the ones that do the work. This is only giving, uh, this new agency responsibility, uh, to pull those groups together and, and to submit the WIOA and the Perkins plans.

136. 0:49:40

     That's, that's it. They're not responsible for oversight management and maintenance of these programs. They're not coming up with curriculum. They're not determining class sizes. They're not looking at safety or any type of, of, of regulation as far as that goes. Uh, it, it, it still falls back to the agencies that actually do that work. This is just purely from a coordination standpoint.

137. 0:50:03

     Thank you.

138. 0:50:04

     Number 17.

139. 0:50:09

     Thank you, Chairman.

140. 0:50:12

     Excuse me. Thank you. Um, my literacy question, I think you ad- addressed that, so I'm just gonna say thank you, and thank you for, um, coming to me and letting me know that those concerns that we had earlier, um, were addressed.

141. 0:50:26

     Mm-hmm.

142. 0:50:26

     So I, I just wanna say thank you at this point.

143. 0:50:28

     Thank you.

144. 0:50:30

     All right. Number, I believe it was number one, and then we've got one last. So number 12, you're on deck.

145. 0:50:37

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, I know we spoke about it, um, but I wanna go back to the concerns that the apprenticeship programs had, uh, during the subcommittee. Um, again, just to clarify for me, um, are there any additional administrative burdens for the programs? And one of the concerns they also had was, again, the oversight. Um, the oversight truly is just coordination.

146. 0:51:08

     Nothing-

147. 0:51:08

     That's right.

148. 0:51:09

     Okay.

149. 0:51:09

     Truly coordination, and, and that's, that's the main goal because we, again, want them to keep doing the work they've been doing and having that autonomy to do that. Um, so that, that, that was critical as a part of that conversation. You know, they wouldn't have let me out of that room if we had not made those changes.

150. 0:51:28

     Definitely.

151. 0:51:29

     Uh, and we got there. So I know that was the second part of the question. You had the first part.

152. 0:51:35

     Um, any additional administrative burdens, uh, for the programs.

153. 0:51:39

     Yeah. I mean, Mark?

154. 0:51:41

     No, I'll speak to the, the, the... It actually should, and the intent of it is to make that easier. Right now, the same, the reporting requirements, the other things that have to happen all go to the federal level. Bringing this autonomy down to the state level gives us an opportunity to work directly with our local state partners to do that, so they don't have to send that same reporting up to the federal level. This allows it to happen here. If there's changes that need to be made in the future, if there are new, uh, apprenticeship opportunities we wanna come along, they come and, and get the opportunity to work with us as a state partner to be able to do those things as opposed to having to go all the way to the federal level and, and maybe or maybe not get answers.

155. 0:52:13

     So hopefully that, it, it decreases the administrative burden overall. So.

156. 0:52:18

     Thank you.

157. 0:52:19

     All right. And-

158. 0:52:21

     Y'all keep pushing buttons. Number 12.

159. 0:52:28

     Thank you, uh, Chairman Erwin. Ms. Floor Leader, thank you, uh, for your contributions. I'm wondering, so this is going from the Office of Student Achievement to Education and Workforce Strategy. That's correct. Right. And I'm wondering, how does this change the focus of education oversight? Um, we certainly need workers- Mm-hmm ... that are able to enter the workforce at, you know, a, a reasonable pay scale, but we don't want people to not be educated.

160. 0:53:06

     So is there any kind of shift there that is going to decrease education and increase people's ability to work with their hands? So, you know, again, GOSA will continue the work they've been doing. They'll have a name change, and then they'll have this extra responsibility on coordination. Uh, but ultimately, the coordination is going to lead to encouraging students to pursue these high-demand careers to the skilled trades, uh, and, and not directly through GOSA, but through the, the plan that they're gonna adopt as a unified plan.

161. 0:53:45

     The work will still be accomplished through the technical college and through the Department of Ed and all the different partners that have a piece or a component of workforce development. So, uh, the governor and I and, and, and those, uh, that have worked on this legislation believe that it will enhance and encourage more students to pursue career and technical education, whether that's as a K-12 student or as an adult coming back to get re-skilled and to pursue, you know, if we have a new industry that's come to the state or to your community.

162. 0:54:17

     That's the beautiful thing about the coordinated effort that we'll see from this agency. But the work that they've already been doing, that, that again, that doesn't stop.

163. 0:54:29

     Okay, number 26. I think it's your time. Uh, Mr. Chair, motion to approve do pass. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. We have a discussion, number 10. Um, I'd like to offer to table it. Um, and the reason I'm offering that, there are many of us don't sit on the curriculum. Mm-hmm. So this is the first time I've gotten a clear view, uh, and n- it's not a clear view of what this program, um, and its magnanimous, um, effect.

164. 0:55:06

     This is the first time I've heard a full, and not full-on, explanation. I'd really like to be able to vote- Mm-hmm ... and then as- to be assured how I, that this, that I understand what's happening. It, there's so many pieces to this that I am not comfortable voting it up, down, or any way today without a little bit more of talking to you- Yeah ... and kind of seeing the structure of it and, and where all of the authority is moving from and where it's going.

165. 0:55:44

     I, I- Yeah ... just don't see it in this short period of time, and I apologize 'cause I don't sit on curriculum. Right. A- and again, the authority and the structure of these agencies and what they're currently doing, that's, that's unchanged. N- no authority- There's a new authority, um, and reporting- There's a new responsibility for coordinating this plan and the creation of that plan, but the authority- I don't understand it then ... the, the WIOA plan, the federal- I, I don't understand the, the new structure maybe.

166. 0:56:15

     I'm, I'm sorry. Okay. Well- I apologize. I d- I don't ... and of course, I'm happy to talk to you as well, and we will sit, I mean, we'll sit down and, and happy to answer any questions. I, the chairman, that's gonna be up to the will of the committee on what you guys wanna do, and I would make that commitment to all of you. Uh, if there's parts of this bill that you, you still are not sure about, that you have questions about, uh, however many meetings and time, I'm, I'm here. I wanna make sure that everyone fully understands what we're trying to do, um, with, with the legislation, so...

167. 0:56:50

     I'm gonna hear number 18. I believe you were last, and I'm gonna go to 22. Okay. I- is it not true that, um, based on our need for workforce development and the timing at which we have this bill I- is, I understand what our representative is saying as well, that we need to move this forward and know that you're able and the other side's able to craft this in such a way that it will be success for the state of Georgia if we can just move this bill forward?

168. 0:57:22

     I mean, I, I completely agree. There's urgency that we continue to enhance our education and workforce development programs in the state. Uh, I meet with business folks all the time that talk about the speed to market, and our young people need to know and be prepared for these jobs that have come to our state, these great jobs that have come with benefits, and on and on and on. And so again, you know, w- we're not creating anything new. We're changing the name of this agency. We're adding a little responsibility for them to coordinate the development of these plans that are submitted to the federal government that, um, uh, oversee WIOA and Perkins.

169. 0:57:59

     Um, but that's, you know, that in essence, that, that's it, and the concerns that were raised by the apprenticeship folks, you know, that has been settled. Um, and so that's the, that's the important part of this bill and, and the urgency that I think we all, uh, need, and I know that we feel, um, on making sure that we're miss- we're getting the mark right. Now, when I talk to the Southern Region Education Board, SREB, when I talk to other education agencies, I wanna give you all some really good news that Georgia and what we've done with Top State for Talent is not a one-off.

170. 0:58:36

     It's not something that we've just pulled out of the air. These other states are now copying what we have been doing. These prior bills that we've done, uh, they're, they're doing the same things to enhance and better coordinate their e- workforce education strategy. Uh, and that's no insult to anything that's been done prior. It's just that we've realized through the years that we can improve the silos that may have existed between some of these agencies in, in carrying out education workforce development in our state, and that is the great thing about what the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy will do if we're able to pass this legislation.

171. 0:59:19

     22. Thank you, Mr., Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to remind and, and encourage all members of the Education Committee that you can ... You are welcome to attend either subcommittee, uh, meeting that we host, and I know a lot of folks do. You simply can't maybe vote on the one you're not assigned to, but, uh, please do take advantage. Uh, and, and I, I know I do oftentimes attend both meetings just to educate and prepare myself for the full committee. And Mr. Chairman, I know we've got a motion on the table, so I'd be happy to have you call the question. I'm gonna hear one more, and then, uh, um, I'll make a decision on the motion.

172. 0:59:52

     Number 11. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I value my, my colleague's opinion. I'm gonna repeat that motion to table. Okay. What we'll do is we'll entertain the motion. Do I have a second? Second. Second. And that motion is to table this, um, uh, bill before us. So what we're voting on now is a table. Mr. Chair. Yeah. Just ... Mr. Chairman. I, I'll go 24 first.

173. 1:00:23

     Um, just for clarification, I think since we already had a motion to approve, and I seconded that motion, we've had discussion, I think that that precedes the motion to table and therefore we can, we can, um, vote on the motion to approve. Well, what I'm told re- Yeah ... floor leader is table takes precedent. Ah, okay. Thank you. All right. Well, yes, sir. Number 22, same thing. Okay. We, we, we have a, uh, a motion and a second to table.

174. 1:00:56

     All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say aye. Aye. Okay, we're gonna have to do a hand count, which I knew we were gonna do. I should have had you raise your hand first anyway. All in favor of a table, raise your hand.

175. 1:01:18

     Seven. All opposed to a table, raise your hand.

176. 1:01:27

     Nine. Motion does not carry. Now, we have a motion, uh, for approval. Let me read the bill. It's, uh, HB1302 LC492730, and it's an EC- ECS sub. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed like sign. Aye. Let's do a hand count again on this one just to be certain.

177. 1:01:58

     All in favor raise your hand.

178. 1:02:05

     All opposed. Yeah. All opposed raise your hand.

179. 1:02:12

     Okay. Got it. The bill carries. Thank you. Before you get up, or any of y'all get up, let me make a statement. Uh, very good bill. Uh, I would ask, uh, for the, uh, the, the ... It happens to be a very good literacy bill that I'm hoping heads to the governor's table. Yes. So, uh, th- this committee worked very hard on that literacy bill. I understand. I know the governor can read. Yes. I hope he reads the bill and signs the bill, if y'all would carry that word back. We will deliver that message, Chairman.

180. 1:02:42

     That would help. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your effort.

181. 1:02:50

     Moving on down, committee members, thank you. Moving on down, let's get to HB1284. I believe I've seen Representative Silcox in the room. If you'll come up here, Representative Silcox. If you would also, um,

182. 1:03:12

     read your LC number and then I'll turn the microphone over to you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, the LC number is LC 49... Oh, and I apologize. I do not have the updated LC in my folder, but I know that the, uh, committee substitute- Well, we're working off of LC492729S. I apologize. I only have it electronically. They're bringing you one right there. I appreciate it. I got it. Thank you.

183. 1:03:42

     Again, that's LC492729S. Correct. You do have the microphone. Thank you very much. Um, this bill is brought to us by CHOA. Um, and actually, um, the speaker asked me to carry this bill because I'm a childhood cancer survivor. Praise the Lord. Um, and I, um, uh, the, the testimony I can never recreate in the subcommittee because the testimony was so extraordinary because this woman brought three of her children and her fourth child had passed away from cancer.

184. 1:04:17

     And all the siblings there were there with a picture of their beloved brother. And, um, she, she really just was extraordinary in her remarks because she said that just giving a certificate to someone was just an acknowledgement, you know, of their attendance or whatever, but that a diploma, giving a child near the end of their life a high school diploma was infinitely more meaningful. And so she, she asked if we could amend the bill to call this the, um, Jacobi Martin Act.

185. 1:04:52

     And so that was the amendment that is at line nine, and of course, I agreed to that. But the bottom line is this bill would provide that if there was a request from a parent, um, that had, you know, end of life circumstances with cancer, um, that the high school in that district, h- um, school district would grant that diploma, um, to the parents either while they were still alive or posthumously, um, if that was the case. Um, so I would ask for your favorable consideration.

186. 1:05:25

     Great. Thank you for this, Bill. And, uh, and for the amendment that you, uh, or the substitute that you have provided there with the name for that family. Um, I'm gonna work through the, uh, flashing for you by the order I think I saw them. Number 10.

187. 1:05:44

     Well, first of all I wanna say thank you so much, um, Chairwoman, for bringing this. This is, um, absolutely wonderful. I just do pass at the proper time.

188. 1:05:54

     Great.

189. 1:05:54

     Thank you again for your work on this.

190. 1:05:56

     Thank you, Representative Jones. Thank you.

191. 1:05:58

     Number 29.

192. 1:06:01

     I was gonna do that.

193. 1:06:04

     All right. Number one.

194. 1:06:07

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was also gonna do that, but I also like to add, um, what's very emotional for me during the subcommittee, uh, I know we pass a lot of bills that have dealt with literacy. Um, but you could just imagine the level of this bill, a child that's terminal and there's no future in being part of a workforce or any opportunity, but still the, the desire to have an accomplishment is really huge.

195. 1:06:41

     And I think this bill, uh, not only meets the needs of that child, but it makes a huge impact to a lot of people in here and to understand why education is important. So-

196. 1:06:52

     No, it is so important, and I appreciate your remarks. I can tell you that I have, I have walked in those shoes as a high school senior, and, um, my chances were 80/20. And, um, I just felt so, so fortunate and, um, just am really, really grateful for the educators who supported me through my senior year. And my, my sisters would pick up my homework when I couldn't go to school.

197. 1:07:16

     Okay.

198. 1:07:16

     So it's a big deal.

199. 1:07:18

     Thank you. Thank you for bringing this bill.

200. 1:07:20

     Thank you.

201. 1:07:22

     Okay. Thank you, Representative. And, uh, let, let me have a discussion with you if I could-

202. 1:07:29

     Sure

203. 1:07:29

     ... uh, Representative Silcox. The, uh ... It's been brought to my attention, let's figure out how we can do this line nine, the part that we amended Jacobi Martin Act. We believe that is a K instead of a C.

204. 1:07:46

     And I was not familiar with the spelling of his name, so-

205. 1:07:50

     So-

206. 1:07:50

     ... I think someone should probably try to track that person down-

207. 1:07:54

     Yes

208. 1:07:54

     ... and verify.

209. 1:07:54

     It is. We, we, we're looking at it. Um, would you take, if we could amend this for you to spell it G-A-K-O-B-E-

210. 1:08:06

     Of course

211. 1:08:06

     ... as a friendly amendment.

212. 1:08:07

     Absolutely.

213. 1:08:11

     Legislative counsel, are you okay with that? Of course. Okay. Well, let's do this. Well, let, let's get a, a motion, uh, to approve this, and we'll see if we can amend it that way.

214. 1:08:27

     Have we already done a motion? Is that-

215. 1:08:29

     Yeah, we got a motion. Uh, we, we, we do have a motion. We need a second. Second. All right, we got it. Sounds everybody second. Good for y'all. Proud of you group, uh, right there. My parents Um- My parents ... I, I, I've got a couple I'm gonna ask to speak that are blanking here. Number 22.

216. 1:08:48

     Mr. Chairman, I'm gonna make a m- a motion to amend, uh, the Jacobi Martin Act on line nine, uh, changing C to K.

217. 1:08:58

     All right. We have a motion. Second. And we have a second. Now I've got, uh ... Well, uh, it went out, so we're okay there. We got a motion and a second to amend line nine as was just spoken. All in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. All opposed, like sign. All right, we'll let that motion carry. Now let's vote on the bill if we can, members. Uh, we are looking at, uh, HB two or 1284 LC492729S.

218. 1:09:39

     Uh, stand by.

219. 1:09:58

     Okay. We're gonna need another, uh, correction in spelling if we can here. Let, let's get it right, though, members. I'd, I'd whole lot rather have it right

220. 1:10:09

     I'm trying to tell you

221. 1:10:09

     ... in there.

222. 1:10:10

     You can see his lip, it's red.

223. 1:10:12

     No. No, no. This, it's not that. We got that. The last name is Milton, not Martin. John, can we just for a second make sure we can run this quickly? Yeah. We, we, we're, we're making contact. We're also seeing it online. Of course, you can trust everything online, right?

224. 1:10:30

     Can't hurt.

225. 1:10:30

     Well, what I'd ask you to do, members, be- before we amend again or do anything, any voting, let's just take a moment to verify what we're trying to get right.

226. 1:10:42

     It says it on his

227. 1:10:44

     Oh, yeah.

228. 1:10:45

     I could, um, reach out to the lobbyist from Cho if necessary.

229. 1:10:49

     I, I, I-

230. 1:10:51

     John

231. 1:10:51

     ... was trying to-

232. 1:10:52

     Okay, great

233. 1:10:53

     ... determine the proper spelling.

234. 1:10:54

     Okay, thank you.

235. 1:10:55

     I pulled up the bill by name.

236. 1:11:01

     I think I pronounced his first name correctly though pro- the pronunciation in the hearing. Okay.

237. 1:11:07

     So does Milton. Does, does Milton. We have Martin's?

238. 1:11:11

     Yeah. That's Martin. That's, that's, that's Milton.

239. 1:11:15

     Yeah, that's it.

240. 1:11:16

     Yeah. First name, first name.

241. 1:11:17

     It's a huge catch.

242. 1:11:25

     Okay, great. Thank you.

243. 1:11:26

     Is the first name right?

244. 1:11:27

     What we have determined is that it is Milton. You have the option to amend your amendment

245. 1:11:36

     I'm going to amend my amendment, uh, to change Jacobi from a C to Jacoby with a K and change Martin to Milton.

246. 1:11:47

     Let's spell Milton, M-I-L-T-O-N.

247. 1:11:50

     That's what I've got, yes.

248. 1:11:52

     Your figure.

249. 1:11:52

     Yes, sir.

250. 1:11:53

     Second.

251. 1:11:54

     There we go. Now, we have an amendment on the floor and a second. I do not see any discussion.

252. 1:12:02

     I mean, you're-

253. 1:12:03

     Right. I don't see any discussion, uh, on the amendment, so let's vote on it. All in favor say aye.

254. 1:12:10

     Aye.

255. 1:12:10

     All opposed like sign. Good job. Well, you've got the amendment done. Now let's vote on this bill, HB 1284 LC492729S. All in favor say aye.

256. 1:12:28

     Aye.

257. 1:12:28

     All opposed like sign. Bill passes.

258. 1:12:31

     Thank you very much-

259. 1:12:31

     Thank you

260. 1:12:31

     ... Mr. Chairman.

261. 1:12:32

     Good luck. Appreciate this bill and the work for these children.

262. 1:12:42

     All right, I think I see our other, uh, sponsor of a bill out there. Let's go down to HB 1045. HB 1045, Representative Herring, if you'll come up here. If you will pull out your LC number and read it to us, I'll turn the microphone over to you.

263. 1:13:09

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The LC number is 492726S.

264. 1:13:16

     Perfect. It's yours. Microphone's on.

265. 1:13:21

     In 2023, nearly 250 Georgians under the age of 24 lost their lives to suicide. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death, uh, in m- in middle schools and high school-aged childrens. Dozens of adolescents have also died from overdoses of drugs due to mental health crisis. This issue is very personal to me, because in 2020, my own daughter brought to my attention that many of the students at her school were dealing with anxiety and depression and did not have anywhere to turn, and their families were left with trying to find answers.

266. 1:13:59

     I want to thank Commissioner Tanner and this body for the strong work you have done to expand mental health across our state. The 988 You Are Not Alone Awareness Act is an extension of the great work we have already done. This is not a mandate. It is a resource to help our students and parents navigate an immediate crisis and provide support that they need most in their time of need and in a time when they feel lost. States across this country that have already started these types of things are Virginia, New York, Maine, New Jersey, California, Louisiana, Arizona, and Illinois.

267. 1:14:40

     We would be one of the first states in the Southeast to do so. This is a low-cost, high-impact step to send a clear message to our students that we see you, we hear you, and you are not alone. Sometimes saving lives start with one simple reminder, and that is three numbers, 988. I remember when we had our subcommittee, there were several suggestions, and I took those suggestions in consideration. If you would please look at lines 17 through 20.

268. 1:15:15

     We, um, added, "You are not alone right now. Anyone experiencing a suicidal crisis, emotional distress, or challenges with substance abuse should call 988." And I appreciate the subcommittee suggestion. That was a great suggestion. Also, there was a suggestion that I reach out to the, uh, Georgia Superintendent Association, and I did so and received a letter of their support. So thank you again, uh, Representative Townsend, for that information. I truly appreciate it.

269. 1:15:46

     So with that being said, um, Mr. Chairman, I ask that, um, this committee vote on this bill to help our kids have a resource that they may not have had before. If you have any questions, I will take them at this time.

270. 1:16:00

     Great. Thank you, Representative, and good bill. Thank you for your work on this and working with the subcommittee.

271. 1:16:07

     Two.

272. 1:16:08

     Thank you very much for that. I'm gonna try to go by the order. We've got a lot flashing. Number 17.

273. 1:16:15

     Thank you. Thank you, um, Mr. Chairman. Uh, thank you, Representative, uh, for bringing, uh, this legislation and this opportunity. Um, I too have young people, they're a little older now, and I am, I'm concerned, and I don't understand.

274. 1:16:32

     Mm-hmm.

275. 1:16:33

     But I believe this will help us. And at the appropriate, appropriate time, Chairman, I would like to, uh, move that we do pass.

276. 1:16:41

     Great. Thank you. Representative number 26, you cut off 24.

277. 1:16:47

     Uh, thank you, and I appreciate you and I having our conversation on the floor. And, uh, Mr. Chairman, I just, I wanna say this on behalf of my district. I happen to be a representative that represents the district that has the highest percentage of teenage suicides in the last seven years.

278. 1:17:06

     Thank you for doing this for the families in my community that are suffering. I appreciate it. And I'm sorry to lose my composure, sir, but-

279. 1:17:15

     No.

280. 1:17:15

     It's-

281. 1:17:15

     Understood

282. 1:17:16

     ... this is, the last two bills, this is why we do this, and I know it's a very small step, but the ripple effect it may have, and I just really appreciate your effort. So thank you very much, and I would be honored to second.

283. 1:17:30

     Thank you.

284. 1:17:33

     Number 22.

285. 1:17:36

     Like you, Mr. Chairman. Um, thank you for bringing this great bill. Uh, two more practical questions. On the badge itself, I just wanna make sure there's enough room for this to be prominently displayed. A typical ID badge, I assume the front, obviously, is the picture and all that. Back is empty as of right now?

286. 1:17:54

     Yes.

287. 1:17:54

     Okay.

288. 1:17:54

     So on a student badge, it's kind of like our badge almost.

289. 1:17:57

     Mm-hmm.

290. 1:17:58

     It has their information, so on the back it will just have You Are Not Alone, and it'd have the awareness number for them to dial. You can also put a sticker on if schools don't want to try to laminate something.

291. 1:18:09

     Mm.

292. 1:18:09

     It can be s- as simple as a sticker.

293. 1:18:12

     And I represent Gwinnett, which has a high population of ESL, English Second Language students. Um, I, I don't know if it's worth putting into the bill, but, you know, I would encourage schools, and th- they'll probably do this, to publish in, in a language that's, you know, um-

294. 1:18:27

     Appropriate

295. 1:18:27

     ... appropriate for that student.

296. 1:18:29

     Yes, I would hope so.

297. 1:18:30

     Yeah. Thank you.

298. 1:18:31

     All right.

299. 1:18:32

     Number 18.

300. 1:18:36

     Thank you for all that you did with this. Um,

301. 1:18:42

     and I had the privilege of coaching where, uh, Floor Leader Wade was, and also down in South Forsyth, where the main reason that I got into coaching was about teenage suicide. Is it not true that the smallest glimmer of light and hope can change a person's life from committing suicide?

302. 1:19:07

     That is true.

303. 1:19:09

     And the simple words, you are not alone, I do believe, and I think all of us here, our hope and prayer is that it will change one, if not more. But if it changes one, I'm all about this bill. Thank you for bringing it.

304. 1:19:23

     Thank you.

305. 1:19:26

     Seeing no more questions, um, let me, uh, call the question if I can on HB 1045. Um, it's LC492726S. Um, let me, uh, let me ask for a motion.

306. 1:19:50

     Motion.

307. 1:19:51

     Second.

308. 1:19:52

     I move that we do pass HB 1045 LC492726S.

309. 1:19:58

     Great. We have a motion on that number. A second?

310. 1:20:01

     Second.

311. 1:20:01

     We have a second. Seeing no further discussion, all in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed like sign. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Your bill passed. Don't go anywhere yet. I've got some comments. I know you're in a hurry. Don't go anywhere yet. Hey, great bill.

312. 1:20:19

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

313. 1:20:19

     My worst day in career was a student-

314. 1:20:21

     And thank you, committee

315. 1:20:22

     ... that committed suicide at the school. Let me tell you, great bill. Keep it working. Let us know how we can help you keep it moving.

316. 1:20:30

     Thank you.

317. 1:20:30

     Thank you, Representative.

318. 1:20:32

     Thank you all.

319. 1:20:32

     Let me state this to you members before you go. Let me, let me have a couple of cleanup things that we need to know going forward, if we could. First of all, thank you for your hard work. I know that this starts out with a lot of work, and then it gets even more work when you have to get, uh, on, in the chair before us down there. But you do a good job of vetting these bills before they get necessarily right there, so thank you for that. I, I do think that I, I, if, if you would, give me a star, 'cause we coulda done this, uh, meeting tonight at about 6 or 7:00.

320. 1:21:07

     And, uh, with that, uh, thank you. Thank you. I'm, I'm getting a little more energy. It could have been, uh- Disappointed. Yeah, I, I woulda had to buy dinner. Um, all right. Uh, let, let me, let me state this to you. Also, let me give you a few numbers. There are 116 bills left sitting in our committee. 10 of them are already passed, or 10 more have already passed subcommittee.

321. 1:21:40

     16 have passed out of full committee. 11 have moved over to the Senate. I wanna give you a number that is telling. We only passed, all of last session, in both chambers, 18 bills. We've got 11 already going over to them. We've got 16 more that are waiting to get on the floor, and there's 10 that have gotten out of subcommittee waiting to get before you, and there's 116 more barking at the door.

322. 1:22:15

     Yep. What I'm gonna tell you is the Senate only has so much capacity, and we're the same way. Um, we absolutely, when we take the class to lunch, there's always gonna be somebody in the front of the line and somebody in the back of the line. Don't take it personal if you're in the back of the line. I'm doing my best to get you as pushed up to the front so that you can jump into that pool for the Senate. But just know that we've got a short period of time.

323. 1:22:47

     I do plan to call some meetings next week. I'm gonna need your attendance, and then we're gonna have to have good conversation so that we can get to as many of these as possible so that we can give your bill hope. Does that make sense? Yes. Okay. Thank you. I want you to have a, a good rest of the day. We'll see you in session.

324. 1:23:28

     Yeah.