House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee, March 2, 2026

Transcript

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1. 0:05:33

   Oh.

2. 0:05:37

   We'll say a prayer.

3. 0:05:38

   Good.

4. 0:05:40

   Okay, good morning. Uh, happy committee day, and thank you for the committee members for being here. I know there's a lot of conflicts going on, uh, this morning between, uh, qualifying and, uh, other committees. I think rules meeting right now that I might need to be there. But, um, um, I wanna call on, um, Representative Mathis to open us word of prayer.

5. 0:06:05

   Thank you, Chairman. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for this day. We just thank you for the folks here. We ask you to watch over them and their families. We just pray for our country. We pray safety for the hit, uh, safety for the people involved in the conflicts. Father, we just thank you. Help us to make real good decisions today here in the ag, uh, committee that we can do the thing that's best for this state. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

6. 0:06:28

   Amen.

7. 0:06:31

   Okay. Uh, we've got a few bills we wanna hear this morning, but first, um, I'm, I'm really, uh, happy to have our agriculture commissioner here, Tyler Harper, uh, with us this morning. He, uh, said last week he had some updates he, uh, might wanna give us, and, uh, I know he has been working hard on, uh, lots of, uh, important issues to agriculture and agribusiness, uh, in this state. So thank you, Commissioner, uh, for being here.

8. 0:07:01

   And, um, I've got the podium mic on, and, uh, the chair, I mean, the floor is yours.

9. 0:07:08

   Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, always good to be with y'all. Thank you for the, uh, always an opportunity just to come, uh, spend a few moments with you and, and, and this committee, and, uh, I appreciate our work together, uh, as we, uh, close out in the final month of the legislative session, uh, in the last couple of weeks. I know crossover day is later this week, so y'all got a busy week ahead of you. Uh, but look forward to, to the good things that we're gonna be doing together as it relates to agriculture. Um, just a couple updates this morning, Mr.

10. 0:07:38

    Chairman, and I think some really good updates, uh, for Georgia Ag and, and our state's number one industry and, and our work together and, uh, appreciate, uh, what y'all do and have done every single day to help us address the issues that we're facing in this industry because, you know, there's a lot of people hurting, uh, in agriculture right now, as y'all know. Uh, and we got a lot of work ahead of us and some big lifts to help us move the needle in the right direction. Uh, and there's a lot of conversation going on in, in relation to still recovering from Hurricane Helene, but also continuing to protect, uh, agricultural land and, and ag assets for agricultural purposes.

11. 0:08:14

    And, uh, so that's kinda where I wanna direct my comments to, uh, this morning. Uh, so as I kick it off, uh, first thing I'm gonna talk about, uh, briefly is the Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund. As all of y'all know, uh, this is, uh, uh, something we've talked about before. It was a program, uh, Mr. Chairman, that you, uh, you and, uh, Chairman Goodman carried in the, in the General Assembly. Uh, and, uh, it was a, a priority of ours at the Department of Agriculture and mine as the commissioner to find ways to protect agricultural land in our state similar to the way a number of other states have done.

12. 0:08:47

    Uh, we, uh... After the passage of that bill and it becoming law, we established the council. The council has been meeting over the last year, uh, to finalize all of the programmatic things that needed to be done to move this ball in the right direction. The General Assembly also appropriated, uh, $2 million toward this program to get it kickstarted. Uh, and so as of, uh, uh, really, uh, a week or so ago, we officially announced the opening of the application process for the Geo- Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund.

13. 0:09:20

    Uh, that application process is open now. Uh, applications can be submitted, uh, to us at the department. Um, that, uh, that application, uh, can be filled out, uh, to ensure that we can protect, uh, farmland as we're working to do in our state for agricultural purposes moving forward. This program is a, is a match, uh, with federal dollars. Right now, it's a 50/50 match. Um, the new farm bill that the House Ag Committee is working on and will be working on this week actually takes that to a 65% match, uh, whi- which would, uh, reduce the amount that we would have to bring to the table as a state, which I think is a good thing.

14. 0:10:00

    Um, but it makes funds available to prospective, uh, easement, uh, holders and also qualified farmland. All of that will be done through the application process, which we will be overseeing, uh, at the department. Um, that, uh, like I said, the application period closes, uh, on May 20th. Uh, one of the questions I think we get a lot is if you see the application, uh, it's, uh, the individual landowner is not necessarily the person that is the person making the application. The application actually comes from the qualified easement holder working in partnership with the landowner.

15. 0:10:36

    Uh, so our department right now, we're working on putting together a list of those qualified entities that you will be able to work with, and we'll be releasing that information very soon. Uh, so I think this is a great step in the right direction to protect farmland in our state for agricultural purposes, and I appreciate this committee's work and the General Assembly's work in helping us get to this point. Uh, we're excited that we're gonna be start- starting to do that this year, uh, and look forward to working with you in the years ahead to ensure that we have the appropriate funding, uh, to allow this program to be successful to protect ag land for ag purposes in the state of Georgia, uh, for generations to come.

16. 0:11:13

    Uh, as y'all know, uh, it's kinda hard to grow agricultural commodities and, and, uh, and protect our national security interest if we don't have the land to do it on. Uh, and this program helps protect that just like it's been doing in numerous other states. Uh, we're glad to be able to bring that to bear now in the state of Georgia. Um, moving on to another topic in relation to the Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program. Uh, this morning, uh, as we've talked about, y'all seen this slide before, farmrecovery.com is our website, uh, for the Block Grant Program.

17. 0:11:48

    Uh, but this morning, Mr. Chairman, I am excited to announce, uh, officially that the Georgia Department of Agriculture and USDA have reached a final signed agreement that is live as of this morning. Uh, the press release is going out as I am speaking, uh, and application period is opening in two weeks. Uh, so

18. 0:12:13

    y'all are the first people to hear that. Uh,

19. 0:12:19

    so, uh, this morning- Thank you for your, uh, hard work on that. Yes, sir. I tell you, it's been a long time coming, and thank you for your dedication, your staff as well, and, uh, all the employees at your department for, uh, putting that together. Well, we're really excited about this, Mr. Chairman. It has, as you mentioned, this has been a, a long time coming. This has been a very, uh, painstaking, long, uh, process, in some ti- in some cases, difficult to get to where we are. Uh, but I can't thank our team enough.

20. 0:12:50

    Uh, it has required multiple members of our team at the department, our legal department, our IT team who, who's put together the application and the website, our grants team, who helped us with the, with the verbiage of the program, as well as our legal team, our policy team, uh, that did a lot of legwork on this, and significant legwork on this. Obviously, our leadership, uh, team at the department. Uh, and then we also have brought on some additional, uh, help. As I mentioned before, uh, we have eight individuals that we are bringing on as contractors.

21. 0:13:22

    Uh, one, uh, seven of those, uh, are going to be directly involved in application review. Um, six of the seven are retired FSA, uh, employees who that's what they have done their entire career is disaster applications and work with farm programs. Uh, one of those, uh, the other individual is one that we brought back from Hurricane Michael, who has past experience with the Block Grant Program for our state. Uh, and then the last individual, the eighth person, is actually really the program manager who oversaw these programs in Washington, uh, as a USDA FSA employee, was, uh, almost a four-year career with USDA FSA, and we're glad to have him on board our team to help us, uh, as well.

22. 0:14:05

    Uh, it has, uh, taken a lot of work to get us to this point, um, but we are excited to announce this morning, as I said, that, uh, the block grant is final, it's signed, it's done, and we will start accepting applications on March 16th. So we're gonna spend the next two weeks, this week and next week, uh, pushing this information out, uh, to individuals across the state, uh, to ensure that they know that it is, uh, it is open. Uh, once we open that application period, it will be open for six weeks.

23. 0:14:36

    Uh, we will close the application period, uh, on mid- at midnight on April 27th. Um, and, uh, and even during the middle of the application period and after the application period, we will begin the review of those applications. Uh, once we start the review of those applications, we'll be bringing them all together to ensure that every producer gets the maximum amount possible back to them in relation to their losses from Hurricane, uh, Helene. There are a number of commodities covered.

24. 0:15:09

    Uh, just to go through those really quick, Mr. Chairman, they are, uh, losses related to timber, infrastructure, poultry, beef cattle, dairy cattle, milk loss from dairy cattle, dairy feed loss, pecans, blueberries, citrus, uh, nursery, some nursery losses, plastic culture, and bare ground losses, uh, due to Hurricane Helene. So if our producers fall in one of those commodity categories, they will be eligible to apply, uh, to the program.

25. 0:15:40

    So, uh, as I said, that application will open on March 16th, uh, and we'll be working through that. One of the other questions I get a lot, is there any limitations, uh, on this? Mr. Chairman, uh, I will tell you, uh, we intentionally designed the program, uh, to where we d- we, we were not, uh, initiated by any type of caps. We wanted to ensure that if you sustained a loss, that you got a benefit of recovering from that loss. Uh, I appreciate USDA and Secretary Rollins and her team and their help in helping us get to there and agreeing to allowing us to do that.

26. 0:16:15

    Uh, and by doing that, we'll be able to maximize the amount of money going back to our farmers, our producers, our timberland owners, our ranchers, and our cattlemen across the state. Uh, and we're really excited, uh, about that. Um, I think, uh, when it comes to, uh, the counties that are covered, just so everybody knows, this is a map of the eligible counties. This is based off of the official declaration from the Secretary of Agriculture from the counties that were, uh, sustained losses, uh, from agricultural losses.

27. 0:16:46

    Uh, and so we based, we used the same, uh, same loss map that the, that USDA used for Hurricane Helene. Uh, and that's what, that's what this is based off of. So if it is a county, uh, in that light shade of red or pinkish shade, that is an eligible county for, uh, for application. Uh, but you have to have a verifiable loss, and that's what our team will be working through the, through the application period to verify your loss. Uh, there's a significant amount of information that, uh, that will, that will be part of this, and obviously, um, producers, uh, will be able to apply, uh, based on, one, if they, uh, had the direct commodity loss and also met the requirements, uh, under that, uh, particular, uh, loss.

28. 0:17:35

    Um, uh As I, as I mentioned, Mr. Chairman, there's a, a number of areas that are, that are covered. Uh, we, we tried to maximize the, the commodities covered, the, uh, maximize the amount of producers covered, to maximize the amount coming to ensure that our state can recover from Hurricane Helene. So with that, uh, Mr. Chairman, we're excited. Uh, we're glad that we are across this hump. We're glad that we can now start accepting applications for the Block Grant, and, uh, and we look forward to working with this committee and the general assembly, uh, to ensure that we continue to allow our, our farmers, our farm families, and our industry to continue to be successful from every threat.

29. 0:18:17

    Regardless of what that threat is, uh, our work together to ensure that we're addressing the issues that this industry needs us to address together, and, and, uh, appreciate our work together and y'all's help and, and your patience and your encouragement through this process, uh, to help us get to this point. And I can't speak highly enough of, of our team and what our team did. Uh, some of them are here with us this morning, uh, as well as the many other members of our team that aren't here, as well as our partnership with USDA to help make this happen.

30. 0:18:47

    So, uh, with that, Mr. Chairman, I'd be happy to take any questions that anybody may have. Uh, but those were the, the two big updates I thought were worthwhile, uh, giving your committee an update on and, and letting everybody know that, that, uh, uh, that we're here and, uh, we're ready to go to work to help people continue to recover.

31. 0:19:05

    Congratulations.

32. 0:19:07

    Thank you.

33. 0:19:07

    Thank you, uh, committee. I mean, uh, thank you, Commissioner. Uh, you, you absolutely right. Congratulations. Uh, and it's quite ex- it, it is quite exciting, um, for this committee to hear it, uh, firsthand here, uh, first today. And, uh, patience, uh, I did hear the word patience there. It's, uh, it's been a while coming and, um, but I'm sure it's gonna be a great program for our agriculture, uh, industry and farmers, uh, to get back on their feet after that, uh, devastating hurricane.

34. 0:19:38

    It was, uh, like nothing we'd have ever seen in this state. So, um, uh, appreciate, again, your, uh, your diligence, uh, work on this, uh, with Washington, um, and, and do it. So we do have, uh, several questions here. Representative Cox.

35. 0:19:56

    Commissioner, thank you so much for the work you do just across the entire state, but specifically here. I'm excited, my colleague to my left, that it's giving you guys some support and relief as well as we all have seen what it's done. You had mentioned something here. Um, I think you mentioned a different website that people can go to.

36. 0:20:18

    Oh, yeah. Sorry.

37. 0:20:18

    It's, it's a little different than this.

38. 0:20:19

    I should've mentioned the website. So farmrecovery.com, uh, is the, is the direct link to the Hurricane Helene page. Uh, that's where you will be able to find the, uh, the application. Uh, and, uh, but there, the, the, the... Both websites go to the same page. I'll just for clarity. So if you go to agr.georgia.gov, there is a direct link on that homepage that will take you directly to the Hurricane, uh, Helene, um, information page as well as where the application will be live.

39. 0:20:51

    Uh, and then, uh, and then there's also, uh, farmrecovery.com is the direct link website that you can go to that will take you directly to the website as well.

40. 0:21:02

    So that's not agr.georgia.gov/farmrecovery, it's just farmrecovery.com?

41. 0:21:06

    So farmrecovery.com will take you directly to the website, but if you go to agr.georgia.gov, there is a direct link-

42. 0:21:12

    Link to go to that

43. 0:21:12

    ... at the top of that webpage that will take you there. Yes, sir.

44. 0:21:14

    Okay. Thank you.

45. 0:21:15

    Yep.

46. 0:21:18

    Representative O'Steen, who, uh, family farm, uh, took a, um, bad hit from this hurricane, so, um, question's yours.

47. 0:21:29

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As the, the person in the general assembly, or, or in the, in the House anyway, that gets to say that I am your state representative-

48. 0:21:38

    That's right

49. 0:21:38

    ... I am so incredibly grateful for every person that is on your team. I know y'all have worked tireless in this historic storm. More importantly than me announcing my re-election is to announce that this is live. I am so grateful you allowed us to, that this, oh, I'm so happy that you've got this so we can announce this today.

50. 0:22:00

    Yes, ma'am.

51. 0:22:00

    Um, it's two weeks, right?

52. 0:22:04

    Two weeks.

53. 0:22:04

    It's a two-week time period.

54. 0:22:05

    This week and next week is the... We're, we're utilizing this as an opportunity for you and others and our friends in the ag industry and our ag industry friends to help us share this message. We're gonna be pushing this out to our email list that we have internally at the department. Uh, but also we'll be leaning on y'all to help us share the, the press release and the information about this to... We wanted to take, uh, uh, enough time, uh, and we felt like two weeks was enough to ensure that we're getting, we're letting everybody know it's li- we're, we're going live, uh, March 16th.

55. 0:22:36

    Uh, and, uh, application period will open then for six weeks and, uh, so yes, ma'am, this week and next week we're gonna utilize it as a, as the time to beat the drum.

56. 0:22:46

    And to get your stuff together to be ready for-

57. 0:22:48

    Well, we're, we, we we at the department have been read- Oh, you talking about, uh-

58. 0:22:53

    Farmers getting their stuff together

59. 0:22:53

    ... producers. Yes, ma'am.

60. 0:22:55

    Yes.

61. 0:22:55

    Well, we hope over the last two or three months we've been trying to push that message of, "Get your stuff together. This is what you need. Here's the information we're asking for." We hope that they've started that process. But yes, this two-week process, w- I would highly encourage anybody that is looking to apply or, or, or is able to apply to get your information together at, at, the, on the website, farmrecovery.com. There's FAQ sheets for every covered area. You can pull up that FAQ sheet and it will outline what you need and will need for the application.

62. 0:23:29

    Um, and so it's critical that you do that. Uh, that way whenever you start applying, you can get that done as quickly as possible.

63. 0:23:36

    That's great. Thank you so much.

64. 0:23:37

    Yes, ma'am. Represent Carter. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Commissioner. We are- Yes, ma'am ... all excited to hear that it's finally live. So I might ask for you, uh, will you be providing the information that you, they've printed for us electronically in our email so we can share that? Yes. We can, uh, we can, we can get you all the, all of this electronically. Yes, ma'am. We'll, we'll get that to you. Thank you. And then my, my question about the, uh, map- Yep ... for the counties who are eligible for the hurricane relic- Yes, ma'am ...

65. 0:24:09

    Helene relief. I don't know how they came up with the map, but if we have, uh, folk around Georgia who were affected and they are not in the highlighted area, what is the, uh, process or is there a process for them? So- Yes ... uh, so, so obviously the eligible county list that we, we put together for this program is based off of the disaster declaration from the Secretary of Agriculture related to Hurricane Helene. So we matched the same, uh, disaster declaration counties that were declared a disaster area for agricultural purposes for this block grant program because that's what it's geared toward, right?

66. 0:24:46

    Regarding other counties that, that there, where they may have been other, uh, losses, uh, um, you know, there are, uh, obviously through FSA, through USDA, there are loss programs that they could look at, uh, to, uh, to maybe address the, whatever concern they may have. Um, obviously they could, they could send an email to the email address that's on the website and ask that question directly. Um, you know, our s- our staff, our, our team of, of folks and contractors, I mean, we'll, we'll look through all of that.

67. 0:25:18

    Um, if there's a way that we can help somebody, we will. Uh, but, um, but we based the eligible county list off of the declared list from the Secretary of Agriculture. Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

68. 0:25:33

    Any other questions of, uh, commissioner? Okay. Okay. Representative Mathis.

69. 0:25:41

    Okay. So just as a follow-up, Mr. Chairman, if I may, uh, I was given a little bit extra information. Uh, so with the agreement, uh, we're allowed to take, uh, things to USDA on a case-by-case basis. Uh, so we'll, uh, if it's something that we believe is eligible or, or deemed, uh, d- to meet what we believe is the criteria, we could take that to USDA for some additional, uh, assistance, uh, under the, that would fall under the program. Just one way. Thank you, Commissioner, for this great news for our, our folks in the ag business and timber business.

70. 0:26:17

    I do appreciate the part that you said that we're gonna get this money to the people that need it. Yes, sir. So there's gonna be scrutinizing guardrails on this, really good. 100%. I really thank you for that because I, I love to help these folks that need this money and make sure the folks that don't need it. Yes, sir. So thank you so much for that point. Well, and, and just to that point, uh, uh, Representative Mathis, there's, there are significant guardrails in this program. That's part of what took us so long to get here. Uh, there's also an audit part of this as well.

71. 0:26:49

    Uh, some of the requirements, and producers will get this information as we work through it, is they're, they're gonna have to keep some of their financial records for up to three years, uh, after we work through this program, uh, because of the audit requirements that y- we have from USDA. Uh, and so, um, you know, a lot of that will be worked through over the next couple of years. The other thing is, is, uh, as part of this, as, as, as most of you know that are in ag, any time you work through a disaster program, USDA requires you to take out crop insurance for a, a certain amount of time.

72. 0:27:22

    That's the same with this program. There'll be required crop insurance. Uh, you'll have to take out crop insurance for a certain number of years, uh, after receiving, uh, this, uh, or NAP, uh, whichever area you would fall into. Um, so there are, there are guardrails around this to ensure that it's getting to the people and the farmers, producers that deserve it, uh, and also protections in the program to ensure that we're not doing any- we're not sending it where it doesn't need to go and that we get every dime out to where it needs to be.

73. 0:27:56

    Excuse me. Representative Taylor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm, I wanna kind of go back to the immediate, um, response after Hurricane Helene hit and did the des- destruction, and the, um, FEMA. So this money here is not gonna be on top of what they received from FEMA? Or tell me how you are managing... If they got assistance from FEMA and they are upright, so to speak, what happens if they apply for this particular grant?

74. 0:28:27

    I mean, are you mixing- So, so, n- no, ma'am. These are two, tho- those are two, uh, two completely different separate programs. Um, what you can apply for and are, are eligible for under FEMA is completely separate for what you would be eligible for under the block grant. FEMA does not cover anything related to agricultural disaster or pr- production losses or anything like that. This is specific for those ag losses, which is completely separate from anything that would be covered by FEMA. Thank you. Uh, so, uh, when it comes to disaster response, especially when agricultural issues are incurred, uh, the federal government response, you have a, you have a r- FEMA response, but then you also have a USDA response, uh, when it comes to the ag side.

75. 0:29:12

    Uh, FEMA doesn't cover anything related to the ag side. USDA wholly covers that, and that's what this falls under. Great explanation. Thank you. Thank you. Good question. Uh, so yeah, Representative Ford, uh, just walked in and, uh, you just missed a good announcement, but he's still announcing. I know this, uh, program affects your district and- Yeah ... and your operations, so it's great news. Any comment you wanna make? I do. I have a real comment.

76. 0:29:39

    Yep. Right. Everybody's been asking about it. So yes, ma'am

77. 0:29:46

    Yes, everybody's asking me, as, as sure anybody else that's in, um, areas affected, so I'm certainly glad. Two weeks from now, you said?

78. 0:29:53

    Yes, ma'am, that's the timeline- Okay ... right behind you, and we can make sure you get this. Uh, but we're, uh, today, uh, we can officially announce that it is a final signed agreement, um, and, uh, and that this week and next week we will be utilizing as an opportunity to inform, uh, everybody the hay is open, and, um- We know the areas- ... and, uh- How much is des- how it's designated? Is that in this too? Y- y- yes. We can, yes, there are amounts designated by commodity. Okay.

79. 0:30:23

    Yep. Great. Of the 531 million. By commodity. That's correct. Okay. Yep. Does that have anything to do with insurance? Is it linked to insurance? There are some insurance linkages, yes. Okay. Depending upon the commodity and depending upon what's covered, there are insurance linkages. There's also a requirement, that was one of the things I just mentioned, uh, you, you will have to take out insurance for, for the next I think two years- Right ... after the program if you are a recipient of the block grant funds. You probably already said that and I'm sorry. I was- No, no, you're fine ...

80. 0:30:53

    I was in rules. You're good. So. I don't mind repeating. This is a big day. It is a big day. This is exciting. It is. I'm glad. I'm glad we're here. Thank you for what you did on this. Yes, ma'am. Appreciate it. Thank you.

81. 0:31:06

    Uh, Representative Cox.

82. 0:31:07

    A quick question. Is it 531 million? Is it, or how big is this grant?

83. 0:31:12

    It's a little over 531 million. It's 531 and change, but it's a $531 million grant.

84. 0:31:18

    Roughly.

85. 0:31:18

    Yes, sir.

86. 0:31:18

    Okay. Thank you.

87. 0:31:20

    Representative Lewis-Ward.

88. 0:31:22

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for being here, Commissioner. In your, uh, remarks about the Georgia Conservation Fund-

89. 0:31:29

    Yes, ma'am

90. 0:31:29

    ... I believe you mentioned it closes in m- uh, late May.

91. 0:31:32

    Yes, ma'am.

92. 0:31:33

    And you're preparing a list of qualified entities to work with producers.

93. 0:31:38

    Yep.

94. 0:31:38

    How does someone become a qualified entity?

95. 0:31:41

    So you, you have to be a q- a, so there's, there's two processes here. You have the landowner, the person that actually owns the land, the agri- production ag land, and then you have the easement holder. Uh, the, the, the qualified entity that I'm talking about is the landowner has to work with an easement holder, and that easement holder could be a variety of, of entities. It could be a city government, a county government, but it also could be private entities as well that are, uh, easement holders that hold the easement on that particular land for that particular purpose.

96. 0:32:14

    Uh, and, uh, and our team is working through finalizing that to get that out. Um, uh, many folks that are involved in these processes are for, are familiar with that. Some of those landowners that may be involved in conservation programs are, uh, are familiar with that process and are familiar with some of those easement holders already. But, uh, but we, we, we've been getting that question, so we wanted to make sure we put together information so we could get it out publicly so folks know who, who they could, uh, who they could work with.

97. 0:32:43

    Thank you.

98. 0:32:45

    Okay. That's all the questions I see. Thank you, Commissioner. Great news.

99. 0:32:50

    Yes, sir.

100. 0:32:50

     And, uh, any other questions for Commissioner? He, he, he told me prior to this he'd answer any other-

101. 0:32:56

     That's right

102. 0:32:56

     ... program-

103. 0:32:57

     Anything apart from ag

104. 0:32:57

     ... going on in ag. Lots of, uh-

105. 0:32:59

     Or ag related

106. 0:32:59

     ... lots of great programs, uh, uh, going on, um, to my friend, um, uh, uh...

107. 0:33:10

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our poultry population of course had problems with the, uh, avian flu. Where are we at with that? Is it contained now and everything seems to be better?

108. 0:33:23

     So the-

109. 0:33:23

     Just hadn't heard, and I was-

110. 0:33:24

     Yes, sir

111. 0:33:24

     ... asked last week in a question.

112. 0:33:26

     So the last three AI events that we had this year, uh, uh, Representative Dunahoo, we have, uh, completely released the quarantine area for all three, uh, of those locations. That means the quarantine order is now lifted. That means that the virus is completely contained. Uh, that means that all of the protocols met on those farms have been completed. The only, the only exception to that is the farm where the incident actually occurred is still under quarantine and will be for a little while longer.

113. 0:33:57

     That's, uh, to ensure that all the processes that were done were done, uh, adequately. It's just those, it's those final steps to ensure that, that everything was, was completed as needed, and it's that rest time to ensure that that virus is no longer, uh, no longer there. But we would not have lifted the quarantine around those farms, uh, for the other areas if we were not, if we didn't have confidence in the, the virus elimination was done. So it's moving in the right direction. Yes, sir.

114. 0:34:28

     Thank you, and I appreciate you being here for this announcement.

115. 0:34:31

     Yes, sir. Thank you.

116. 0:34:32

     Um-

117. 0:34:33

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

118. 0:34:33

     Okay.

119. 0:34:33

     Always glad to be with you.

120. 0:34:36

     With that, um, we'll move on to a little legislation. Uh, uh, Representative Barrett, you're back. H- uh, HB 1224. This bill's got more legs than a centipede.

121. 0:34:54

     That's because there are more people than there are ceni- uh, there are more organizations than there are legs on a centipede trying to- ... uh, circumvent the, the will of the people of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, thank you for letting me come back today. Um, I can honestly tell you that I have pulled out all the stops. I've met with countless lobbyists. I've heard all the arguments. Uh, and I'm, I's finally ready to ask, uh, this, this bill that y'all passed unanimously last week has been recommitted by rules back to this chamber.

122. 0:35:25

     And, and having met with countless lobbyists, uh, about this issue, I can honestly tell you

123. 0:35:34

     if you are a business that is doing, that is a bad actor, that is taking advantage of Georgians, your time has come, and you are going to stop This legislation is simple, it's not draconian, it's not terribly onerous, but it is an incremental step in the right direction to look after Georgia families and Georgia seniors. And you can probably tell I've just about had it.

124. 0:36:05

     My original bill in subcommittee said that with... If someone sends you an automatic renewal notice via email and they increase your price 50% or more, they have to get your permission.

125. 0:36:23

     There was a, uh, some, some excellent feedback from the subcommittee that said, "We agree with that. We think it ought to be more conservative. It ought to be 25%." I have met with so many people. I've heard all these incredibly thin arguments as to why we can't have different laws than anywhere else, although virtually every state has different laws around this issue. But I'm curious to see if we can go a little bit further and be even a little more accommodating and return back to our 50%.

126. 0:36:57

     Some of them say they will be neutral on our bill. They won't fight it tooth and nail. I'm curious to see if they do. If behind the scenes, when it gets over to the Senate, that it will get bottlenecked again, just like it did last year when we had similar legislation. So I'm respectfully asking you to amend our bill back to the original intent, which is, if you increase my, if you automatically renew me for a year or more, and you raise my price more than 50%, you have to get my consent. It's a step in the right direction.

127. 0:37:28

     I double dog dare them to go work under- undermine this bill in the Senate. We're gonna find out who's willing to stand with Georgia families and Georgia seniors and individuals. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll stand ready for any questions.

128. 0:37:44

     Okay. Um, okay, Representative. Uh, we do have a question. Let- let's talk about what, what number bill we're, we're looking at. LC 60-0325S.

129. 0:37:59

     Mm-hmm. This one.

130. 0:38:01

     And we got a substitute.

131. 0:38:03

     This is what we're looking at.

132. 0:38:04

     Okay. Correct. Okay. LC 44-3470S. Is that what-

133. 0:38:13

     Yes, Mr. Chair.

134. 0:38:14

     Is that what we're-

135. 0:38:15

     Yes, Mr-

136. 0:38:15

     ... considering?

137. 0:38:16

     That is the correct LC number.

138. 0:38:17

     Okay.

139. 0:38:18

     And essentially on line-

140. 0:38:19

     Yeah, I got it

141. 0:38:20

     ... 33.

142. 0:38:21

     I got it. Okay, um-

143. 0:38:23

     On 33, we're simply asking to change 25 to 50.

144. 0:38:29

     So you, so this, this, this LC number is not a sub, uh, asking for changes.

145. 0:38:37

     I-

146. 0:38:37

     You did not bring a sub with the changes.

147. 0:38:40

     Um, I, I communicated with, uh, legislative counsel on this. Uh, I, I think there's an amendment, uh, in my folder from this morning. I would, uh, defer to Mr. Higby. I would ask respectfully that you change one thing, uh, 25 and line 33 to 50.

148. 0:39:02

     Okay. Um, all right. We've got some, um, some questions lit up here. Um, Representative Cox, uh, subcommittee chairman that, that heard this bill originally.

149. 0:39:21

     Thank you. Uh, thank you, Representative. Um, in the subcommittee, the adj- the amendment was done, and it was a friendly amendment, was it not?

150. 0:39:33

     Yes.

151. 0:39:33

     Okay. And our ultimate goal is to protect the consumers. I'm not sure why going from 25 to 50 is in the best interest of the consumers. Can you explain that maybe a little better to the committee?

152. 0:39:53

     A, a, a, a, a quote that would, would work, but it doesn't really work here is, l- let's not make perfect the enemy of good. But this bill, even at 50 or 25, is certainly not perfect. It's only better than what the law currently says. But I am pragmatic, and I do wanna get incremental relief and a step in the right direction for the state, but I'm also a realist, and I know what I'm up against. I know it's me working with mega companies, some of their lobbyists are in this room right now, that will oppose this bill at 25%.

153. 0:40:33

     They might be a little quiet at 50. They say that th- they can live with that. I've got organizations like the Georgia Chamber say, "Okay, we can live with it here." I've got people who represent Amazon saying, "We can live with it there." But they're both sort of different. I've tried to, I've tried to interpolate between the two and come up with a solution that I thought would work. We don't want our friends at the Georgia Chamber, we're not trying to put onerous demands on these companies. We're just trying to make an incremental step in the right direction. It is shocking the amount of, the, it is withering, the amount of feedback and, and pushback you get, and most of it is quiet and whispered and is behind the scenes.

154. 0:41:13

     But we're all pragmatic enough, and we're now experienced enough to understand what we're really up against, uh, when we're talking about the lobbyist community and, and these great big companies at, versus little old Carter. It, it's kind of withering. But by God, I'm not going away on this issue.

155. 0:41:35

     Uh, Representative Dunahoo.

156. 0:41:36

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This bill was a good bill last year. Now, I heard lobbyists and lobbyists. Lobbyists aren't elected down here to make decisions. We are. Is that not true? Absolutely. We understand that on this committee. So when we do, it doesn't matter. 25% should be the number we're looking at for constituents. That is who lives in the state. So, and I have a lot of friends who are lobbyists, don't get me wrong, but I'm a businessman also, and it's kind of like there's not enough of them down here to push this if we do the right thing.

157. 0:42:09

     It's time to pass this bill out. It's time to vote it through and go on record how you voted, and the lobbyists have 50 other clients they can worry about. This is the right thing to do. I have dealt with over 100 of these issues, and I'm fed up with it. I've negotiated contracts. I've gone in, and every once in a while I have to impose, "Here's who I am and here's what I'm gonna walk away with." And you know what? I've had families that have had this nonsense taken care of.

158. 0:42:39

     But at this moment, I think it's time to do the right thing, and I just want to go on record for saying that.

159. 0:42:48

     Okay, Representative Taylor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Well, you kind of answered my question, but like Representative Dunahoo, I want to go on the record that I would prefer to stay with the 25%, not go- not the increase. We represent the people, not the lobbyists. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative Carter.

160. 0:43:12

     Thank you, Chairman. I, I think it's a broken record. We're with the people, and at the appropriate time, I'd like to move that we do pass this bill. Okay. Um, any other questions? We, um, this is our posture right now. Um, we, we could take a, uh, an amendment to this bill, or, uh, Anna tells me we can go actually back to the original bill, LC number, that has the 50% in it.

161. 0:43:47

     Is, is that right, Representative Carter? Uh, l- just, just to be perfectly clear, the bill that was passed in s- in the subcommittee and, uh, it- but the bill that was passed in this committee- Yeah ... was LC443470S- Yeah ... which has, uh- That's got the 25% ... the, the 25%, so that bill- And you're- ... that bill would have to be amended today to go back to the 50%, which was where we started. Back to the future. We can just vote on the original. We don't know amendments.

162. 0:44:17

     Yeah. Uh, so, so- Yeah ... so, I, I- And, and we're gonna get back to the same place. Um, Anna says we can just go back, w- the, the original LC number that you or- originally had, had the 50%, the 95 number. But we can do it either way. Uh, works, gets to the same pl- place, if you want to. Um, is, is all the members clear on, on what we're fixing to do, what we're about to ask? We're clear to keeping it at 25%. Well, wait, wait, wait.

163. 0:44:49

     That's your, that's gonna be your decision here. We're gonna, I'm gonna take a motion to, to pass, and then we'll, we'll have to have a motion for an amendment. Um, huh? 25. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman. No, we're gonna, we're gonna stay. Let's stay on this LC number, LC44347S. That's what he's- And Mr. Chairman. That's what- And that's- That's what the author's working from right now. Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, that bill has been passed by you already.

164. 0:45:20

     Okay. So the question is, will you pass an amendment? It's back from, it's back from rules, so to send it back to rules, if you're asking for us to pass this bill to send it back to rules with an amendment, but, but we'll have to have an amend- uh, we'll have to have a motion for that. Yes, sir. So I'll, at the, at, at, uh, I would open the floor to a motion to pass the, the LC44347S that you brought back today.

165. 0:45:50

     Do I have a motion? Yes. I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Um, hold on. We need a, we need a... Now I need a motion. Any other discussion or questions?

166. 0:46:06

     I do not hear a motion for a substitute. Does anybody have a motion for a substitute? Hearing none, there will be no substitute or change from this. So the question now is all in favor of passing this bill back to rules as it is, LC443470S, line 33 would be 25%.

167. 0:46:38

     Yes. Yes. Okay, that's the question. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Hearing none, your bill moves back to rules. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. As it left here. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and I look forward to your support getting our friends in the Senate to actually hold, ha- have a hearing and vote on this bill.

168. 0:47:03

     Um, the, the, we have a few more minutes. Um, I was asked by Representative, uh, Berry to take another look, thank you, uh, uh, to take another look at his bill that he, he brought, uh, the other day. Is Representative here, Bryce Berry? I do not see. I was gonna say, he wanted to have a hearing on a Wednesday. Okay, so, uh, we're gonna put that off, uh, until a later date. So, um, any other business before the committee?

169. 0:47:37

     Do not forget the, um, peanut dinner tonight at Ruth's Chris. Uh, tomorrow the peanut commission will have, uh, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone, I believe. Um, so don't, uh, miss that. Um, any other comments, questions? Commissioner's still here. Um, thank you, Commissioner, for being here. Thank you, everyone. A meeting adjourned.