House Rules Committee, March 4, 2026
Video: https://vimeo.com/1170127987 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1170127987#t=<seconds>s)
Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-04/house-rules

This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays.
[0:34:57] Good morning, everybody.

[0:35:04] Good morning.

[0:35:04] Good morning.

[0:35:08] Good morning. Thank y'all. Appreciate you being here this morning. Appreciate your patience with us. It was a, a long afternoon and a short night last night. So we're, we're all glad to be here, and we wanna go ahead and call our, uh, meeting to order. And we're gonna ask, uh, Rep- Chairman Hawkins, if he would just open us up with a word of prayer, please.

[0:35:31] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, please bow your heads. God, we come to you today with open hearts and open minds, asking for your help and your support and your wisdom for us to make the best choices we can for the people of Georgia and serve them, and always put them first over everything else. We also ask for your prayers for Rita, uh, Gerald Greene's sister, who's battling through surgery again this morning. Uh, we ask for her to be returned to health. We ask this in your name, um, and, uh, Jesus.

[0:36:04] Thank you. Uh,

[0:36:09] everybody in this room is special, but I wanna take a moment to introduce a couple of special guests that I've got here today. Uh, from Bulloch County, uh, Ben Ross in the back and his wife, Lauren. We're glad to have y'all here today, and their daughter, Laney, is gonna be paging for us on the floor today. So thank y'all for being here. We're glad that you're here, and, uh, hope you have a good day. Okay. Uh, we've got s- several folks who want a request. We think there's probably about 60 plus that are eligible to be asked for.

[0:36:43] So we're gonna go ahead and start. And if you would, for those members in, who are gonna be requesting bills, please give us the page number and then the bill number so that the, uh, members of the committee can search through there and find that, and it'll make it move smoother.

[0:37:01] There's some on the yellow sheet as well.

[0:37:03] And there will be some on the blue sheet, but also some on the yellow sheet. So, uh, if you would, try to keep up with that. And, uh, brevity is a real virtue today, okay? L- let's go ahead and start. Yes, ma'am, come on up.

[0:37:23] Good morning. Good morning, chairman and committee. Thank you for hearing this, uh, in this opportunity. I'm on page four, and it's House Bill 1073. It's close to the top of the page on the blue sheet. It's LC 394003S. Uh, th-

[0:37:39] 1073. Go ahead.

[0:37:41] So this bill is a, a specialty tag bill for Jackson State University Alumni Metro Atlanta Chapter. They're requesting a bill.

[0:37:51] Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you.

[0:37:53] Thank you.

[0:37:54] Yes, ma'am.

[0:37:58] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, uh, members of the committee. I've got HB1429. It's the middle of page nine. Um, it's LC481810S. Uh, this is a data gathering bill that will require juvenile courts to report the sentence imposed, any monetary fees and fines, and if this money was actually collected. It's just a small update to code that's gonna provide some clarity and transparency.

[0:38:29] Okay. No questions. Thank you.

[0:38:31] Thank you.

[0:38:35] Yes, ma'am.

[0:38:37] Good morning, Mr. Chairman and, uh, committee members. Bill number HB829 on the blu- blue sheet. It is the third page, the second one from the top. LC590134.

[0:38:54] This bill strengthens online safety instruction so that students understand the risk associated with harmful material, age verification practices, and secure browsing, because preparation must be proactive, not reactive.

[0:39:10] Okay. No questions. Thank you, ma'am.

[0:39:13] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[0:39:14] Yes, ma'am.

[0:39:21] Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, and thank you to the committee. Um, my bill is HB490, and it's on page one of the blue sheet at the very bottom. And the LC number is LC481787, S as in Sam. This bill is entitled Georgia Human Trafficking Prevention Training Act, and the purpose of the bill is to increase awareness of human trafficking in hospitality industry, equip hotel staff to recognize warning signs, strengthen reporting procedures, improve collaboration with law enforcement, enhance public safety in Georgia communities.

[0:40:05] And every entity has been included. Um, any changes that they needed to make, and I know the last time, you all might remember this was heard before, every change was made, and they had an input. And everybody is in favor at this point. It's, and even the attorney general's office.

[0:40:26] Okay. No questions. Thank you.

[0:40:29] Thank you.

[0:40:34] Yes, ma'am. Go ahead.

[0:40:36] Um, good morning, um, Mr. Chairman and to the committee. Um- Blue page, page 10, um, HR 1111, LC number 610280. Um, HR 1111 is a bipartisan resolution encouraging support for critical me- media literacy education in Georgia's public high schools. Our students consume information every day through social media, digital platforms, and online news, yet many have never been formally taught how to evaluate sources, identify misinformation, or distinguish fact from opinion.

[0:41:21] This resolution does not mandate ideology. It promotes skill development, critical thinking, civil discourse, and responsible civil engagement. It urges collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education and local school systems to ensure any curriculum remains nonpartisan and standards-based. In a time of increasing political division, equipping students with the tools to analyze information thoughtfully is not partisan, it is responsible governance, and I favorably ask for your favorable consideration to move HR 1111 forward.

[0:42:03] Thank you.

[0:42:04] Thank you, ma'am. Don't see any questions.

[0:42:10] Mm-hmm.

[0:42:10] Yes, ma'am, Ms. Hagan.

[0:42:13] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, this is House Bill 1260. It's about halfway down page six on the blue sheet. Currently in Georgia Code, local elected officials are required to receive newly elected official training. However, uh, we found in the interim that there's no penalty for not receiving that training. So this bill simply says that if they do not receive that training within a reasonable amount of time, then the local governing, governing authority would cease payment of their salary, reimbursement of expenses, so forth, until they receive that training.

[0:42:52] Okay.

[0:42:52] That's it.

[0:42:52] Don't see any questions. Thank you.

[0:42:54] Thank you.

[0:42:59] Yes, ma'am.

[0:43:00] Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, committee. I bring to you House Bill 1447, LC 620457S. It is at the bottom of page nine. And this bill requires all taxing bodies to evaluate once a decade, once every 10 years, their utility bond structure, whether consolidating would be a good idea, and also feasibility studies if necessary. And failure to do so would result in losing, um, funds from DCA potentially.

[0:43:35] Okay. Don't see any que- wait.

[0:43:38] Um, Mr. Chairman-

[0:43:39] You got another one, too.

[0:43:39] I do. I do. Um, page five, um, HB 1138. I believe the committee heard this last week, but my understanding is there is a substitute.

[0:43:48] Yeah.

[0:43:48] And all it does is it returns the bill to the original language.

[0:43:57] Yeah, you... It is on the desk. Yeah, y'all have the sub. Right. Okay.

[0:44:10] Yeah, you wanna go ahead unless, um-

[0:44:11] You mean move it?

[0:44:12] Yeah. Do I hear a motion?

[0:44:16] To move.

[0:44:16] Second. Yeah, explain the sub and then, yeah.

[0:44:19] As, uh, Chair Lady Camp said, this returns the language, uh, back to how it was presented in committee. Admittedly, I had, uh, some concerns with some language in committee, and we worked together to make some changes. After committee, I've gotten some clarification and, uh, feel like her original language was sufficient as it was presented in the committee, and this puts it back to that original language.

[0:44:44] Okay, you've heard, you've heard the explanation. Is there a motion to approve the sub?

[0:44:50] So moved.

[0:44:50] Moved and seconded. Any opposition? Okay, so it's approved. Thank you.

[0:44:55] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[0:44:56] Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

[0:45:01] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I bring to you this morning House Bill 1363. It's actually located on the yellow sheet about a quarter of the way down on page eight of the yellow sheet.

[0:45:16] And this bill, um, would create a new position in our K through 12 schools to, um, be able to deal with, um, discrimination claims of all kinds under Title VI of the Federal, um, Civil Rights Act. Um, that would include religion, ethnicity, national origin, and race.

[0:45:39] No questions.

[0:45:40] If, Mr. Chairman, could I present another bill?

[0:45:42] Sure.

[0:45:43] Um, Chairman Dubnik has a meeting with Ms. Dale, so he asked me to present this bill for him. It is HR 1475. It's on page 11 at the top of the blue sheet. And this is a study committee, um, really just to study, um, how to define excessive un- or unusual noi- noise, excessive or unusual noise, because, um, it's impossible right now, since we don't have that defined in the code, it's impossible for law enforcement to, um, to enforce our existing, um, regulations on noise.

[0:46:23] Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you.

[0:46:25] Thank you so much.

[0:46:26] Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. I wanna thank all you gentlemen for letting these ladies go first. Thank you.

[0:46:33] Absolutely. Thank, thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of committee. Seventh one down on second page, HB 570.

[0:46:45] What this bill does, it just clarifies that international designations and recommendations are non-binding in Georgia unless approved by this general assembly, and it reinforces constitutional private property rights. I work with U- UNESCO, the international organization. I- they're good with it. US Fish and Wildlife is good. Private property owners are good with it. And our friends out in the hall that's giving you these little keys, they're, they're good with the bill. And so that's, that's what HB 05- HB 570 does, Mr. Chairman.

[0:47:09] Okay, we've got a question. Whip Park has a question.

[0:47:12] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is there... Can you name a single rule, regulation, or policy from the WHO or from the UN that's implemented or may be implemented here in Georgia?

[0:47:23] I- I'm, I'm, I'm sorry. I'm hard of hearing. Speak, speak loud.

[0:47:26] Can you name a single rule, regulation, or policy from the WHO or the UN that is implemented or could be implemented here in Georgia?

[0:47:35] No, th- this, this is just something that's been passed in several other states. And like I say, the UNESCO had a meeting in my district earlier this year, and I asked them did they have an issue with, with us doing that in Georgia? And they, they did not. They're, they're good with it. And like I say, this is non-binding, uh, resolution. It- it- on, on the states unless it's passed by the general assembly.

[0:47:55] O- o- one additional quick question. How many other states have implemented this?

[0:47:59] Uh, I wanna think about six.

[0:48:01] Thank you.

[0:48:03] And I, and I can get you that answer for sure. That's, that's an estimate. That's just...

[0:48:06] Okay. No other questions. Thank you.

[0:48:09] C- can I ask for one that's not on the sheet, Mr. Chairman?

[0:48:12] Yeah. Go ahead.

[0:48:12] That we passed out. It w- reported out this morning about HB s- 1267, result of a study committee that we had, uh, this year on tops and dealer tag abuse. Uh, this bill addresses those issues.

[0:48:24] Okay.

[0:48:24] Thank you.

[0:48:25] Thank you. Yes, sir.

[0:48:33] Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm here to present House Bill 1224 this morning. It's on page six, second from the top.

[0:48:52] Mr. Chairman, then ladies and gentlemen, this bill speaks to automatic renewals on contracts and subscriptions. It, it makes a few small changes to the law, but it will have a really big impact on every single family in Georgia and Georgia senior citizens as well. Uh, it's a simple bill, but it will make a big, big difference. I've worked very closely with industry. It's been received very favorably. It received unanimous support in subcommittee, in ag and consumer affairs, and also unanimous support in committee, uh, both times.

[0:49:33] Well, don't see any questions. Thank you.

[0:49:35] Thank you.

[0:49:39] Yes, sir. Come on up.

[0:49:41] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I got three bills. Um, the first bill is, uh, House Bill 1266. Uh, this is actually a Sub 474108S, and this is about the boating down on the Ogeechee in that one little section where we changed the horsepower. We did go back and we added one part there that just still bans any personal watercraft, jet skis, uh, from that area. So that was the only change that we did on this bill. Uh, the next bill I have, uh, let's see, is on page seven, about three-quarters of the way down, House Bill 1327.

[0:50:17] Um, this is just requiring all the schools, if they don't already have a safety program, um, for lock boxes, they're required to put lock boxes in there with a key or a key fob. If they have the electronic doors that open with a keypad or something, then they're fine. It's just, uh, requiring them to do that.

[0:50:35] Okay. I don't see any questions on that one either. Go ahead. Did you have another?

[0:50:39] Yes, sir. I got one more. Um, House Bill 1454. Um, and what this does, it, uh, section one, um, just says that, like, if you have a carry permit, those are held by the probate courts, and they're not a database to be shared. Um, this just puts some teeth in there. That's already in current law. Uh, this would just put some teeth in there. If, if they do share that information with another county or city, then you could be up to $100 fine or the price of the, of a court, whichever's more.

[0:51:13] Section two, let's see here.

[0:51:18] I may have that wrong on the section part. Uh, the other part it does is it says if you got five acres or more d- and you shoot guns on it, um, that you can't have a, the city or the county can't put an ordinance in to prevent you from doing that. We've had some gun ranges that was there before. They come in and built subdivisions next to them and shut them down. So that does that. The third part, uh, and the last part of it is, um, which is already in current law, that, uh, police departments have to sell any unclaimed firearms, uh, within 12 months. They haven't been doing that, so it puts some teeth in there to where they can be fined for not, uh, selling those weapons, um, after they've been unclaimed.

[0:51:56] And that's all that it does.

[0:51:57] Okay, you got a couple of questions for you.

[0:51:59] Okay.

[0:51:59] Speaker Pro Tem has a question.

[0:52:02] Uh, thank you. Um, thank you, uh, Representative. Could you further elaborate on the five acre provision? Is that, does that pertain only to preexisting firearm ranges, or does it just in general to any five acre?

[0:52:19] It's just in general. Um, if you got-

[0:52:21] So you mean anyone could fire a firearm on any five acre, uh, lot?

[0:52:27] Yes, five acres or larger.

[0:52:30] Okay. Thank you.

[0:52:31] Okay. Uh, Whip Park has a question for you.

[0:52:34] I have a mic.

[0:52:35] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, is it not true this bill would strip local sheriffs and city councils of their fundamental property rights to decide who they do business with, uh, specifically with respect to this bill stripping their right of refusal?

[0:52:49] Uh, on which part? I'm sorry, which bill?

[0:52:51] Uh, on, uh, 1454?

[0:52:53] On the actual bit, um, the sell the firearms.

[0:52:56] Mm-hmm.

[0:52:56] So that's already in current law that they're required to be able to sell any unclaimed. Um, and so we've had some that's not been doing that. Uh, the only thing it does add is the individual can buy it, but they still have to go through an FFL dealer to receive the weapons. Right now it's just for dealers, uh, so that's one thing that it is adding, but it's already in current law.

[0:53:14] Y- y- this bill would be compelling local sheriff's office to take certain action. Is that not true?

[0:53:19] Well, we already have a current law that tells them they have to do it, and they're not doing it. Some of them are not doing it.

[0:53:23] Thank you.

[0:53:25] Mm-hmm.

[0:53:26] Okay. Pro Tem Jones has another question.

[0:53:29] I had a further question on the five-acre, um- ... uh, provision. Is it any firearm of any kind-

[0:53:37] Yes

[0:53:37] ... that is a legal firearm?

[0:53:38] It's legal firearm. It's legal firearm, and-

[0:53:40] And is it at any, at any inch of that five-acre lot? Meaning anywhere on that lot you could fire the firearm. So if you wanted to fire it right down the property line one inch inside of it, and you had children playing right next, or a playground, that would be legal.

[0:53:59] That would, yes, that would be legal.

[0:54:00] Thank you. I appreciate that.

[0:54:02] Okay. Representative Holcomb has a question.

[0:54:05] Th- thank you, Mr. Chairman. And on the five acres, it's five acres or more, not five acres more or less.

[0:54:12] That correct. Yes. The man knows what he speaks.

[0:54:15] All right. Thank you.

[0:54:17] Okay. Uh, Representative Evans.

[0:54:20] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My question is, um, around, starting around line 89, the part where, uh, if a state or political subdivision other than a municipal corporation doesn't dispose of the firearm, I guess, fast enough, we're now gonna create a private right of action, am I reading this correctly, for any person who might be interested in acquiring firearms that they think the political subdivision is not selling fast enough? Am I reading that correctly?

[0:54:50] I'm sorry, what was the last part?

[0:54:52] Uh, I just wanna make sure I'm reading that correctly. We are creating a private right of action for someone who may want to buy a firearm that they don't believe the political subdivision is selling within 12 months. Is that, that's what this section is?

[0:55:04] So we're, yes. We're saying that if you, that in current law right now, you have to sell the firearms, any unclaimed firearms within 12 months, and we've had people hadn't been doing it, so this right here is being able to take a right of action against that department if they're not doing what the current law says.

[0:55:20] You would agree with me that there's plenty of places within the State of Georgia and throughout the country where you, where someone who wants to buy a firearm can buy a firearm, right?

[0:55:28] Yes.

[0:55:28] There's not a limit to where, they're not limited to just these political subdivisions that maybe aren't selling them as fast as you would like, right?

[0:55:37] That's, yes, ma'am, I'm, that's correct.

[0:55:39] But instead of sending that-

[0:55:40] But this is extra money

[0:55:41] ... but instead of sending that private citizen and saying, "Maybe go buy a gun somewhere else," we're now gonna give this private citizen the right to go into court and clog our already overburdened judges with lawsuits to say, "I wanna buy that gun." That, that's what this bill does.

[0:55:56] Well, I wouldn't say, no, I would say that if, if we put something in law and people are not following it, and it, and it's been brought up time after time, at what point do we, is it really a law?

[0:56:06] Well, there's, there's certainly other ways that we could ask for compliance other than allowing a private right of action in a lawsuit, true?

[0:56:14] Well, that's true, but, uh, I would like to hear some of them if that's the reason, 'cause w- this has been an issue with several departments. Uh, we've had several complaints over the last five, six, seven years.

[0:56:24] What would be the damage to someone who, say, I wanna buy a firearm, the, you know, the local government has one that somehow I know they haven't been selling for 12 months. What is the, what is the damage to me as a private citizen because I can't buy that particular gun?

[0:56:41] Well, I think it's more to keep them from stockpiling firearms and not ever getting rid of them. Um, and, and to differ just a little bit, differ that, I mean, I've had three people that's came that's had their firearms stolen. They went to the police department to get them back, showed the bill of sale, that kind of stuff, and they refused to give them back and turn them, told them to turn it in on their insurance. Well, I'm not an attorney, but I'm pretty sure that's insurance fraud because they have the, the weapon that was stolen, and they won't return it to them.

[0:57:09] And, and, but, but this is, the private right of action is not for someone who wants to get a gun back. It's for somebody who wants to buy a gun. True?

[0:57:16] That's, that's correct, because they're stockpiling and not selling them like the law says.

[0:57:21] Secretary Kelley.

[0:57:22] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The, the right of action that's being referred to here, Representative Ridley, isn't it, uh, a mandamus action that you're aiming at, which is just a suit where you would instruct the municipality or the county to do what they're supposed to be doing under the law? And my understanding of what you're looking to do here is then you would allow an individual who's been forced to file this mandamus action from a city or county who's not following the law that we passed here in this state, that they would be able to re- uh, recover their reasonable attorney's fees that, uh, they've had to pay out to have a lawyer bring a suit against the city or county for not following the laws passed by the Georgia General Assembly.

[0:58:03] Is that correct?

[0:58:04] That would be correct.

[0:58:05] Thank you.

[0:58:07] Leader Hugley.

[0:58:08] Thank, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I wanna make sure that I'm real clear about where these guns can be discharged within the boundaries of this five-plus acres because, you know, bullets don't have anybody's names on them. And, um, how are we protecting the public by allowing that?

[0:58:31] Right. So you would still be responsible, just like always. Uh, if I'm on my property and I got 20 acres or 100 acres, it don't matter. If I shoot and I hit somebody, I'm responsible for that bullet, right? So that would not change anything. All we're saying is we've had cities going in and telling people that they can't shoot on property, that's private property rights. Um, and I can tell you one up in North Georgia where a 4H, um, club was, had the shotgun thing on 50 acres, and they come in and told them they couldn't shoot there anymore, and made an ordinance where they couldn't.

[0:59:03] So that's where, I mean, it's happening more than you think. And so all we're saying, if it's your private property and you want to build a berm and you want to shoot into it or whatever, then you would have that right to do that. So if a city has an ordinance where you can't discharge a firearm within the city limits, then this would override that? I don't think so. I think if they already have an ordinance in place, then you'd be fine. I think it's if they don't, if they put an ordinance in afterwards. The other question I have, um, requiring cities to sell these firearms, does the city have any responsibility to ensure that the firearm is in good working order or- I don't think so.

[0:59:43] I don't think they have any of that. I think it's just the way the current law reads is they're required to sell them, dispose of them at some point, and they're not doing that. So if, if, if that is the case, what's going to prevent us from putting, uh, guns that are malfunctioning or that are otherwise worthless out, back out into the general public? Well, if, if I choose ... I mean, I guess you have to tell people that, but just like you would on any vehicle that they sell or something at a government auction. But a lot of guys will buy stuff like that because it's a collector's item or because they can, they know how to fix the stuff or something like that.

[1:00:18] So that's, it's always been ... They've always sold to dealers. Um, but, well, most of them have, but we've had some that will not, they've never sold, they've never had an auction, they've never auctioned any of them off. We've got some that's got 3,500 to 4,000 guns right now. Well, I, I can understand buying a classic car that you want to restore. I don't, I don't, I don't transfer that to the guns, but, but maybe I'll understand later. One final question from Speaker Pro Tem. So I'm, I'm not concerned about the other sections of the bill, but on the five acres.

[1:00:51] So if there's an elementary school next door to a five-acre parcel, there would be no restriction within an ... There's no side requirements, there's no, uh, zoning requirements. It would be allowed as I read this. So a person could shoot a high velocity magazine, legal firearm, right down the property line an inch inside of it with an elementary school next door as I read this. Is that correct? Well, you can currently already do that. If it's on private property, there's not an ordinance.

[1:01:21] Well, then- If there's not an ordinance, yeah. But, but this would supersede any ordinance. No, I don't think so. I think if the ordinance is in place already, then- I, I, that is not how I read it, but maybe you could get that information- Okay ... for us. Furthermore, um, it appears that no noise ordinance would apply, so if somebody chose to at midnight till 3:00 in the morning- No, I think that's still in here. I think, uh, if, like, the times after and all that stuff is still, still in place.

[1:01:52] Well, it, it ... I don't see it, but perhaps you could clarify that and get that in. Okay. Let me find out about that part, but I'm, I, that came up and I'm pretty sure that there was a, the code section was talking about that you had to follow any kind of noise ordinance or anything like that. Thank you. Okay. A lot of good discussions. Let me encourage you, if you have some questions, to get with the author offline and y'all can try to, well, answer your questions. Okay? Thank you. Thank you, sir. Yes, sir.

[1:02:23] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, committee. I have, uh, HB 4- 1465. It's on page nine of the yellow sheet, um, nine from the bottom, nine up from the bottom on the yellow sheet. Which yellow sheet? Yellow sheet, page nine, nine up from the bottom.

[1:02:46] It's HB 1465. Okay. It's on the blue sheet, too. Top of page 10. Yeah. It- I think it's on page 10. Top of page 10 on the blue sheet. Oh. Oh, it's on the blue sheet as well? I missed it. I'm sorry. Go ahead, briefly. It's, um, this bill just, uh, removes the license plate decal. Uh, so you'll still have to register your vehicle, but you'll no longer have to have a license plate decal on your, on your tag.

[1:03:19] It's a $5 million savings to the state, and then it's a savings to the counties from labor and, and some other fees. Um, that's essentially what the bill does. Okay, don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman.

[1:03:38] Thank you, Mr. Chairman and, uh, members. On page 10, at the bottom of HR 1416, bottom of page 10. Um, Chairman Goodman and I would like to create a, uh, joint, uh, house study committee, uh, on sustainability of family farms. Our agricultural industry, as many of you know, uh, is the leading, um, economic driver in our state and is facing some unprecedented challenges, um, over the last few years, and we, uh, want to take some time, uh, over the interim to, um, to bring some people together to look for solutions and try to help our farms in this state.

[1:04:19] It's, uh, a real crisis, uh, in many sectors, and so that is what this, uh, study committee would do. Thank you, sir. I don't see any questions. Thank you. Yes, sir.

[1:04:38] Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, colleagues. We're on the blue sheet, page eight near the bottom. It's House Bill 1386 I'm asking for.

[1:04:58] Okay, so this is a, a tweak, uh, to a piece of legislation we passed last year, uh, about local control home rule. It gives cities in Fulton County a simple, powerful tool.

[1:05:12] If the city wants to be the primary architect of the development in their own backyards, they can pass a resolution and opt out of oversight by the Fulton County Development Authority.

[1:05:27] Okay. Thank you. Don't see any questions. Thank you.

[1:05:29] Thank you. Thank you, members.

[1:05:33] Yes, sir. Come on up.

[1:05:39] Sorry. Uh, House Bill 1428, Mr. Chairman. It's on page nine, about halfway down on the left. Um, House, House Bill 1428 is brought to me by the, the PELS board, which is Pro- Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. They, they came out from under the Secretary of State just a couple years ago. And while these boards, they're allowed to collect fee, incidental fees like ID cards, uh, license verifications, and credit card fees, which they use to pay for attorneys, uh, the Secretary of State just tacked on $120,000 human resources, uh, um, tab to them to be able to pay.

[1:06:19] When they, when they came out from under the Secretary of State, they left $300,000 in, uh, in OPB, and they did not allow that to move out, uh, from under the Secretary of State. This just, this bill just allows them to now start collecting their f- their fees, um, as a, as a, as a separate board, which every other board gets to do this.

[1:06:39] Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you.

[1:06:42] Thank you.

[1:06:42] Yes, sir.

[1:06:45] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have two, if you'll allow me. I have ha- I have House Bill 547. It's on page two, fourth from the top. Both of my bills deal with conservation, but 547 is the only CUVA bill we've got this year, thankfully. CUVA stands for Conservation Use Valuation Assessment. This bill streamlines the local administrative requirements for tracking CUVA parcels. Um, it's a win-win for the, both the local assessor's office and the landowner, because it reduces a good bit of the bureaucracy requiring to track CUVA parcels at the local level.

[1:07:17] Okay. Don't see any questions. You got another one?

[1:07:19] Last one, Mr. Chairman, is on the last page, uh, about halfway down, House Bill 1148. What this does, members of the committee, Mr. Chairman, it reauthorizes the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit for another five years through December 31st, d- 2031. It's due to expire this, this fall or this winter. It reestablishes the aggregate amount of the annual credits at $30 million, which was the original amount set in 2006 when this credit was established. And we streamline the application process through the Department of Natural Resources and allow the Georgia Real Estate Commission to act as an independent reviewer of any appraisals for permanent easements.

[1:07:58] Okay. Don't see any questions.

[1:08:00] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[1:08:05] Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman, go ahead.

[1:08:08] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, I bring you House Bill 1114. It's at, near the bottom of page four in your blue sheets. Uh, in 2022, we passed a financial literacy, uh, bill that required high schoolers to complete a c- half-credit course in financial literacy, uh, for the 11th and 12th grade. This bill simply allows that, uh, course to be taken in the 9th and 10th grade. Uh, this helps students with their busy schedules. Also, it helps school systems with scheduling, and, uh, so it works for both.

[1:08:43] So appreciate your considerations.

[1:08:46] Thank you, sir. Don't see any questions.

[1:08:47] Thank

[1:08:50] you.

[1:08:51] Yes, sir. Go ahead.

[1:08:52] Thank you, Chairman. Page 10 at the bottom, HR 1445. It's, uh, an urging resolution for us to continue the historical preservation of the State Capitol, recognizing the Georgia Building Authority and a- and their team, and also an incredible historical discovery that was found during this renovation.

[1:09:14] Okay. No questions.

[1:09:16] Thank you.

[1:09:21] Yes, sir. Go ahead.

[1:09:23] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I bring you House Bill 1386. It's about the middle of the blue page, a little bit b- below the li- uh, 1386. This is a bill that, uh, requires, that allows current and, uh, former legislators the ability to apply for a license plate to, that has the disabled symbol on them, so they can park in disabled parking spaces. Currently-

[1:09:51] Yeah

[1:09:52] ... legislator, when they apply f- any legislator that are 100% disabili- disabled apply for a, a legislator tag, they have to turn in their handicap tags. This will allow them-

[1:10:02] Give, give us that number again, please, sir.

[1:10:05] It's, uh, 1380, 1380, 1380.

[1:10:10] 1380.

[1:10:10] Yes, sir.

[1:10:11] Okay. There we go. Go ahead.

[1:10:13] It applies to our legislators, uh, current legislators or former legislators to apply for a legislative tag that has the disabled symbol on it to allow them to park in disabled parking spots. And that's basically what this bill does.

[1:10:27] Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you.

[1:10:29] Thank you.

[1:10:34] Yes, sir.

[1:10:36] Thank you. I have two bills, two good bipartisan bills. House Bill 1223, page six, the very top. Uh, this bill creates a narrow exception under the Open Records Act, uh, for government videos that captures persons death or their immediate pre-death distress, uh, when disclosure of that video would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Um, and I have another one.

[1:11:00] Uh, wait a minute, got a question on that.

[1:11:02] Sure.

[1:11:02] Uh, Whip Park has a question for you.

[1:11:05] Thank you. On, um, House Bill 1223, this is a bipartisan bill?

[1:11:09] It is.

[1:11:10] C- can you help me explain ... H- how this is bipartisan. W- w- is it not true this bill would essentially, um, you know, create a legal black box that requires citizens to hire an expensive lawyer just to see how a public servant acting in the state's name would, conducted themselves in a fatal incident?

[1:11:29] Well, it's bipartisan 'cause two, uh, two of my friends from the other side have signed the bill, um-

[1:11:34] Did this pass with bipart-

[1:11:34] Number five and number six

[1:11:36] Apologies. Uh, did, did this pass with bipartisan support in committee?

[1:11:39] Uh, I don't know. I don't think so, but I don't know.

[1:11:44] Okay.

[1:11:44] But it's still a bipartisan bill. Um- But there is, it, it, so, uh, if there are, what was your question? I got distracted by you saying it wasn't a bipartisan- ... to be honest with you.

[1:11:55] W- would this not make it, would this not, um, decrease transparency-

[1:12:00] No

[1:12:00] ... and require citizens to hire an expensive attorney, uh, to find out what happened in, in fatal incidents?

[1:12:06] No. So the next of kin, uh, gets that video. Um, and so if there's an issue, the next of kin absolutely can get that video and publish that video. Uh, if you have a, any kind of pending lit- pending litigation, uh, you have the opportunity to get that video. If you happen to be the news media, or less so the news media, the YouTubers who are just posting these death videos out there, um, of all sorts. Someone gets, um, uh, you know, their head, head re- all sorts of nasty things are out there. People are profiting off of these videos, uh, through open records. A CDC officer who was shot and killed, unfortunately, uh, that video came from a GDOT camera and, uh, was put out there.

[1:12:42] The family asked to be removed. Uh, the people who put it out there through, got it through FOIA, um, said, "No, you need to pay us, a, a sizable amount of money for us to remove that video." Um, these are things that are happening, and this is what this addresses. Uh, if you are news media, you absolutely can petition the court and say, "This is, um, in the public interest," and, uh, that can be ratified in court. And, and just like we do crime scene videos today, just like we do 911 calls today when someone dies.

[1:13:08] Thank you.

[1:13:08] Sure.

[1:13:09] Okay. D- don't see another question on that.

[1:13:12] All right.

[1:13:12] If you have another one-

[1:13:12] I do have one more, Bill. Uh, 1432, also a bipartisan measure. Uh, page nine, m- just below middle of the page. Um, this is for the, um, oversight committee, legislative oversight committee for the Judge- Georgia Public Defenders Council. Um, what this does is it, uh, gives an opportunity for replacement of committee members, um, if something happens to a committee member, they resign or, uh, become ineligible. It also, uh, requires that, um, the director and the council, um, cooperate with the committee.

[1:13:47] Okay, and don't see a question. Thank you.

[1:13:48] Thank you so much.

[1:13:51] Yes, sir. Come on up.

[1:13:56] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you committee members. Uh, this is HB1244 on the blue sheet. It is located on page six at the exact middle of the page. Uh, this is a bipartisan bill to remove, uh, dis- the district waiver for teacher planning periods and adds a duty-free lunch.

[1:14:15] Okay, don't see a question. Thank you.

[1:14:17] Mm-hmm. Thank you.

[1:14:20] Yes, sir.

[1:14:24] I have, uh, House Bill 1332. It's page seven, last bill on the bottom. And House Bill 1332, which is called the Georgia Buy American Medicine Act, calls for hospitals and healthcare facilities that receive state funding to give preference to American-made pharmaceuticals when purchasing medications. And the bill includes common sense exceptions for emergency situations where US-manufactured drugs are not available or where, or when the cost inference is substantially higher. This legislation just strengthens our domestic supply chain while ensuring flexibility to protect patients and control costs, and it was voted unanimously out of committee.

[1:14:59] Got a couple of questions.

[1:15:01] Yeah.

[1:15:01] Go ahead, Park.

[1:15:02] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, what impact would this have on especially safety net providers and rural hospitals with respect to potentially increased costs of medications?

[1:15:11] Yeah, so ev- I mean, if you look at the bill, there's a lot of caveats out of there, like, you know, if it's substantially higher, you know, they can't get the medicine, but it just prioritizes that if able, based on a number of the criteria, then they would buy American-made. 'Cause I know right now 90 to 92% of our pharmaceuticals are made out of country, and I know this for a fact, if we went to war tomorrow, we're gonna have millions possibly dying every year 'cause we don't have the medicine. So this is something that takes a step forward, but not too much teeth to where it has that balance to protect rural hospitals and all that.

[1:15:44] Ha- has the Georgia Hospital Association taken a position on your bill?

[1:15:47] No, they have not.

[1:15:48] Thank you.

[1:15:49] Linda Hugley.

[1:15:52] Mr. Chairman, um, I was concerned about the fact that since there's a penalty associated with not doing this, uh, is it gonna increase costs for hospitals, or who's gonna pay to, to buy the medicine?

[1:16:05] No, so, so what it has in there, it has, we could withhold funding, but again, we're the general assembly. We're the ones that fund things and all that, so it has that balance of it has some teeth. But th- this is not a bill to go try to bring the hammer down on healthcare, hurt this, you know, state and our patients. So it's, it's very balanced, but I mean, as a Green Beret, the national security and foreign policy aspect, we need to be prioritizing this. And just from the previous administration and now the, the Trump administration, they're really highlighting the need for medicine to be made here. And right now we have one company that just, I'm forgetting the name right now, I think AbbVie or something, and they just committed to, um, doing a, a, a substantial am- and, and I think it's 30 billion or something, really high, of building manufacturing here to produce their own medicine.

[1:16:49] So it's just helping to prioritize national security.

[1:16:52] Okay. No further questions. Thank you.

[1:16:54] Awesome. Thank you.

[1:16:58] Yes, sir.

[1:16:59] Well, good morning. Um, presenting HR 656, fifth from the top on page 10.

[1:17:20] Okay. All right. Well, good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, uh, committee members. HR656 would create a study committee to give us some time to further examine the growing presence of large institutional investors in single-family homes and hopefully be thoughtful in bringing some solutions forward to address any local impacts, uh, impacts on our local, uh, housing markets as well as prospective home buyers. Okay. Don't see any questions.

[1:17:50] Thank you. Thank you.

[1:17:54] Yes, sir. Dave, come on up. Sir. Mr. Chair, members of the committee, I'm, uh, here presenting House Bill 1434. This bill, uh, pertains to protected airspace above, uh, all of Georgia's general aviation airports. And it- Oh, sorry about that. Uh, page nine, uh, t- a little below the middle of the page.

[1:18:21] There we go. 1434, go ahead. Okay. So this, uh, this deals with protected airspace, uh, above all of Georgia's airports. Um, this airspace is protected by Federal Regulation 14 CFR Part 77, and within this airspace cont- it contains the route structure that basically moves in and out of the airports. Uh, the federal government, uh, basically, uh, sanctions, financial sanctions if you violate this airspace.

[1:18:51] And, uh, so this, this bill does not establish that airspace or have any effect on what it is or our, our, our requirement to, uh, to, uh, protect it. However, it does create a structure and procedure within the State of Georgia to do that. Uh, if we fail to protect this airspace, we suffer again federal sanctions, uh, losing grant money, could also cost us facilities by shortening or moving runways or closing runways. So by enacting this, uh, it, it will require zoning and a, and a, a method to ensure that, that this airspace is protected and facilitate maximum economic development in the, in the close vicinity, uh, of our airports.

[1:19:35] Uh, virtually all of our general aviation airports, all over 100 came to the Transportation Committee and asked for this. 47 out of 50 states have already enacted legislation similar to this and all the states c- uh, surrounding Georgia have. Okay. Thank you. Don't see any questions. Okay. Do, do you want me to do 899 or? Do you have another one?

[1:19:59] He just came back from aviation. Just wait. We'll do that later.

[1:20:09] Yes, sir. Come on up. Good, good morning, Chairman Parrish and members of the committee. Uh, page nine, House Bill 1414. This is the Series LLC Act. Texas and Delaware have this. It allows, uh, small businesses that have related LLCs to do the data entry and payments at one time rather than separately. It also presents some regulatory efficiencies. It's working well in two states. This will let, uh, multiple business owners, uh, stay domiciled in Georgia.

[1:20:42] Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you. And then two that got recommitted and just back to present them as perfected. Mr. Chairman, uh, Hou- House Bill 1028 on page four. This is the district attorney pay bill. The one change that we made after recommitting in c- in Judiciary Committee was to move the opt-in deadline back to 2034. Okay. Got a question. Uh, Whip Park has a question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, does this bill cap locality pay for district attorneys?

[1:21:13] If they opt in, it does. What it does is, similar to the judges bill last year, it allows a district attorney to get paid 88% of an Atlanta federal judge. The judges get paid 90%. In exchange for that pay from the state, that increased pay, they would get paid approximately 20,000 maximum from the locality and then an additional 6,000 for the, uh, drug courts. Is it not true that, you know, there's a fairly large difference, at least in my understanding, with respect to judges and DAs in which there are certain DAs who have a much larger caseload in which if localities want to pay them more for more work, why are we trying to undermine local control, especially with respect to more work that these DAs are providing, especially with respect to public safety?

[1:21:59] The, the DAs that have a bigger caseload are allowed to have more assistant district attorneys paid for by the state and the locals, more investigators paid by the state and the locals. They have more judge divisions, so they can try more cases with those additional lawyers and investigators they had. But actual DAs pay, DAs are state judicial circuit officials, and this increases the pay for DAs. 39 DAs across the state have signed a letter in support of this bill, and additional DAs are prepared to opt in if we pass it. And it mirrors what we did with the very same judges who handle the DAs cases that we passed last year.

[1:22:31] Thank you. Thank you. And- Don't see any other question on that. Do you have another one? The one bill that, uh, came back from Regulated Industries, House Bill 1254 on page six. This is a follow-up from our professional licensing bill last year. It is presenting efficiency. We had some more feedback from geologists and cemeterians. So, uh, this is a regulatory reform bill that keeps consumer protections in place and makes government more efficient. House Bill 1254. Okay. Thank you. Don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:23:04] Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Chairman. Um, on your yellow sheets, um, on page eight, sixth from the bottom is House Bill 1393. This would allow our, our rural hospitals to collaborate on contracts and-

[1:23:24] Is a priority from Hometown Health, the Hospital Association, and the 61 hos- rural hospitals that we have. Okay, don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, sir.

[1:23:42] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I've got four that I'm gonna walk through real quick. Um, the top of page five, top of page five, House Bill 1135. This past summer Congress passed a $1,700 tax credit for, uh, both private and public students. This bill seeks to codify that by, uh, fixing one shortcoming of the program, which was, uh, states have to annually opt in. Blue states and red states have opted into the program. Uh, this would say we are automatically opted in on an annual basis.

[1:24:13] Okay, I've got a question for you. Whip Park. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, lines 56 and 57 state that the state will have no authority to adopt or promulgate any rules or regulations. Uh, why, why are we limiting or, uh, restricting the state from acting on this and simply deferring to whatever the feds are saying? Because it's, it's the federal program that we're essentially just saying we've got to opt into on an annual basis. Our, our goal is not to expand, uh, uh, upon the, what Congress has already passed.

[1:24:43] Are there any other federal grant programs that have this sort of language, and again, you know, where the state cannot adopt or promulgate any rules or regulations that are- I'm sure there are, but I don't have those in front of me right now. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, no other questions on that. Do you have another one? Yes, sir. Uh, please turn with me to page six, midway through, House Bill 1250. This is the Daniel Waters Act. Uh, this was brought to me by a constituent. This creates a grant program, uh, that can be funded both publicly and privately to provide our state, state hospitals with cooling cradles.

[1:25:15] Uh, this is for thousands of families who experience a stillborn child. Cooling cradle slows the dying process so that a family, a grieving family can spend more time, uh, with their child. So that is House Bill 1250, middle of page six. Okay. 1250, yeah. No questions. What's your next? Thank you, sir. Uh, bottom of page 11.

[1:25:36] Bottom of page 11 is House Bill 376. This is coming back. Uh, we made a minor change in ways and means. This is a historic tech- historic rehabilitation tax credit. We, uh, changed the per project from 10 to 15 to account for the impact of inflation over the last few years.

[1:25:54] Let me get that. That's 376. Okay. No questions. Is that it? Last, but certainly not least, uh, back page 12, House Bill 1110. House Bill 1110, this is address, addresses the affordability crisis that our small businesses are facing and also addresses, uh, a healthcare issue. This, uh, provides a tax credit, uh, to help our small businesses become more competitive in, in attracting and retaining good employees. This gives a tax credit to small businesses who do the right thing and contribute to an employee's, uh, health, healthcare reimbursement account.

[1:26:28] Got a question. Whip Park. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, how many people would this cover? Like, how many, uh, Georgians would benefit from this? Well, so this would benefit any small business that has 50 or fewer employees. So about, a- at least from my understanding, about 16,000 Georgians would benefit under this bill. Is that correct? A lot. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Good bye, Parsonsville. No other questions. Thank you. Yeah. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, mine's not on the, uh, blue shee- uh, blue sheet. It was passed out of committee on Monday.

[1:26:59] I was gonna see if you'd allow me to share. Probably, I think it'd be on the yellow sheet. It's on the yellow. House Bill 1261. Uh, House Bill 1261 proposes an amendment to Georgia Tax Code to create a level one free port exemption for certain goods held in inventory by electric utilities. This bill is designed to offer targeted tax relief on qualifying inventory, establish an application process through the local county to where the property is located.

[1:27:27] It's on the yellow? Okay. No questions. Thank you. Thank you very much for allowing me to share. Mm-hmm.

[1:27:35] Mr. Powell. Yes, sir. Thank you, guys. Good morning. House Bill 230, uh, 237, that should be on the first pa- or, yeah, first page, I believe. It creates the evident, uh, evidentiary process for, uh, artistic and creative expression. Um, it lays out the groundwork to make sure that if we're gonna, uh, use it in, in, in court, that it is established before, uh, the jury is, uh, in the room. And then House Bill 1318 should be on page seven.

[1:28:07] This would create an actuary study to see if there's a private sector solution for family medical leave. It would, uh, be issued by the Department of Labor and, and just to see what the numbers would look like to, uh, to provide a statewide program similar to unemployment insurance. Okay, don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, sir. Come on up.

[1:28:33] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, on page, um, eight, halfway down, House Bill 1379, this bill, uh, increases transparency in foreign funding in, in our, uh, institutions of education across the state. Okay. Got a question. Whip Park has a question. Uh, Represent- thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Representative Gaines, um, have you been able to receive any updates in terms of, um, USG, uh, and other institutions as to whether or not they support this, um, additional reporting requirement?

[1:29:05] I haven't heard them come to me with opposition. Uh, I've talked to USG briefly and made some changes we talked about in committee. And like I said in committee, you're more than welcome to reach out to them as well. It's your bill, so, you know, if, if, if you could provide that information, it'd be appreciated. I mean, I'm comfortable with the bill. I'm, I think it's a good bill, so. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Chairman Martin, do you have a question? Representative Gaines, i- isn't it true that the, um-

[1:29:28] Questions I got from the university system that I relate to you was the ab- about the amount and the breadth. That the amount from each c- country, uh, that you were covering, that they were concerned about down to $0 and, and isn't it further true they were concerned about the breadth of the country-

[1:29:43] That's true

[1:29:43] ... countries you were including, and isn't it true that your substitute answered both of those, uh, concerns?

[1:29:49] That is true. It goes up to $10,000. It's our belief if you're gonna influence curriculum and those sort of things, which is what, uh, we believe some of these foreign actors are trying to do, then over $10,000 is a reasonable place to do it, and we included countries that we have seen that are trying to influence curriculum across the state. And, um, and so I think it has been, those issues have been addressed.

[1:30:10] Thank you, sir. No other questions.

[1:30:11] And I also have House Bill 1436 on page nine, halfway down. This legislation ensures that if any local jurisdiction is violating Georgia's, uh, policy against cashless bail, that those, uh, cities and counties are not eligible for any state funding.

[1:30:27] Got a question. Whip Park has a question.

[1:30:29] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is it not true this bill is likely unconstitutional in that it, it, that it infringes upon the home rule powers of Georgia cities and counties by using state funding as a financial cudgel to dictate local judicial and law en- law enforcement policies?

[1:30:45] Well, it's actually state law that they have to follow, uh, with these, uh, uh, with these offenses that we've got here. It is state law. They cannot use cashless bail, so if they're violating state, state law, then it is appropriate that we do not allow any state funding to flow to those jurisdictions. Uh, Legislative Council did not suggest any, uh, constitutional issues, and ACCG and GMA did not suggest any constitutional issues. We, in fact, incorporated, uh, a change that ACCG require- requested to make sure that this, uh, had all the correct terminology, and so I, I, I would disagree with that.

[1:31:15] Is it not true that this bill would defund local police departments and emergency healthcare facilities over a disagreement in pretrial administrative procedures?

[1:31:24] No, that's not true.

[1:31:26] All right.

[1:31:27] Okay. Uh, Sec- uh, Kelley.

[1:31:30] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Representative Gaines, isn't it true that we regularly withhold funding from local government should they not comply with provisions we put in state law like audits and things like that?

[1:31:43] Uh, absolutely.

[1:31:44] Has the constitutionality of that ever been challenged?

[1:31:47] No.

[1:31:48] Okay. Thank you.

[1:31:50] Okay. Don't see any other questions. Thank you.

[1:31:54] Great. Thank you so much.

[1:31:58] Yes, sir.

[1:32:00] Good morning, Chairman. Um, page six, third from the bottom, I'm requesting consideration on House Bill 1269. This is a digital literacy and learning bill. This just simply directs the Department of Education to update the standards, uh, for digital literacy and learning for what children are utilizing today in a world where digital technology is a K through 12 reality. It also includes some enhancements on online safety.

[1:32:28] Okay. Don't see any questions.

[1:32:29] Thank you, sir.

[1:32:33] Thank you. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman.

[1:32:38] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. I come to you with HB 1206, page five, seven from the bottom. Uh, this bill is effectively a strong framework but not a mandate for school districts when it comes to technology purchases over $100. Uh, we have found not just in our state, but basically across the country with technology taking on a bigger role in the classroom environment, that we need to be looking at total cost of ownership instead of initial cost, because we're finding that several districts are believing that initial cost is what's important, but it's costing them a significant amount of money to maintain and to replace.

[1:33:14] And further, those low cost devices typically have zero residual value, whereas the higher cost device initially has a much higher residual value when it's time to trade them in to be able to get new equipment for all of our students, which are about 1.8 million within the public school system.

[1:33:28] I have a question. Whip Park.

[1:33:30] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Would this bill apply to the majority leader's bill with respect to metal detectors and weapon detection systems?

[1:33:36] No. No, sir. If you look at basically the definition of how we define technology products, these technology products are effectively for the use of the students.

[1:33:44] Thank you.

[1:33:45] Okay. No other questions. Thank you.

[1:33:48] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[1:33:50] Yes, sir.

[1:33:55] Good morning, Chairman. I got two bills. Um, HB 4, 140, 1403 on page nine, four from the top. This bill basically says, "No judge or justice of any court or administrative body, including the magistrate court, shall be limited in any way from serving as a judge advocate or offering advice in his, his or her roles as judge advocate in any position, reserve component, or the United States military or militia."

[1:34:23] Okay. Don't see a question. You got another one?

[1:34:26] Yes, sir. Uh, House Bill 1082, which is on page, I'll tell you right now, on page four, right in the middle, in the center of the page. And basically, this one says, uh, we're, um, designating November 7th of every year as Victims of Communism Day, um, by the, um, uh, by the governor and designate. That's it.

[1:34:52] I have a question. Whip Park.

[1:34:54] Sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, do you have a fiscal note in terms of this new 45-minute curriculum that would be required for every school district, or is this another unfunded local mandate?

[1:35:05] No, sir. That has been scratched off.

[1:35:07] Okay.

[1:35:07] That has been, uh, that area of the bill has been substituted-

[1:35:11] Thank you

[1:35:11] ... so that's no longer there.

[1:35:12] One additional question.

[1:35:13] Yes, sir.

[1:35:13] Uh, do you support a resolution or a requirement similar to this that would recognize victims of fascism that's killed about 70 million people around the world?

[1:35:21] No, sir.

[1:35:22] No?

[1:35:23] No.

[1:35:23] Yes.

[1:35:24] Okay. Thank you.

[1:35:25] Thank you. No other questions.

[1:35:33] Did you have a question? Excuse me, I'm sorry. No, I didn't have a question for him, but a question for you, M- Mr. Chair. Yes, sir. I'd like to request, out of an abundance of caution, that HB1386 be recommitted to committee for an amendment.

[1:35:53] What's that number? 13, HB1386. Dawson's bill? HB.

[1:36:04] 13. Is the author making that or something? Is ... You making that for the author? Did- I object. We've got an objection to that. I, I have an objection to it. I j- I want to amend it. I'd like for it to be sent back in committee to be amended.

[1:36:30] That is a motion.

[1:36:34] All right. You- No, I have a question. Your motion is that 1386 be recommitted, is that correct? That is correct. All right. You gotta have a second for that. Is there a second? There is a second. All right. Is there any objection? There is an objection. All right, the vote will be that it be recommitted. Those in favor of recommitting, raise your hand. Two, three, four, five, six. Those opposed, raise your hand. Okay. Motion fails.

[1:37:05] Okay. I have one today. All right. Now, if-

[1:37:11] Yeah. While we're on that topic, let's do this, a little housekeeping here. Let's have a motion to recommit House Bill 947 back to Agriculture and Consumer Affairs. Is there a motion? Moved. There is a motion, and is there a second? Second. There is obsection. Is there objection? All right, it's back in Ag and Consumer Affairs.

[1:37:39] House Bill 490, a motion to recommit to Economic Development and Tourism. Moved. Have a move and a second. Is there any objection? Object. Have an objection. Those in favor of wanting to recommit that to Economic Development, say aye. Aye. Those opposed, say no. No. Okay, it's back in Economic Development. Mr. Chair? Yes, ma'am. So did the author request that- Yes ... as, as, as it was asked on the other one? On the other bill, did the author request that that be recommitted?

[1:38:11] It was commit- uh, requested by a Rules Committee member. Oh, okay. So I see how it would be on this one. Okay.

[1:38:20] Okay. Let's take care of that. Yep. All right. Are there committee members who have requests? And the board looks like a Christmas tree up here, so raise your hand. Uh, Secretary Kelley.

[1:38:35] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, bringing House Bill 298, came out of the Health Committee unanimously. Uh, it deals with, uh, making sure that our nursing community has, uh, a seat at the table when making decisions, uh, regarding, uh, treatment at the hospitals. It's really just adopting best practices that we've seen implemented all across the state, making sure that that's uniform. It's language agreed upon by all parties. Okay. If you have a question, raise your hand.

[1:39:06] Don't see a question. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Representative Williams, did you have a request? Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do. Uh, HB1137 found on the f- fifth page. One, two, three, four... 1177. 1177. All right, sir. It's, um, a bill for development authorities that have cert- that will have certain affordable housing uses, will qualify as projects.

[1:39:39] It's a very, uh, s- short bill. Came out of committee unanimously. Okay. Don't s- Is there a question on that? N- no questions. Okay. Thank you, sir. All right. Representative M- Mack Jackson, you have a request? Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, as one of the last acts that I want to do before I leave the General Assembly, I have House Bill 1394. It's at the bottom of page eight on the blue sheet.

[1:40:15] Yeah. Wait a minute. I gotta find it. HB1394 simply requests that Rosenwald schools be placed under DCA's Historical Preservation Grant Program. Okay. Don't see a question. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Williamson, you have one? Yes, Mr. Chairman. Uh, House Bill 184, page one, seven down. This is a bill that brings the rules and procedures around the, uh, involuntary towing industry in Georgia up to date with practices around the country, and most notably with our border states.

[1:40:51] Okay. Don't see a question on that one. Thank you. Uh, Chairman Stevens. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, House Bill 382 is on page one, um, almost to the bottom. Um, we have two drugs about to be released from the FDA. One is a derivative from LSD to treat PTSD, first time in 35 years a new drug. And a life-threatening, uh, severe depression under psilocybin, a psy- a derivative from psychedelic mushrooms, is gonna be released.

[1:41:25] This, uh, bill should get it to the consumer faster. Okay. Don't see a question on that. Okay. Chair Eddie Cooper

[1:41:36] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I bring House Bill 1397. It's on top of the page, on page nine. Uh, this has to do with the possibility of, uh, date rape. Uh, what it says is that if a person is taken to the hospital either, uh, incapacitated, which basically means unconscious, or for other reasons can't give permission, if there's implied consent, if the physician or nurses think there's been the possibility of a date rape.

[1:42:07] And if they do that, it requires them to do drug testing, and for that drug testing to be kept, and allows the victim, when they recover, to decide if they want to pursue prosecution. And it also protects the victim that anything drawn in that blood sampling cannot be used against them in a crim- criminal court. In other words, if they were 18 drinking in Athens, they won't...

[1:42:37] You know, and it shows that they've been drinking, it won't be used against them for underage drinking. Okay. I don't see a question on that. Chairman Carson, did you have one? Did I overlook you? I'm sorry. P- press your button there. It didn't, didn't light up.

[1:42:55] How about now? There we go. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members of the committee, um, I bring to you, uh, for consideration House Bill 1377. It's the middle of page eight. 1377 is the bill number. All this does is put in a, uh, a waiting period after a failed transit referendum to hold a new referendum. Okay. Do you have a question? What part? So why are we undermining local control and imposing this eight-year period? Is that eight-year period subjective? Is there any reason behind it?

[1:43:25] This eight-year period was approved, uh, unanimously in committee. And the committee, as well as the consigners, uh, believe that it's only fair to have a certain amount of waiting period for, for this, because we're talking about a potentially a 30-years SPLOST as opposed to a four or five or six-years SPLOST. Okay. Representative Evans, did you have a question?

[1:43:54] I do. I do. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, Chairman Carson, this applies, 1377 would apply statewide? Uh, that's a great question. This would only apply to the Metro Atlanta area. That was a change that was made in the committee. But it would be any t- any transit SPLOST, any TSPLOST? So, uh- Not just transit, but transportation? So if I may, I apologize to over-explain, Mr. Chairman, but there are four, I would call it four buckets for transportation taxes. One is individual county TSPLOST or transportation SPLOST.

[1:44:27] Second would be the regional TSPLOST that we approved in 2010, the TIA. Third is the MARTA penny, and fourth is transit. This only affects this fourth category of transit SPLOST. Uh, this, uh, if you remember, Representative Evans, this was passed in House Bill 930 back in 2018. Well, my concern, and you can tell me if, if you would share it or not, but, um, I mean, so far, I guess it, it won't be a problem because the, the bill to, uh, eventually eradicate, uh, homestead property taxes, uh, didn't pass.

[1:44:59] But one of the things that the proponents have been telling those of us who are concerned about bankruptcing, bankrupting cities and counties is, "Well, we're gonna give them all this power that they can levy all these OSTs, TSPLOSTs, and all. There's like 12 of them. Um, OST, OST, OST, OST, OST. That's what I was talking about yesterday. Um, so I don't know. I, I'm concerned that we're telling the local government, "Oh, don't worry. You can just levy all these taxes." But then we're telling them, "But if the locals tell you no, you're gonna have to wait even longer," when they may have very legitimate revenue needs, because now we've, we've taken away the most stable tax base that they have.

[1:45:35] And it may or may not come into play with, with the transportation. Uh, there, there may be some nuance that I'm not aware of, but on its face, that's very concerning to me. I understand what the lady's saying. But again, this is not about transportation SPLOST, it's about transit SPLOST. And again, this is up to the voters and the counties as to whether they wanna put it forward. All, all we're asking for is a waiting period of eight years for something of this magnitude, up to 30 years. And it needs to be 30 years or something, a, a long t- period for financing.

[1:46:05] But we can d- discuss offline if you like. And again, this is just for Metro? Yes. All right. Thank you. Chairman Blackmon. Uh, thank you, M- Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. Uh, yellow page okay. Page 10, uh, is HR1392, and it creates a separate, uh, class of property for low-income housing developments. 1392. Okay. HR1392.

[1:46:38] No questions on that. Chair Lady Dempsey. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. At the bottom of page nine, HB1451. This went under the Department of Community Affairs to create a talent recruitment opportunity for local governments and nonprofits upon appropriation. Okay. Don't see any questions on that. Chairman Newton. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On, on page seven, about the middle of the, uh, the middle of the page, House Bill 1309.

[1:47:09] This addresses a, a challenge that a lot of medical practices have trying to improve medication compliance. Currently, we allow medical, uh, medication dispensing in practices, but only by physicians. This one also allows physicians to delegate that, uh, that ability to dispense to both nurse practitioners and PAs. Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you. Chairman Martin. Yes, sir. Top of page, uh, two, five down from, uh, the top, uh, HB560. Uh, this just helps cities and counties, if they can't come to a resolution with the current laws and negotiations, it gives them another option, uh, to not lose that if a minority, um, if a, a county with a minority population, um-

[1:47:51] Can't basically veto it. So we're, we're just ... If, if it, if they can get along, it, it has no effect at all. This just stops, uh, an inadvertent, um, end to the loss when the majority of the people want it. Okay. Don't see a question. Uh, it-

[1:48:10] If everybody thinks I have something, please. I'll come back. Okay. Uh, Vice Chair Leverett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have two bills. The first one is at the bottom of page three. That's House Bill 997. It would just update some provisions in the, in the code on reimbursement to counties for housing state inmates, and it would increase the amount paid currently by the Board of Pardons and Paroles. It also requires that if Department of Community Services, um, has, uh, probation, uh, probationers who have been revoked in county jails, they have to arrange transport.

[1:48:49] Okay. The next one, Mr. Mr. Chairman, is 1446, and it's four from the bottom of page nine. 1446 would create a, a state EMS and trauma council, move that s- current state office, which is at DPH into DCH, and then would make just conforming changes to the code. Okay.

[1:49:15] Do you have another? I, I believe, I believe that's it. Okay. All right. Good.

[1:49:19] The gentleman from- Yeah. Yeah. Uh, Chairman Powell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to ask for, uh, House Bill 1112 on page four. This has already been asked for by the author, but the retail merchants of this state have asked me to, uh, try to help on this. Uh, with the change in the federal currency of eliminating the penny, penny, uh, this bill would basically state that they could up or down or round it to the nearest nickel. And the purpose of this is we got so many retailers out here that do a specific itemization on their cash registers.

[1:49:55] They need to have this bill so that they can itemize, uh, that, that transaction for sales tax purposes. Also, I'd like to ask for HB 1254. That's an administration bill, uh, for austerity and cleanup of some of the minor boards, uh, that, that really doesn't need some of the issues they've got right now. Okay. No questions on those. Uh, Chairman Jasper, do you have- Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In the middle of page seven, House Bill 1299.

[1:50:29] This would allow hospitals operating under the Georgia Hospital Authority Act to be able to joint venture with physicians who would like to partner with the hospital to operate a group practice with the hospital. Now, there are 48 hospitals that are, that under the Hospital Authorities Act, they can do this, but they have to restructure their, uh, corporate structure, which is very expensive. This bill, this bill would allow them to do it without that legal expense.

[1:51:00] No questions I see there. Were there some other requests that I haven't gotten to?

[1:51:07] Who is that? Representative Jackson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. At the proper time, I'd like to ask for HB 204 on the first page in the middle.

[1:51:23] Okay. Now's a good time. I'd like to ask for HB 204. The chairman has already asked for it. The author of the bill has already asked for it. Okay.

[1:51:36] Ch- Chairman Martin. Uh, yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. Um, on the first page on f- um, the bottom, third up from the, um, the bottom, 438. And the, it's a bill for, um, the police officers to be, uh, given, um, the same treatment across the GSP with the motor carrier division, um, if they're injured in the line of duty. Uh, Chairman Crowe has asked for this before, but I think it's just very important to our law enforcement. I wanted to mention it again to the chair. Thank you. Okay.

[1:52:10] Lydia Hugley, did you have a request? Mr. Chairman, I have a point of clarity- Yes, ma'am ... in terms of process. Um, in terms of asking for somebody's bill that they've already asked for, I thought you asked us not to do that. I, I did. And then also, I thought that you asked us not to bring rules subs, and if there was something that needed to be changed, ask for that to be sent back to committee and have the changes done in committee. So clarify for me- Okay ...

[1:52:41] what our process is gonna be. In a perfect world, we would have everything go back to committee, and any changes that would be made would be made in committee. But since we live in an imperfect world, and we're getting close to crossover day, it's not gonna be time to get all that done. So we're trying to accommodate the members to work with them to get that done, and we're asking for y'all's cooperation to help us work with the members. Just wanna point out that we had two different instances that we handled two different ways in this very meeting.

[1:53:14] So I just wanna make sure that we are aware that we're doing that for people watching us. Okay. Thank you for that point. Anybody else? Okay.

[1:53:29] All right. Let's set us a calendar

[1:53:35] for today under modified structure.

[1:53:40] House Bill 295. Moved. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? Objection. Have an objection. All those in favor of putting 295 on, say aye. Aye. Those opposed, say no. No. It's on

[1:53:56] House Bill 961. Moved. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 990. Moved. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1118. Moved. Have a move and second. Any opposition? It's on. By rule sub, House Bill 1138- Moved ...

[1:54:29] LC46, 1485S. Moved. Have a move. Any second? Second. And second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1187. Moved. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1220. Moved. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition?

[1:54:55] Objection.

[1:54:56] Have an objection. All those in favor of putting 220 on say aye.

[1:55:01] Aye.

[1:55:01] Those opposed? It's on. 1220. 1220. House Bill 1275. Moved. Second. Have a move and second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1284. Moved. Second. Have a move and second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1302. Moved. Second. Move and second.

[1:55:32] Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1402. Moved. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. House Bill 1408. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. Okay, now under structured.

[1:56:00] House Bill 1000. Moved. Second. Have a move and second. Any opposition? It's on. Under structured also, House Bill 1159. Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Any opposition? It's on. Thank you all for being patient. Thank you for being here. We'll probably be talking later on today, but this will be enough to get us started. Thank you. We're adjourned