Georgia CommonsHouse Economic Development & Tourism Committee
House Economic Development & Tourism Committee, March 5, 2026
2025-2026 Regular Session · 403 CAP · 20 min
This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays.
The video is the General Assembly's, played from its Vimeo channel. Select any time below to play that moment. Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Agenda
Summary
Written by an AI model (gpt-6.1-sol) from the transcript. It is not part of the record, and the video is what was said.
The committee approved HB 490 using a corrected committee substitute. The chair said the wrong substitute had been selected at the previous hearing and that the correction concerned short-term rentals. The bill's sponsor urged passage to help protect young people from human trafficking. The committee approved the substitute by voice vote, with no opposition heard, and adjourned.
Bills discussed (1)
Each account covers the stretch of the meeting it names. The bill's number is said in that stretch, unless it was the only bill on a committee's agenda.
HB 490. Crimes and offenses; required human trafficking training program for hotels; provide
From 0:17:10 · turns 6 to 14
The chair brought back HB 490 to correct the committee's selection of a substitute at the previous hearing. The chair said two substitutes had been submitted and the wrong one had been selected. The corrected version, LC33-9887S, included a change concerning short-term rentals beginning on line 85, but the details of that change were not explained. The bill's sponsor thanked members for continuing to work on the proposal and said it was needed to protect young people from human trafficking, which the sponsor described as widespread throughout Georgia. The chair also said the bill would help address human trafficking. No substantive questions or further amendments were offered. After a motion and second, the committee approved the corrected substitute by voice vote, with no opposition heard.
Transcript
19 turns. Select a time to play that moment of the video.
- 0:16:24
All right. We got one. We got one. We have four and six.
- 0:16:28
Huh?
- 0:16:28
We're in four and six, and we're one behind.
- 0:16:31
Yep.
- 0:16:33
Well, we can have three and six.
- 0:16:34
Good. Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna get our committee started today, and, um, for all of you that are in line, uh, with the, um, phenomenal Chick-fil-A sandwiches, um, for our committee here, I just wanna recognize our folks, our tourism folks, from all over our state, which help bring, um, billions of dollars of, uh, revenue for us to spend, uh, on a state level and on a local level, and we appreciate everything that you do. Uh, we're back here to hear a bill today, um, for the m- time.
- 0:17:08
Uh, it is House Bill substitute House Bill 490, and, uh, the author is here to my right. We, um, we had... At the last hearing, we had two substitutes that came in and, um, we unfortunately for the committee members, it's my mistake, I pulled the wrong one. Um, the change, it essentially is, begins on line 85, talking about short-term rentals, and we have perfected that and pulled the right one.
- 0:17:38
It is LC33-9887S, and that essentially is where we are. Um, we hope that we've got the right one this time. Wanna thank all the committee members for, for coming here. And you know they say when you get lemons, make lemonade. At least we get a committee day today for these, uh- ... for our time in coming in. Um, again, for the members coming in later, um, we do have our folks from all over the state that represent you and, um, and the tourism side.
- 0:18:14
But unless there's objection, I'll accept a motion that, um, on this particular LC number, and we shall move forward.
- 0:18:22
Move to pass.
- 0:18:24
We ha- we have a motion and a second on House Substitute, the Committee Substitute to House Bill 490, LC33-9887S. And we're open for discussion. Madam Chair.
- 0:18:45
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I just wanted to say thank you so much for, to my colleagues for hanging in there with me with this bill. It is so necessary for us to make sure that we protect our most vulnerable, and that's our young people, in this human trafficking world that we live in now, and it is rampant throughout Georgia. So I just wanted to say thank you so very much, and let's get this done.
- 0:19:13
It is time. Human trafficking is a big issue in the state of Georgia, and this one will help us a lot. So we have a, a motion and a second. All those in favor of passage of the bill will say, "Aye."
- 0:19:26
Aye.
- 0:19:26
All those opposed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have passed the bill for the final time in this committee. And, uh, we hope. And, and with that, and the folks here from all over the state, wanna thank you for coming and seeing the efficiency of a committee. Um, sometimes it works, sometimes it don't. But again, wanna thank you for coming to the People's Capital, and, um, we are adjourned.
- 0:19:52
My, my.
- 0:19:54
Thank you. Be sure that you give your mileage to Bailey here. Kristen.
- 0:20:02
Ron.
- 0:20:07
Ma'am.