Senate floor session, March 10, 2026 (legislative day 30)

Transcript

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1. 0:19:53

   Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. The time for convening has arrived. Senate will come to order.

2. 0:19:59

   Okay, so we just did.

3. 0:20:01

   At this time, we'll ask all unauthorized personnel to exit this chamber. Recognizing the senator from the 6.

4. 0:20:09

   Good morning, Mr. President. How are you today? Oh, I knew you were good. Mr. President, we got a great group of pages here from all over this great state. Out of Riverdale, we have Farouk Ajiboye. From Woodstock, Lauren Bryant. From Lumber City, Chloe Davis. From Atlanta, Maxwell Easterling. From Cumming, Pranati Edathil. From Lake Spivey, Austin Edmondson.

5. 0:20:43

   From Glenwood, Kinsley Fowler. From Milledgeville, Emma Giles. From Alamo, Ethan Hall. From Marietta, Nathan Meador. From Decatur, Liam Mooring. From Lilburn, Noah Neely. From McDonough, Shubham Patel. From Vidalia, Kinley Rayford. From Alpharetta, Praganya Rajkumar.

6. 0:21:17

   From Atlanta, Amelia Riley. From Lumber City, Dakari Robinson. From Marietta, Thea Storino. From Brookhaven, Elise Te. And from Tucker, Patrick Thibodeaux. Y'all give these pages a big round of applause. We appreciate you being here to serve the great people of the great state of Georgia.

7. 0:21:47

   Mr. President, the journal is a little light from yesterday, but it has been read and found to be correct. So I move we dispense with the reading of the journal.

8. 0:21:57

   All right, uh, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that, and thank you for all the pages that are here today. I'm glad y'all took the time to come down here and volunteer your day. Is there objections to dispensing of the reading of the journal? Chair hears none. The reading of the journal is dispensed with. Is there objections to the confirmation of the journal? Chair hears none. Then journal is confirmed. All senators who have bills and resolutions to introduce, please bring to the secretary's desk at this time. First reading references of Senate bills and resolutions. Mr. Secretary.

9. 0:22:28

   Senate Resolution 932 by Senators Dickerson of the 21st and others. A resolution recognizing United States Treasurer Brandon L. Beach.

10. 0:22:35

    Transportation.

11. 0:22:37

    Senate Resolution 933 by Senators Parent of the 44th and others.

12. 0:22:41

    Rules.

13. 0:22:41

    Mr. President, that completes the order.

14. 0:22:45

    Secretary will read reports of standing committees.

15. 0:22:52

    Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Finance has had under consideration the following legislation, and has instructed me to report the same back to the Senate with the following recommendation: House Bill 66, due pass by substitute. House Bill 165, due pass by substitute. House Bill 1000, due pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Hufstetler of the 52nd District, Chairman. Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Bill 66, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Finance on March 9th, 2026.

16. 0:23:26

    Sincerely, uh, Senator Orrock of the 36th. Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Bill 165, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Finance on March 9th, 2026. Sincerely, Senator Orrock of the 36th. Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Bill 1000, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Finance on March 9th, 2026.

17. 0:23:56

    Sincerely, Senator Orrock of the 36th. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Judiciary has had under consideration the following legislation, and has instructed me to report the same back to the Senate with the following recommendation: House Bill 535, due pass by substitute. House Bill 1196, due pass. House Bill 162, due pass by substitute. House Resolution 251, due pass. House Bill 999, due pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Strickland of the 42nd District, Chairman. Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Bill 162, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Judiciary on March 9th, 2026.

18. 0:24:34

    Sincerely, Senator Jones of the 22nd. Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Bill 535, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Judiciary on March 9th, 2026. Sincerely, Senator Jones of the 22nd. Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Bill 999, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Judiciary on March 9th, 2026.

19. 0:25:09

    Sincerely, Senator Jones of the 22nd. Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Bill 1196, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Judiciary on March 9th, 2026. Sincerely, Senator Jones of the 22nd. Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Resolution 251, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Judiciary on March 9th, 2026. Sincerely, Senator Jones of the 22nd. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Rules has had under consideration the following legislation, and has instructed me to report the same back to the Senate with the following recommendation: House Bill 254, due pass by substitute. House Bill 1199, due pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Brass of the 6th District, Chairman.

20. 0:25:41

    Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Bill 254, which passed out of the Senate Standing Committee on Rules on March 9th, 2026. Sincerely, Senator Jones of the 22nd. Dear Mr. Secretary, pursuant to Senate Rule 2-1.6, I hereby give notice that I will introduce a minority report to be read along with the majority report of House Bill 1199, which passed out of the Senate Standing Committee on Rules on March 9th, 2026. Sincerely, Senator Jones of the 22nd, Chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

21. 0:26:15

    It is now time for the morning roll call. Are there any motions to excuse?

22. 0:26:22

    Senator from thirty-third.

23. 0:26:30

    Thank you, Mr. President. Good morning, y'all. I ask for unanimous consent to excuse the senator from the twenty-second for business inside the Capitol.

24. 0:26:37

    Without objection, senator from the twenty-sixth is excused. Any other motions to excuse? Secretary will call the roll. Senators, signify your presence by voting to yace with it. Secretary, unlock the machine.

25. 0:28:10

    All right. Good morning, everyone. Uh, senator from the thirty-first. You, you waved, okay. Uh, we're going, we're going out of order today as you, um, unlike most days, uh, because we have the honor of actually having two cabinet members, uh, from the Trump administration that are with us today here at the Capitol. Um, the, the young lady behind me right here is no stranger, uh, to this state or to this body. She is, uh, our former senator and our, now our proud secretary of small business, uh, uh, administration.

26. 0:28:45

    And she has, uh, was appointed by the Trump administration, and she's doing a fantastic job. Kelly Loeffler and her husband, Jeff Sprecher, live right here in Atlanta, Georgia. Obviously, she served, uh, honorably as our United States senator and, uh, and now doing a fantastic job for us, uh, as a, a secretary of small business loans, and it's nice to have a business-minded person who is overseeing that. And uh, like I said, she's doing a wonderful job, and I'm so happy that, uh, she's taking the time to, uh, come here today to not only address this chamber, but they'll be having a press conference later today to announce, uh, some very important block grants that are gonna be awarded to the state of Georgia and, and, and much needed block grants, uh, given to the state of Georgia.

27. 0:29:34

    So if everyone could give, um, Madam Secretary a very, very warm Senate welcome, I'd greatly appreciate it. Ms. Kelly Loeffler.

28. 0:29:46

    Thank you. Oh, wow. Thank y'all. Aw, thank you. Thank you so much. Wow. Thank you. Wow, what a, what a wonderful way to start the day with dear friends and great leaders. Uh, thanks for hosting me, Lieutenant Governor. It's a true honor to be with each and every one of you, and obviously, just grateful to be back in Georgia when I can be. Uh, Lieutenant Governor asked me what I was doing in town, and I said, "I live here." But, uh, in all seriousness, I wanted to come and thank you all for the work you're doing.

29. 0:30:16

    I know you've just come out of a, a crossover day, and, and now the heat is on. And, um, I, I'm someone who, as part of the Trump administration, we all understand a sense of urgency. We have such a moment in time here with this administration, uh, both at the state level and the federal level, to do incredible things for our hardworking constituents, our retirees, our military, our young people. So first of all, thank you for what you're doing for this state to increase affordability through tax cuts, to drive a skilled workforce.

30. 0:30:53

    I see that need across the country everywhere I go. Uh, by the end of this week, I will have been in fifteen states already this year. Uh, and, and thank you for your work, uh, in continuing to advocate for Georgians. Uh, it's so important locally. Uh, I'm excited that, uh, my great friend and colleague, Brooke Rollins, uh, USDA Secretary, will be here this morning. We'll be doing a little press conference. And later this week, my friend Doug Collins, uh, the, the Veterans, uh, Secretary, will be here talking about his great work.

31. 0:31:23

    And, uh, I've been grateful to partner with both of them in Washington. But look, as I travel across the country, I see the same thing that I see here in Georgia, which is the Trump administration's agenda is working, and we see it not just in the numbers. You all hear the numbers. You talk about the numbers. But I have the distinct honor and blessing of seeing the stories, and I was so grateful to be with President Trump when he came to Rome. Many of you saw the, the great rally he did in Rome at a small business, Coosa Steel, and I was so glad that he got to see firsthand the f- the way that his policies are working for local job creators, and not just small businesses, but our manufacturers.

32. 0:32:07

    When you think about what small business is made up of, it's our manufacturers. Ninety percent of them in America meet the small business definition. And so Andrew Seville, the, the owner of Coosa Steel, has said that now, thanks to the fair trade, to tariffs, to the tax cuts, he's gone from a single shift a couple days a week to two shifts six days a week. You see the demand for hiring. I see it in Prince Manufacturing, Eric Williams in Macon, Georgia.

33. 0:32:39

    He's doubling his workforce from five hundred to a thousand by the end of the year. He's gonna double the size of his factory. I mean, this is happening in state after state, and I have traveled from Alaska to California to Maine to Florida, and I've seen it everywhere. And so this economic agenda is one that I'm so proud to, uh, stand behind and support for small businesses. It's working families tax cuts that are gonna put ten thousand dollars in take-home pay, thanks to not paying it out to the government.

34. 0:33:10

    Remember, every single Democrat in Washington, including Georgia's two senators, voted to impose a four trillion dollar tax cut on hardworking Americans and job creators and retirees. And so this is why the work you do is so important to fight for those back home. Now, I will tell you, as we come out of Biden-era, uh, inflation, Bidenomics, rolling back trillions of dollars of regulation that were imposed over the last four years of the Biden administration, our admin-- Uh, the SBA has a really unique role in advancing the entire agenda.

35. 0:33:47

    Right now, the SBA in Georgia, as of last year, we had lent one point eight billion dollars to Georgia small businesses. I'm incredibly proud of that number. Uh, we put out over six billion dollars in disaster recovery funds. One of my first acts in-- as the administrator last year was to extend the relief for Hurricane Helene after the Biden administration neglected to fund disaster relief, and I wanna thank my, uh, disaster recovery administrator, Chris Stallings, who is back here in the room, for his tireless work on behalf of Georgians, and we'll be talking more about that today.

36. 0:34:26

    So I'm gonna just conclude with saying thank you for keeping Georgia the best place in the country to do business for the twelfth consecutive year. Congratulations. Uh, I am so humbled to be, to be here with you today, to be able to thank you, and, uh, may God bless you and may God bless Georgia. Have a wonderful day. Thank you.

37. 0:40:20

    It is now time for the morning roll call. And thank you, Senator. Madam Secretary, we appreciate it. Um, it is now time for the... I mean, excuse me. It is now time for our Pastor of the Day. And, uh, to introduce our Pastor of the Day is, uh, senator from the 10th. So if you'll please give your attention to the senator from the 10th, he'll lead us in our Pledge of Allegiance and our Pastor of the Day. Senator?

38. 0:40:49

    Thank you, Mr. President, and please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag.

39. 0:40:58

    And cease all conversation. I pledge allegiance

40. 0:41:01

    To the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

41. 0:41:14

    And now the Georgia flag.

42. 0:41:16

    I pledge allegiance to the Georgia flag, for the principles of which it stands: wisdom, justice, moderation, and courage.

43. 0:41:26

    Good morning. I am excited to present the Pastor of the Day. Pastor Terrill Scott is founder and lead pastor of Passion Life Church, which is an interracial ministry that breaks the power of darkness through anointing love and power. The ministry exists to bring salvation, deliverance, identity, and purpose to people in the community. Pastor Scott is being used internationally to bring deliverance ministry to different nations.

44. 0:41:59

    God has anointed him to bring good news to the captive. Miracles, signs, and wonders follow his ministry because he preaches the word with faith, believing God wants to display his love and goodness to all humanity. Pastor Scott is also the founder of the River Refuge International, a ministry to the underprivileged and an outreach to those in need. This ministry is reaching different communities in the United States and internationally by evangelizing communities through Matthew 25-type ministry, serving the least of these.

45. 0:42:37

    Thousands have been touched and saved through this outreach. More importantly, Pastor Scott is fathering the generation through his Malachi Project. And I just wanna ask if those that are in attendance in the balcony that represents the Malachi Project would stand and be recognized at this time.

46. 0:43:07

    The Malachi Project is a faith-based after-school and mentoring discipleship program committed to transforming the lives of children in low-income communities who are without fathers or parental support. Its mission is to provide these children with love, support, and opportunities they need to thrive, and not just thrive, but to survive. We are dedicated to fathering a generation by offering comprehensive care that includes educational support, mentorship, and basic necessities.

47. 0:43:43

    I present to some my good friend, Pastor Terrill Scott.

48. 0:43:50

    Thank you, sir. Awesome. Well, good morning. I'm Pastor Terrill Scott. I'm glad to be with you. And I wanna briefly... Let me check my time. I told- they had me on a time limit here. I, I wanna briefly tell you my popcorn story, where God reached me in the lowest place I could find myself. Growing up, I was a good athlete. I found myself on a full sco- scholarship wrestling in college. I threw that away through trafficking drugs and cocaine. Well, I went to prison and did a 20 to 15 with a half-million-dollar fine.

49. 0:44:22

    While I was in prison, I would love to tell you that I changed my life initially and started serving God. But, uh, for two and a half years during that prison sentence, I was running drugs, I was hustling, and I was recruiting people for my gang. Halfway through my prison sentence, a woman I had robbed at gunpoint came to the prison and shared the gospel with me. So the same woman I had robbed at gunpoint, I had left for dead, I'd left to deal with the drug dealers, I had put her life at risk, forgave me and came and shared forgiveness and the gospel That gospel changed me over 20 years ago.

50. 0:44:58

    That same woman that forgave me and shared the gospel with me now sits upstairs with my five beautiful children. The woman I had robbed at gunpoint forgave me, now that is my wife, and we serve in the same community I used to run crack cocaine in. The ministry I run now for Malachi Project is Fathering a Generation. We bought an old rundown drug house, we tore it down, and we built over a 6,000 square foot building debt-free where we're mentoring and fathering a generation, teaching them what God says about them and teaching them the heart of the gospel.

51. 0:45:36

    So I'm here to tell you that God can turn things around in anybody's life. He can change anyone's life. And if we'll seek God and humble ourself, God will bring unity and peace and victory to each of us. So me sharing that, I have a couple passages that were in my heart today to share with you. In Psalms 33:12, it says, "The nation that honors God will be blessed." The nation that, that blesses God and honors God will be blessed.

52. 0:46:07

    And so in pa- another passage in 2 Chronicles, which everyone will be familiar with, and this is something we share with our church, this is something we share when we travel. The Word of God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, it says, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and heal the land." Also, in Micah 6:8, and I, as we said the pledge to the, the flags, I heard the word justice.

53. 0:46:46

    The, the simple term justice means I take something that is wrong and I make it right. When I started Malachi Project many years ago, 10 years ago, I rode through the neighborhood I used to run drugs in. I seen single moms, I seen lack of education, I seen gangs, I seen young men without any parental guidance. I seen them leaning in and going towards a path of destruction, and I asked God, "How can I partner with you to do something about the problem in our community?" And so we work in the McDonough Housing Authority.

54. 0:47:19

    That's where our mentorship program is. That's where we serve. And so when we seen the problem, we said, "Okay, we need to do justice. We need to change. We need to bring hope and life into a community that is dying under the power of poverty and sin." And so we started to serve and mentor, and we've seen the miraculous power of God where the community has come alongside of us and stood with us. Um, uh, state officials and others in a position and, and ministries and businesses have stood with us to help us bring justice to that community.

55. 0:47:55

    But this scripture says, and I believe this is important for us in this day and hour, it says in Micah 6:8, it says, "He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" And so I believe if we have a heart of justice to make things that are wrong right, if we'll walk humbly and we'll, and we'll find ourself teachable, and we'll find ourself an individual that's willing to listen a- and bring life into a situation and bring hope into a situation, we'll see long-lasting change.

56. 0:48:32

    And it says that we, if we do justice, we love mercy, and we walk humbly before our God. I believe that's a mandate for every one of us sitting here. No matter where you're at in life, God wants us to make things that are wrong right. Malachi Project, Fathering a Generation, is us being active in that to make things that are wrong right. God gave me a scripture when I was traveling around the community 10 years ago in Malachi 4, 5, and 6, and it says, "In the last days, the spirit of Elijah will be poured out, and when the Spirit's poured out, it will lead the hearts of the fathers back to the children and the children to the fathers.

57. 0:49:09

    And if this does not happen, God will smite the land with a curse." Well, I looked at the curse in operation and I said, "How can we lift that curse off the next generation?" And so as we love them, serve them, engage them, teach them, turn non-readers into readers, invest in them, teach them how to deal with choices and manage their emotions, we're preparing, listen, a generation that will be successful and be able to give back. We're stopping the curse by intervening and getting involved in their life. And every one of our Malachi Projects in Africa, multiple nations, in Pakistan, and in, in, in Kenya, in, in India, and here in the States, at the end of Malachi Project, we pronounce the blessing of a father over every one of our kids.

58. 0:49:51

    The scripture says that, that, th- what, that there's power of life and death in your tongue, and those that love it eat the fruit thereof. And so at every Malachi, all our, all our volunteers, all our leaders, everyone on staff pray this prayer from Numbers 6:24-26. And in closing, I think I'm right on time. In closing, I want to pray this prayer over you. Everywhere I go, w- whether little, big or small, whether small groups or large groups, we declare this blessing over people, and it's like this.

59. 0:50:21

    If you could bow your head in prayer, I'm going to pray over you now. It says in the Word of God in Numbers 6:24-26, it says, "May the Lord bless you. May the Lord keep you. May His light and His countenance shine upon you. May the Lord our God be gracious unto you. May He lift His countenance towards you, and may He give you peace." In praying this, it invokes the name of God upon you.

60. 0:50:55

    So I pray that over you now, over your family, over this community, over this senate. Listen, I pray this over every party and every fil- affiliation. May the Lord bless you. May His light and countenance shine upon you. May the Lord our God be gracious unto you, and may He give you peace. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you for the honor. We bless you in Jesus' name.

61. 1:00:29

    We always, uh, love our doctors of the day to come down and be recognized. And to do that, I recognize the senator from Rome, Georgia, to introduce our doctor of the day.

62. 1:00:43

    Thank you, Mr. President. It's great to have Dr. Paul Brock here again. The last time he was here, I think we had a seizure right outside the door and several other emergencies, and he worked pretty hard, uh, but maybe it'll be calmer this time. But Dr. Paul Brock has always been an overachiever, from when he was chief resident at Grady, uh, to now, and he's been one of the premier general surgeons for many, many years. One of the other hats he wears is he is dean of the, uh, medical college branch in northwest Georgia, Augusta Medical College.

63. 1:01:17

    We have 40 medical students up in northwest Georgia, 20 from each class that train up there under his supervision. Uh, and he, um, still managed to, to, to do a lot of surgeries up there. I'm, I'm in there with him for a lot of them, and he takes care of these students and trains them. We have five of his medical students, um, here today. Five of the 40 are here. Do you guys want to stand up in the balcony and be recognized here?

64. 1:01:51

    And then, then one more thing I need to add. We passed out Senate Bill 195 last week unanimously. It was the Paul Brock Act. It's, we've gotten our, uh, licensing and credentialing down for many, many months to, uh, right about a month. We think we can get it down to a couple of weeks. But we also, on the credentialing, are going with a statewide system that will let you be credentialed statewide instead of having to redo this paperwork. And the reason we know it works is because Paul Brock did this with the medical students.

65. 1:02:27

    He took the medical students that were spending hundreds of dollars in every hospital and set up a system, a software system that has them credentialed everywhere, saving them hundreds of dollars and saving them time. So when we get this fully im- implemented, not just our medical students, but our physician assistants and our physicians will be credentialed statewide. And instead of waiting many months to help out another hospital, we'll be able to do it that weekend. Um, and, um, he is, uh, a leader in education and, and in surgery and everything else up there.

66. 1:03:03

    So, Dr. Paul Brock, do you want to come up and say some words to this Senate?

67. 1:03:13

    Uh, good morning, and, uh, thank you very much, and I appreciate my medical students coming with me today. Um, I heard Dr. Scott, who just spoke a few minutes ago, about the underserved and what he is doing for the state. And I'd, I'd like for you guys to understand what you guys are doing for us, the physicians, and for the underserved in the state. The initiatives you guys have put forth, and ladies have put forth, in the last many years have actually been felt very heavily in those of us who practice in rural communities. Our abilities now to put students through our medical school in three years and have them serve underserved Georgia, the dollars and the people that we put forth in south Georgia and other places where we really have underserved, unavailable healthcare.

68. 1:03:54

    Um, it's gonna take a, a village, to say the least, to solve this problem, but I will tell you, it's gonna come out of this House, uh, for that ultimately to occur. And I want to applaud all of you for at least taking the time to listen and understand that we've got citizens in our state who do not have access to adequate healthcare. We, the physicians, want to be the vehicle by which that healthcare is delivered, but we've got to find a way amongst all of us to economically and physically make that happen in places where there are no hospitals, states, I mean, counties where we have no physicians at all, and it's just a, a, a monumental task in front of us.

69. 1:04:27

    I think we bite it off one bite at a time, we'll ultimately solve it for our citizens. But from a, a humble heart to you, the senators in this room, I, I want to thank and applaud all of you for what you do for our citizens and for the healthcare. Thank you.

70. 1:06:34

    If I could have everybody's attention real quick. We, um, have some very special guests that they're here and we're here to honor the life of their daughter, who was tragically killed in an automobile accident, um, just, just in the last year here. So, but, uh, if Secretary could read the caption, then I'll... But everybody could stand at attention and keep the, keep conversation to a minimum. Thank you.

71. 1:07:03

    Senate Resolution 908 by Senators Williams of the 25th and others. A resolution honoring the life and memory of Ms. Abigail Savoy and for other purposes. Whereas Ms. Abigail Savoy grew up in Fayette County, Georgia, playing soccer, cheerleading, swimming, and running. And whereas Ms. Savoy, whereas she attended Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville and was an active member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. And whereas Ms. Savoy studied public health and had hopes of joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upon graduation.

72. 1:07:36

    And whereas Ms. Savoy's life was tragically cut short on October 21st, 2022, when her vehicle was struck at the intersection of GA-16 and High Falls Road and England Chapel Ro- Road near Jackson, Georgia, by a driver who ran a stop sign. And whereas although the loss of this smart, energetic, and beautiful soul can never be filled, her death called attention to the other numerous accidents at the intersection where her vehicle was struck and resulted in plans to convert the intersection to a safer roundabout, likely saving the lives of other motorists.

73. 1:08:09

    And now therefore be it resolved by the Senate that the members of this body join in honoring the life and memory of Ms. Abigail Savoy and express their deepest and most sincere regret at her passing. Mr. President, that completes the order.

74. 1:08:21

    Is there objections to the adoption resolution? Chair hears none. The resolution is adopted. I'm, was very familiar with this intersection, and Abigail, y- this young lady, was a sophomore at Georgia College University there in Milledgeville, but she was, um, y- from, from all, all people who came far and near to talk about her, she was an unbelievable young lady. And we have her parents here with us today, and, and, uh, they, they have had to suffer through what all of us and pa- as parents never, never wanna have to do, and that's, and that's bury a child.

75. 1:08:58

    And, uh, we, um, I, I do thank the senator from the 25th for bringing this to our attention because, uh, all the things we do up here don't really, uh, pale, they pale in comparison when you talk about, uh, life and death situations and, and the tragic and unnecessary, uh, death of this young lady. It's something that, um, that, you know, you just can't, you can't ever, can't ever get over. So recognize the senator from the 25th.

76. 1:09:31

    Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much. Uh,

77. 1:09:39

    this is something that none of us ever want to happen, but it does happen. And all we can do is hold this family in our thoughts and our prayers, and wish them healing and comfort from God's mercy. And I'd like to recognize a close personal friend of mine that I served with many years ago as our, when she was Secretary of State, President Kathy Cox, who is the president of Georgia College and State University, where Abigail was a student.

78. 1:10:15

    And, uh, she's part of the reason we're here today, and I'd like to recognize her for a moment. Thank you.

79. 1:10:26

    Thank you, Senator Williams. Thank you, senators. Thank you to Lieutenant Governor Jones, to all of you for honoring the life of this beloved student in our student body. Uh, her death left a big void in our student body, as she was, uh, even in just two years of her enrollment, beloved by our student body and by her faculty and staff. Uh, and so we join you in honoring her life today and in rejoicing in many ways that her life can, we hope, save the lives of many others with a safer roundabout installed by the Georgia DOT at that intersection.

80. 1:11:03

    Uh, many of our students are in the balcony today, along with, uh, a number of faculty, staff, and administrators, uh, as we are here on Georgia College Day, and we thank you, uh, for that recognition as well as recognizing Mr. and Ms. Savoy, who are here with us today. Thank you again.

81. 1:12:36

    Senator from the 29th.

82. 1:12:48

    Are there any unanimous consents? Hearing none, I see, uh, senator, the, Ms., uh, Senator Albers, I see your, uh, your better half is here today. Is that, that, I see you over there. And, uh, the First Lady of the 56th, so glad to have her here today. Also glad to see s- former Senator Mike Dugan over there, and former Senator PK Martin right there. So l- give them a round of applause, please.

83. 1:13:19

    Glad to have y'all here today. Does any senator wish to rise on a point of personal privilege? Recognize the senator from the 28th.

84. 1:13:38

    Senator, you can do it from there if you'd like.

85. 1:13:55

    Recognize the senator from the 19th as we're waiting for the senator from the 28th, so.

86. 1:14:05

    Thank you, Mr. President, members of the Senate, two things. One, subcommittee chairs, please be ready. You know we need your subcommittee re- readouts on the budget by Thursday afternoon, so please prepare for that. And also, a point of personal privilege, the Toombs County, uh, High School AP government class is in the balcony, and they're my guests here today. Guys, thank y'all for being here. Glad to see people from home. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

87. 1:14:36

    Recognize the senator from the 56th.

88. 1:14:46

    Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for acknowledging my, uh, my much better half, Carrie, uh, who's here today. We've actually celebrate our anniversary every February the 23rd when we're in legislative session, so our last 16, uh, have been, uh, here while serving. And I just wanna take a moment to, uh, recognize our 33, 33rd anniversary, which happened back on February the 23rd, and, uh, just thank her for all her love and support of all those years. Thank you. I yield the floor.

89. 1:15:13

    All right. Happy anniversary.

90. 1:15:30

    Senator from the 29th.

91. 1:15:38

    Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, I have a resolution here in front of me today-

92. 1:15:48

    ... recognizing March 10th, 2026, as Georgia Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Day here at the State Capitol and for other purposes. Now, what I can do is I can stand here in the well and I can read you this resolution, which sounds a lot like the other resolutions we hear day in and day out here. But I don't wanna do that. I was asked to talk about this a little bit earlier, and everybody knows I do everything extemporaneously, which sometimes is good and sometimes is bad.

93. 1:16:22

    But I wanna tell you, I met a special group of people last year when we were here at the Capitol, when I was told a young man needed to come and talk to me, and a young kid named Elliot came to my office. And Elliot had the same smile and energy as other children, except for one difference. Elliot was missing a limb. And so as he talked to me, I thought about all the other kids I'd ever met, and this kid had an energy about him.

94. 1:16:54

    He had a personality and just a joy he brought with him that touched my heart. So working with the lieutenant governor and his team, we were able to do a whole lot last year to help this group of people. We got a bill passed to help them, because what you may not understand is insurance many times covers one limb for a person when they lose it. And so they get a choice of what's the one thing they wanna do.

95. 1:17:25

    Do they wanna walk? Do they wanna run? Do they wanna take a shower? Those are the considerations they have to make. So we got a law passed to correct some of that in the insurance side. And then when I went to the governor's office to watch the bill be signed, I get a, I met a young Olympian named Jeremy Wallace, showed me the medals he won in the Paralympics. As good of an athlete as you'd ever wanna meet.

96. 1:17:57

    A man of character, a man of, again, of joy. Several years ago, this chamber passed a bill out of here that, that fixed a, an oversight to the Georgia Pledge of Allegiance to the Georgia flag. And at the time, it said, "I pledge allegiance to the Georgia flag and the principles for which it stands, wisdom, justice, and moderation." We found a mistake there, that there was a word missing that should've been there from the cardinal rules, from the cardinal virtues, and that word was courage.

97. 1:18:31

    And I always thought as a law enforcement officer and as a, as a nephew and to great men that fought in the Army and other branches of the military, that I knew what courage was, but I didn't know what courage was until I met these individuals. So today, I ask each one of you to stand with me and recognize this incredible group of friends over here for Georgia, I'm gonna say this right without getting emotional, recognize this great friends of mine over here on Georgia Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Day here at the State Capitol.

98. 1:19:11

    Thank you, Mr. President.

99. 1:19:22

    Thank you, Senator. Appreciate that. Uh, senator from 28, this... You're up.

100. 1:19:37

     I'll try.

101. 1:19:38

     You're good, man. You're good. Come on.

102. 1:20:35

     It's a wonderful day at the Capitol today. I wanna welcome everyone who's here. I know Cobb County's, uh, JROTC is here. Are you up there in the, in the gallery? Hi, Cobb students from different private schools in Cobb, but we applaud you, and thank you for coming. Uh, also, I have a whole lot going on here, but today is Palmetto Day at the State Capitol.

103. 1:21:09

     I'm thrilled to be here today with my mayor. Oh, here you are. The mayor, step out a little bit. I think you have to stop right there. And the city council, step out a little bit, of the great city of Palmetto in God's country. And they're, they've been our, our guests here today at their state capitol here. The city was founded in 1833 as part of the former Campbell County under the name of Johnson Store.

104. 1:21:43

     It was renamed Palmetto in 1850, and it is flourishing now. I'm so happy that they're here today. They're downstairs in one of the room 125, and they have food there. And so come on down and meet your city council person and your mayor. We see you on TV all the time. Oh, y'all are like her. She doesn't do anything to make you mad. Just, uh, things to help the community. I wanna thank you, Mayor, Mayor Theresa Thomas Smith, for all that you do.

105. 1:22:20

     And finally, I wanna thank, uh, the Palmetto residents. Do we have them? That's, up there is 30. Oh, look. Stand up. And senators, we all give them a warm welcome. God bless you all, and God bless this beautiful city. And lastly, it's the Ri- uh, Yellow Rose Day, and my Yellow Rose recipient, who is like the woman of the year, is Sharon Hill. Sharon, wave.

106. 1:22:52

     And this morning, all of the, um, ladies who are, are in the Women's Caucus on the House and Senate, I had an opportunity to have breakfast, uh, and give, uh, plaques and things to our, for our community, our leader, and she is a servant leader. So thank you very much, um, for being one. Sharon, you're holding your, your, your, uh plaque up. Thank you, Mr. President.

107. 1:23:22

     I appreciate the opportunity to give you a servant leader among so many other servant leaders who are here today, and I yield the will. Thank you.

108. 1:23:33

     Thank you, Senator.

109. 1:23:42

     I see former Senator Mike Crane is here today. Let's give, uh, Mike Crane a, uh- ... round of applause.

110. 1:23:53

     Senator, the red buttons don't get used as much anymore, man. They, uh... You need to show some of these folks how to mash that every once in a while. So they need some help with that, you know. Good to see you, Senator. I can tell you the one from the 6th right there, his, it, it's probably never been used. It's, uh...

111. 1:24:15

     Recognize the senator from the 17th.

112. 1:24:48

     Thank you very much, Mr. President. Colleagues, I stand today, uh, to congratulate and commend Mrs. Toya Davis Stevenson for receiving the 2026 Yellow Rose Nikki T. Randle Servant Leadership Award for District 17. Mrs., uh, Stevenson is a dedicated real estate business owner, experienced consultant, and passionate executive leader, as well as a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

113. 1:25:22

     She is the CEO and team leader of Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Classic, where she is committed to community engagement, wealth building, leadership development, and market dominance across Metro Atlanta. Her leadership influence extends well beyond real estate, as she has served as past president of the Women's Council of Realtors Metro South Chapter, state and local director within her realtor board, vice president of the Lakespive Georgia Chapter of Jack and Jill, incorporated board member of Someone Cares of Atlanta.

114. 1:26:01

     Mrs. Stevenson has established a glowing reputation of renown throughout Georgia for her deep personal commitment to helping develop the next generation of leaders through financial literacy and entrepreneur education. She is a graduate of HBCU Hampton University. She is married to Mr. Ray Stevenson, who is standing over here with her, and they are the proud parents of three children. They live in Hampton, Georgia.

115. 1:26:31

     One thing I like about Miss Stevenson, she goes beyond the four walls of the church to help someone. She established a golf tournament during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in honor of her mother to raise funds to help KW Cares. So it is my honor to recognize her today. Mrs. Stevenson, please raise your hand as the Yellow Rose nominee. Thank you so much.

116. 1:27:35

     Recognize senator from the 39th.

117. 1:27:55

     Good morning, Mr. President and colleagues. Today, we recognize Restaurant Day at the Capitol and the thousands of Georgians whose hard work keeps one of our state's most important industries moving. Restaurants are more than places where we gather for a meal. They are engines of opportunity and economic growth in every corner of our state. Across Georgia, the restaurant and food service industry supports more than half a million jobs and generates tens of billions of dollars in economic activity each year.

118. 1:28:26

     From family-owned diners and neighborhood cafes to the dining establishments and the restaurants that welcome me- millions of visitors through our airports and tourism destinations, this industry helps to power Georgia's economy. But what makes the restaurant industry truly special are the people, the entrepreneurs who take the risk to open a new concept, the chefs who turn creativity into culture, and the servers, cooks, managers, and hospitality professionals who show up every single day to take care of their communities.

119. 1:29:01

     Restaurants are often the first job someone ever has and, for many, the first step toward building a career or owning a business of their own. So today, we say thank you to the restaur- restauranteurs, workers, and hospitality leaders who help make Georgia not only a great place to live, but a great place to gather around the table. Thank you.

120. 1:29:36

     Recognize the senator from the 25th.

121. 1:29:49

     Thank you, Mr. President. First of all, I want to recognize today being Georgia College and State University Day. Do we have some of your students up there? If you'll stand up and be recognized. This morning ... Thank y'all. I want to recognize Georgia College and State University, located in my mi- district in Milledgeville. It was founded in 1889. It is the state's designated liberal arts institution, which boldly fuses academ- academic excellence with an unwavering commitment to student success.

122. 1:30:26

     Considered one of the most innovative universities in the South, Georgia College offers vibrant academic and cultural experiences, competitive athletics, experimental learning opportunities so that graduates are prepared to make a lasting impact on their communities. Georgia College president, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives and Georgia Secretary of State, Kathy Cox, who's right over here, uh, has led the university through four years of record growth and fundraising through the development of Imagine 2030.

123. 1:31:03

     Again, thank you Georgia College for all that you do. Thank you, President Cox. Uh, thank you very much. Also, while I'm here, I want to recognize a young man who's a up-and-coming musician here from Middle Georgia. We have over here Logan Crosby. I want- I have a resolution to read on him, uh, for his professional achievements and contributions to the state of Georgia. Whereas Logan Crosby was born in Macon, Georgia, raised in Milledgeville, Georgia.

124. 1:31:36

     He's a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he earned a political science degree. And whereas during his collegiate career, Logan Crosby gained hands-on experience in public service. He worked with me in the House, Representative Houston Gaines, and the administration of Governor Brian Kemp, and he also worked at our funeral home in Milledgeville, so further strengthening his connection to community service and leadership. And, uh, whereas in 2022, Logan Crosby competed in the inaugural season of ABC's Claim to Fame, where he earned second place and gained national recognition.

125. 1:32:19

     And whereas following the television appearance, Logan Crosby relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a full-time career in music, and he is now an independent recording artist whose music blends pop, rock, soul, and country, and he has toured extensively across the United States. He has released multiple original projects and is currently on his third headlining tour, continuing to expand his audience through authentic songwriting and live performances.

126. 1:32:51

     His unique journey from public service to the arts reflects the diverse talents fostered in Georgia and serves as an inspiration to young professionals pursuing both civic engagement and creative endeavors. Now, be it resolved by the Senate that the members of this body recognize and commend Logan Crosby on his, uh, accomplishments in public service and music and congratulate him on his continuing success as a recording artist. And as a point of, uh, reference, his mother has a first cousin some of you may know.

127. 1:33:26

     He goes by the name Jason Aldean. But, uh, they'll be right over here, and stop by and visit with them to say hello to an up-and-coming, and you'll catch him on the tours across the United States. Thank you, Mr. President.

128. 1:33:40

     All right. Logan, it's good to have you here, man. You're up there making big things happen up in Nashville, Tennessee, and we appreciate you. And Logan is from my neck of the woods, and he, he is a, he, he's got a, got a whole family full of musical talent. So his first cousin is Jason Aldean, and, and, uh, his, his, uh ... About everybody I know in your family knows how to play a musical instrument. So y'all give Logan a big round of applause 'cause he's representing the state very well.

129. 1:36:15

     Recognize the senator from the 40th.

130. 1:36:29

     Thank you, Mr. President. Today is the March of Dimes March for Change Day. Now, my mother turned 91 years old this January, so she was a child during the time when polio was at its peak. So, and I can't imagine what her mother went through knowing that as she sent her children out into the world, they could come home with polio and the devastating effects of that disease.

131. 1:37:04

     She told me these stories when I was growing up about the March of Dimes, and if you're young enough, you might not realize why the March of Dimes has the name the March of Dimes. It's literally because during those years of polio, children and families would collect their dimes in order to fund the polio, uh, research. Well, that mission was accomplished, but we still have the March of Dimes around, and they have dedicated their mission to raising the awareness about policies that improve the health of moms and babies.

132. 1:37:42

     Um, and they are still doing that today, and they are here at the Capitol today. Only, I think they maybe should call their day March for Dollars because in the last 20 years, we have actually gone backwards in, um, infant mortality. And so there is so much to do today. So I am so pleased that they are here raising awareness of the issue, and they are here in our gallery, and I would like for them to stand so that they can be recognized. If everyone could give them a hand.

133. 1:38:17

     Thank you for what you are doing, and please keep doing it. Thank you. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

134. 1:38:28

     Recognize the senator from the 52nd.

135. 1:38:42

     Thank you, Mr. President. I'm here to talk about Qcells, but first I do wanna mention that Hannah Neighbors with the prosthetic leg over here, that was up here, was my daughter's cross country coach back when she was in high school. And, um, he may be mad at me for saying this, but a guy named Roger Lane, which maybe some of you know, personally bought her a leg this week that would be used in the shower and the ocean. So I, I do wanna recognize him for that even though he probably doesn't want that fact out there. But I'm here to talk about Qcells. Qcells was founded in 1999 in Germany.

136. 1:39:16

     Uh, the Hanwha group brought them out of bankruptcy in 2012, and they produce, um, monocrystalline silicone photovoltaic, photovoltaic cells, um, and not just solar panels. And the reason for that is that those cells that were being produced in China are actually being produced here. So they're, they're, they're making the product in the United States, not just importing it in. They're in, uh, the senator from the, uh, uh, out of the Dalton area and my district, uh, they have facilities in both places.

137. 1:39:54

     They, they're back up, you might have seen this week, to full production in that facility. They are the largest producer, the largest facility in the Western Hemisphere right up here in northwest Georgia producing these solar cells. Now, at the time that they were founded in Germany in 1999, solar cells cost $10 a watt. Then they got down to a dollar a watt. Currently, they're at 20 cents a watt, the cheapest power produced out there. And, um, they are employing a lot of people up in northwest Georgia in a huge facility and paying them all well and uplifting the middle class and providing services, uh, for northwest Georgia and the entire country.

138. 1:40:38

     So I thank Qcells for being here today.

139. 1:40:51

     We're gonna suspend points of personal privilege for a second. We have, um, we have two special guests here today. We've got our, I've got our Agricultural Commissioner Tyler Harper and our Secretary of, uh, Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

140. 1:41:12

     How's it going? Good to see you. I'm ready.

141. 1:41:16

     It's, uh, it's, it's pretty rare to have, uh, two, two cabinet members come, uh, in one day, but, uh, we're very glad to have, uh, Brooke Rollins, who's, uh, who is, uh, doing a great job and has, uh, has come here today to Georgia along with our, our Ag Commissioner Tyler Harper here to- and has a big announcement I know later today, and we're glad to have her, and let's give her a warm welcome here.

142. 1:41:39

     Thank you. Good to see you.

143. 1:41:42

     Good to see you too.

144. 1:41:43

     You're a busy boy. Well, I hear that Tyler Harper was once a member of this august body. Is that right?

145. 1:41:52

     Yeah.

146. 1:41:53

     How about-- How-- What-- How amazing is your Agriculture Commissioner, Tyler Harper? Hey, I was just,

147. 1:42:02

     I was just over in the House, uh, not because I like them better, but because that's where Tyler sent me first, and, uh-

148. 1:42:09

     Saving the best for last

149. 1:42:10

     ... saving the best for last. And, and I w-- and I say this with all sincerity, I've been in this job for a little over a year. It has been the greatest blessing, the hardest job I've ever done, but the greatest blessing to do it. But one of the very biggest blessings is working alongside... I believe there's no one better in this country that represents their state and the agriculture community better than this man to my right. So again, I think one more round of applause. It's a joy to work with him every single day.

150. 1:42:37

     And I also mentioned over there very quickly that I have a very special heart, uh, for what you all do every day because my mom, at the age of 78, was elected to the Texas Legislature for the first time, uh, through two or three years ago. She just went through re-election. Her name is Helen Kirwin. They call her Hurricane Helen in Austin, Texas, because she's got a lot going on all the time. But I know and I see firsthand her, her time and her treasure and her sacred honor that she gives every single day, and for her partners down there, both Republican and Democrat, the importance of the work that you do as elected representatives in your state and the greatest vision of our Founding Fathers that, that it shouldn't be the federal government making the decisions.

151. 1:43:23

     It should be under the Tenth Amendment, the government that is closest to the people, and that is really what you represent. So again, what an honor to be here, my third trip to Georgia. Uh, I haven't been to any state more than that. I think I've been to Iowa three times, but, but Iowa and Georgia three times each, and, uh, really, really grateful to be here. And I'll, I'll probably be back quite a bit more. A couple of, uh, quick points and then I'm gonna get you, leave you back to your business. The first one, which is our announcement, and Kelli may have teased this a little bit this morning, but we are so excited to announce that we finally have the block grant finished.

152. 1:43:59

     Your... Tyler has been just absolutely, uh... uh, d- d- uh, what's the right word? He is-- I was gonna say a tyrant, but that is too strong. He has been tenacious, thank you, Burt, to getting this across the finish line. Of course, this is a $531 million block grant for your farmers and ranchers, for your producers in this state alone who were effective, affected negatively by Hurricane Helene. And I know that is probably almost every one of you that have just seen the destruction.

153. 1:44:30

     I wanna note, uh, that those applications we're finalizing today, we're signing today. The applications open Monday. They close April the 27th, so next Monday, March 16th, close April the 27th, and, uh, we're really looking forward to a seamless, seamless effort to get that money to your producers who really, really need it. Over the last year, we've moved out, in addition to the 561 million in Georgia today, we've moved out 176 million in Georgia to 4,000 of your farmers in our Emergency Commodity Assistance Program just last year, $61 million to more than 6,000 of your ranchers and dairy farmers through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program, over $87 million to more than 2,000 of your producers, your specialty crop guys, uh, 87 million to 2,000 of them, and 115 million to almost 7,000 of your farmers and ranchers through our Supplemental Disaster Relief Program.

154. 1:45:30

     It cannot be overstated how much President Trump and our administration is committed to our agricultural communities, to moving these funding out quickly. We realize it is the difference to a lot of these farmers and ranchers between surviving this season to the next, and that is what we're working so hard to change. The second thing I wanna talk about is how we will continue to battle. The one big, beautiful bill, which again, I'm assuming my friend Kelli talked a little bit about today, what that included, we must continue to remind all Georgians and all Americans, the biggest tax cut in American history, more money for families to keep in their pocket.

155. 1:46:11

     The two million family farms that are now exempt from the death tax. When I was in Georgia earlier last year, one of the biggest issues I kept hearing about from our farmers and ranchers was the inability to pass on this way of life and their land and their facilities and their farm to the third and fourth and fifth and eighth generation here in Georgia because of the death tax. That is now taken care of. For the first time in over 10 years, we had no farm bill in the last administration. We tried. We couldn't get it. Well, not we, but the last administration, uh, the Republicans certainly tried.

156. 1:46:45

     But the new farm piece of the one big, beautiful bill finally addressed reference prices. And I'm guessing for most of you, you know exactly what that means. That means more money in the pockets of our farmers and ranchers beteen, between a $10 and $21 billion additional, additional, um, payment into the pockets of those especially who need it the most through our reference prices. One thing after another, opportunity zones were made permanent. I know a lot of you have worked on that in this state.

157. 1:47:15

     Uh, Rural Health Transformation Fund, $50 billion into rural communities, the largest investment in rural America in history by our federal government, and of course, the list goes on. When you add that to the 18 new trade deals that were signed in the last year, you compare that to zero- new trade deals in the previous administration. This is a major, major win that will begin to be felt in this year of twenty twenty six. Again, eighteen new trade deals.

158. 1:47:47

     In the first year of Trump two alone, we saw an increase in corn exports of about twenty-nine percent, in dairy of about nineteen percent, and in tree nuts of eleven percent. These new deals are working, and agriculture is at the top of every new deal that is struck. And, uh, if it's not, Secretary Lutnick, Secretary Bessent, and our trade rep, Jamieson Greer, get daily messages from me about how it must be, and so we're getting a lot done there. In Georgia, the H-2A program, Georgia uses the labor program of H-2A more than almost any state in the country.

159. 1:48:25

     Think about that. Almost any state in the country, your farmers and ranchers use the labor program, the work program, H-2A. Under the last administration, that program had gotten absolutely, uh, so expensive that many couldn't use it anymore, an average of around thirty dollars an hour when you include transportation and housing and everything that that program requires. Well, under a new rule that we just put into place, uh, la- middle of last year, that price per worker, per hour comes down almost forty percent.

160. 1:48:56

     That is a huge win for our farmers and ranchers. And in fact, when I was here opening up the new Pratt Industries facility a couple of months ago, I had, uh, one of those specialty crop farmers, multi-generation, she and her dad came up to me with tears in their eyes and said, "That literally saved our farm." These policies matter. The battle matters. It matters.

161. 1:49:23

     Listen, we know that there is still so much work to do. We know that this farm economy is the worst. Even though it is getting better, it is still the worst we have seen in decades, perhaps in our lifetime. We have to fight to get the cost of inputs down as we're expanding the markets across the world, and we have to ensure that we're supporting our farmers. A couple weeks ago in San Antonio at Commodity Classic, I announced our One Farmer, One File initiative. Uh, for those of you that farm and for those of you that hear from your farmers, you probably know of the mountains of paperwork that they have been required to fill out to participate in all of the USDA programs.

162. 1:50:04

     At the beginning of last year when DOGE came in, we were working to make government more efficient very quickly. One of the things we were able to do is as DOGE wrapped up, we moved those geniuses into our technology program at USDA. And what they have done in just a couple of months is do what no one thought was possible. They have gone from over one thousand contractors and billions of dollars of technology spend just in the farming and ranching lanes and the policies at USDA to now moving to One Farmer, One File for a hundred million dollars versus a couple of billion dollars, and no longer do we have a thousand contractors taking taxpayer m- dollars without any return on investment.

163. 1:50:51

     The farmers will feel this the most, but the taxpayers will as well, and we're very excited about that. Our Farmer Bridge Assistance program that went out a couple of weeks ago, the One Farmer, One File program was its first ex- I shouldn't say experiment, but the first test of the program, and within a couple of days, we had already moved out to thousands of producers, including many here in the state of Georgia with very few glitches. So good news on the horizon for all of our incredible farmers and ranchers. I'll finish with this.

164. 1:51:21

     It just continues to be such a joy to work alongside all of you. I started my remarks with the importance of your work, the importance of the states, the importance under the Constitution, and again, our Founding Fathers' vision, that you truly are the laboratories of democracy and the laboratories of innovation here at the state level. And what Georgia has done and continues to do and leading the way in that innovation is incredible to watch. Keep up the incredible work. May God bless Georgia, may God bless this incredible country, and may God continue to bless our great farmers and ranchers in America.

165. 1:51:56

     Thank you all so much. What a joy to be here. Thank y'all.

166. 1:53:18

     Okay. Recognize senator from the forty-fourth.

167. 1:53:42

     Thank you, Mr. President. I am so excited to, um, honor as my, um, Women's Caucus honoree, Samira Fazili. Um, she is an economic policy expert with over twenty years experience in program execution, crisis management, and supply chain. Um, it's actually very appropriate given all the dignitaries that we've had here today, um, with Secretary or, uh, SBA, um, Administrator Lefler and Secretary Rollins because, um, Samira's most recent stint in, um, in public service was with the Obama-Harris administration, where she had senior roles that, uh, where she was instrumental in working to bring, um, and, and, um, integrate the plans for Q Cells, Rivian, SK Battery, and the semiconductor plant that is within SK Battery's portfolio, as well as the Hyundai plant to Georgia, working, um, in the, uh, Biden-Harris administration on executing those plans.

168. 1:54:51

     She also, um, during COVID, worked at the port with the Georgia Port Authority to help Georgia farmers, um, get their exports out when things were very tricky during COVID so that their products could go to market. So I'm very honored to recognize all the work that she has done. Um, she's also had senior roles at the Federal Reserve, um, went to Harvard and Yale, and right now is a consultant to businesses, nonprofits, and governments, um, i- across the world.

169. 1:55:24

     So thank you for all your work, Samira. We are very honored to have you as a Georgian who has also helped our economy thrive. Thank you.

170. 1:55:38

     Thank you, Senator. Chair recognizes Senator for the, from the forty-first for a personal point of privilege.

171. 1:56:05

     Thank you, Mr. President. Just wanna acknowledge today is, uh, Savannah College of Art and Design day at the Capitol. So I believe there are some SCAD folks who are here, and just wanna welcome them to the Capitol and thank them for their work, especially on the original thirty-three. Um, those artists are responsible for helping to make our statue that will be on the inside of the Capitol. So again, happy SCAD day. Thank you.

172. 1:56:31

     Chair recognizes the senator from the forty-third.

173. 1:57:03

     Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, I rise today to celebrate and honor, uh, my Women's Caucus awardee, Sydney Jakes. She has a heart for service and a steadfast commitment to progress. Ms. Jakes has orchestrated dynamic programs that address critical needs within our community. She has been instrumental in leading Heart Health Week, which raises awareness of cardiovascular wellness.

174. 1:57:35

     Ms. Jakes has championed the Little Library book drives to foster a love of literacy among our youth. Her dedication to fighting food insecurity is evident through her active support of the Blessings in a Backpack initiative. Furthermore, Ms. Jakes, through her sponsorship of the MLK Day of Service, has mobilized efforts that have provided relief and resources to seniors, schools, food banks, and shelters throughout the metro Atlanta area.

175. 1:58:07

     Recognizing the importance of holistic wellbeing, Ms. Jakes is also a staunch advocate for mental health. She has supported partnerships that promote emotional wellbeing and self-care, including Project Power with the American Diabetes Association, which focuses on diabetes prevention and health education. Ms. Jakes' commitment to advocacy extends beyond the local level as she also serves on the regional stage as a co-chairwoman for Alpha Kappa Alpha Day at the Capitol, where she has passionately advanced, where she has passionately advanced the cause of voter equity and education.

176. 1:58:46

     Through her role, she continues to amplify the voices of marginalized communities, ensuring that the civic engagement remains at the forefront of the mission. Ms. Jakes is a visionary leader, unwavering advocate, and devoted leader of the Twenty Pearls Foundation and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Congratulations, Ms. Sydney Jakes. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

177. 1:59:18

     If everyone, if everyone can take their conversations outside, if you're not here with a guest that's over here, it's way too loud in here. Thank you. The, the chair recognizes the senator from the thirty-fifth on a point of personal, point of personal privilege.

178. 1:59:53

     All right. Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanna take a, a moment to acknowledge that, uh, no matter your politics, war is still tragic, and I'd like for us to take a moment of silence. We have seven US service members that have lost their lives. There are over a hundred and sixty, hundred and seventy elementary school girls that lost their lives in Iran.

179. 2:00:24

     I would like for us to take a moment of silence to recognize our service members and for the innocent life that's caught up in international warfare. Over a hundred and seventy elementary school, school girls in Iran died to a, a bombing and our seven service members who have lost their lives. Let us take a moment of silence.

180. 2:00:48

     Thank you, Senator. If everyone will rise and give a moment of silence to those who've lost their lives in the Iranian war.

181. 2:01:02

     Thank you. I yield the will.

182. 2:01:05

     Thank you, Senator. Chair recognizes the senator from the 36th District on a point of personal privilege.

183. 2:01:53

     Thank you, uh, Mr. President. Uh, I rise to, uh, share some reflections, some facts, uh, around Medicaid and Georgia's children.

184. 2:02:11

     We have long promoted the idea that we need to expand Medicaid, that we need to, uh, cover more people, and that our hospitals will thank us because they need a payer mix of people who have insurance as well, uh, whether it's from the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, uh, known as PeachCare for Kids.

185. 2:02:44

     Uh, I got some very interesting, uh, data, uh, from the Children's, uh, Healthcare of Atlanta, uh, a, a, a very large, uh, hospital, uh, that has children from all 159 counties coming there for, uh, treatment. And they, they, uh, provided a very interesting, uh, reality check.

186. 2:03:18

     One of their young patients was r- diagnosed with a rare bone cancer, and Amy is one of one and a half million children in Georgia that relies on Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids. She's on the road to recovery, not burdened by limited access and inconsistent care. Why? Because she has Medicaid coverage. And here's a stark picture that's painted. With Medicaid, Amy has a pediatrician for checkups and undergoes chemotherapy every two weeks with a specialist.

187. 2:03:55

     A pediatric surgeon removes a recurring cancerous tumor. She returns to school. She's on her way to remission. Without Medicaid, she would have limited access and the inability to pay for doctors or specialists, and her medical home vanishes, and she then gets treated for complications in the emergency department and is given limited treatment options. All of that is because, uh, she has-- She, she does not have to go down that dark road because she's got Medicaid coverage. And if you c- if we cut Medicaid by one percent, it is, uh, one percent reduction in re-reimbursement would be a nine point one million dollar loss for, uh, Children's in a year, impacting services.

188. 2:04:39

     So be very mindful as we sit as one of ten states that has not expanded Medicaid, leaving federal dollars, uh, in Washington to go to other states and, and depriving our p-patients here of that coverage. Uh, th-this is not a, a small, small issue. This is a looming issue that Georgia needs to address. I thank you, and I yield the will.

189. 2:05:08

     Thank you, Senator. I'm gonna take a, just a quick, brief moment. Um, wanna recognize some friends in the gallery, Santiago Marquez, uh, the director of the Latin American Association. The Latin American Association, for those of y'all that may not know, was founded in 1972 on Buford Highway, not too far from where I grew up. Um, it g- has grown into the state's leading Latino serving nonprofit, providing bilingual services and workforce development, en-entrepreneurship, youth programs, food security, and housing.

190. 2:05:40

     And Santiago, I just wanna say thank you to you and your team and the work that you do, um, for Georgia. I know you're a proud Cuban and, uh, you know, some days, you know, we, uh, make fun of you for being a Notre Dame fan, but we'll t- we'll talk about that, uh, next time, especially when the Yellow Jackets beat, uh, the Fighting Irish. So just wanna thank you and your team for being here today. God bless you.

191. 2:07:11

     The chair recognizes the senator from the 19th for a motion.

192. 2:07:21

     Thank you, Mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Rule, uh, three dash one point two C be suspended to allow for receipt and assignment of House Bill 974, the FY27 Appropriations Bill.

193. 2:07:36

     Is there objection to the senator's motion?

194. 2:07:40

     Without objection.

195. 2:07:41

     Without objection, the motion is adopted.

196. 2:08:02

     Chair recognizes senator from the fifty-sixth District.

197. 2:08:05

     Thank you, Mr. President, and I ask unanimous consent do we excuse the senator from the forty-eighth for business outside, and the forty-second for business outside the Capitol.

198. 2:08:16

     Is there objection to the senator from the fifty-sixth District's, uh, motion to excuse those two senators? All right, if not, they're excused.

199. 2:08:28

     Chair recognizes the senator from the forty-third for something.

200. 2:08:35

     Thank you, Mr. President. I ask for unanimous consent to excuse the senator from the twenty-sixth.

201. 2:08:42

     The senator from the twenty-sixth is excused.

202. 2:09:04

     You have before you a consent calendar of privileged resolutions. Does any senator wish to remove a resolution from the consent calendar?

203. 2:09:13

     Is there an objection to the adoption of the resolutions on the consent calendar? The chair hears none. The resolutions on the consent calendar are adopted.

204. 2:09:27

     Are there any motions to withdraw and commit?

205. 2:09:33

     Chair hears none. We're gonna stay at ease just for a few minutes. Thank you.

206. 2:10:05

     Just a word, as for the Chamber, we will, um, stand at ease until twelve forty-five PM. Thank you.

207. 3:13:47

     All right. Senate is returned to order. M- Mr. Secretary, will you read a message from the House?

208. 3:13:57

     The following message was received from the House through Mr. Riley, the Clerk thereof. Mr. President, the House has passed by the requisite constitutional majority the following bill of the House, HB 974 by Representatives Burns of the one hundred and fifty-ninth and others. A bill to be entitled an act to make and provide appropriations for the state fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2026 and ending June 30th, 2027, to make and provide such appropriations for the operation of the state government and its departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, institutions, and other agencies f- for the university system, common schools, counties, municipalities, and political subdivisions, for all other governmental activities, projects, and undertakings authorized by law, and for all leases, contracts, agreements, and grants authorized by law, to provide for the control and administration of funds, to provide an effective date, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes.

209. 3:14:40

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

210. 3:14:43

     Chair recognizes the senator from the fourteenth.

211. 3:14:46

     Parliamentary inquiry.

212. 3:14:47

     State your inquiry.

213. 3:14:48

     Mr. President, I feel like through stages we have learned the majority's batting order for the chair. I'm aware of the lieutenant governor, I'm aware of the pro tem, Mr. Leader, um, I'm also aware of the senator from the first. What happens if the senator from the first is not available, and how far down the list is the chair willing to reveal the list goes?

214. 3:15:11

     Well, if you're playing on a world championship team, that means all nine of the individuals in the batting order better be able to pick up the bat and take us across the finish line.

215. 3:15:21

     All right, well that's-

216. 3:15:21

     So all the way down. That's pretty far.

217. 3:15:24

     I'll be waiting with bated breath for district numbers, and I'm sure the mysteries will reveal themselves as time goes on.

218. 3:15:28

     I mean, even if we have to, senator, call on the senator from the sixth to come up here and save us, we, we will do that.

219. 3:15:35

     I understand, and just so the chair knows, I'm always willing to offer my services. Thank you.

220. 3:15:39

     I appreciate your services. You're, you're a good Georgian, Senator.

221. 3:15:49

     The chair will, uh, assign House Bill 974 to Appropriations.

222. 3:17:29

     All right, we're gonna come back to order. Will the Secretary read House Resolution 1008?

223. 3:17:37

     House Resolution Number 1008 by Representative Smith of the seventieth and others. To ratify amendments, a resolution to ratify amendments to a certain comprehensive statewide water management plan, to provide for force and effect, to provide for construction, to provide an effective date, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes. Mr. President, the Committee of the House on Information and Audits-

224. 3:18:01

     The Senate.

225. 3:18:01

     Oh, the Committee of the Senate on Natural Resources and the Environment recommends that this resolution do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator-

226. 3:18:10

     Anderson

227. 3:18:10

     ... Anderson of the twenty-fourth, Chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

228. 3:18:20

     I recognize the senator from the forty-ninth to speak to House Resolution 1008.

229. 3:18:36

     Thank you, Mr. President. Good afternoon, colleagues. I present to you House Resolution 1008. This resolution is the product of work that occurred out of session this past year to reconvene the State Water Council and make minor tweaks to our regional water councils. I wanna thank the chairman from the twenty-fourth and the chairman from the eleventh for serving on the State Water Council, uh, this off session and working through these changes with those other members. The reason you don't see those changes in the legislation is that our role and the House's role to either approve or reject the changes provo- proposed by the State Water Council to the state water plan.

230. 3:19:14

     This process was created to ensure our state's water plan would be crafted with local input, guided by data from EPD, and approved by the General Assembly. This ensures water planning is being done by those directly using the resource and informed by sound science from EPD. The House passed this resolution out of its chamber unanimously. The changes you don't see on the paper, though, are very simple. All 10 regional water councils will have their overall membership reduced from 25 to 15, eliminate the option for alternate members, extend members' terms from three to six years, and ensure representation from the, from the municipal, industrial, agricultural, and energy sectors on the council.

231. 3:19:56

     These changes were made to help reinvigorate our regional water councils and improve their ability to serve their communities. In many other councils across the state, seats are going unfilled, councils are not meeting, and there's not enough interest to fill the current high volume of seats. This leaves the councils unable to complete their responsibilities and provide input to EPD and policymakers. I kindly ask for your support of HR1008. Yield for questions.

232. 3:20:25

     Recognize the senator from the 14th.

233. 3:20:27

     Thank you, Mr. President. Senator yield?

234. 3:20:29

     Yes, sir.

235. 3:20:30

     Senator, how many votes do you need to pass this today?

236. 3:20:32

     All of them.

237. 3:20:34

     Well, I don't think they're here yet. Uh, and this is a simple majority vote?

238. 3:20:39

     Yes.

239. 3:20:39

     Okay, great. You gotta love that. Thank you.

240. 3:20:45

     Yield the will.

241. 3:20:47

     Senator yield the will. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure?

242. 3:20:57

     Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none and the question is ordered. Is there objection in agreeing the report of the committee which is in favor of the adoption of the resolution? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none and the question is ordered. Question is on the adoption of the resolution. All those in favor of the resolution will vote yay, oppose nay. Secretary will unlock the machine.

243. 3:21:55

     On the adoption of the resolution, the yeas are forty-three and the nays are zero.

244. 3:22:28

     This resolution having received the requisite constitutional majority is therefore adopted.

245. 3:22:39

     Senator from the forty-first, what purpose do you rise?

246. 3:22:42

     Thank you, Mr. President. I ask for unanimous ex- consent to excuse the senator from the twenty-second.

247. 3:22:48

     Without objection, the senator from the twenty-second is excused. Secretary will read the caption to House Bill 945.

248. 3:23:09

     House Bill number 945 by Representatives Williamson of the 112th and others. A bill to be entitled An Act to amend Title 7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to banking and finance so as to provide for holds on accounts of eligible adults for suspected financial exploitation. To provide for procedures for placing and lifting such holds. To no longer require independent credit reports to be obtained from a consumer reporting agency as defined in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. To provide for procedures for seizing desist orders for unregistered persons providing litigation finance. To provide for judicial hearings to review department decisions regarding lit- litigation finance.

249. 3:23:40

     To provide for re- registrant disclosures. To provide for definitions. To make conforming changes. To provide for construction. To provide for related matters. To repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Banking and Financial Institutions recommends that this bill do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Summers of the 13th, Chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

250. 3:24:00

     Recognize the senator from the third to present the bill.

251. 3:24:24

     Uh, thank you, Mr. President. Um, colleagues, I have, uh, House Bill 945. It is the annual cleanup bill for the Department of Banking and Finance. Uh, it's 40 pages. A good bit of it, um, is, um, changes to rules and regulations. However, there are three areas that I would like to highlight for you. Um, transaction holds, um, vir- uh, virtual currency kiosk, and litigation financing.

252. 3:24:55

     And this is a little complicated, so I'm probably gonna read g- some of this, if you'll bear with me. Um, financial exploitation is an ed- endemic problem as it has increased significantly in the last few years across the country, including Georgia. Financial exploitation results in the target individual, who is often a disabled or elderly adult going to their financial institution to withdraw significant amounts of money to send to the scammer.

253. 3:25:32

     Under current law, banks and credit unions are limited in the actions it can take to prevent their customers from withdrawing these funds, even if the financial institution strongly believes that the withdrawal is the result of financial exploitation. Approximately half the states have enacted what the industry refers to as transaction hold laws. Um, this bill, um, proposes to do the same thing to provide the same protection for Georgia consumers.

254. 3:26:06

     It's worth emphasizing that this is, um, entirely discretional of financial institutions and applies to individual transactions as opposed to the entire account. This proposal will allow financial institutions to place a hold of up to 15 days on an individual transaction that the financial institution reasonably believes, reasonab- reasonably believes may involve, facilitate, result in, or contribute to financial exploitation if the customer is an eligible adult.

255. 3:26:44

     Eligible adults include disabled adults, which is defined in code, or elderly adults, those people over 65. Um, in addition to placing a hold on the transaction, the financial institution may reach out to what this bill refers to as a trusted contact. That would be an adult designated by the account holder and notify this trusted contact of the suspected financial exploitation.

256. 3:27:17

     Once a transaction hold has been placed, the financial institution must initiate an investigation. If the results of the investigation do not indicate financial exploitation, the institution may consummate the transaction at the conclusion of the investigation. However, if the investigation is not concluded but continues to look like financial exploitation, the institution, financial institution may extend the transaction hold for an additional 15 days.

257. 3:27:52

     Um, there's an opt-in provision in this bill. Prior to implementing any transaction holds, the financial ins- institution must have policies and procedures in place and must have trained its employees. If the financial institution acts in good faith with reasonable care, the financial institution will not be liable for placing the hold.

258. 3:28:20

     The second item is virtual currency kiosk, also known as Bitcoin ATMs, have become a significant, uh, industry over the last several years and are currently licensed with the department as money transmitters. However, because of the nature of transactions at these kiosks, these, this is where individuals are putting cash into the kiosk and it's immediately exchanged for a virtual currency and placed in a so-called internet wallet.

259. 3:28:56

     These kiosks are often used for fraud, for scams, and other illicit, um, uh, activity. A typical scam may involve the scammer calling the target and presenting a scenario like an out- like an outstanding bench warrant or a relative in jail that the k- scammer claims can only be resolved by the target depositing large amounts of cash into a kiosk. Once the cash is deposited, there's often no recourse for the target to recover the funds.

260. 3:29:29

     Nationwide, the FBI has noted a ninety-nine percent increase in the number of complaints regarding virtual currency kiosk from 2023 to 2024, with a loss of over two hundred and forty million dollars nationwide. In addition, uh, virtual currency kiosk have been linked to other illicit activity, including money laundering, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.

261. 3:29:59

     Approximately sixteen states have enacted legislation to place heightened requirements on virtual currency kiosk, and this bill proposes similar language that will protect Georgia consumers and discourage, um, uh, illicit actors. All right. Some of the, um, important requirements are, one, disclosures that, among other information, will alert consumers that, one, the transaction is irreversible, two, uh, vir- virtual currency transactions are often used to defraud consumers, and three, virtual currency is volatile and unpredictable, which may result in partial or total loss of, um, of certain, uh, virtual currencies.

262. 3:30:54

     Um, this bill limits the fee charged by virtual currency operators to eighteen percent of the total transaction amount. Currently, some operators charge upwards of thirty percent. Bill limits the aggregate daily transaction amount to twenty-five hundred dollars for new customers, new customers being defined as the first, uh, seventy-two hours after a customer opens the account, and ten thousand dollars for existing customers.

263. 3:31:25

     As far as refunds go, for new customers, the total amount of the transaction can be refunded if they're, if they were fraudulently induced to enter into the transaction and reported such transaction to law enforcement and the kiosk operator within five days. And then for all customers, the fees can be, um, refunded, um, fees related to the transaction if they were fraudulently induced to enter into the transaction.

264. 3:31:56

     Uh, an additional compliance mechanism including, um, receipts with certain information regarding live customer support, the use of blockchain analytics to enhance the ability of the virtual currency kiosk operator and the department to identify fraudulent transactions. And then third and finally, uh, regarding litigation financing. The litigation financing law passed in 2025 as part of our tort reform effort, went into effect on January 1, 2026.

265. 3:32:34

     Broadly speaking, this law protects consumers from abusive behavior by creating a disclosure regime for litigation financers, eliminates foreign influence in civil cases by restricting foreign ownership of litigation financing, and requires litigation, uh, financiers to register with the Department of Banking and Finance. And four, it makes the involvement of a litigation financer discoverable in civil cases.

266. 3:33:05

     Um, the, the, this bill, um, has some revisions to the existing laws that will close some of the apparent gaps and more closely align with the department's regulation of other non-depository financial institutions. These changes will help ensure that the vision of the law is achieved, and they, these changes include: There's-- they propose to change the definition of financial institution to include, include bank holding companies and credit unions, which is the alignment with the typical understanding of a financial institution under, uh, Title VII.

267. 3:33:46

     Uh, they, the bill proposes to require annual registration as opposed to currently a one-time registration. This ensures that companies remain eligible for registration that have not made any changes to their ownership structure or, or otherwise that would make them ineligible. This is critically important as the department does not have authority to investigate or examine litigation financers then would otherwise not have access to this information.

268. 3:34:18

     Further, this is in alignment with other regulated industries. The bill would allow the department to access conviction histories for owners, officers, and directors of litigation finance. This will allow the department to actually enforce the ban on individuals with a felony conviction within the last 10 years. That is in the current law. And this bill would allow the department to issue cease and desist orders to entities or individuals who are operating without a license.

269. 3:34:50

     Currently, the department's only remedy is to refer such entities or individuals for criminal prosecution. This will enable the department to enforce this registration requirement without involving agencies that are busy prosecuting serious felonies. And I would mention that the Department of Banking and Finance consulted with affected parties here. This legislation was swear, um, shared with the Georgia Bankers Association, Community Bankers Association, Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Georgia Financial Services Association, the Georgia Installment Lenders Association, the Alliance for, and the Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding.

270. 3:35:39

     And there has been no industry opposition to this bill. Mr. President, with that, I'll pause for questions.

271. 3:36:01

     The, no questions, Senator, but there is a, um-

272. 3:36:05

     Thank, thank God, Mr. President

273. 3:36:06

     ... amendment. There's an amendment that's been offered.

274. 3:36:14

     I don't, I haven't seen it.

275. 3:36:17

     You can get it right back closed.

276. 3:36:19

     Yeah, I was.

277. 3:36:22

     I'm just gonna, I'm making something in there too, just so you know. Any amendment, would you like me to close it? At some point, you might wanna hear the amendment. Sorry. We'll let you close it.

278. 3:36:39

     All right, we've got an amendment that's been offered. Uh, Secretary will read the amendment.

279. 3:36:47

     Mr. President, Senator Tillery of the 19th and others offered the following Amendment 1 to amend HB 945 by inserting 10 after 7 on line one, by inserting commerce and trade after finance on line two, by inserting to protect the exercise of constitutional rights to prohibit discrimination in the provision of essential services, to provide for public and private enforcement before, to provide on line 24, by inserting after line 975 the following: Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to deceptive or unfair practices is amended by adding a new part and for other purposes.

280. 3:37:23

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

281. 3:37:27

     Senator from the 19th, would you like to state your amendment?

282. 3:37:36

     Thank you, Mr. President. Senators, uh, my amendment goes back and carries us back to last year, a debate we had. If you remember, we've seen people in our state who've had their bank accounts or other essential services closed because they did things that were otherwise protected by the Constitution. They owned guns. They manufactured guns. They went to speeches. And for some reason, because they did those things that were otherwise constitutionally protected, they saw their debit cards or their bank accounts closed.

283. 3:38:09

     That's wrong. That's not something that we should support. So I authored a bill last year, you know we debated it thoroughly. It lost on the Senate floor. And after it lost on the Senate floor, the very next day, the President of the United States, again, it lost with the arguments being made that debanking very rarely happens, and that it's just some scheme for lawyers. The very next day, President Trump filed suit in Florida alleging 300 counts of debanking against Capital One Bank.

284. 3:38:43

     300 doesn't sound very small to me. And if we're having Georgia companies have their bank accounts closed only because they make firearms like we saw with Daniel Defense down in Savannah, or we're having Georgians in Southwest Georgia who were traveling to a political speech and got outside the state, and all of a sudden their bank accounts got closed, that's wrong. It's wrong for conservatives and it's wrong for liberals. We just saw Jamie Morgan, one of the biggest banks in the country, admit that they took steps to intentionally debank political speech mainly aimed at conservatives.

285. 3:39:24

     This is no longer theoretical. It's as real as it gets, and we are the body that get to make the laws of our state and how we will respond when poli- people's Second Amendment, First Amendment, any other amendment rights are silenced by corporations and boardrooms. That's all this is. If you think that someone's right to bear arms shouldn't lead to them seeing their bank accounts terminated, their power bills terminated, their water bills terminated, any essential service, then your vote on this amendment should be yes.

286. 3:40:03

     But if you think it's okay to turn off someone's bank accounts, their water, their power, things that my friends in the minority party fight against when landlords do it- If you think it's okay to do that just because somebody owns a firearm or makes a firearm or engages in political speech, then you should vote no. Thank you, Mr. President, and I'd urge your favorable support of Amendment 1.

287. 3:40:26

     You have a question or two, Senator-

288. 3:40:28

     Happy to take them

289. 3:40:28

     ... if you're willing to take them. Chair recognizes the senator from the 29th.

290. 3:40:39

     Thank you, Mr. President. Does the senator yield from one gun o- gun owner to another?

291. 3:40:45

     Sure.

292. 3:40:46

     Senator, could you tell me how many cases of de-banking we currently have here in the state of Georgia that you are aware of?

293. 3:40:53

     You have had at least three, but my comment back to you as someone who I know supports due process is when someone's due process get, rights get eliminated, how many have to be eliminated before we think it's enough? I think if it's one, that's too many. But thank you.

294. 3:41:08

     Thank you.

295. 3:41:11

     I recognize the senator from the 26th.

296. 3:41:20

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, senator, do you yield?

297. 3:41:24

     Yes, sir.

298. 3:41:27

     On page two of your amendment, lines 34 through 36.

299. 3:41:34

     Yes, sir.

300. 3:41:38

     That is a, a what you call a DEI e- exclusion?

301. 3:41:44

     No, sir. What it says is that you can't create a social credit score. So go to line 28. What we saw is in communist China, they created a social credit score and ranked people for how they would have housing, how they would have banking, how they could pick their jobs based on certain things they did of whether or not they engaged in speech that was protected or supported rather by the government. And one of those things was whether or not they would engage in, uh, diversity, gender audits, and things like that. So when we were defining what a social credit score means, we went back and grabbed what the communist Chinese definition was and put it in there and said, "That's not something that you want in Georgia."

302. 3:42:28

     Senator from the 16th has a question.

303. 3:42:32

     Senator, do you yield for a question?

304. 3:42:35

     Yes, sir.

305. 3:42:35

     I think this is realizing, and I think you would say this, that money is freedom, and when a organization can cut your money off, they're really attacking your freedom. And my question is penalties on this, what are the penalties that we, can be assessed? Because when a bank shuts down, I, I have a friend who, um, was a pro-life physician and a bank in California shut him down completely, and he didn't understand why, and it took him days to get all of his accounts done. But there should be some penalty for that, and there needs to be a quick remedy to, for that because when your accounts are shut down, how does this help us from that standpoint?

306. 3:43:12

     Penalties, and what are the timeframes to resolve the issue?

307. 3:43:15

     Yeah. Thank you for those questions. Those are really good, and thank you for your kind comments to lead in. What we actually saw, and we had testimony in committee when we had this bill even last year, the gun manufacturer in Sylvania, Daniel Defense, uh, said that it cost him a million dollars each time his accounts were closed, and he was de-banked twice. What'd he do? He made firearms. That was it. The penalty in this is your actual damages, what it cost you to reopen accounts and do all those things, or we set a nominal value, and it, uh, it's a big dollar, at 50,000 per an occurrence, whichever's greater.

308. 3:43:50

     So if yours go higher, then hey, you can recover what you had. If you can't, then we set the penalty at 50,000. Why? We're not trying to put anybody out of business, but we are trying to say, this is darn important. And to limit someone's constitutional rights by limiting and eliminating their essential services, that's just wrong, and everyone should be able to agree on that, regardless of if you're conservative or liberal.

309. 3:44:13

     Yield for a second question.

310. 3:44:14

     Yes, sir.

311. 3:44:15

     Here's the other part, is there a way in which this bill might address a notification prior to shutdown that is mandatory that they give you some type of notice rather than just shutting down your accounts? Is there any way, and does this address that issue of notification of being shut down?

312. 3:44:31

     So we tried to work through that process last year, and what some of the folks told us is... Well, let me tell you. The power company said there was no problem. The water company said there was no problem. The internet company said there was no problem. The only company that said there was a problem were the banks. So if this has been named the de-banking amendment, it's because the only folks who had a problem with it were the banks. Georgia Power was fine. Everybody else was fine, too.

313. 3:44:55

     But there is no notification, so this could be happening tomorrow. Since you and I brought this up, m- the bank could sit down-

314. 3:45:02

     Yeah

315. 3:45:02

     ... and, and shut us down.

316. 3:45:03

     They, they s- the comments that they made is that they are, there's federal rules that prot- prohibit them from telling you because if they did, they might be engaging in some type of fraudulent activity. We tried to exclude all of that activity. We said, "Look, it's just about things that are otherwise protected by the Constitution." Uh, lit- literally tried to limit it to the first 10 amendments when we did the first time.

317. 3:45:21

     Thank you, sir.

318. 3:45:22

     Yeah.

319. 3:45:22

     Thank you.

320. 3:45:26

     Senator from the 46th.

321. 3:45:30

     Thank you, Mr. President. Will the senator yield?

322. 3:45:32

     Yes, sir.

323. 3:45:33

     Senator, I recall this bill from last year, and although I applaud the intent behind it, where I have a problem it is there on the bottom of, uh, page three, where you give the private cause of action. You're creating a new tort with a minimum automatic damages of 50,000. That is so out of whack with the remainder of the, uh, Fair Business Practices Act, which you've tucked this under. W- why such drastic recovery-

324. 3:46:04

     Yeah

325. 3:46:04

     ... 50,000 as a minimum plus attorney's fees rather than just let it follow under the- Provisions of the, the Fair Business Practices Act

326. 3:46:13

     The Fair Business Practices Act, I believe, goes up to 100, so we actually cut it in half at 50. Everything else, including attorney's fees, are allowed under the Fair Business Practice Act. So this is not being kinder to attorneys. If anything, it's saying, "Hey, we realize that this is gonna be a heartburn issue for some people." It shouldn't be. The only time this can be exercised is if somebody's ending someone's Second Amendment rights or their First Amendment rights, so we cut it in half. Everything else that you see under that is allowed already under the Fair Business Practices Act.

327. 3:46:43

     I don't remember it that way, but I will, uh, I'll check that.

328. 3:46:46

     Okay.

329. 3:46:46

     Thank you.

330. 3:46:50

     Mr. President, if there are no further questions, thank you.

331. 3:46:52

     We do have further questions, Senator.

332. 3:46:54

     Happy to, to continue.

333. 3:46:54

     Uh, chair recognizes senator from the 55th.

334. 3:47:00

     Thank you to the gentleman in the well. Will you, will you yield?

335. 3:47:03

     I'd be happy to yield to this debate about freedom.

336. 3:47:06

     Yes, sir. You, in your talk, you spoke, um, on page two of paragraph E about munitions and firearms, but I don't understand why you have A through D. And you mentioned something about getting this from China, and I don't think a lot of this is applicable to the homogeneity of China. Can you tell us a little why you have A through D?

337. 3:47:31

     Sure.

338. 3:47:31

     Thank you.

339. 3:47:32

     A, we, we had a d- a question last year about could someone define social credit score, that social credit score was some nebulous concept that didn't exist. Turns out social credit scores existed for 30 to 50 years in Communist China. And when we looked to see what is the Chinese government taking and putting a social credit score on people for, it was things of whether or not they fell within what the government believed was right, and those things are A through E. That's how we got to that definition.

340. 3:48:05

     Recognize the senator from the 10th for a question.

341. 3:48:11

     Thank you, Mr. President. Senator, yield?

342. 3:48:13

     Yes, sir.

343. 3:48:14

     Senator, I, I, I hate to keep beating the same drum, but I'm trying to really wrap my, um, mind around this social credit score.

344. 3:48:25

     Yeah.

345. 3:48:25

     I'm familiar with a traditional credit score from one-

346. 3:48:29

     Right

347. 3:48:29

     ... of our credit agencies. What, how would this kind of information on a social credit score be cataloged-

348. 3:48:40

     Yeah

349. 3:48:40

     ... and who would do it? Can you explain?

350. 3:48:42

     So yes, sir. Happy to, and thank you for that question. This has nothing to do with someone's credit score as to whether or not they are worthy enough to get a loan or not. That's not at all. What we've seen, it started in social, in Communist China, in socialism areas as well, where they took and ranked people. And I've said this three times, so either I'm not speaking it well or maybe folks aren't hearing it well. But here's what happened. Those governments took and ranked folks on whether or not their speech and their actions were in line with what the government thought was appropriate.

351. 3:49:14

     That's literally what Communist China does. We know that. You've got to be a member of their political party to, to run for office. So what, when, that, that's the definition we put in here is, "Hey, what was the government looking at in places like China to see if they agreed with the Chinese Communist Party's beliefs?" And if you did, then, uh, obviously you received favor. That is not a reason why someone should see an essential service or a bank account eliminated here.

352. 3:49:40

     Senator, yield?

353. 3:49:41

     Happy to.

354. 3:49:42

     Senator, I'm trying to understand the relevance for the United States, not Communist China.

355. 3:49:48

     Yeah.

356. 3:49:48

     I'm assuming this is a new kind of a social credit score for the United States, and I don't believe that the form of government we have here, uh, even compares to a communist government over-

357. 3:50:04

     Senator, you're wrong

358. 3:50:05

     ... in Asia.

359. 3:50:05

     You literally had the social credit scores being used by our banks, and they admitted it. They admitted it in testimony that they did this. So we're just in a difference of belief of whether or not we think that big banks and big companies ought to be able to deny essential services to Georgians. I don't think they should. That's all the bill does.

360. 3:50:25

     Senator, further yield?

361. 3:50:26

     Sure.

362. 3:50:27

     S- Senator Nanney, you said that banks are using it. How do you, how did the banks quantify the use of this nebulous number, if you will, or comparison?

363. 3:50:38

     Yeah. Well, w- I think for that is, is I'd have to accept your premise that we should be using it at all. So what they were saying is that someone y- has a, if they engage in certain activities, they own firearms, they engage in speech, whatever it is that the, that the bank or the company did not like, that they should be able to disassociate with them. I think freedom of association, also protected by our First Amendment, is very, very important, but when it butts up against the Second Amendment or the other amendment or the other rights that are guaranteed in the First Amendment, I think those rights, speech, the right to bear arms, et cetera, should trump, uh, the freedom of association.

364. 3:51:13

     Senator, further yield?

365. 3:51:14

     Yes.

366. 3:51:15

     Senator, you just said a word, if. I'd like to explore that a little bit more. Can you tell me how a potential bank or lender would know if I owned any of those things, if I did any of those things, if I had any of those characteristics?

367. 3:51:36

     Well, Senator, the, the way we know that that is true is because it happened. You had a large gun manufacturer in our state close. You had folks traveling to go be involved in speech have their debit cards cut off. It isn't a question of if. You are literally joining the arguments from last year to say that this is a question of if it happens. It's already been proven it did. The top, one of the top bankers in the country, uh, Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan, said it happened.

368. 3:52:08

     He admitted they did it. So why are we debating this debate of whether or not it happened? That's the same debate from last year, has already been debunked. The question now is whether or not we're gonna do something about it, and the only people that get to decide that are the 56 souls that sit in this room.

369. 3:52:25

     Senator, if you further yield? If, if, if-

370. 3:52:28

     If there's actually a question, yes, sir, I will.

371. 3:52:31

     I, I think every, everything that I ask has always been a question. Uh, but I just,

372. 3:52:41

     I would like to know how is it that a particular, a potential, um, borrower would be able to find out what their social credit score would be-

373. 3:52:53

     Yeah

374. 3:52:54

     ... and how a particular lender would quan- would quantify it if they went to a particular lender for that kind of, uh, of a resource to borrow funds?

375. 3:53:03

     Oh, Senator, you're, you're thinking this has to do with when you go to borrow money. That's not how these people got cut off. They had established business relationships. They were already engaging in business with these companies. In fact, this amendment only says that there are penalties in place that the senator from the 46th talked about if you already had an established business relationship. This isn't whether or not they're going to apply for a loan at the first time. These folks have been banking with these companies for years. They've had essential services with these companies for decades, and then they're getting cut off, and the only thing they did different, well, now what they're doing's not in the status quo of the liberal media's woke progressive agenda.

376. 3:53:42

     Sen-

377. 3:53:42

     And that's the only thing that they've done differently.

378. 3:53:45

     Senator, yes, and I understand that there are certain criteria that lenders are gonna look at. I'm not implying that a lender is going to use this social credit score. What I'm implying is, how would I, as a potential borrower, know what my-

379. 3:54:03

     Know what they're doing?

380. 3:54:03

     ... credit score would be-

381. 3:54:05

     I think you raise a-

382. 3:54:06

     ... in any kind of situation?

383. 3:54:08

     Yeah. I think you raise a great, great point, 'cause if they're holding this internally, we did not know that these things were happening until literally the public started talking about them and then the co- corporations started talking about them. We would've not known that was happening. It was assumed it was happening, right? And now you see that it is because the pub- the corporations have come out and admitted that it was. How would you, as senator from the 10th, known that you had a social credit score? You wouldn't. You're just, your bank accounts would've been cut off one day. And what would've they been cut off for? Well, was it because you were the senator from the 10th?

384. 3:54:39

     Was it because you voted for something that was out of line with the mainstream agenda? Was it because you bought a firearm at a Georgia manuf- firearm manufacturer two weeks before? I, I don't know. But the qu- the thought that that was actually happening, and now it's been proven to have happened, that's where we have to stand up and say, "We knew it happened, or we didn't know it happened then, we're protected from that. But now that we know that folks lost their Second Amendment rights, they lost their rights to own businesses simply because, and they were turned off on their utility services or their, uh, essential services because of it, that's wrong." And we're the only people in this, this state that can fix that.

385. 3:55:16

     Thank you, Senator.

386. 3:55:17

     Thank you. Mr. President, they te- they lit me up to green again, but I'm sure you want me to yield the well.

387. 3:55:26

     I understood. You didn't take the full, it wasn't technical error last time.

388. 3:55:29

     Gotcha. Okay.

389. 3:55:31

     I can just

390. 3:55:33

     You, Senator yields the well.

391. 3:55:38

     Uh, senator from the 33rd? 4- 41st. What purpose do you rise?

392. 3:55:44

     Thank you, Mr. Pr- President. I ask for your ruling on the germaneness of this amendment. I would like for your ruling on that.

393. 3:55:54

     All right, stand by.

394. 3:56:01

     I assume you're talking about amendment one, is that right?

395. 3:57:45

     Yep.

396. 3:57:45

     After reviewing the amendment, the amendment is related to banking. It's an amendment to a agency banking cleanup bill, which normally we try not to amend, but, uh, do rule the amendment is germane.

397. 3:58:09

     All right, we got at least two more amendments. Amendment 1A. Secretary will read the amendment.

398. 3:58:23

     Mr. President, Senator McCorron of the 14th offers the following amendment 1A to amend amendment one of House Bill 945 by replacing two billion with 10 trillion on line 22. Senator Howard of the 35th offers the following amendment 1B to amend amendment one of House Bill 945 by adding between lines 49 and 50, quote, "F, A person's failure or refusal, a person's failure or refusal to express support for an administration, whether statewide or federal," end quote.

399. 3:58:57

     Senator B- Burns of the 23rd and others offer the following amendment 1C to amend House Bill 945 by striking the two on line 19 and line 22 and replacing with five. Mr. President, that completes the order.

400. 3:59:14

     Chair recognizes the senator from the 6th. What purpose do you rise?

401. 3:59:19

     Mr. President, I move, I make a motion to resolve debate.

402. 3:59:50

     Motion from the Senator of Six is to resolve debate. All those in favor of the motion will vote yay. Those opposed, nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

403. 4:01:06

     On the motion to resolve debate, the yays are 43 and the nays are three. Per Senate rule, once debate is resolved, we will, uh, I'll allow three senators to speak at the chair's choosing, and then we will let the author of the bill, uh, senator from the third, close debate.

404. 4:01:30

     Senator from six, what's your purpose you rise?

405. 4:01:33

     Parliamentary inquiry.

406. 4:01:34

     State your inquiry.

407. 4:01:36

     Is it not true that resolving debate also closes out no more amendments?

408. 4:01:41

     That is correct. Chairman of the rules knows his rules. Stand by.

409. 4:02:58

     All right, the chair is going to allow, um,

410. 4:03:04

     to, so the, the amendment one, the author of amendment one has already spoken to his amendment and had a lot of questions and good dialogue there. So I feel like he's gotten his opportunity. I'm gonna allow the senator from the 14th, he has amendment, uh, 1A. I'm allow him to speak, and then I'm gonna allow the senator from the 23rd, just stand by though, senator. Senator from the 23rd will speak. Uh, he's got an amendment. And then I'm gonna let the chair of the Senate Banking Committee speak, the senator from the 13th.

411. 4:03:40

     And then I'm gonna allow the senator from the 3rd to close debate. So senator from the 14th.

412. 4:03:53

     Thank you, Mr. President. I urge your favorable consideration of amendment 1A.

413. 4:03:59

     All right. Senator from the 23rd, would you like to speak to your amendment?

414. 4:04:11

     Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be brief. Uh, folks, I agree philosophically with the senator from the 19th's bill, but I believe that two billion is too low. I'd like to ask and recommend that we move that to five billion. I'd appreciate your support for amendment number 1C. Thank you. You good? Thank you.

415. 4:04:30

     All right. Senator from the 13th. Chairman of Senate Finance Com- I mean, Banking Committee.

416. 4:04:45

     Thank you, Mr. President. Folks, we were here last year. We debated this last year for quite some time. If you remember, the, the, the original debanking part of the bill w- went through, uh, judiciary instead of coming to banking department. And it was set up for the fact that it had probably, and I'm just guessing it, I can't remember the numbers, 36, 46 times the word banking was listed in the bill that did not come to the banking, uh, committee. And here's what we got.

417. 4:05:16

     I can't argue lawyer, okay, 'cause I'm not a lawyer. I can't speak the language that lawyers speak and whatever. But I know when I'm being had, when you try to put something in the system that shouldn't be there. The senator from the 3rd and I, my vice chairman on the banking committee, we sat there and we debated and we worked, and we worked through the cleanup bill that was signed off by Bo Fears, who is the commissioner, the one the governor appointed over the banking in Georgia.

418. 4:05:47

     And Bo Fears, who I think most of you all know in this room, in my opinion, is basically above reproach when it comes to this kind of stuff, and he's truly one of the finest individuals you'll ever deal with when it comes to getting the truth and hard answers done. And Bo Fears will tell you up front, this was not what was on the banking bill. This was not the cleanup bill. This bill right here has now changed. And in my opinion, what this bill has become is a lawyer bill. So we're going right back to tort reform again.

419. 4:06:20

     So the question remains, do we put it back in where you can start suing again? Because we just passed tort reform. So what we should do is just recall tort reform from last year and just vote that out again and start over again. 'Cause that's what we're doing. We're fixing it where every bank can get sued, and we're using the word gun to scare conservatives to say, "Well, there's gun manufacturers, you're gonna get sued, so we gotta protect gun manufacturers." This is not what this is about, folks. This is not what this is about.

420. 4:06:50

     This is about what debanking truly means, and I doubt very seriously anybody in this room except a lawyer could tell you what that word truly means when it comes to debanking. But the reality of it is, is we're fixing a bill for lawsuits. And I don't think it's right, and I want you to vote down the, the senator from the 19th's amendment and go back to the original bill that the senator from the 3rd just presented in its clean form that was brought over from the House, who actually went through and worked this bill through.

421. 4:07:24

     Representative Williamson brought this bill over, Bruce Williams brought this bill over, went through it with us, not line by line, but at least 35 or 40 minutes worth going through this bill. We know what's in this bill. It's a cleanup bill. Now, why a cleanup bill has to be 40 pages, I ain't never figured that out, okay? But it's a cleanup bill, and it has been vetted thoroughly. And to add this to it simply puts us in a position we don't need to be in. We're getting into other issues that may not be what this chamber's all about.

422. 4:07:56

     So here's the deal, folks. We gotta vote the amendment down. We gotta vote for the bill. Pass this out here and get it across, let the governor sign it, and we get a clean debanking bill. Once again, I can't talk lawyer, but I know when lawyer is being added to the, to the mix, and I understand what's going on here in regards to how we're gonna do it. So here's the bottom, here's another fact. If we wanna carry a true debanking bill, then a true debanking bill needs to come back next year when we come back in session and we have a biannual.

423. 4:08:27

     We can work through debanking bills and we'll know what truly is a debanking bill. So I'm asking you all to vote the amendment down. I actually love the fort- uh, senator from the 14th's amendment of the trillion dollars. I mean, that's pretty good. That might protect everybody. That pretty much come close, protecting everybody in the trillion area. I mean, I don't know any trillionaires yet, but I'm working on it. We hope we- maybe one, one day, that's right. But the reality of it is, is vote it down, vote this bill clean, and let's move on or we're gonna be here all day playing with this stuff, and we don't need to be here.

424. 4:08:59

     This is something we should not be dealing with. We tried it, it failed, and we shouldn't be doing it again. Mr. President, I yield the well.

425. 4:09:07

     Sen- senator's yielded the well. Um, oversight on my part, the senator from the 35th did not get to speak to his amendment. He can waive or would you like to speak to your amendment? He waives. Thank you. All right, I'm gonna allow sen- the senator from the third to close debate.

426. 4:09:41

     Thank you, Mr. President. Part of me wants to just, um, refer to my good friend from the 13th, the chairman of the Banking Committee, and just tell you what he said. But I guess, um, since I brought it, I ought to talk about it a little bit. Several things. First of all,

427. 4:10:03

     is this the venue to discuss this issue? Um, it could be. Uh, obviously it is because we're talking about it, but is it the proper venue? My good friend from the 19th has had all year to bring this bill and to bring this issue back. He has not done it. He's tagged it on to a cleanup bill which our Department of Banking needs to be able to operate.

428. 4:10:34

     We should be incredibly thankful that we have the Department of Banking that we have. We have a robust, healthy, a s- number, set of banks in, uh, Georgia. It's one of the reasons we're the number one business, uh, number one state in which to do business, because we have a very healthy banking climate and we have good bankers and, uh, and we have excellent supervision. I can remember when we had banking issues in the Great Recession of 2008 and we lost a number of banks.

429. 4:11:12

     I was very much involved in the banking business at the time, and I got to see our regulators. I got to see them up close. They did an awesome job. Awesome job. They're one of the reasons that we came out of it as, um, as unfazed as we did. My friend from the 19th says that it's up to the 56 senators in this room to decide what we're gonna do about this issue.

430. 4:11:45

     Well, we've already decided it. He brought it last year and 56 people in this room voted it down, and they voted it down, I can't remember the exact margin, but it was healthy. So, um, I don't blame him for bringing it back today, um, but I just don't think that, uh, I think that, um, if my friend wants to bring it back, I'd go along with the senator from the 13th and, uh, would listen to it on its own. Second thing that I want to say is I'm not a lawyer either, but I am, I was a banker.

431. 4:12:21

     I was a banker after college for 48 years and two years before college. I worked my way through college. I worked part-time as a banker, so that's 50 years in the banking business. 50 years in the banking business. I never saw one instance of what my friend from the 19th is talking about. I never heard the word debanking until recently.

432. 4:12:55

     Think for a minute about your friends in your communities that are bankers. You go to church with them. You see them at the deer stand and the quail field. You see them at the grocery store. You see them at your kids' baseball games. And I got a question for you, and you know them. You know the bankers in your community. One question: Are they woke?

433. 4:13:25

     I don't think so. Some of the most conservative people I've ever seen are my friends in the banking business. They are not the type of people to trample on your constitutional rights. They do manage risk. In a bank, the money that you put in the bank, I want you to think about this, of every dollar that's in the bank, at the most 8% of it, eight cents on the dollar belongs to the bank and the bank shareholders.

434. 4:14:01

     The other 92 cents belongs to somebody else. It belongs to you. You bring it in, you deposit it in the bank The FDIC steps in and says, "We're gonna insure your deposits up to $250,000, but to do that you better have healthy risk policies." And they make sure that you do. They make sure that you don't lend money where you can't get it back. They make sure that you don't open accounts that will end up costing you money.

435. 4:14:35

     In our banking system, we have the state regulating state-chartered banks. Most of our banks have state charters. We have the Comptroller of the Currency regulating federal charters. We have the FDIC regulating anybody who has FDIC insurance. And then we have the Federal Reserve regulating bank holding companies. And, uh, you know, in my experience, I don't know, the Fed with the very large, um, very, very extremely large banks, um, the Fed may have leaned on them a little bit to make sure they had DEI policies and, and, and, um, maybe some other small social gerrymandering or, excuse me, social manipulation.

436. 4:15:30

     But again, I don't think they ever said, "Don't do business with a certain type of person. Don't do business with somebody who's in this business or that business."

437. 4:15:48

     I trust and believe in the bankers in the State of Georgia. I know many of them. I've done it myself for a long time. I do not see this problem. I see this issue as an issue or a, a problem, um, in, or a solution in search of a problem. That's what I see. And, um, and I think this issue should, if, if it needs to be debated more, I mean, again, we debated it last year and we, and we beat it.

438. 4:16:22

     But if it needs to be debated more, so be it. Let's do it next year and let's do it at a time. Let's don't hold our banking department hostage. So in closing, I would ask that you consider all the amendments unfriendly. I would ask that you withhold your support. I would ask that you support your community bankers and your bank department, and I would ask you to vote for this bill without any amendments. Thank you.

439. 4:16:52

     Mr. President, I yield the well.

440. 4:16:57

     All right. Senator's yielded the well and closed debate. Uh, the order we're gonna go in, we're gonna first, uh, it'll be 1A and then it'll be 1C because they both are the same line item, and then 1B, and then amendment one. Um, tho- any objection to amendment 1A?

441. 4:17:22

     Objection.

442. 4:17:22

     There is objection. All those in favor of amendment 1A will vote yay, opposed nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

443. 4:17:48

     Senator Tillery, uh, senator from the 19th, what purpose do you rise?

444. 4:17:53

     Mr. President?

445. 4:17:54

     Yes, sir.

446. 4:17:55

     Parliamentary inquiry. Is it not true that as the amendment of, author of amendment one, I'm against 1A, but I will be supporting 1C by the senator from the 23rd?

447. 4:18:05

     Appreciate you sharing that, Senator.

448. 4:18:33

     On adoption of amendment 1A, the yays are 17 and the nays are 31. The amendment has failed. Now, amendment 1C.

449. 4:18:47

     Is there any object- objection to amendment 1C?

450. 4:18:56

     Objection.

451. 4:18:56

     Is there objection to amendment 1C?

452. 4:19:02

     Objection.

453. 4:19:02

     Without objection, amendment 1C is adopted.

454. 4:19:08

     Objection.

455. 4:19:08

     All right. On amendment 1C, those in f- uh, favor of amendment 1C will vote yay, those opposed nay. Secretary will unlock the machine. Senator from the 23rd, what purpose do you rise?

456. 4:19:26

     Uh, parliamentary inquiry.

457. 4:19:27

     State your inquiry.

458. 4:19:28

     Is it not true that a vote yay on amendment 1C would protect community banks in Georgia?

459. 4:19:35

     No.

460. 4:19:35

     Senator has, uh, passionate about this issue, for sure.

461. 4:20:23

     On the adoption of Amendment 1C by the senator from the 23rd, the yeas are 21, the nays are 28, and the amendment has failed. Now we will go to Amendment 1B. Is there objection to the adoption of Amendment 1B?

462. 4:20:40

     Objection.

463. 4:20:40

     All right, I hear objection. All those in favor of Amendment 1B will vote yay. Those opposed nay, the secretary will unlock the machine.

464. 4:21:51

     On the adoption of Amendment 1B by the senator from the 35th, the yeas are 27 and the nays are 22. The amendment has failed.

465. 4:22:01

     Adopted.

466. 4:22:02

     Uh, amendment's adopted. Sorry.

467. 4:22:07

     I apologize. Y'all really keep me on my toes up here, that's for sure. Uh, now we'll move to Amendment 1 as amended by 1B. Is there objection to the adoption of Amendment 1 as amended by 1B?

468. 4:22:25

     Objection.

469. 4:22:25

     There is objection. Those in favor of Amendment 1 amended by 1B will vote yay. Those opposed nay, the secretary will unlock the machine.

470. 4:23:38

     On the adoption of the amendment by the senator from the 19th, the yeas are nine and the nays are 41. The amendment has failed.

471. 4:23:50

     Now we'll go on to the original bill by the senator from the 3rd.

472. 4:24:03

     So on House Bill 945 unamended, is there,

473. 4:24:16

     is there objection to agreeing to the report of the committee which is favorable to the passage of the bill? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Question is on the passage of the bill. All those in favor of the bill vote yay. Opposed nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

474. 4:25:38

     All right, on- only in the Georgia Senate after all that. On the passage of the bill, the yeas are 50 and the nays are zero. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed.

475. 4:25:55

     All right, moving on. Secretary will read the caption to House Bill 244.

476. 4:26:18

     House Bill number 244 by Representatives Cannon of the 172nd and others. A bill to be entitled An Act to amend Code Section 36-81-7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to audit of financial affairs and transactions, contents copy to state auditor, and public inspection. So as to provide for local governments to request and receive in certain circumstances due date extensions relating to filing annual audits with the state auditor. To provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes. Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on State and Local Government Operations General recommends that this do pass by substitute.

477. 4:26:50

     Respectfully submitted, Senator Dixon of the 45th, Chairman.

478. 4:26:55

     Mr. President, Senate Committee on State. Mr. President, Senate Committee on State and Local G- uh, Government Operations General offers the following substitute to HB 244. A bill to be entitled An Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 81 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to local government budgets and audits, so as to update and revise provisions, content, and form of annual audits by local governments. To authorize regulatory basis of accounting framework for certain annual audits. To authorize the state auditor to prescribe necessary forms and information contained in certain components of such audits. To provide for exceptions. To provide that certain public officers and employees may be liable for the failure of their offices to assist counties in complying with audit requirements.

479. 4:27:29

     To provide for the temporary withholding of compensation for certain officers for failing to assist counties in complying with audit re- requirements. To provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

480. 4:27:43

     I recognize the senator from the 11th to speak to House Bill 244.

481. 4:27:52

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, members of the Senate, I bring before you HB 244. This is dealing with, uh, the auditing of our, uh, local governments. As you know, we have, uh, small governments across our state, and we have large governments. Uh, currently a lot of our small rural communities are having to do real physical, uh, audits that are very time-consuming and take a lot of resources. And so this bill is allowing some of them to come in compliance with the state. Uh, currently, if you're not in compliance with your regular accounting of, of the state, with the state de- uh, department of audits and accounts, you cannot receive state funds.

482. 4:28:27

     And so this will allow some of our smaller cities to do a lesser version of an audit that's, uh, the, the state auditor has described as a special reporting framework for our smaller local governments that have resources to do that. A lot of them don't with the current status that we have, uh, so we're just allowing them to come into compliance, but then every fifth year require them to do a real deal audit, uh, GAAP audit, I think, as they, uh, describe it. Um, and that's what the bill does. Mr. President, I'd be glad to take any questions, and, uh, definitely appreciate Representative Cannadin- Cannon and our state auditor on, uh, helping our rural communities get, uh, access to these funds.

483. 4:29:04

     I'd be glad to take any questions.

484. 4:29:06

     Yeah, I have no questions, Senator.

485. 4:29:08

     Thank you. Appreciate your support.

486. 4:29:13

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none, and the previous question is ordered. Question is on the adoption of the committee substitute. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute? Hearing none, the committee substitute is adopted. Is there objection agreeing the report of the committee which favor the pass to the bill? The chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none, and the main question is ordered. Question is on the pass to the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill will vote yay, oppose nay.

487. 4:29:45

     The secretary will unlock the machine.

488. 4:30:49

     On the pass to the bill, the yays are 48 and the nays are two. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute.

489. 4:31:02

     Secretary, read the caption of Senate Resolution 771.

490. 4:31:08

     Senate Resolution Number 771 by Senator Robertson of the 29th and oth- and others. A resolution creating the Senate Study Committee on Adoption and Permanency Affordability and for other purposes. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Children and Families recommends that this resolution do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Kirkpatrick, chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

491. 4:31:31

     Recognize the senator from the 29th to speak to Senate Resolution 771.

492. 4:31:43

     Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, on June 24th, 2022, the landscape changed throughout this country. Adoption became a viable option here in Georgia, greater opport- a greater opportunity than ever before. What we need to do now is, uh, establish an adoption process here in Georgia that is affordable and transparent so that the children who wanna be adopted or who their mother and father want to put them up for adoption have the opportunity to move into a, a loving family.

493. 4:32:21

     And those who choose to adopt should know the, should, should understand the process much better. I'm hoping that this study committee will also address the affordability of adoption and the responsibility of adoption. And so I ask that everyone support this who want to give children in Georgia a safe and forever home so that they can grow and flourish in a state that we all love. And with that, Mr. President, I'll yield the well.

494. 4:32:53

     Does any other senator wish for, f- to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none, and the previous question is ordered. Is there objection agreeing the report of the committee which favor the adoption of the resolution? Chair hears none. The re- report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none, and the main question is ordered. Question is on the adoption of the resolution. All those in favor of the resolution will vote yay, oppose nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

495. 4:34:24

     On the adoption of the resolution, the yays are 50 and the nays are zero. This resolution, having received the requisite constitutional mar- majority, is therefore adopted. Secretary, read the caption of House Bill 115.

496. 4:34:45

     House Bill Number 115 by Representatives Petry of the 166th and others. A bill to be entitled An Act to Amend Chapter 7 of Title 52 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to registration, operation, and sale of watercrafts as to provide for certain notice upon registration of a vessel with the Department of Natural Resources. To provide for performance of unattended vessel checks, to authorize restitution to the Department of Natural Resources for the cost of removal, storage, and disposal of abandoned vessels, to provide for definitions, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes.

497. 4:35:17

     Mr. President, the Committee of the Senate on Natural Resources and the Environment recommends that this do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Anderson of the 24th, chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

498. 4:35:27

     Recognize the senator from the 1st to speak to House Bill 115.

499. 4:35:37

     Thank you, Mr. President. You know, under the Gold Dome, when we hear the number 159, we think of the counties here in the state of Georgia. But let me tell you what 159 means on the coast. The coast means there are 159 abandoned vessels on our coast. And when I say abandoned, I mean vessels that are just pushed off into the sunset Or they're sunk, they're pushed up into the marsh.

500. 4:36:08

     As a matter of fact, on Skidaway River, which is right in the heart of Savannah, thank you, Mr. President, there was a vessel that was abandoned there from New Jersey. So yes, we have a problem here in the state of Georgia, but it's not all of our problem. We've been working on this particular bill for, uh, about four years now, and this bill has been perfected. Uh, it's in line with all the agencies and the law enforcement. Uh, what this does, this establishes the ability of DNR to board the vessel just to check out from a safety standpoint, uh, label it abandoned.

501. 4:36:46

     They search it in the computers and see if there is an owner, and the owner has about 30 day- has 30 days to, uh, remove the vessel. If not, then they have to pay for the removal, uh, once DNR removes it and makes it safe, uh, for the, for, uh, the citizens. Let me tell you what an abandoned vessel does. So, uh, yes, we do take them out and sink them off the coast, but all of those vessels have been stripped clean. They are without chemicals. They are without the, the diesel fuel.

502. 4:37:17

     They're out, all, without all the, uh, pollutants. Also, the abandoned vessel poses significant risk to the safety of those, uh, like my family, goes out and skis in the Intracoastal Waterway or fishes in the Intracoastal Waterway or boats in the Intracoastal Waterway. So it's a safety and a politically, uh, friendly way to address these abandoned vessels along the coast. Uh, so, uh, with that, uh, Mr. President, I'll be ha- happy to answer any questions. If not, I'll ask for your favorable consideration.

503. 4:37:46

     Uh, you do have a question or two. S- uh, recognize the senator from the 29th.

504. 4:37:53

     Does, does the senator yield?

505. 4:37:55

     Absolutely.

506. 4:37:55

     Senator, under your bill, would the USS Minnow have been declared an abandoned vessel?

507. 4:38:00

     Wow, the USS Minnow. Uh, you know, it may have 'cause it was up on the shore there, but, uh, it was probably along the shoreline.

508. 4:38:09

     Do you further yield?

509. 4:38:10

     Yes, absolutely.

510. 4:38:11

     Do the sev- did the seven occupants of that vessel not live nearby?

511. 4:38:17

     Well, they did live nearby, but, uh, you know, I would probably defer to the gentleman from the 29th since he knows a lot more about law enforcement than I do.

512. 4:38:26

     Thank you, sir.

513. 4:38:29

     Thank you. I think with that question, I will yield the well.

514. 4:38:33

     Well, w- it was just a seven-hour tour, I think. I don't know what happened there. But, uh- ... three-hour tour. It's just that my day. Um, does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? The chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none, and the previous question is ordered. Is there objection to agreeing the report of the committee, which is favorable to pass to the bill? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to.

515. 4:39:04

     Is there objection to the main question being ordered? Chair hears none. The main question is ordered. Question is on the passage of the bill. All those in favor will vote yay. Opposed, nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

516. 4:39:42

     Senator from the 56, what purpose do you rise?

517. 4:39:45

     Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President.

518. 4:39:46

     State your inquiry.

519. 4:39:48

     Is it not true that had there not been the courage from the fearless crew, the Minnow would have been lost?

520. 4:39:54

     Well, you are our public safety chairman. Thank you.

521. 4:40:00

     Chair recognizes senator from the 6th.

522. 4:40:02

     Parliamentary inquiry.

523. 4:40:04

     State your inquiry.

524. 4:40:05

     Is it not true that Roe is not near as funny as they think they are?

525. 4:40:10

     Senator definitely knows of which he speaks.

526. 4:40:17

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are 51, the nays are 0. This bill having received the requisite constitutional majority is therefore passed. I recognize the senator from the 8th for a motion.

527. 4:40:33

     Thank you, Mr. President. Pursuant to Senate Rule 7-1.10B, I give notice that on the next legislative day, I intend to move that the Senate consider House action on SB 59, Groundhog Day, Mr. President, but maybe next Thursday we'll get it.

528. 4:40:49

     Secretary will read the caption.

529. 4:40:51

     Senate Bill number 59 by Senators Watson of the 11th and others, a bill to be entitled An Act to Amend Code Section 48-5-7.4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to preferential assessment for bona fide con- conservation use property and bona fide residential transitional property; so as to remove a limitation on leased property as to certain entities; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order.

530. 4:41:20

     Senator has given notice. Thank you, Senator. I recognize the senator from the 31st for a motion.

531. 4:41:28

     Mr. President, I move that the Senate stand adjourned pursuant to H.R.998 till 10:00 AM, Thursday, March 12th.

532. 4:41:34

     Secretary, read the announcements.

533. 4:41:39

     The Rules Committee will meet up, will meet upon adjournment of the Senate in Room 450 CAP. The Children and Families Committee will meet at 2:30 PM in Room 450 CAP. The Retirement Committee will meet at 2:30 PM in Room 310 CLOB. The Insurance and Labor Committee is canceled. The Education and Youth Committee will meet at 3:30 PM in Room 307 CLOB. The Higher Education Committee will meet at 4:30 PM in 307 CLOB, and the Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee will meet in Room 450 C- uh, 450 CAP at 5:30 PM. Mr. President, that completes the order.

534. 4:42:09

     The Majority Leader has moved that the Senate stand adjourned until 10:00 AM on Thursday, March 12th. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye.

535. 4:42:20

     Aye.

536. 4:42:20

     Those opposed, no.

537. 4:42:23

     No.

538. 4:42:23

     The ayes clearly have it, and the Senate is adjourned.