House Defense & Veterans Affairs Committee, March 11, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1170787393 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1170787393#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-11/house-defense-and-veterans-affairs This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays. [0:12:16] All right, good morning. Good morning, good morning. Down, volume down. Thank you. [0:12:25] All right, good morning, everybody. Welcome to the House Defense and Veteran Affairs Committee. We have one bill on the calendar today. And before we get started, I'm gonna ask Representative Cannon to give our invocation. [0:12:37] Mr. Speaker. Dear Lord, thank you for all you've given us, and thank you for the blessings of life. Please give us wisdom, justice, and moderation as we lead these debates. In your name we pray, amen. [0:12:49] Amen. Thank you. All right. Today, we are hearing Senate Bill 555. Senator Williams, are you here and present? If you could step forward, uh, to the podium, if you would, and present the bill. [0:13:09] Thank, thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. Good morning. Um, I bring to you Senate Bill 555, the LC number 461308. Is that correct? Is that what you have? [0:13:24] Yes. [0:13:25] Okay. This is a department bill brought forward on commission- for Commissioner Ross for the Department of Veteran Affairs. This bill simply following some of the federal guidelines that have changed that would allow a family member, a spouse perhaps, or a child, to be admitted to Georgia War Veterans Home the same time the veteran is. This would be something possibly that the veteran might be on hospice or something, and it would give them the, a family member to be there with them, um, in their final stage, uh, of life. [0:14:07] Uh, it does not displace any veteran. Veterans, of course, would have first choice or first opportunity to any, um, vacancies, um, or beds at the Georgia War Veterans Home. Also, this, uh, person would be a private pay. Uh, they would not be receiving veteran benefits or state benefits. Perhaps they may have, uh, extended, uh, insurance or something that would take care of their expenses, but it would be of no cost to the state. [0:14:46] Be happy to answer any questions. [0:14:50] All right. We do have a few questions. Um, number five, is that you, Representative Scott? [0:14:55] No, no, that's me. [0:14:56] Oh, all right. We'll go with Representative Scott was there first. Go right ahead. [0:15:00] Um, good morning. How are you doing this morning, Senator? [0:15:03] I'm, I'm fine, thank you. [0:15:04] Okay. Um, do you know how many veterans are currently, um, on the waiting list, uh, for the Georgia War Veterans Home? [0:15:12] No, ma'am, I do not. [0:15:14] Okay. Uh, do anyone know the average time for the admission, um, that, uh, we have for the day? [0:15:24] I do not know that either. [0:15:26] Okay. Uh, I guess my concern is, uh, is that, uh, you know, veterans already have a hard time, uh, navigating through the system and getting the help they need and the beds that they... And getting into a bed, um, especially in underserved and under-resourced communities, and as well as in rural, um, in rural areas. So I know that this, this is for family members to come, but I'm just wondering would that put in our veterans at the risk of not being able to be admitted into the veteran homes? [0:16:08] That's a very good question, ma'am, and I believe you're a veteran, too, and I appreciate- [0:16:12] Yes [0:16:12] ... your service, and most of y'all in here are veterans. Um, now according to, uh, what I've been told, war veterans will, shall retain first priority for admission- ... waitlisting, and bed assignment. No eligible non-veteran resident may be admitted if such admission would displace or delay an otherwise admissible veteran when a veteran-appropriate bed is available. [0:16:43] My father was a veteran, actually served in World War II. He was actually in Korea at 15 years old. Uh, and one thing he always told me, that he wasn't worried about healthcare because being a veteran, he was gonna be taken care of. He could always go to a- [0:17:00] Sure [0:17:00] ... veteran's hospital. And as we find, that's not always true now. [0:17:05] Mm-hmm. [0:17:06] And our veterans deserve more, and I couldn't agree with you more. And thank you for vetting this bill and working with me, and let's get through it. Uh, I know since I've introduced this, um, one senator came to me that is working with the VFW and the American Legion, and he tells me he's having a hard time getting veterans admitted. [0:17:28] Mm-hmm. [0:17:29] Um- [0:17:29] Sure. Thank you [0:17:30] ... and, and I understand that. Um, you know, with only two veteran homes in the state of Georgia, one in Augusta, and that one is actually operated by the university system. Um, all of those employees at that one are state employees. Uh, the one in Milledgeville is actually used to be, um, oh, gosh, I forget the name of the company that used to run it, but now some TGI, TGLI. [0:18:02] Chairman Bonner, you may be more familiar with that, uh, um. But that company that's now under contract operating it, but I do understand that the contract is coming up for, uh, uh, to be looked at. And, uh- Possibly there's two or three other companies that are looking toward take, you know, bidding on operating the Georgia War Veterans Home. I didn't know if anybody here from, uh, the Veterans' Department was here, uh, Commissioner Ross or anyone. [0:18:38] She brought me this bill and asked me to carry it. Uh, it did pass in the Senate 54 to nothing. Um. [0:18:50] All right. I've got a few other questions. Did you have anything else, Representative Scott? [0:18:54] Um, yes. I guess I'm wondering, um, you've said for the veteran and the spouse, uh, do they have the room capacity where the rooms are large enough to have like a family of, of family... I know in some hospitals you can have two beds in the room, um, you can have two beds in the room. But do our veterans have... Do they have one bedrooms or they have two beds? Uh, how are the rooms set up, uh, where you can have a husband and a wife in the same room? [0:19:26] Um- [0:19:26] A lot of the rooms are large enough. Um, Chairman Bonner and I had toured Georgia War Veterans Home, and I encourage each and every one of you to come tour Georgia War Veterans Home and see what is there. [0:19:40] Okay. [0:19:41] Uh, we fought very hard to get more money into that. They had, um, the wi- uh, the, uh, Russell Building that had been renovated and sat empty for over three years. This was a PTSD building that had sat there empty over three years. Uh, completely built and renovated, brand-new. This was for a 72-bed PTSD. They also have a 14-bed transitional unit, brand-new. [0:20:12] The n- number... The first one in the world that's actually been built like that. And this was to help veterans as they were transitioning out of a nursing home to maybe go back home to live on their own. [0:20:26] Mm-hmm. [0:20:27] And, uh, the rooms are large in it. And, uh, that one would be, uh... I do- I still don't think it's, uh, got anybody in it, so I think it's still waiting on inspections or something. They've not given me that information. But, um, those rooms are very large with a private shower and everything in that transitional unit. Um, and I, I would really encourage each and every one of you to come to Milledgeville and see what we have. [0:20:57] Great. Thank you. All right. Uh, Representative Tarvin. [0:21:02] Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Senator, I, uh, first read this bill, I had some of the same concerns that we've heard, but I, I will tell you that I really appreciate whoever thought of this because as we've had, uh, loved ones in nursing homes and, and, uh, rehabs and those type things over the years, I can't think of a better way to honor our veteran by having his, uh, 50 or 60-year spouse with him in those times of need. And I, I think the, the way the bill's worded that they would be, um, have, not have priority over a veteran, and I think a lot of it would be in the same room. [0:21:38] And I just, I think it's, uh, I think it would be a blessing to the, those veterans, female or male, to have their spouse there with them. And I thank you for bringing this bill. [0:21:47] Well, thank you. Well, what it would do, and a lot of you probably have received emails and from, uh, people concerned over the care that maybe their father or their loved one is receiving at some of these nursing homes. But having their spouse... And see, we have, as you know, a lot of female veterans, but having a spouse there with them 24/7 to be able to take care of their needs could be of benefit to the veteran. [0:22:18] And so, you know, there's kind of a, kind of something, and I appreciate your comments, uh, Chairman Tarvin, um, there's something that I think could be of benefit to a veteran. [0:22:31] Thank you. All right, Representative Williams. [0:22:34] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Senator, for bringing this bill. First, let me lead with this. I will support this bill. I could not in good conscience be opposed to it. But I tell you like I tell preachers all over the state, I can criticize the church 'cause I've been in it all my life. [0:22:50] Yes. [0:22:50] And as a veteran, I have some criticism. [0:22:53] Yes. [0:22:53] There's 770,000 veterans in Georgia, and we have two nursing homes. [0:23:00] Yes, sir. [0:23:01] There is a line that'll wrap around this capital for people who have waited to get in those facilities. I talk to them all the time. It's almost impossible. And the problem I have is, and I know the bill says it will not displace a veteran. That's true, and thank God. [0:23:21] Yes, sir. [0:23:22] But when you use a space that somebody else needs, you have displaced a veteran. And when you have limited... And my thing is, I can't for the life of me understand, and, and public-private partnerships work, why the Shepherd Center can build an apartment for loved ones, apartment building, and we don't have those kind of facilities for veterans. I believe the loved ones should be there, and we should have separate facilities from them where you can be there with your loved one, but it's got to displace somebody. [0:24:00] As long as the waiting list is, if you c- uh, close that... And the problem I have, I have too many veterans who have assets. They don't qualify to go in nursing homes without being private pay. They're as- They, they, they have homes and some property, and I have a lot of them So they are caught in this. The only place they can go is a veterans home, and they can't get in because there is no room. [0:24:30] And that's my problem, is why aren't we pushing VA through our state resources to add some living facilities for those who need to be near their loved one? I think you, you bill, you have, your heart is right. The bill says some good things, but there's some unintended consequences. I'm gonna vote for it, but we need to push hard- [0:24:54] Yes, sir [0:24:54] ... to build some facilities for family members to be near their loved ones in their waning years. [0:25:00] Well, uh, I thank you very much for that. I know where your heart is, having served with most of you in the House, and I appreciate you so very much. Um, a lot of what happens, there's a lot of empty beds in Milledgeville, but a, the, a lot of their issue is employment. They're not able... I think they have about a 50% turnover is what I've been told. There's a lot of big turnover down there. Now, I was telling, uh, Chairman Hitchens that, uh, Secretary Collins is supposed to be here at the Capitol tomorrow. [0:25:34] I've requested a meeting with him, uh, 10, 15 minutes to discuss Georgia War Veterans Home and the needs that we have. Uh, we did put money in the budget last year for them to open these, the PTSD building, uh, the, uh, Russell Building, and the, uh, transitional unit, but they're still having a hard time hiring and retaining employees. [0:26:06] And I have actually asked the chancellor if the university system would look at taking over Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville, and he wasn't aware that they operated the Augusta facility, and I told him with Mercer close by in Macon, it could be, uh, teaching, and they could have more medical staff with Georgia College and State University nursing program as well run and number one as it is in Milledgeville. [0:26:39] Those nurses are having to go out of town to do clinicals now because, uh, there's not enough place for them to do them in Milledgeville. But, uh, you know, we even have that 155,000 square foot bed, square foot building hospital called McKidd Hospital in Milledgeville sitting there empty. When Johnny Isakson was still in office, I actually carried some of his people there and toured that building, and she told me then, her name was Ms. [0:27:14] Bobbitt, and she told me that facility was in better shape than most of the facilities in Atlanta that they were using to treat veterans now. We've got to do better for our veterans, and I agree with you wholeheartedly. Thank you so much. [0:27:28] All right. Uh, Representative Davis. [0:27:30] Thank you, Chairman. Um, I wanna first say thank you for this piece legislation, especially since it's gonna help a lot of our veterans with housing. Um, I, as a nurse, one of my first duty stations was really working in a nursing home just for veterans, so I know how helpful it can be for a family to have that assistance. Um, will there be an oversight, say that someone comes and report to us how this is going, like, once we, it, once we pass the bill, to see if it is working or if there's some glitches that maybe we didn't think of? [0:28:18] I would certainly be amicable to a amendment to this bill to create that if you would like to do that. [0:28:27] I'm good with that. [0:28:27] Well, to the, to the, to the question, I'm sorry. So, um, uh, and I'm, I feel confident it's the same way in, in Augusta, but we do, uh, there is a, a, a monthly, uh, community meeting there, uh, in the nursing home, um, that discusses, um, that is, uh, almost like a, almost like a sensing session, you know, um, that allows residents and staff to interact and make recommendations and express things without the, um, without the executive leadership present in order to, to, um, provide feedback on those issues that I, that I think would be raised as, as a part of that. [0:29:04] So I think those systems are already in place. [0:29:07] Okay. [0:29:08] Uh, in addition, all of our nursing homes are, um, are, uh, inspected by the state and the VA routinely. So I think, uh, and I think that oversight is there, um, without having to create anything additional. [0:29:21] Okay. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:29:23] Thank you. [0:29:23] Did you have any other questions, Representative? [0:29:26] Well, I, I would like to... I guess after a year, we can ask for documentation or something to just have some idea that this is working. [0:29:38] No, I complete- I completely agree, and I think that is something, uh, you know, as, as we, as we have the Department of Veteran Services in every year to, for an update- [0:29:47] Mm-hmm [0:29:47] ... I think we need to, to make that a, kind of a separate, a separate line item on that. Um, in addition, the, uh, department is, um, has last year underwent an audit from the Department of Audits, and I think is in the queue to have another one this next year. So we'll also be able to see the, the financial, um, impact of that as well. So. [0:30:07] Okay. Perfect. [0:30:09] Thank you. [0:30:09] All right. Uh, Representative Bell. [0:30:14] Thank you, S- thank you, Senator, for bringing this bill forward. As a veteran, I appreciate it, uh, the thought that in, that it puts, and the, uh, compassion that this bill has. Um, just raises a concern in the part that says, line 14, when it talks about the parent of the children of the veterans Um, in those spaces, I assume the spouse, when we're talking about the spouse living there, we're gonna have one bed. Uh, when, when there's gonna be the option for the parent to stay with the child who is a veteran, um, would there be multiple bed? [0:30:44] Would there be a multi-bed situation? [0:30:47] Yes, sir. The, the rooms are large enough that another bed could be placed in the room. A single bed, uh, could be placed in the room. You know, uh, I've spent, uh, time in the h- you know, even in the hospital with my, my wife, and, you know, they have the little fold-out bed there. It's not the comfortablest thing in the world, but, uh, you know, I could just about sleep sitting up. And I do sleep at my desk time to time with my feet on my desk. [0:31:17] But, uh, yes, sir. Uh, they... There's room for a single bed to be placed in those rooms. [0:31:23] Thank you. [0:31:24] Thank you. [0:31:27] All right. Representative Williams, did you have another question? [0:31:29] Yes, sir. To address the turnover, the turnover is where we have state employees working. There is very little turnover when you're on the federal payroll, and, and if they would let federal people work, it would drastically drop it. The turnover was not as high when there were no jobs around, but when we pay, we can look at our own systems. The turnover problems we have in corrections has lowered as we have improved the pay of COs. [0:32:03] We... You, you could always have turnover when you can't compete with the pay scale right outside the gate, and, and you won't see a big turnover with WG, uh, uh, uh, GS employees. [0:32:14] Yes, sir. Pruitt Healthcare used to be the contractor that operated that, uh, and they no longer operate it. Uh, but we put in, I think it was about five million more dollars, and so we put in some more money, um, to operate the Georgia War Veterans homes to open those buildings. And so what I understand now, there's about three other contractors that are looking at bidding on operating that, and I'm hoping that the competition of someone else bidding and operating those facilities will increase the chance to operate it more successfully. [0:33:02] All right. Um, Chairman Hitchens, you have a question? [0:33:05] To my good friend and former seatmate, I, uh, I appreciate what you're doing here. And, uh, when I was chairman of this committee about 10 or 12 years ago, I was terribly frustrated with how difficult it was to get people into the facility, and one of the things I heard you say, and I never dealt with it before, was, uh, that war veterans got priority, and I wonder what the definition is. You know, I've run across it several places. Is it somebody who got a Purple Heart or somebody that served in a combat zone and got combat pay or, uh... And the reason I ask that is I got a good friend who's an attorney, and I was talking to him in a parking lot one day, and he had a tag on his car that said, "US Air Force Vietnam veteran." And I said, "I didn't know you went to Vietnam." He said, "I didn't. [0:33:48] I was in during the Vietnam era, so I qualify." And I thought everybody that got one of those tags, I know I was always proud of mine for having served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam. But, uh, I, I... You know, there are definitions all over the place, and, and I didn't know whether you knew or not, but, uh, uh, certainly that casts a different light on, on, uh, some of the applications. [0:34:09] Yes, sir. Thank you very much, and I, I agree with you. Uh, that's on line 29, war veterans shall retain first priority. And, and my question is, what about the other veterans? The other veterans that joined the service that never served in war, but possibly were injured by doing some job in the military. So I think there's a lot of things that need to be looked at and a lot of things that possibly need to be worked on. And I, uh, am not a veteran myself, but I certainly will commit to working and making sure, and, uh, I ask each and every one of you, if you have a veteran that is trying to get into the nursing home, please call me. [0:34:53] I live in Milledgeville. I'll go out there and knock on the door. I'll do whatever we can to help our veterans and support our veterans. [0:35:03] Thank you. Chairman Tarvin, you've got another question? [0:35:06] Yeah. Well, I, I've really got a statement, if you'll allow that, to Colonel Hitchens. Uh, under the, uh, I think it's called Aid and Assistance for... Currently, um, some of you veterans m- may know more about it. Uh, a war veteran was anybody that was enlisted during the Korean War or anybody that was in the service during the Vietnam War. That's the way that, that's defined, and they get a, they get... Uh, when they're in a nursing home, they get Aid and Assistance money if you were in the military during the ti- uh, time of a war. [0:35:40] So that m- that would probably fall under the same, uh, definition. It would be anybody that was in the military during wartime, whether they were in theater or not. [0:35:50] Right. Okay. Thank you. [0:35:53] All right. Um, are there any more questions from the body? Is there anyone here that is, uh, from the public that wants to speak to the bill? Um, seeing none. All right, um, before we, before we call the question then, I'll just kind of put in my two cents here. Um, uh, Senator Williams, I really appreciate you carrying this bill, and I, I know you're doing so at the, at the request of the department. And I, I, I do think that what this bill does is, uh, provides recognition to, um, family members, in particular spouses, that have been a part of the, of the military family. [0:36:30] Um, um, um, you know, coming up on 29 years of service, I've been through active duty, multiple deployments, and it's always been, uh, my wife Michelle that's been, uh, at home, uh, with the kids, with the house. Uh, all those times away, I know, I know many of my, uh, fellow members here can attest to that, to that fact, that even though it is us that wears the uniform and, and, you know, gets the medals and gets the, all the thank yous, it's, uh, more often than not that it's our spouses and our family members that, that bear the brunt of that service. [0:37:04] And so I think if nothing else, this bill provides that kind of recognition that, um, that it is, falls into that category of the least we can do. Uh, and to, um, Representative Williams' points that, that were very well stated, um, there is certainly so much more we can and should do. Uh, I put this again in the category of, of, uh, doing what we can do under our control. Um, you know, it, it doesn't look as though the, uh, additional home is, is in the immediate future, uh, to add that capacity. [0:37:38] Um, but right now that's out of our immediate control, and so we're gonna do what we can do that's in our control. And I, and I think I would submit that that would be passing this bill and expanding that opportunity and that benefit for our spouses. [0:37:52] And if I could say one thing else. I've been working very closely with a group called Hero Homes for Veterans out of Henry County. Uh, they were trying to build a veterans village in Henry County and the zoning, uh, got messed up and they couldn't do it. Um, s- through Central State Hospital redevelopment, over 2,000 acres is sitting there at their disposal and over 200 buildings that, uh, they have picked out some property adjacent to the Georgia War Veterans Home to build a veterans village. [0:38:28] Now, they're a 501[c] nonprofit. Uh, myself and one other senator is gonna be paying for the, out of our pocket for the, uh, surveying of the property, uh, to have it transferred. But this is mainly, uh, I was appointed to a committee a couple years ago by Lieutenant Governor Jones to study the homelessness of veterans and the mental help that we need to give our veterans. [0:38:57] Mm-hmm. [0:38:57] And this Hero Homes for Veterans, if you will look that up, and, uh, if you can find some way to help contribute to them and help support them, that we want to build this veterans village. They are in Milledgeville next to the Georgia War Veterans Home as another, uh, way to support our veterans. Thank you for the opportunity to spread that. [0:39:20] Great. Uh, thank you. Uh, having no, seeing no other questions or comments, uh, is there a motion? Got a motion. Is there a second? [0:39:29] Second. [0:39:29] There's a second. All those in favor say aye. [0:39:32] Aye. [0:39:32] All those opposed like sign. All right, looks like, uh, the motion carries. Senate Bill 555, LC 461308 passes unanimously. [0:39:42] Thank you very much. [0:39:42] Thank you, Senator. [0:39:42] Thank you. [0:39:43] All right, no other business. This meeting is adjourned. [0:39:56] All righty.