Georgia CommonsSenate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee
Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, March 11, 2026
2025-2026 Regular Session · 310 CLOB · 29 min
This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays.
The video is the General Assembly's, played from its Vimeo channel. Select any time below to play that moment. Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Agenda
Summary
Written by an AI model (gpt-6.1-sol) from the transcript. It is not part of the record, and the video is what was said.
The committee considered two veterinary bills. It unanimously approved HB 1408, which the sponsor said would allow licensed veterinary technicians to give rabies vaccinations under a veterinarian’s direction. The committee also discussed HB 1195, which the sponsor said would clarify rules so veterinarians and veterinary poison-control centers could continue providing timely advice. Members voiced support, including for access to veterinary help in rural areas. A motion to approve received audible support, but the chair did not clearly announce the result before adjournment.
Bills discussed (2)
Each account covers the stretch of the meeting it names. The bill's number is said in that stretch, unless it was the only bill on a committee's agenda.
HB 1408. Veterinarians; authorize licensed veterinary technicians to administer antirabies vaccinations to animals
From 0:18:05 · turns 5 to 30
The sponsor said the bill would allow Georgia-licensed veterinary technicians to administer rabies vaccinations under a veterinarian’s direction. The sponsor reported support from the Department of Agriculture, the state veterinarian and the veterinary association, and said the University of Georgia veterinary school was understood to be supportive. One committee member asked whether anyone had raised concerns. The sponsor said no objections had been received and compared the proposal to nurses or technicians giving people injections rather than requiring a doctor to do so. Another member expressed support for the state’s veterinarians and moved to approve the bill. The committee approved it unanimously.
HB 1195. Veterinarians; practice and provision of veterinary teletriage and veterinary telemedicine; revise provisions
From 0:21:42 · turns 32 to 79
The sponsor said the bill would clarify veterinary telehealth rules so veterinarians and veterinary poison-control centers could continue providing services. According to the sponsor, existing restrictions tied remote advice and triage to whether an animal could receive an examination within 50 miles and 24 hours. The sponsor said poison-control centers feared those limits would prevent timely help after an animal ingested something dangerous. The sponsor also described uncertainty about whether an established veterinarian-client-patient relationship was required. The sponsor said the veterinary association and Department of Agriculture supported the bill and helped draft it. A substitute, the sponsor explained, made the original language cleaner and simpler. One committee member supported the proposal because rural areas have limited access to veterinarians, particularly those treating horses. The sponsor said the changes could help protect both pets and animals used for livelihoods, and described seeking urgent treatment after a pet swallowed a metal pie pan. A motion to approve was seconded, and members responded with audible ayes. The chair did not clearly announce the vote’s result.
Transcript
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- 0:00:01
Taking
- 0:16:18
off now. We've got a quorum. Always try to start a meeting with a little bit of levity. Um, we're gonna call this meeting of the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee to order. Um, I'd like to start off, I haven't warned anyone, but I think I'd like to ask Brother Drew Echols if he would start us off with a word of prayer. Number 13, Brother Drew.
- 0:16:40
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Y'all bow with me. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we just thank you for today and thank you for all the blessings that you've given us, Lord. Just, uh, be with us as we go through this meeting and, um, deliberate on these bills on behalf of the citizens of Georgia and the great industry of agriculture. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
- 0:16:56
Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Senator. Had a great, uh, roundtable yesterday, discussion. Uh, really appreciate, uh, our Ag Commissioner, Tyler Harper, for helping to organize that. We had, um, Secretary Ag Brooke Rollins down, and, uh, myself and, and Chairman Dickey and, uh, kind of the f- the, the Farm Caucus, so to speak, of the general assembly was able to, uh, participate in that, and, uh, had a great announcement, um, obviously, a few days old now, about the block grant.
- 0:17:26
And so we're, we're excited for that. Uh, look forward to seeing that being, uh, implemented and to help, uh, help our state's farmers who have suffered so much in the last, I guess, 14 months now since Hurricane Helene. Um, we're gonna start off, uh, just to be, um, have two dear friends presenting bills here. W- Are e- either of you in more of a hurry than the other? Okay, in that case, I'm gonna start with the lady then. So, uh, we have, uh, Representative, uh, Beth Kemp, and, um, come on up there and thank you.
- 0:18:02
And my understanding is we've got, um, House Bill 1408, and, uh, I believe we're working off of LC60-0304. Is- is that correct?
- 0:18:12
Yes, that is correct.
- 0:18:14
Okay, let me turn your mic on there. Um, all right, my friend. The- the, uh, obviously, we have the great, the- the- the great American right there, one of the great Americans.
- 0:18:25
We're Americans.
- 0:18:25
Thank you. Thank you.
- 0:18:26
Thank you.
- 0:18:26
I see, I see, I see. Come sit right there- ... Mr. Chairman. Um, the floor is yours.
- 0:18:33
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman and committee members, for meeting with us today. Um, all right, so this bill is simplistic in the fact that it does one thing. It allows veterinarian technicians who are licensed in our state to administer an anti-rabies vaccine under the direction of a veterinarian. That's all it does. Um, and we certainly, our veterinarians are wonderful in our state. We do have support from Department of Agriculture, the state veterinarian. Um, we also, University of Georgia Veterinarian School, my understanding they're supportive of this measure, and the Georgia Association of Veterinary Medicine.
- 0:19:09
All right. Good deal. Do we have any questions from members of the committee? All righty. We have, um, uh, well, Chairman Echols, he- he- he mashed his, as we say in South Georgia, he- he did not press his button, he mashed it first, so we're going, uh-
- 0:19:23
I was, all I was gonna say is thank you for carrying this, and you mentioned the vet school and the great veterinarians all across the state of Georgia do great work, and we need to continue to lead in this, in this realm. Um, so at the appropriate time, I'd make a motion to pass.
- 0:19:39
All right. Thank, thank you, Mr. Chairman. We'll come back to you. We now have, uh, Senator Howard, number five.
- 0:19:44
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for bringing this bill. Um, looks straightforward. Uh, is there any constituent that says, "Hey, they're not sure about something like this"? I mean, or is, is there any, like, other side of the coin that we should just be aware of, even if it's a minority kind of voice in it?
- 0:20:01
Well, thank you so much, Senator, for asking that question. I have not heard any objections.
- 0:20:05
Okay.
- 0:20:05
But I know when I personally go to the doctor, and let's say I have to get an, you know, an antibiotic or some other shot, it's typically a nurse or a technician who gives me that shot.
- 0:20:15
Sure.
- 0:20:15
Um, so it'd be actually more parity with our animals-
- 0:20:19
Yeah
- 0:20:19
... being able to get a vaccine through a technician versus going through the, the actual doctor.
- 0:20:24
I appreciate that.
- 0:20:25
Mm-hmm.
- 0:20:25
That's a good, great bill. Thank you.
- 0:20:27
All right. Uh, thank you, Senator. Doesn't loo- That does not appear that we have any more questions, and so, uh, at this time, uh, Chairman Echols, uh, I believe you would like to make a motion.
- 0:20:39
Make a motion to pass, Chairman.
- 0:20:41
All righty. We have a motion to pass from Chairman Echols, and we have a second from Chairman Summers. Um, is there any further discussion? All right. Uh, that being, uh, that being said, all those in favor, please signify by s- raising your hand. All right. Looks like, uh, passes unanimously, and, uh, best of luck on the Rules Committee.
- 0:21:04
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, committee.
- 0:21:06
All right. Thank you. Thank you for bringing the bill. All righty. Now, now we have, uh, a dear friend of mine, uh, taught me all my dance moves in life. From- from- from- from Elberton, Georgia. Uh, so I guess, uh, uh, Miss, uh, Thomas Coggins and Miss Bebe Kennedy and them, they, they would be upset with me if- if- if we didn't roll out the red carpet for you. So we- we- we're gonna try to do that, uh, Chairman Leverett. So you, uh, you go ahead.
- 0:21:36
I believe that, um... Let me get my glasses here. Uh- House Bill 1195, and, uh, I believe you're working off of LC 443479S. Is that correct?
- 0:21:50
That's correct, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
- 0:21:51
All right. Go ahead. The floor is yours, my friend.
- 0:21:53
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, uh, members of the committee. House Bill 1195 is, is really an attempt to make sure that poison control services or poison control center services can continue to be offered in the state, uh, by vets, uh, and also by poison control centers who are staffed by vets. We've had, uh, Senate Bill 105 last year that established this whole framework for veterinary telemedicine, veterinary tele-triage, and veterinary tele-advice, which I think is sort of a, it would be sort of a descending scale of the degree of specialization and, and pr- uh, degree required.
- 0:22:31
Only a vet can do telemedicine, um, and that's... I'm sorry, veterinary telemedicine, which of course is just the practice of veterinary m- medicine using some kind of simultaneous communication advice. And then tele- um, triage is doing that through communication advice to assess and manage a particular animal, including whether a referral to a vet, uh, for further treatment is, is necessary. And then tele-advice is just general advice not specific to a particular animal.
- 0:23:02
And some of the poison control centers were concerned because there was a requirement that for vets or vet techs to offer tele-advice or tele- uh, triage, that there, um, there was a requirement that there would be no licensed veterinarian or veterinary technician available within a 50-mile radius of the animal's location to perform a physical examination in a veterinary facility or the premises where the animal is located within 24 hours of the client's request for service. And, and of course, a lot of times you don't have, you know, a 50-mile drive or 24 hours to make a determination if, if an animal has ingested something.
- 0:23:40
You need help right away. And there was a concern by the poison control centers that they no longer, based on that restriction, could effectively offer any kind of service throughout the state. Uh, and it would also potentially restrict a veterinarian's ability to do that as well just in his veterin- his or her veterinary practice. Um, and there was some confusion about whether you needed an individual veterinary-client-patient relationship 'cause there, there, there were some portions of Senate Bill 105 that addressed that. So we're just simply clearing that up. Uh, the, the veterinary association and the Department of Agriculture support the bill.
- 0:24:14
They've been involved in the drafting of it, and we, we did a substitute to sort of amend some of the language of the initial bill to try to make it, we think, a little cleaner and simpler, uh, and that's what the bill seeks to do.
- 0:24:26
All right. Good deal, good deal. Uh, do we have any questions from members of the committee on this bill?
- 0:24:32
Mr. Chairman, I'd like to say something.
- 0:24:34
Okay. Go ahead, Chairman Simons.
- 0:24:36
Mr. Chairman, thank you. Uh, Representative Leverett, excellent bill. Something that needed to be addressed a while back, especially in rural Georgia, I mean, because our... Just for the fact of the range it takes to get a vet. I mean, you don't have equine vets. You'll have small animal vets, or you have very limited number of equ- you know, equine vets, and those type of things help also in regard to poison. So thank you for bringing this.
- 0:24:55
Thank you. I appreciate those comments. Uh, and it's... O- obviously, a lot of that happens with smaller animals-
- 0:25:01
Mm-hmm
- 0:25:01
... with animals that are the ones we love. But occasionally it does happen with animals we own and depend upon for our livelihood, and you wanna be able to protect that investment. And so I think this bill will kind of, uh, make that a little easier throughout the state.
- 0:25:14
Right.
- 0:25:14
While still protecting sort of the, the, the practice of veterinary medicine.
- 0:25:20
All right. Representative Leverett, we have a question from, uh, Senator Hatchett.
- 0:25:25
More of a statement, Mr. Chairman. Just wanna thank, uh, Representative Leverett for being at the committee hearing that I got called down here for this morning. He was present, but the House couldn't come up with a quorum. So none of our bills got moved out. But I wanna thank him, and at the appropriate time, wanna make a motion do pass because he did show up today, and I think this is a good bill.
- 0:25:48
I was in there with Senator Hatchett.
- 0:25:49
Mm-hmm.
- 0:25:50
And w- w- Representative Leverett, I amen what you said. Thank you.
- 0:25:54
Our quorum's five, and we got a nine. It's a great day.
- 0:25:57
I was a little worried about it there to begin with, but, uh, everybody, everybody came rolling in.
- 0:26:02
Very strong showing, Mr. Chairman.
- 0:26:03
I was afraid I was gonna run out of Elvis music to play- ... before, before we got a quorum.
- 0:26:07
I don't think you'd ever do that, Mr. Chairman.
- 0:26:10
Nah. No, no. No, that's a fact. Um, are there any other, uh, further questions for Representative Leverett? If there-
- 0:26:19
I have a comment.
- 0:26:20
Okay. Uh, go ahead, Chairman Anderson.
- 0:26:21
Just a comment. Um, Representative Leverett, who, who really actually wanted you to p- carry this bill? Was it your partner back home that you go out with every weekend and enjoy life?
- 0:26:37
Uh, yes, Charlie. It, it-
- 0:26:39
Charlie.
- 0:26:39
It... Yeah, I'm doing this for Charlie, uh, Mr. Chairman. Uh, actually, at my presentation, put some pictures up on the, on the, on the screen in the, in the House. Um, Charlie required some services once when he ate a metal pie pan.
- 0:26:55
Mm.
- 0:26:55
The entire pie pan. He can-
- 0:26:57
Sure.
- 0:26:58
I didn't see him eat it. I just know I had left the, the pan in the trash, walked back in, and it was not in the trash, and I noticed some very shiny things over in the corner, and they were small shards of the pan.
- 0:27:09
Mm.
- 0:27:10
Um, and so I freaked out a little bit, but he didn't seem to be in any distress until later the next morning, he was. And I ended up taking him... My vet was busy. Uh, they were, they were had surgeries all morning. I took him to Anderson. Um, and when I, when I told the doctor, he says, "You got a black lab, right?" I said, "Yeah, and he ate a metal pie..." He, he finished my sentence. "Metal pie." I'm like, "Okay, yeah, the metal pie pan, yeah." There's a whole protocol for black labs eating metal pie pans, apparently, 'cause it happens so often. So, but, but he, and he's fine, by the way.
- 0:27:40
Well, Representative, I just got a text from back home. Apparently, uh, m- my wife's dog that sleeps in the bed with us, Jake, is supportive of the bill as well. So, uh, with that being said, uh, if we don't have any, any further questions, I believe, uh, um, Senator Hatchett, you were five or-
- 0:27:57
Number four.
- 0:27:58
Number four, I believe. Go ahead.
- 0:28:00
Like to make a motion do pass.
- 0:28:02
All righty. We have a motion do pass from Senator Hatchett, and I believe we have a second from, uh, Senator Summers. And is there any further discussion? All right. All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
- 0:28:15
Aye.
- 0:28:15
Raising your hand. All right. Looks like, uh, looks, and I'm... So, uh, yeah, Jake's pretty happy with you, so I appreciate it. Uh-
- 0:28:23
Glad, glad to keep him happy.
- 0:28:24
I think we've done with our business of the day. I know everybody's got plenty to do. So at this time we're gonna adjourn this meeting. Thank you for bringing the bill.
- 0:28:32
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
- 0:28:42
Thank you.