Senate floor session, March 12, 2026 (legislative day 31)

Transcript

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1. 0:20:20

   Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.

2. 0:20:24

   Time for convening has arrived. You don't sound like a very energetic bunch. Now, it's Thursday, come on. You gotta bring more energy than that. Isn't that right, senator from the 12th?

3. 0:20:39

   Recognize the senator from the 6th.

4. 0:20:42

   Well, good morning, Mr. President. How you doing today? Let's get a little energy in this place. We got some great pages that are gonna help bring some energy in this place today. Out of Atlanta, we've got Henry Abernathy. Out of Covington, we have Leah Barefoot. From Flowery Branch, Connor Cook. From Suwanee, Mya Davis. From Loganville, Talaya Doy. From Portal, Lee Drawdy.

5. 0:21:13

   From Decatur, Clara Edwards. From Martin, Rowan Haney. From Winder, Kylie Hogue. From Loganville, Dayton Mayes-Foncha. From Villa Rica, Ally Wynn McBrayer, and Reese McBrayer, and Wyatt Wynn McBrayer. From Winder, Carlos Montoya Mundo.

6. 0:21:42

   Good morning, Carlos.

7. 0:21:43

   From Sharpsburg, Morgan Morris. From Suwanee, Sayoon Park. From Snellville, Josiah Patterson. From Johns Creek, Joshna Prabaker. From Rome, Caroline Sawhill. From McDonough, Rylan Sharlow, Sydney Sharlow, and Wyatt Sharlow. Those are the nieces and nephew of our senator from the 42nd, Senator Strickland.

8. 0:22:21

   From Hazelhurst, Jarrett Smith. From Snellville, Jeremiah Smith. From Perry, Anna and Millie Sparrow, who I believe their daddy went to college with my brother. Then we have from Clayton, Benjamin Wiser. And from Loganville, we have Paige The Page Williams. Y'all give these pages a big round of applause. We appreciate you being here.

9. 0:22:53

   Serve the great people of the great state of Georgia. Mr. President, the journal has been read and found to be correct. I move we dispense with the reading of this journal today.

10. 0:23:07

    All right. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate that, and, uh, thank you for our young pages here today. We appreciate all your hard work. Is there objection to the dispensing of the reading of the journal? Chair hears none. The reading of the journal is dispensed with. Is there objection to the confirmation of the journal? Chair hears none. The journal is confirmed. All senators who have bills and resolutions, please bring them to the secretary's desk at this time. First Reading and References to Senate Bills. Mr. Secretary?

11. 0:23:36

    Senate Resolution 937 by Senators Howard of the 35th and others.

12. 0:23:39

    Public Safety.

13. 0:23:40

    Mr. President, that completes the order.

14. 0:23:45

    First Reading and References to the House Bills and Resolutions.

15. 0:23:48

    House Bill 1307 by Representative Roberts of the 52nd and others-

16. 0:23:50

    State and Local Government.

17. 0:23:51

    House Bill 1316 by Representative Tarver of the-

18. 0:23:53

    State and Local Government. Oh, excuse me, General.

19. 0:23:57

    House Bill 1321 by Representative Gamble of the 15th and others.

20. 0:24:00

    State and Local Government.

21. 0:24:01

    House Bill 1340 by Representative McCollum of the 30th and others.

22. 0:24:03

    State and Local Government.

23. 0:24:04

    House Bill 1341 by Representative McCollum of the thir-

24. 0:24:06

    State and Local Government.

25. 0:24:08

    House Bill 1349 by Representative Clayton-

26. 0:24:10

    State and Local Government.

27. 0:24:11

    House Bill 1356 by Representative Stinson of the 150th and others, a bill to be-

28. 0:24:15

    State and Local Government.

29. 0:24:16

    House Bill 1440 by Representative Petrie of the 166th-

30. 0:24:19

    State and Local Government.

31. 0:24:21

    House Bill 1452 by Representative Cummings of the 39th and others, a bill to be entitled-

32. 0:24:25

    State and Local Government.

33. 0:24:25

    House Bill 1491 by Representative Scoggins of the 14-

34. 0:24:28

    State and Local Government.

35. 0:24:29

    House Bill 1492 by Representative Flournoy of the 74th-

36. 0:24:32

    State and Local Government.

37. 0:24:32

    House Bill 1496 by Representative Campbell of the-

38. 0:24:34

    State and Local Government.

39. 0:24:35

    Mr. President, that completes the order.

40. 0:24:37

    Secretary will read Reports of Standing Committees.

41. 0:24:46

    Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs 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 1195, Do Pass. House Bill 1408, Do Pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Goodman of the 8th District, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Children and Families 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 1123, Do Pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Kirkpatrick of the 32nd District, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism 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 376, Do Pass, by substitute.

42. 0:25:23

    House Bill 998, Do Pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Echols of the 49th District, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Education and Youth 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 1107, Do Pass. House Bill 1164, Do Pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Hickman of the 4th District, Chairman. 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 519, Do Pass. House Bill 1159, Do Pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Hufstetler of the 52nd District, Chairman.

43. 0:25:56

    Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Higher Education 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 1379, Do Pass. House Bill 1302, Do Pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Burns of the 23rd District, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Public Safety 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 1202, Do Pass. H- House Resolution 1243, Do Pass. House Bill 1086, Do Pass. House Bill 1391, Do Pass. House Bill 1181, Do Pass.

44. 0:26:27

    Respectfully submitted, Senator Albers of the 56th District, Chairman. Mr. President, Senate Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities 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 892, due pass by substitute. House Bill 1295, due pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Cowsert of the 46th District, Chairman. Mr. President, the, the Senate Committee on Retirement 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 1234, due pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Williams of the 25th District, Chairman.

45. 0:26:58

    Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Science and Technology 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 986, due pass. Senate Resolution 789, due pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Setzler- Hi, man ... of the 45th District, Chairman.

46. 0:27:16

    Sorry. Go. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on State and Local Government Operations 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 858, due pass by substitute. House Bill 1435, due pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Dixon of the 45th District, Chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

47. 0:27:35

    Secretary will read bills and resolutions for the second time.

48. 0:27:40

    House Bill 999 by Representative Leverett of the 123rd and others. Magistrate courts. Collecting sums and fees authorized by laws. Revised provision. House Bill 1000 by Representative Gamble of the 15th and others. Income tax. One-time tax credit for individual taxpayers who filed income tax returns for the 2024 and 2025 taxable years. Provide. House Bill 1196 by Representative Smith of the 18th and others. Crimes. Offense of criminal trespass involving a wild animal. Provide. House Resolution 251 by Representative New of the 40th and others. Local government. Probate judges shall be elected in nonpartisan elections.

49. 0:28:12

    Provide. Mr. President, that completes the order.

50. 0:28:38

    It is now time for the morning roll call. Are there any motions to excuse? Recognize senator from the 33rd.

51. 0:28:51

    Thank you, Mr. President, and good morning to you all. I ask for unanimous consent to excuse the senators from the 5th, 7th, 14, 39, 34, 2, and 22 for business inside the Capitol. Did I miss any?

52. 0:29:16

    Wow.

53. 0:29:19

    Senators from the 5th, the 7th, the 14th, the 39th, the 34th, the 2nd, and the 22nd, huh? All right. Without objection, they're excused. Recognize the senator from the 41st.

54. 0:29:32

    Thank you, Mr. President. I ask for unanimous consent to excuse the senator from the 43rd.

55. 0:29:37

    Without objection, the senator from the 43rd is excused. Any other motions to excuse?

56. 0:29:45

    Secretary will call the roll. Senators, signify your presence by voting to yay switch. Secretary will unlock the machine.

57. 0:31:05

    It is now time for the morning devotion. I'm gonna ask that all senators please take your seats, and the doorkeepers secure the chamber at this time.

58. 0:31:20

    We have a gentleman who's no stranger to this place. He always does a good job out of Fayette County, Georgia, and I will call on the senator from the 16th to lead us in our pledge and introduce our pastor of the day. Senator?

59. 0:31:35

    Thank you. Thank you. The American flag. I pledge allegiance 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. The American state flag. I pledge allegiance to the Georgia flag and to the principles for which it stands, wisdom, justice, moderation, and courage. Well, I have a great honor this morning to, uh, introduce my own pastor, and you know, I, I don't know about you, but you know, you have the door.

60. 0:32:10

    I really enjoyed that, enjoyed that. I find that my pastor, Josh Geske, who is the pastor of Flat Creek Baptist Church, sometimes he says things that are offensive to me, and I call that stepping on your cowboy boots. And you know what? Sometimes you don't need to be, be told to make feel good. You need to first hear the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts, and he does a great job at that. He has led us and our church in a phenomenal way. God is growing. God is blessing. But he has the heart of a pastor, and when I say this, he's not just a pastor on Sunday morning at the pulpit, but he is...

61. 0:32:43

    I like what one pastor said, "He smells like the sheep because he walks among us," and that's a good thing to do. He speaks the truth to us. He also likes horses, and, uh, and I've kind of helped him on that habit. It's a bad habit, but here's what I tell him. I said, "Many pastors need to learn how to ride a horse because if you read the last chapter of the Book of Revelation, guess what? Jesus comes back on a white horse, and it's a shame to be on foot." And so he's learning how to ride really good so he can come back when Jesus comes back. But he's a great friend, great teller of truth, and the love of Jesus, and, uh, if you will listen to him as he speaks to you this morning, I'd appreciate it.

62. 0:33:19

    Pastor, thank you.

63. 0:33:21

    Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Well, good morning, and thank you, Mr. President and Senator Harbin, for the gracious invitation just for a brief word of encouragement. As we approach Easter, many people may think of Easter just simply as a religious holiday, something meaningful for Christians, but perhaps maybe not relevant to public life or to maybe even leadership. But Easter centers on one question, did Jesus of Nazareth truly rise from the dead?

64. 0:33:56

    In a book that you have in front of you that I know Senator Harbin has given you is from Lee Strobel, once set out to investigate that very question, did Jesus of Nazareth rise from the dead? Strobel, you may find it interesting, was an atheist, award-winning editor from the Chicago Tribune. When his wife became a Christ follower, he decided to examine the Christian faith for himself, a way that a reporter would. Just as in a, a case of court, he interviewed historians, medical experts, and scholars to determine whether the resurrection of Jesus Christ could withstand its scrutiny.

65. 0:34:37

    What he found surprised him. Even skeptical historians agreed on some basic facts. Jesus was executed by Roman crucifixion, a horrific death. The tomb where Jesus was buried was later found empty. Many people claimed to see Jesus after his death. The Apostle Paul, as a matter of fact, in 1 Corinthians records that over 500 people saw Jesus of Nazareth risen from the grave.

66. 0:35:13

    The fourth thing he mentions is early eyewitnesses were transformed. Men who once feared were boldly now proclaiming the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, that he has risen despite persecution, imprisonment, and death. And probably the best explanation of all of this is in Matthew 28, where it says, "Christ is not here, for he has risen just as he said." Easter is more than a historical claim, I submit to you today.

67. 0:35:46

    It is the message that carries for the every human heart in every life. The resurrection of Christ declares that death does not have the final word. Evil does not ultimately win. And be encouraged this morning, hope is real. The Apostle Peter put it in this way, "According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Highlight, underline, mark, star that word, that Jesus is a living hope.

68. 0:36:26

    Friend, many hopes in life are fragile. Political careers, the economy, our personal lives, they rise and fall with circumstances. But Easter offers something different, a hope rooted not in circumstances, but in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who conquered death. You know what that means? Easter is about forgiveness of our sins, that it is possible to be forgiven of your sins, to be leaped over the mountain of hell and placed in the heavenly of heavenlies.

69. 0:37:01

    You know what Easter means? You can have new life in Christ. It is available. You know what Easter means? The future ultimately belongs to God. And for anybody who's exploring those questions today, Easter offers an invitation. Examine the evidence and consider the claims of Christ for yourself, just as Lee Strobel did, who began as a skeptic and ended with convince that Jesus has risen from the grave.

70. 0:37:31

    Easter reminds us that faith in Christ is not blind faith. It's faith rooted in a historical event, and that event continues to change lives today. As you carry the weight of the responsibilities and leadership and service to our state, my prayer is that the message of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ would remind all of us here today that there is hope, that there is truth, that there is redemption, and it's all still possible in our world.

71. 0:38:08

    Thank you, friends, for your service and the opportunity to share this morning. Let me pray for us.

72. 0:38:20

    Father, it is in the name of Jesus Christ that we come to you today. Through our living hope, one who still provides a way for us to be in relationship with you. Lord, how we need this message every single day, that we are broken and a fallen people, needy of your grace and your mercy and your truth. And God, I thank you for the testimony of Lee Strobel, but Lord, I praise you for the testimony I have that you have changed my life as well.

73. 0:38:52

    And Lord, would you use these senators today to advance your kingdom? Give them wisdom and discernment, for it's in the name of Jesus we pray, amen.

74. 0:39:00

    Amen.

75. 0:39:02

    Thank

76. 0:45:31

    you.

77. 0:45:31

    It is, uh, always nice to recognize our doctors of the day, and to do that, I'll call on the senator from the 38th.

78. 0:45:40

    Thank you, Mr. President. Good morning, colleagues. I am honored to once again have a doctor from the great 38th District. Uh, we have Dr. Walter McClelland, who is from Peachtree Orthopedics. He is a graduate of the Westminster Schools, Princeton University, and right here from Emory University. So I'm proud to introduce Dr. Walter McClelland.

79. 0:46:04

    He's gone into... Okay

80. 0:46:07

    Um, good morning, uh, Walter McClellan. I'm originally from Atlanta, uh, and I'm coming to you, uh, today representing the Georgia Orthopaedic Society. I'm honored to be the president of the Georgia Orthopaedic Society for this year. Uh, I wanna thank all of you, uh, Senator Kemp and Mr. President, for allowing me to be with you this morning. So just on behalf of the Georgia Orthopaedic Society, we wanna thank you guys for, uh, working so hard to allow us to take care of the, uh, the people of Georgia. Uh, and on a personal level, I wanna thank all of you. I- my grandfather was a member of the legislature from 1956 to 1968, um, so I know firsthand, you know, uh, the commitment that you guys make to the state, uh, and just wanna say thank you for, uh, for taking good care of us.

81. 0:46:44

    And, uh, I wish you all luck today. Uh, I'll be in the infirmary, and hopefully, we won't see you.

82. 0:46:50

    So thank you again.

83. 0:46:51

    All right. Good job. So where did you jump on the stage?

84. 0:48:54

    We have a s- very special guest here today,

85. 0:49:01

    a group who has really taken over and created a whole new atmosphere of followers and supporters, and it's, uh, we've got the representatives for the Savannah Bananas baseball team here. And it is amazing what they have done in a very short period of time. Uh, but we're here to honor one of their charities. Uh, Secretary, read the caption.

86. 0:49:26

    Senate Resolution 714 by Senators Tillery of the 19th and others, a resolution honoring and celebrating Jesse and Emily Cole, Banana Ball, and Bananas Fosters, and for other purposes. Whereas, on February 25th, 2016, Jesse and Emily Cole created a national phenomenon establishing the Savannah Bananas. And whereas the Savannah Bananas have sold out every game since 2018, becom- becoming one of the greatest sports success stories. And whereas, using their iconic sports platform, Jesse and Emily Cole, who already serve as foster parents, created Banana Foster. And whereas Banana Foster is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing families together by celebrating the foster care community while educating and inspiring others to get involved.

87. 0:50:02

    Now therefore, be it resolved by the Senate that the members of this body honor Jesse and Emily Cole, Banana Ball, and Bananas Foster, celebrate the achievements and success of their campaign to raise awareness of the need for foster care parents, and express their gratitude for the investment and focus on the foster care community and the needs of children in Georgia and nationwide. Mr. President, that completes the order.

88. 0:50:20

    Is there objection to the adoption of the resolution? Chair hears none, and the resolution is adopted. I'm gonna rec- we've got some great senators up here who have been instrumental in bringing our Children and Family Committee together and also helping usher in a lot of foster care initiatives. And we could not do it without private organizations like the Savannah Banana group and team, uh, who's been, um, so influential in, in, in doing a lot of great, great things, not just in the community of Savannah, but across the state.

89. 0:50:56

    So now I'll recognize the senator from the 19th to present us of the resolution and introduce our special guest. Senator?

90. 0:51:06

    Thank you, Governor. Guys, many of you probably watch the Savannah Bananas games. You know how fun they are, how they've literally taken our state and our nation by storm. But what you may not know is that the founders, Jesse and Emily Cole, are very involved in foster care. They actually started a nonprofit, a play on words with the Savannah Bananas, called Bananas Foster. They're a official nonprofit that works to make sure that they bring foster kids, foster families, uh, surround them, support them with care, and bring them to the games, among other things. So we did a resolution here thanking them for that.

91. 0:51:37

    As you know, in our state, we have 9,500 children in foster care, and we could not accomplish the things that we do, uh, for those families without private partners like the Savannah Bananas, who have wrapped their arms around those families and help support them and the activities that they are accomplishing for our children in our state. We have with us today the head of the nonprofit, Miss, uh, Jolie Chabala, who'll say a few words and also accept this resolution. And I think she may tell you that she has a little gift for you downstairs, too.

92. 0:52:08

    All right. All right. Thank you very much for having us here. To the senators behind me, to the senators in front of me, uh, thank you for all that you're doing for the foster care community. Uh, across the United States, there are 400,000 children and teens experiencing foster care, and Emily and Jesse had a dream as foster parents to raise awareness and really support this community. And Emily was like, "Well, we should start a nonprofit someday when the Bananas become big and become a household name." And so they weren't really sure what to name it, and it came to Jesse, and he's like, "Why don't we just call it Bananas Foster?" And Bananas Foster was born in 2023 when they hired me to come in and build the organization to, uh, create the mission, which is to celebrate the foster care community while educating and inspiring others to get involved.

93. 0:53:02

    So since 2023, we have celebrated over 200 foster families that are making a difference across the United States, and we have also inspired over 500 people to learn more about becoming a licensed foster family. So as the Bananas head to New Orleans this weekend, we actually do get to try Bananas Foster for the first time, which is gonna be really incredible. Uh, but we are so excited to continue this mission to put foster care on a national stage and celebrate those incredible families and these incredible kids that deserve a chance in life.

94. 0:53:37

    So thank you very much.

95. 0:53:39

    All right. Good job. Good job.

96. 0:53:40

    You wanna tell them about the gift?

97. 0:53:43

    And, uh, just a fun gift. I, uh, wasn't sure if I was allowed to bring it or not, but I do have yellow Banana jerseys for all the senators here today. So stop by the office and, uh, and grab a jersey. Thank y'all.

98. 0:53:55

    Thank you.

99. 0:55:23

    Yeah.

100. 0:55:23

     We have, uh, some more special guests here today. And Secretary, read the resolution.

101. 0:55:31

     Senate Resolution 768 by Senators Brass, the 6th and others. A resolution recognizing and commending the Red Star Foundation and for other purposes. Whereas the Red Star Foundation is an organization focused on fighting against military, veteran, and first responder suicides. And whereas first responders such as police, firefighters, and EMTs face suicide rates significantly higher than the national average due to relentless exposure to trauma, high stress, and the stigma surrounding mental health care. And whereas the Red Star Foundation is committed to helping service members, first responders, veterans, and their families fight against the suicide crisis, focusing every effort, connection, and resource on fighting against military, veteran, and first responder suicides.

102. 0:56:09

     Now therefore be it resolved by the Senate that the members of this body recognize and commend the Red Star Foundation for its unwavering commitment to advocating for mental health and suicide prevention among veterans, military personnel, and first responders. Mr. President, that completes the order. Is there objection to the resolution? Chair hears none and the resolution is adopted. If everybody could just quiet down just a little bit here so that you can hear from our senator who wants to introduce our special guest. I know we got a lot of people in here right now, so if y'all could keep your conversations to a minimum, even the ones that can't hear me very well back there.

103. 0:56:49

     Recognize the senator from the 6th.

104. 0:56:54

     Thank you, Mr. President. I think it's fitting that we have the Secretary of Veterans at the Veterans Administration here with us today for this very special presentation. Uh, Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the work of the Red Star Foundation and introduce some very special guests. I have with me a Marine, Mike Constantine, another Marine, Jerry Shaffer, and then my good friend who served in the Army, Mark Darrow. Um, they're here on behalf of the Red Star Foundation, which was founded only a year and a half, half ago and is dedicated to confronting one of the most urgent and heartbreaking challenges facing our nation, the crisis of suicide among our military personnel, veterans, and first responders.

105. 0:57:42

     Every day, far too many of those who have served our country and protected our communities struggle with the invisible wounds of trauma and stress. And so leading this important mission is Mr. Jerry Shaffer, the Chief Executive Officer of the Red Star Foundation, and I would like to call him up to, uh, tell you a little bit more about Red Star and the, the crisis that our nation is constantly facing. Mr. Jerry. Thank you very much, Senator. Thank you.

106. 0:58:13

     Good morning, good morning. Good morning, Mr. President, members of the Georgia State Senate, distinguished guests, veterans. Thank you, sir. Yeah. Good morning, Mr. President, members of the Georgia State Senate, distinguished guests, veterans and families. Also, good morning, Secretary Collins. It's great to see you here as well, especially on this topic of veteran suicide. Standing here today is deeply humbling. On behalf of the Red Star Foundation, the families we serve, and the veterans and first responders whose lives we fight to protect every single day, I want to express our heartfelt gratitude for the adoption of this resolution.

107. 0:58:52

     I also want to extend a very special thank you to all the co-sponsors and every member who voted for this resolution, and especially Senator Matt Brass. Senator Brass, your leadership is, in initiating this resolution means more than words can express. You chose to recognize families who are often forgotten. You chose to shine a light on a silent crisis, and you chose to stand with us. I would also like to thank Colonel Mark Darrow, United States Army Retired.

108. 0:59:23

     Thank you for your continued support of our veterans and for spearheading this initiative. Lastly, I would like to thank fellow Marine and Red Star advisor Mike Constantine for initiating the conversation with Colonel Darrow. Every day in this country, we lose veterans and first responders to suicide. 44 veterans per day, 16,000 per year, with another 500 current military and 500 first responders annually. Behind every statistic is a name, a uniform, a family, a story that is unfinished.

109. 0:59:59

     When the Senate adopted this resolution, you honored those stories. You acknowledged their service to their country and their communities, and you gave hope to the families who carry that loss. In 2024, we launched the Red Star Foundation utilizing the same blueprint as the Gold Star organizations. Similar to the Gold Star banner, which I am holding here, which is given to the next of kin of a service member who has been killed in action,

110. 1:00:29

     we created the Red Star banner that is given to the next of kin of military, veteran, and first responder suicide. The Red Star Foundation was founded on a simple belief that no one who served this nation or our communities should ever feel alone in their darkest moment, and no family who loses someone should ever feel forgotten. Our work centers on connection, veteran to veteran, family to family, human to human. Sometimes the difference between life and death is simply knowing someone cares enough to reach out.

111. 1:01:01

     This resolution strengthens that mission. It tells veterans in Georgia that their state stands behind them. It tells first responders that their sacrifices are recognized, and it tells families that have lost someone that their loved one's service is never forgotten. Georgia has a proud tradition of military service and leadership, from active duty installations to National Guard units to veterans across the great state. Georgia understands service. Today, Georgia also demonstrated that it understands responsibility, responsibility to care for those who have borne the burden of that service.

112. 1:01:38

     We are grateful not only for the recognition, but for the partnership we hope that this moment represents. Suicide prevention is not a single organization's mission. It requires communities, lawmakers, faith leaders, nonprofits, neighbors, all working together. It requires courage, the courage to talk about mental health, the courage to ask someone if they are okay, and the courage to act. To the members of the Senate, your action today gives us momentum.

113. 1:02:09

     It gives us credibility. It opens the door for conversations that save lives and sends a message across Georgia that leaderships means protecting not only our borders and our laws, but also our people. Senator Brass, thank you for your compassion and conviction, and to every member here, thank you for standing with us. We accept this resolution with humility, with gratitude, and renewed determination. Because while today is a moment of recognition, tomorrow we go back to work, reaching veterans who feel isolated, connecting first responders who feel overwhelmed, and supporting families who often suffer in silence.

114. 1:02:48

     Together, we can ensure that fewer families receive that devastating phone call. Together, we can build a culture where asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. And together, we can honor their service, not just in words, but in action. On behalf of the Red Star Foundation and the families we serve, thank you, Georgia. We are proud to stand with you. God bless you. God bless the great state of Georgia.

115. 1:03:13

     All right.

116. 1:06:13

     Good job. Secretary, read the, the captions.

117. 1:06:19

     Senate Resolution 570 by Senators Albers of the 56th and others. A resolution honoring the life and memory of Claire Ann Bartlett and for other purposes. Whereas the State of Georgia mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens with the passing of Claire Ann Bartlett on December 13th, 2025. And whereas she was u- use- united in love and marriage to her husband, Darrell Bartlett, and was blessed with three remarkable children, Ben, Joseph, and Patrick. And whereas Claire Ann Bartlett devoted innumerable hours of her time, talents, and energy toward the betterment of her community and state, as evidenced dramatically by her superlative service as founder of Fulton County Republican Woman, her dedicated work as precinct chairman, house district chairman, and executive director of the Fulton County Republican Party, and her outstanding leadership with Georgia's National Right to Life affiliate and Georgia Life Alliance.

118. 1:07:06

     And whereas Claire Ann Bartlett furthered server her community when she was appointed to the board of the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism by Governor Nathan Deal in 2013. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Senate that the members of this body join in honoring the life and memory of Claire Ann Bartlett and express their deepest and most sincere regret at her passing. Mr. President, I request the floor.

119. 1:07:30

     Is there objection to the adoption of the resolution? The chair hears none, and the resolution is adopted. If I could have everybody's attention real quick, please. We are here today with the family of Miss Claire, who was a tireless worker and, and volunteer for, uh, not just, uh, Republican Party issues, but also other organizations in her community. And she loved giving back to her community. She loved people. She, uh, worked for years on initiatives like the Right for Life and things of that nature.

120. 1:08:03

     And, uh, we have her husband and her, her boys here with us today. The, probably the only thing she loved more than volunteering were her, her, was her beloved family. And, uh, and she, uh, there's not enough that can be said about all the hours that she gave free of, free of charge, you know, to a- because she believed in a cause or believed in individuals, uh, who were run- running for public office. And I'm glad the senator from the 56th has, uh, brought this resolution forward because, uh, she was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful lady, and, uh, and she will be missed.

121. 1:08:37

     And I recognize the senator from the 56th to speak to it.

122. 1:08:43

     Thank you, Mr. President. Claire was my good friend. I remember meeting her over 20 years ago, and she had the greatest smile. It had such kindness and yet purpose, as well as her eyes. Whenever she talked to you, it was with compassion, love, but she always had a mission. She was there to do something good, and it flowed through her veins. If these walls could talk in this Capitol building right now, they would be echoing Claire Bartlett.

123. 1:09:15

     What she did to protect and serve so many of us, and more importantly, how many lives are here today because she took the position that every life mattered, every baby mattered, and those lives will be for generations to come echoing the great work that she did. I have no doubt right now Claire is looking down from heaven, because if she didn't make it, none of us stand a chance. I'm so glad to have Darrell here with us, two of her boys, and the Cormans who are friends, but are really family.

124. 1:09:53

     So please, uh, welcome Darrell. Uh, I usually say the, the second half when it's a guy, but they were a true partnership, uh, and they're beloved members of our Roswell community who we will always cherish and support. Darrell, please.

125. 1:10:07

     Oh, thanks. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Uh, she loved this, uh, she loved this state. She did a lot for the state, and we really miss her quite a bit. And, uh, as, as John aptly put it, she's looking down on us right now. So I just wanna thank you on behalf of the Bartlett family. Thank you.

126. 1:10:43

     No, probably not. That wouldn't go well.

127. 1:10:46

     Y'all would probably like it.

128. 1:10:49

     Pleasure to meet you.

129. 1:12:45

     We have had, uh, a lot of special guests here this week, and, uh, several members of the current administration, the cabinet members here. Uh, and today we've ... And two, two being from right here in the great state of Georgia, and we're glad and proud to be well-represented in the current Trump administration. And this gentleman, uh, needs no introduction. He is our former congressman. He was a former House member here.

130. 1:13:15

     He's been a, a tireless, uh, pro- uh, uh, proponent for veterans issues, and we are so glad to have, uh, Secretary Doug Collins here today, who heads up the VA. He's doing a great job, and, uh, he's gonna continue to do a good job. And I think he's having more, more fun than he's ever had before in public service, 'cause he's ... 'cause Doug's got ... He, he's got a, he's got a, a genuine heart about him. He cares about people, and he wants to do right by people, especially our men and women who served in the armed forces.

131. 1:13:50

     So we're so honored to have him here today, and I wanted to give him an opportunity to address this chamber. So if y'all could please give, uh, Secretary Doug Collins a very warm welcome.

132. 1:14:02

     What's up, brother? How you doing?

133. 1:14:04

     Good. You?

134. 1:14:04

     Yeah, yeah. I'm good.

135. 1:14:04

     Good. Nice to meet you.

136. 1:14:08

     Yeah.

137. 1:14:08

     All right. Well, it, it is, uh, good to be here. I'm glad that you still let me come over as the former House member, get to come over here to the upper chamber, uh, as y'all like to call it. Uh, we have. But it's good to see everybody here today, and it's good to be, uh, back home. But I tell you, when I walked in here, I'll have to say just upfront, uh, the discussion of suicide that was just before this body is something that's been on the forefront of my agenda since I came in. When President Trump, I asked him simply a question, I said, "President Trump, what do you want me to do in, as VA secretary?" He said, "Take care of veterans." And I said, "Well, that's gonna be easy, 'cause as one, we can do that." But what I found was is we have, uh, a death by suicide rate that is too high.

138. 1:14:45

     And unfortunately, the VA had become so concerned with its internal workings that we had sort of forgotten the outernal workings. And so since we have been there, we have, just to let you know, we have, uh, changed out the complete leadership in our suicide prevention program. We've changed our complete focus. Instead of it being internal, which, uh, was all we were doing was talking to each other, we've actually made it external to go to those veterans who have not part of the VA. We found out something that was very unfortunate. We found that over 60% of s- uh, the veterans who had death by suicide had never been in contact with the VA. That told me we wasn't talking to the right people.

139. 1:15:17

     So one of the things that I have tried to bring, and we're gonna bring this, is continue from this go of on, coming from my time here and learning, is that common sense still matters. And sometimes you just have to make things work. And so for us, what we did last year was I said we're gonna have a new, uh, focus. Some of you been in government now a little bit long enough, you know that there's some agencies that just like to be agencies. Been there. The VA was one of those. We got real happy at being the VA and lost focus on what we were supposed to be doing, that's taking care of veterans. So last year about, uh, this time I said, "There's gonna be a new focus at the VA, and it's veteran first.

140. 1:15:48

     No matter what we do, it's gonna be through the eyes of a veteran." So we started lowering wait times. We started reorganizing, uh, our hospitals. But I've got some good news for you, 'cause some of you had to call me to h- get help. Last year there was a 260,000 backlog of disability claims at the VA. That meant there were over 125 days with no answer. I'm here to tell you today, and proud to my state of Georgia, that that backlog in less than a year has been lowered from 260,000 to 90,000, and it's still going down.

141. 1:16:26

     Your, your veterans are getting the care they deserve. It took 137 days on average to get an answer. I said, "No more. We're gonna put time and overtime to it." Now the average, uh, wait is about 77 days. And when I talk to my friend, the Secretary of War, and we're gonna talk about some file transfers, I can honestly tell you that our goal is by the end of this year to get disability claims down to 30 to 45 days for our veterans. That's putting veterans first.

142. 1:16:58

     So when you look across the landscape of what we've got going on, and there's no need, I hope no need for me to remind you, but I'm going to anyway, as someone who served and actually getting out this year, uh, for the f- uh, the Air Force after 20-plus years. Right now, for those in the gallery and for those watching, we have men and women who are across this world who are in harm's way. For us to have the ability to come here and to pass laws and to talk about things that we care about and to take care of constituents back home, they are taking care of us. And at the VA, that's the only thing we have to do, is to take care of veterans.

143. 1:17:30

     So we've opened 30 new, 30 new clinics over the past year. We're gonna open probably close to 25 new clinics this year. You know, one of the things I learned while I was in this body across the hall and coming over here and working, was that sometimes you need to wait before you speak. I learned that from speakers and lieutenant governors and governors along the way. Have you ever had one of those bills where you come through and you make your quick assessment, "Ooh, this is terrible," or, "This is great," only to hear the other side?

144. 1:18:01

     Last year when we came in, there was a lot of tension, and there's still a lot. "You're gonna d- move the VA. You're focusing off of employees. You're not focused on veterans." Well, I'm gonna tell you, we've had a workforce that is right-sized. We've processed over three million disability claims, another record, in just a year. We've taken and we've made our wait times at our hospitals better. We've increased our suicide prevention program to actually reach people who are in need of being reached. We're reaching out to others. We're taking a homeless, uh, encampment in West LA and we're turning it into a center of excellence so that we can bring those who have lost their shelter and lost their ability to take care of themselves.

145. 1:18:38

     We're gonna be taking one of the largest, uh, pe- groups out there in LA, and we're putting them into a facility that the president has set forth that is gonna have, uh, thousands of beds so that they know that a country who takes care of its veterans makes sure that they're housed and they're clothed, and we're gonna continue to do that. That's what it means. So when you hear all of a sudden about things at the VA, I'm here to tell you, you wouldn't believe the mess that I found. But one thing I learned from this body is common sense, putting your head down, and being willing to put veterans first, and to have a pretty big shovel, you can get a lot of things done.

146. 1:19:15

     We're gonna continue to do that. God bless you. Thank you for your work as we go forward. Appreciate it.

147. 1:24:43

     Are there any unanimous consents? Does any senator wish to w- rise on a point of personal privilege? I recognize the senator from the 55th.

148. 1:24:58

     He's not at his desk. We're moving on. Recognize the senator from the 17th.

149. 1:25:25

     Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, I rise today to recognize the life and the legacy of Mr. Steven Reeves. He was a Henry County firefighter and paramedic. He was actually one of my constituents and a family member. He had a medical emergency on duty at the Henry County Fire Department, uh, actually on my birthday the other day, and the firefighter team got him to the hospital, but he passed away.

150. 1:26:01

     One thing about it, he simply loved being a firefighter and a paramedic, and he will be missed in the Henry County community. The service is today, and we just ask for your prayers for the family. And Mr. President, I just want to ask for a moment of silence in the honor of firefighter and paramedic, Mr. Steven Reeves.

151. 1:26:27

     Please join the senator in a moment of silence.

152. 1:26:35

     Amen. Thank you very much, and I yield the way.

153. 1:26:40

     Thank you. Chair recognizes the senator from the 32nd for a point of personal privilege.

154. 1:26:57

     Thank you so much. I just wanted to recognize a group that's with us today. I think some of them are in the gallery, and they represent a, uh, a, a disease that you guys have probably never heard of. It's FSGS, and I can pronounce it because I'm medical, but it stands for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and it is a form of chronic kidney disease.

155. 1:27:27

     One out of seven Americans have chronic kidney disease, and this particular brand of chronic kidney disease, half the time leads to dialysis or a kidney transplant within five to 10 years, which as you can imagine, is a great burden on the families and also on the insurance companies, the facilities that do the care, and really everybody. So they are here today to raise awareness of this disease, FSGS, and if you could help me welcome them, they're up in the gallery.

156. 1:27:58

     Thank you so much for being here.

157. 1:28:04

     Thank you.

158. 1:28:36

     Recognize the senator from the 29th.

159. 1:28:47

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Colleagues, um, I've had a lot of unusual things happen in my life, and, uh, some of them when I, when I tell people, they find it somewhat unbelievable. So the other day here in Atlanta, where we come and we work, a lady, broad daylight, pulls down into an intersection over off Andrew Young Parkway to a red light, and what is in that intersection is what we see in a lot of intersections here in Atlanta today.

160. 1:29:22

     There are people walking all over the intersection with signs and cups asking for money.

161. 1:29:33

     Somebody walks up to this lady's window while she's on the f- the, um, hands-free phone in her car talking to her business partners, knocks on her window and says, "Give me something." The lady looks at her and apologizes and says, "I have nothing to give you." So the lady asking for the money opens the driver's side door of the lady's car, reaches into the car and tries to pull the lady out of her car.

162. 1:30:07

     The lady screamed, did everything. Thank goodness she had her seatbelt on. Her friend's on the phone, heard her screaming. Lady was able to push the lady back, get her door closed and drive. She called 911 here in Fulton County twice. Both times it went to voicemail. Twice.

163. 1:30:33

     So then the Atlanta Police Department is contacted. They go out to the intersection and based on the description of the assailant, they were able to find her. They took a six photo lineup to the victim that night. The victim identified the lady, and the lady was arrested for the 27th time she was arrested. Couple years ago, she was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

164. 1:31:06

     Did whatever few times, little bit of time she had to do and got out.

165. 1:31:13

     I spoke to the chief and told him there has to be a solution so that people will not be accosted when they pull into these intersections.

166. 1:31:26

     And the part that's hard to believe in this, and this is something we have to look at, is that the lady who said she didn't have anything to give, whose door was opened and somebody attempted to pull out of her car, based on the video, based on testimony, based on everything, was my wife.

167. 1:31:50

     We can say we feel bad for people, but until we take action, somebody's gonna get ran over, somebody's gonna get hurt, or somebody is going to die. And with that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.

168. 1:32:05

     Recognize the senator from the 21st for a point of personal privilege.

169. 1:32:31

     Thank you, Mr. President. We've had, uh, with all the, um, young ladies coming through this week, I felt kind of inspired. I was gonna do this point of personal privilege on Tuesday, uh, but I felt like that, uh, maybe I should wait for today. So, uh, as a lot of people know, this is Women's History Month, a- and I wanted to take time to recognize a woman who's broken barriers, opened doors, and inspired future generations to dream bigger than ever before. Today, I rise to honor one such trailblazer, Sarah Thomas.

170. 1:33:02

     Sarah Thomas made history as the first woman to become a full-time referee in the National Football League, in a profession that had been long been dominated by men. She stepped onto the field not only as a novelty, but as a professional, prepared, qualified, and ready to perform at the highest level of the game, and she did exactly that. Through years of dedication, discipline, and perseverance, Sarah Thomas proved that excellence knows no gender.

171. 1:33:32

     Her work ethic and command of the game earned the respect of players, coaches, and fans across the country. In 2021, she reached yet another milestone when she became the first woman ever to officiate a Super Bowl, one of the most watched sporting events in the world. But what makes Sarah Thomas' story truly powerful goes far beyond football. Her achievement represents opportunity. For decades, young girls watching football may have believed that certain roles on the field simply were not meant for them.

172. 1:34:08

     Sarah Thomas changed that perception. Today, when young women watch a football game, they can see someone who looks like them wearing the stripes, making the calls, and commanding the respect of the entire stadium. That visibility matters, because when young women see barriers broken, they begin to understand that their own dreams are not limited by tradition or expectation. Whether their dreams lie in sports, science, business, public service, or any other field, Sarah Thomas' journey sends a powerful message.

173. 1:34:47

     If you're willing to work hard, stay committed, and believe in yourself, there is no field you cannot step onto. Women's History Month is about celebrating the pioneers who expanded what was possible. Sarah Thomas is one of those pioneers. Her story reminds us that progress is not always loud or dramatic. Sometimes it takes one step at a time, one opportunity at a time, and one person brave enough to take the field when no one like them had done so before.

174. 1:35:20

     Because of Sarah Thomas, countless young women now see a future that once seemed out of reach, and that is a legacy worthy of recognition. Thank you. Mr. President, I yield the floor. Recognize the senator from the 42nd for a point of personal privilege.

175. 1:35:48

     Thank you, Mr. Temporary President. I rise a point of personal privilege to recognize some family I have with me today. Of course, I have three pages. I have two of my nieces, Rylan and Sydney, and my nephew Wyatt over here to my left on the floor. But up, up in the gallery to my right, I have my sister Ashley, my other nephew Ryder, my parents Bob and Lynn Strickland up here joining me today. And they first joined me 13 years ago as I started back in the house. Good to have them here today as we start our final chapter of my service in General Assembly.

176. 1:36:18

     Please help me recognize my family. Thank you.

177. 1:36:27

     Certainly proud to have the Strickland family here with us today. Colleagues, today I'm pleased to also recognize some guests in the gallery, the, uh, 2025 Peach Queens of the Miss Georgia Peach Scholarship Pageant. I would ask them to please stand up. They're in the gallery. Um-

178. 1:36:54

     This pageant originated in Peach County. It has provided young women across our state with the opportunity to develop leadership skills, build self-confidence, and represent their communities with pride. And we have the Miss Georgia Peach, Lily Barfield; Georgia Peach Te- Teen Miss, Ella Hortman; Georgia Peach Junior Miss, Emma Armstrong; Georgia Peach Little Miss, Bella Kay Murph; Georgia Peach Tiny Miss, Bailey Smithart. We also have the pageant coordinator, Donna Long, with her, and I appreciate her dedication and leadership of this program.

179. 1:37:30

     Glad to have you young ladies with us today. Thank you.

180. 1:37:39

     Now recognize the senator from the 38th for a point of personal privilege.

181. 1:37:56

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, colleagues, one of the things that I was very oblivious to, uh, when getting elected was the amount of funerals that we ha- will have to attend, uh, and the pain that exists within our communities, whether it be a fallen police officer or a hero in our community or even little babies that are taken from us. And I had to do that this past weekend and attend the funeral of Zoe Price, who was seven years old.

182. 1:38:28

     And I wanna share this with you, uh, first to thank this body for doing a resolution to honor her life. But Zoe was taken away from us as a result of gun violence. Her and her mom, her life taken, her mom was injured, uh, in this shooting. Uh, and when I learned that she attended school in my district, her prin- her school ha- happened to be here the day after her life was taken. And so I wanna thank this body for doing a resolution on her behalf.

183. 1:39:03

     Um, but I want it to also be a message. We are in the business of fixing things, and there is one issue that we tend to avoid, and that is guns. To the folks who have guns, whether legally or illegally, our children should be off limits. No parent should have to go through this. You know, I, I, we were not given a, uh, a, a booklet that tells us, you know, how to, uh, you know, carry ourselves when we attend these types of funerals, um, but I lost it, and I had to leave.

184. 1:39:43

     I wasn't courageous enough to go down the middle of the aisle and look at her body in that open casket. I didn't hold it enough, uh, together enough to speak, but as I sat there and looked at her casket and looked at these pictures, I could not help but think of my daughter Brooklyn. No parent, no community, no relative should have to bury a seven-year-old baby. We can do something about this. Yes, we can be tougher with folks that are repeating crimes, and I agree with folks who say that, but we also need to do something about guns.

185. 1:40:21

     There are sensible things that we can do to keep guns away from harming and taking the lives of our babies. And so in the spirit of Zoe Nicole Price, I just ask that this body at some point do something about guns. With that, Mr. President, I yield the will.

186. 1:40:45

     So we tried this earlier, senator from the 55th, and he was... He, he is here. He's, he's, Senator, you can only be recognized from your seat, and you make it hard when you're all over the place here. So we're gonna move. I will come to you next. Senator from the 31st is recognized for a point of personal privilege.

187. 1:41:17

     Thank you, Mr. President. I'm gonna be very brief. I just wanna send congratulations and best wishes to the North Paulding Lady Wolfpack basketball team that's gonna be playing in the state championship game on Saturday against Grayson. Um, just wanna send well wishes to Coach Willis, Coach Summers, Coach Hinkson, Principal Gabe Carmona, and our athletic director, Ryan Dyer, who's the athletic director of the year in the State of Georgia. Um, these ladies are a pretty special group.

188. 1:41:49

     Many of them have been playing, uh, together, uh

189. 1:41:52

     Since they didn't even know what their name was, and we are very proud of them as a Paulding County community, and we look forward to winning our first state basketball championship, um, on Saturday in Macon. So whoever re- represents Macon, uh, we'll compare notes on Saturday night after the game, but, uh, look forward to this, uh, hopefully victory they're gonna be bringing back to North Paulding. So, God bless you young ladies, and go Pack.

190. 1:42:23

     Chair recognizes senator from the 55th for a point of personal privilege.

191. 1:43:00

     I rise today to recognize HBCU Divine Nine Day. For those of you who do not know, HBC stands for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Divine Nine, those are the historically African American fraternities and sororities. HBCUs were instrumental in expanding access to higher education for African Americans at a time when most institutions were inaccessible.

192. 1:43:30

     They provided pathways for, to professional careers and cultivated leaders who would go on to shape American society. And I want to state today that we want to pause today because HBCUs have impacted this century in ways that, uh, are really, really uncomprehensible. HBCUs remain vital institutions in higher education landscape. Enrolling, they represent only 3% of US colleges and universities. HBCUs enroll 10% of all African American students and produce nearly 20% of all African American graduates according to the UNC- C- UNCF.

193. 1:44:13

     Specifically, HBCUs produce right now 40% of all Black engineers. HBCUs produce 50% of all Black teachers. HBCUs produce 70% of all Black doctors and dentists. HBCUs res- represent and produce 80% of all Black judges. This is the contribution of his- of the HBCU legacy, and not only that, as we may know, Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, Kamala Harris, the first female, first Black, first South Asian vice president of the United States, Dr.

194. 1:44:54

     Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Oprah Winfrey, Toni Morrison, Langston Hughes, Jerry Rice, NFL, s- the line goes on and on and on and on. Please join me, and I have a couple of my colleagues and a couple of colleagues even seated, to recognize HBCU Divine Nine. Thank you for standing up. These are colleagues from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and we have some in the, in the, in the balcony. Congratulate our HBCUs, and over to the side, some of our leaders from HBCUs.

195. 1:45:26

     Thank you, Doctor. Thank you very much. HBCU Divine Nine Day. You're very kind. Thank you. We yield the will. Thank you, brothers. Recognize the senator from the 50th for a point of personal privilege.

196. 1:45:54

     Mr. President and members, today's a special day at the Capitol. We've got a great group from the city of Toccoa and Stephens County. I know y'all look forward to this every year, mainly because of the gifts that they bring with them, and today is no exception. Uh, today you have a gift on your desk that's provided by the Toccoa Stevens Chamber of Commerce. They are, uh, products from White Tulip Naturals. They're all homemade locally in Toccoa, Georgia by the owner, Kelly Pilson, with high quality natural ingredients.

197. 1:46:26

     I hope you all enjoy these gifts and just to show appreciation to the group that's here, I want to recognize a few people, and I hope I, I don't leave anyone out, but if I do, uh, blame Julie. Uh, but, uh, Commissioner Debbie Whitlock and her granddaughter Georgia are here. Tara Simmons, county commissioner. Craig Oglesby, county commissioner. Julie Payson with the chamber. Van Laskowski with the CEO of Stephens County Hospital. Rick Phillips with the Hospital Authority and his wife Letha are here.

198. 1:46:58

     Connie Franklin is here, who is the superintendent of schools in Stephens County. Commissioner Gail Fry with the City of Toccoa and Commissioner Terry Carter with the City of Toccoa. I just want to thank y'all for being here. They're doing a great job. Stephens County, Toccoa is really on the rise. We've been named the number one, uh, small hospital in the state. We've got one of the best chamber of commerces and the school system is fantastic. Thank you all for being here and just give them a round of applause and welcome them to the chamber. Thanks, guys.

199. 1:47:29

     With that, I yield the will. Recognize the senator from the 43rd. 43rd for a point of personal privilege.

200. 1:47:51

     Oh, what is it called?

201. 1:47:55

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, not only is today HBCU and Divine Nine Day, I am honoring women veterans, so I am wearing my patriotic colors, uh, because women have served. We have, um, fought and we have, uh, continue to serve, um, our countries, an- our, our country and our communities. Um, as women who lead the way, who are on the front line, on the sidelines, in the air, sea, uh, we have served, and I want to honor those women veterans. We had about 30 at the breakfast this morning, and so if you see any, any of them in the hallway, please congratulate them and thank them for their service.

202. 1:48:30

     Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor. Thank you, Senator.

203. 1:48:38

     Does any other senator wish to rise for a point of personal privilege? Seeing none, we'll move on. You have before you a consent calendar of privileged resolutions. Does any senator wish to remove a resolution from the consent calendar? Is there objection to the adoption of the resolutions on the consent calendar? The chair hears none, and the resolutions on the consent calendar are adopted. Are there any motions to withdraw and commit?

204. 1:49:05

     You have before you a consent calendar of local bills. Mr. Secretary, have any objections been filed to any of the bills on the local consent calendar? Mr. President, no objections have been filed. Is there objection to agreeing the report of the Committee on State and Local Government Operations, which is favorable to the passage of the bills on the local consent calendar? Chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Questions on the passage of the bills on the local consent calendar. All those in favor will vote yay, opposed nay.

205. 1:49:35

     The secretary will unlock the machine.

206. 1:50:39

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are 43 and the nays are 0. The bills on the local consent calendar, having received the requisite constitutional majority, are therefore passed.

207. 1:50:56

     I recognize the senator from the 31st for a motion.

208. 1:51:02

     President, I ask unanimous consent that HB 1199 be engrossed. Secretary will read the caption to House Bill 1199.

209. 1:51:15

     House Bill 1199 by Representative Carson of the 46th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Code Section 48-1-2 of the Offi- Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to def- definitions regarding revenue and taxation so as to revise the definition of the terms Internal Revenue Code and Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to incorporate certain provisions of the federal law into Georgia law, 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. Senator from the 31st has moved that House Bill 1199 be engrossed.

210. 1:51:48

     Is there objection?

211. 1:51:51

     Objection, Mr. President. There is objection. Senator from the 22nd, would you like to speak to your objection? You're recognized.

212. 1:52:09

     Obviously, obviously we have a standard rule, uh, kind of an informal rule, that we do, we engross things from Finance. From Finance. But this actually didn't come necessarily from Finance. This actually was a substitute that was presented through Rules. It came through that Standing Rules Committee. That is a difference. If we're gonna start this precedent, what now will happen is anything that we want to have, um, non- non-debate on, we'll send it through Standing Rules and say, "Well, let's go ahead and just start engrossing it." Would that be our new informal policy? Because this did not formally come through Finance, not the bill that we're voting on today.

213. 1:52:42

     The substantive change, and this is a huge substantive change, a gigantic substantive change, which will actually gut low-income housing in the state. We're actually now gonna engross that, but it didn't actually come through Finance. That committee did not have an opportunity to really vet that particular language. That came through Standing Rules. That is a different situation and is a different scenario that normally exists. The Finance Committee never really saw this particular legislation. With that, I yield the floor.

214. 1:53:14

     All right. There is objection to engrossment of House Bill 1199. All those in favor of the motion to engross will vote yay and those opposed will vote nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

215. 1:54:11

     Don't forget to vote, senators.

216. 1:54:19

     Recognize the senator from thirty-six. What purpose do you rise?

217. 1:54:21

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, parliamentary inquiry. Is it not true that, uh, some may w-wish that they had not engrossed this bill when they understand truly what the bill does in its present form with this amendment? Isn't that the case?

218. 1:54:34

     That's for each and every senator to decide. Thank you.

219. 1:54:43

     All right, the motion to engross requires twenty-nine votes, so the motion, the yeas are twenty-seven, the nays are eighteen, so the motion is lost.

220. 1:54:56

     Recognize the senator from the thirty-first.

221. 1:54:58

     M- Mr. President, I make a motion to reconsider the vote on engrossment.

222. 1:55:33

     The chair recognizes the senator from the thirty-first. Would you like to restate your motion?

223. 1:55:38

     Mr. President, I make a motion, make my motion to engross House Bill 1199.

224. 1:55:45

     The senator from the thirty-first has moved to engross s-Senate Bill, House Bill 1199. We already read the caption, so I don't think we need to read it again. Uh, and there, is there objection? There is objection. Would you like to speak to it again anyways? Um, now we're gonna vote again. So those in favor of the motion to engross will vote yay.

225. 1:56:17

     Those opposed, nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

226. 1:57:21

     On the motion to engross, the yeas are twenty-nine and the nays are eighteen. House Bill 1199 is engrossed.

227. 1:57:33

     Moving on to the rules calendar.

228. 1:57:43

     Secretary will read the caption of House Bill 162.

229. 1:57:50

     House Bill 162 by Representatives Hagan of the 156th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter three of Title thirty-five of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations so as to provide for the re-restriction and seal of first offender act sentences until such status is revoked to amend Article three of Chapter eight of Title forty-two of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to first offenders relative to probation so as to provide for the restriction and seal of first offender sentences at the time of sentencing to provide for related matters to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes.

230. 1:58:22

     Mr. President, the c- the Senate Committee on Judiciary recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Strickland of the 42nd District, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Judiciary offers the following substitute to House Bill 162, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter three of Title thirty-five of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations so as to provide for the restriction and seal of first offender act sentences until such status is revoked to amend Article three of Chapter eight of Title forty-two of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to first offenders relative to probation so as to provide for the restriction and seal of first offender sentences at the time of sentencing to provide for related matters to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes.

231. 1:58:58

     Mr. President, that completes the order.

232. 1:59:04

     I recognize the senator from the 46th to speak to House Bill 162.

233. 1:59:24

     Thank you, Mr. President. Senators, I present to you today House Bill 162. This deals with the restriction of your criminal records if you have been permitted to participate in a first offender plea program. Currently, you can petition the court to have them seal your record. We used to call it expungement, now they call it restriction of your record, uh, while you're in that type of program. But ordinarily, it is not sealed or restricted until after you have completed your probationary sentence.

234. 1:59:54

     This allows people to keep these proceedings confidential. They're meant for non-serious crimes, uh, and it's to allow a person a second chance for a first offense only. And what, what we've learned is, uh, if it becomes public information that you were sentenced under a first offender plea, then you really lose most of the advantage of that because all employers and schools, et cetera, would be aware of your plea. When you plead to a first offender plea, you're admitting your guilt to the offense.

235. 2:00:24

     You're gonna be treated, essentially, uh, punished as if you were guilty. Ordinarily, a good bit of that is probation. But once you complete your sentence, uh, it is restricted and it is discharged. It does not count as a conviction against you, so you can honestly say you have not been convicted. At the end of the term of your probation or the end of your sentence, they're automatically restricted now. This will have them be restricted up front. If you violate the terms and you get kicked out of the program, you lose the benefit of a first offender plea, and you may be sentenced up to the maximum punishment by law, and you lose this ability to have it restricted.

236. 2:01:05

     I was asked earlier today, does this apply to, uh, serious crimes? It does not. Any of the, uh, seven deadly sins are not eligible. for first offender protection. DUIs are not eligible for first offender protection. Crimes against law enforcement, crimes against the elderly and disabled or, um, sexual crimes against children would not be eligible. So this is your more routine offenses. I think it's a good way to give people a second chance. The information is still available to law enforcement and certain, uh, federal employment requirements such as in the banking industry or, or some licensing.

237. 2:01:43

     But otherwise, it's a great chance to give, uh, people with a first time indiscretion an ability to turn the page and make a useful life. I would encourage your, uh, support for this bill and be happy to answer any questions.

238. 2:02:01

     If there are no questions- Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the will. Does, does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure?

239. 2:02:13

     Senator from the 26th, your light's on. Senator from the 26th. Oh, there we go. Thank you. Oh, it's still on. Senator from the 26th, do you need something? Do you, what purpose do you rise?

240. 2:02:37

     Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I'd like to ask for unanimous consent in order for a local bill to be read and assigned for the first time.

241. 2:02:51

     All right. Can I come back to you after we finish voting on this bill? I'll come back to you. Thank you.

242. 2:03:00

     All right, does any other senator wish to speak for or against House Bill 162? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? Chair hears none and the previous question is ordered. The 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 to the agreeing report of the committee which is favorable to the passage of 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 passage of the bill by substitute.

243. 2:03:30

     All those in favor of the bill will vote yay. Opposed, nay. Secretary will unlock the machine.

244. 2:04:36

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are 47 and the nays are zero. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute.

245. 2:04:48

     Secretary, read the caption of House Bill 185.

246. 2:05:06

     House Bill 180- 185 by Representatives Earnhardt of the 36th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to professions and businesses so as to repeal and reenact Chapter 11A, the Dietiti- Dietetics Practice Act to amend Titles 9, 31, 33, 43, and 51 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to civil practice, health insurance, professions and businesses, and torts respectively, so as to provide for conforming cross-references, to provide for related matters, to provide for an effective date to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes.

247. 2:05:37

     Mr. President, the, uh, uh, the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Cowsert, Chairman. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities offers the following substitute to s- to House Bill 185, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to professions and businesses so as to repeal and reenact Chapter 11A, the Dietetics Practice Act to provide for the licensure of dieticians and nutritionists to provide for short titles to provide for the purpose of the chapter to provide for definitions to establish the Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Dieticians and Licensed Nutritionists to provide for members, officers, meetings, and powers and duties of such board and for other purposes.

248. 2:06:15

     Mr. President, that completes the order. I recognize our Rules chairman to speak to House Bill 185. Senator from the 6th.

249. 2:06:35

     Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, I bring you a simple bill, HB 185, simply modernizes the Licensure Act for dieticians and nutritionists and empowers Georgia to join a nationwide licensing compact that will put highly trained professionals to work more efficiently. The licensure of dieticians and nutritionists has not been updated since 1994. That's 30 years that this practice of dietetics hasn't changed, and the practice as a whole has changed significantly since 1994.

250. 2:07:10

     So the provisions in 185 are consistent with what the Senate has passed in each of the last two years, streamlining licensing requirements and processes. It cuts red tape for applicants and creates a bright line distinction between those professionals who provide medical nutrition therapy and that must be licensed and those providing general nutriti- nutrition counseling who do not need to be licensed. So I ask for your favorable consideration for passage of HB 185, and if there's no questions, I'll yield the will.

251. 2:07:45

     Senator, there are questions that you're, uh, obviously you can yield the will at any time. Senator has yielded the will. Does any other senator speak to wish for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Well,

252. 2:08:04

     s- chair recognizes senator from the 35th. Do you wi- wish to come to the will and speak?

253. 2:08:24

     Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate this, uh, House bill. Um, it is a 60-page bill, and we're talking about, when I read in there, it's a lot about telehealth and had some questions about that and how that would be, uh, administered. And also with the boom of weight loss drugs, just wanted to kind of better understand the dietician's role in, uh, advising and working together with pharmacists. And we know that this is a huge emergent, uh, industry with w- weight loss drugs. So just had a lot of questions, and I know this body is, uh, values vigorous debate in perfecting bills, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to share those concerns.

254. 2:09:03

     I yield the floor.

255. 2:09:06

     Senator yielded the floor. Senator from the 6th, what purpose do you rise?

256. 2:09:10

     To ask some questions. I'm not gonna breathe.

257. 2:09:16

     Any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection the prev- previous question being ordered? Ch- Chair hears none and the previous question is ordered. The 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 is favorable to pass the bill? The chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection the main question being ordered? Chair hears none.

258. 2:09:46

     The main question is ordered. The question is on the passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor will vote yay. Opposed, nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

259. 2:09:56

     Senator from the 33rd, what purpose do you rise?

260. 2:09:59

     Is it true that the sponsor of this bill has never seen a diet in his life?

261. 2:10:06

     Senator, he sits on your row. You can ask him directly. Thank

262. 2:10:56

     you. On the passage of the bill, the yays are 42, the nays are three. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute.

263. 2:11:07

     Secretary, read the caption, ch- caption of House Bill 219.

264. 2:11:15

     House Bill 219 by Representative St- Stevens of the 164th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to professions and businesses so as to authorize the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists to establish a professional health program to provide for monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare individuals, to authorize the Georgia Board of Nursing to establish a professional health program to provide for monitoring and rehabilitation of impaired healthcare professionals, to provide for fundings or gift in kind, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes.

265. 2:11:48

     Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities recommend that this bill do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Cowsert, Chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

266. 2:11:57

     Recognize the senator from the 52nd to speak to House Bill 219.

267. 2:12:09

     Thank you, Mr. President. I had a conversation a while back with an anesthesiologist who's actually from Canada, and, um, he had taken some Sufenta. Sufenta is a type of fentanyl. It's about 500 times as potent as morphine, and he just wanted that one time to see what it felt like. He told me that was the best day of his life, but he never could get that feeling back again, and he chased it, and he ended up in financial ruin and, um, took a long time to recover.

268. 2:12:46

     I worked with an anesthesiologist up in Rome, Georgia. She used to be up in Washington, D.C. She did anesthesia for President Bush, the, uh, Senate Majority Leader up there. She did the anesthesia for his heart bypass. Her brother was a physician to, uh, both President Bush and President Obama. Great pedigree, but yet in a time of divorce and health issues, she made a mistake. But, um, the program we have in place for physicians, she was able to recover.

269. 2:13:17

     I talked to her this morning, and in 10 days she will be 10 years free. So we have a program for physicians and physician assistants that gives them a second chance. We heard another bill talking about second chance. This is a second chance for, for people that make a big mistake. Um, they, um, alternative is to lose their license forever, and it's a really hard program. It costs them, they pay all the cost of it.

270. 2:13:49

     This is not borne by the state. They pay the cost. They are, uh, for many times after that, are not allowed to be even with a patient unsupervised. You know, in medicine, we have to protect the patients, so we don't just say we hope this doesn't happen again. They have to provide years of supervised, uh, probation to make sure that this doesn't happen to them again. Uh, you know, we, we handle some powerful drugs.

271. 2:14:20

     Too often people wanna and in a weak moment wanna take something. But rather than casting them out forever, which is what's happened in many cases, is we put in a program many, many years ago that gives them a second chance. We're all, I'm drug tested all the time. We, we put all these things in place, all these rules, but yet somehow things still happen sometimes to people. So this program is to extend this to our nurses. Um, it gives the, uh, Georgia Board of Nursing and also our professional counselors, our social workers, our marriage and family therapists, the same opportunity to be in a confidential professional program, the same as we've had for our physicians for many years.

272. 2:15:05

     Um, it requires a formal treatment, uh, constant monitoring and compliance, and it gives... You know, we, we have obviously a shortage of healthcare workers, like the, the anesthesiologist I talked about. She's been, 10 years back, is one of the most brilliant anesthesiologists I know, and, um, she made a mistake, but this gave her another chance. She has, uh, risen to the occasion. It cost her a fortune to, to get back and, and, uh, she certainly paid for her mistakes, but it gives her a chance.

273. 2:15:35

     We wanna extend this to our nurses and make sure that we have an opportunity for them to continue their careers if they've made a mistake one time. And it really encourages people not to hide their problems, but to bring them forward because they know there is a pathway other than just losing their license. Uh, Mr. President, that's the essence of this bill, and if there's no questions, I'll yield the well. There are no questions, senator. Thank you. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered?

274. 2:16:07

     Chair hears none and the previous question is ordered. Is there objection to agreeing to the report of the committee which favor the passage of the bill? The chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? The chair hears none and 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.

275. 2:16:44

     Chair recognizes the senator from the fifth. What purpose do you rise? Mr. President, requesting unanimous consent to excuse senator from the seventh. We will, the senator from the seventh, after the vote, would, he'll be excused after this vote.

276. 2:17:28

     On the passage of the bill, the yays are 46 and the nays are one. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed.

277. 2:17:39

     Secretary, read the caption of House Bill 483.

278. 2:18:01

     House Bill 43 by Representatives Prince of the 132nd and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to assault and battery so as to provide for protections for inspectors of code enforcement, to provide for definitions, to provide for enhanced penalties for simple assault, aggravated assault, simple battery, battery, and aggravated battery committed upon inspectors of code enforcement in circum- circumstances to provide for related matters, to provide for an effective date and applicability to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes. Mr. President, the, uh, Senate Committee on Rules recommends that this bill do pass by substitute.

279. 2:18:33

     Respectfully submitted, Senator Brass, the 6th District chairman. Code enforcement officials and for other purposes. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Rules offers the following substitute to House Bill 483, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to assault and battery so as to provide for protections for code enforcem- enforcement officials a- and for other purposes. Mr. President, I yield the seat order. I recognize the senator from the 23rd to speak to House Bill 483.

280. 2:19:14

     Mr. Colleagues, I bring you House Bill 483. Uh, this bill, it got caught up a little bit in some, uh, challenges at the end of last session. It's a solid bill from my colleague from Augusta, representative from the, um, 132nd. It does one very simple thing. It affords the same protections to code enforcement officials that we provide to utility workers. And at the end of the day, as code enforcement workers across our state do their job, they, um, they require the same level of protection that a utility worker would receive, uh, as they perform their job.

281. 2:19:48

     So, if there are no questions, I'd ask for your favorable consideration for House Bill 483. You do have a question, looks like. Chair recognizes senator from the 14th. Senator from the 14th. Thank you, Mr. President. Does the senator yield? Absolutely. Senator, can you walk us through any changes that were made, uh, to produce this rule substitute compared to the prior versions? Ha- happy to. Well, actually, what it did is it removed all of the language that was inserted at the end of the session last, uh, year and replaced it with exactly the exact code that was in the original bill.

282. 2:20:26

     If you'll look, uh, specifically on lines 71, you will notice that it, uh, asks any person who commits the offense of a simple battery upon a utility worker, the wording or code enforcement official was added, and at the same time on lines 78 and 79, those were the things that were inserted in the original bill. What you see before you is the original House Bill 483.

283. 2:20:56

     Sure. Thank you very much, Senator. Thank you, Mr. President. I urge your support for House Bill 483. 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. The 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 to agreeing to the report of the committee, which is favorable to the passage of the bill?

284. 2:21:29

     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 passage of the bill by substitute. All those in favor of the bill vote yay. Opposed, nay. Secretary will unlock

285. 2:22:10

     the machine.

286. 2:22:12

     On the pass of the bill, the ayes are 40 and the nays are seven.

287. 2:22:45

     This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute.

288. 2:22:52

     S- the Secretary will read the caption of House Bill 956.

289. 2:23:03

     House Bill 956 by Re- Representatives Corbett of the 174th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Code Section 12-8-27 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to solid waste trust funds so as to authorize use of funds for implementation of the provisions of solid waste management program in this state, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment recommends that this bill do pass. Respectfully submitted, Senator Anderson of the 24th District, Chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

290. 2:23:31

     I recognize the senator from the 8th to speak to House Bill 956.

291. 2:23:39

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. House Bill 956 is simply an agency bill, uh, for the EPD. It expands the authorized uses of the Solid Waste Transfer Fund to include activities associated with solid waste permitting, monitoring, regulation or guidance development, inspections, and enforcement. Has no anticipated impact to EPD's current state appropriated budget and will simply allow the director of EPD the flexibility to utilize state appropriated funds to build capacity, ensure other critical functions of EPD's roles and responsibilities are met. It has the support of the governor's office, OPB.

292. 2:24:11

     Passed out of the House 159 to three, passed out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee unanimously. Um, for instance, they, uh, there was a big tire fire, and so the EPD had to respond to it with their emergency response team. Um, and under, the way the law was written right now, they couldn't use funds to help pay for the emergency response, and so that's all this bill does. Just a simple agency bill. And Mr. President, I urge everyone's favorable c- consideration, and I'm gonna yield the floor.

293. 2:24:51

     Does any other senator wish f- to speak for or against the measure? The chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered? The chair hears none. The previous question is ordered. Is there objection agreeing the report of the committee which is favorable to pass the bill? The chair hears none. The report of the committee is agreed to. Is there objection to the main question being ordered? The chair hears none and the main question is ordered. Questions on the pass of the bill. All those in favor of the bill vote yay. Opposed, nay. Secretary will unlock the machine.

294. 2:26:17

     On the pass of the bill, the ayes are 45 and the nays are one. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed.

295. 2:26:28

     I'll ask the secretary to read the caption of House Bill 1020.

296. 2:26:37

     House Bill 1020 by Representative Reeves of the 99th and others, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Chapter 23 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to the Georgia Judicial Retirement System so as to provide for the payment of monthly retirement benefits for credible service as a district attorney at the age of 65 years, to provide for calculation of benefits for individuals who first become members after the effective date of this act, to provide for calculation of survivor's benefits, to provide for conforming changes, to provide for an effective date, to provide for related matters, to repeal conflicting laws, and for other purposes. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Retirement recommends that this bill do pass.

297. 2:27:10

     Respectfully submitted, Senator Williams, Chairman. Mr. President, that completes the order.

298. 2:27:20

     The chair recognizes the senator from the 50th.

299. 2:27:27

     Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. I move that House Bill 1020 be committed to the Committee on Rules.

300. 2:27:33

     The senator from the 50th District has moved that House Bill 1020 be committed to the Rules Committee. Is there objection?

301. 2:27:46

     Yes. That it be

302. 2:27:46

     Yes, that that is the rules.

303. 2:27:52

     Uh, senator, do you object or you wanna waive?

304. 2:27:56

     Uh, parliamentary inquiry.

305. 2:27:58

     State your inquiry.

306. 2:27:59

     Doesn't it need to be s- I would prefer as the chairman it be sent to, directly to standing Rules Committee.

307. 2:28:06

     So the, the Rules Committee, I think, is standing rules, Senator.

308. 2:28:19

     That's where it's going.

309. 2:28:23

     All right, without objection...

310. 2:28:28

     All right.

311. 2:28:31

     House Bill 1020 has been recommitted to standing rules.

312. 2:28:46

     The secretary will read the caption of House Bill 1199.

313. 2:28:59

     House Bill 1199 by Representatives Carson of the 46th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend Code Section 48-1-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to definitions regarding revenue and taxation so as to revive, revise the definition of the terms Internal Revenue Code and Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to incorporate certain provisions of the federal law into Georgia law to provide for related matters, to provide for an effective date and applicability to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes. Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Rules recommends that this bill do pass by substitute. Respectfully submitted, Senator Brass of the 6th district, chairman.

314. 2:29:30

     Mr. President, the Senate Committee on Rules offers the following substitute to House Bill 1199, a bill to be entitled an act to amend coded Section 48-1-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to definitions regarding revenue and taxation so as to revise the definition of the terms Internal Revenue Code and Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to incorporate certain provisions of the federal law into Georgia law to provide for related matters to provide for an effective date and applicability to repeal conflicting laws and for other purposes. Minority report has been attached. Mr. President, minority report has been attached. Mr. President, that completes the order.

315. 2:30:00

     I recognize the senator from the 52nd to speak to the bill.

316. 2:30:13

     Thank you, Mr. President. Every year we, uh, conform to the IRS code as well as we possibly can. The one this year was a little bit unusual. I think the state of South Carolina that has a policy of automatically, uh, conforming changed th- their law this year when they saw the cost of it. Ours was gonna be about one point four billion in the first year if we conformed to it completely. And so we always conform to what we can.

317. 2:30:46

     Usually the cost, ten million, I know I've seen it as high as a hundred million to conform to it and we try to keep it simple for everybody. Um, so there were, there were different items we looked at. One item that I've heard talked about already today, and I'll address it, is the low in- low-income housing tax credit. The, uh, state of Georgia right now matches the federal money 100%. We're just about the only state that does that.

318. 2:31:18

     Some states match it 50%, some states don't match it at all. And, um, we had a study done in the past that showed that we really weren't getting any benefit from the 100% match. That, that didn't seem to matter on, on number of units that were built. So my preference has been in the past that we go to a 50% match. That hasn't gone through the Senate. However, the, the federal government had expanded it and it was gonna cost us $890.8 million to follow their expansion.

319. 2:31:55

     So in this bill we propose not to match that federal money. It will be the same as many, many other states who don't match it. The, the low-income housing, uh, money will still be there from the federal government. It can still be utilized, but that's, that's the position we've had. The difference also, uh, between the House version is the, uh, no tax on tips and overtime that was added back in. So, um, those are probably the only issues that, that could be contentious.

320. 2:32:31

     I can go into some others if you want me to, and if there's no questions I'll yield the will.

321. 2:32:51

     Any questions? Uh, chair recognizes senator from the 14th.

322. 2:32:58

     Yeah, I see that now. No questions, Senator.

323. 2:33:05

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Senator from the 14th, you're recognized.

324. 2:33:24

     Thank you, Mr. President. Well, I am pleased that the majority is acknowledging that this bill is taking a strange path. W- this is our normal true-up bill for the internal reve- revenue code that we do every year. This is the bill that's supposed to align state law with changes in federal law. And the chairman has just acknowledged that this bill has taken a different path and it's been bumpy. It has not been, uh, a well-considered deliberation about exactly what we want in this bill or how to change what should be a normal true-up bill.

325. 2:33:57

     Instead, there's sort of been a policy, uh, judgment made ad hoc based on whatever committee this bill finds itself in at the given time. So the posture that we're in now on the Senate floor is that this bill, we talked about overtime and, you know, wages and tips and all that. Putting that issue to the side, what this bill now does is it fails to expand

326. 2:34:20

     The low-income housing tax credit, according to H.R.1, what the federal government decided, again, this is the Trump administration decided, to expand that tax credit and provide more assistance to states. And I think what might be helpful, because I do acknowledge, uh, the, the chairman's forthright presentation, he did acknowledge what this bill does, but he didn't do it in detail. So I think this debate would benefit from a little bit of detail. DCA administers a program, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, in which roughly 6,000 homes are built per year with the combined assistance from state and federal governments.

327. 2:34:54

     Uh, the 2,000 of those homes, uh, are built under one program with a certain percentage tax credit, the other 4,000 under a different program. Those 2,000 homes, that part of the program is being expanded under the federal, uh, H.R.1 program. The other 4,000 homes that we build every year, there's a certain matching requirement. I think the chairman spoke to this, that state dollars have to be put up in a certain amount for those 4,000 homes to be built. And under the present rules, or I should say before H.R.1 took effect, the homes that we build each year would require a commitment of dollars in the realm of roughly 700-something million dollars.

328. 2:35:33

     And what H.R.1 did is it reduced the matching requirement for state dollars to the 300-something million dollar range, so roughly half. Here's the problem. If you look at line 68 of this rule substitute, 67 and 68, it says, "The act shall be applicable to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1st, 2025." So we're not talking about even 2026 midstream. This is a bill that applies to taxable years beginning January 1st, 2025.

329. 2:36:07

     So you've got all of last year's developments that hinge on a certain tax treatment. You've got all of this year's, 2026 developments, that hinge on a certain tax treatment. And I can tell you with certainty that DCA has already contracted to build homes under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit for both of these taxable years according to the rules that were set out in H.R.1. Why? Because DCA reasonably assumed that this legislature would do an IRC true-up that is just a true-up, that aligns with federal law, that does not fight what the Trump administration did in H.R.1.

330. 2:36:48

     Again, this is the same team we're talking about. There w- there was no expectation that there would be a disconnect between what H.R.1 did on Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and then how the state would follow suit. So that ink, friends, is dry. Those deals have already been done with the assumption that the state only has to match in the 300 and something million dollar range the amount of private activity bonds. Well, what will this bill do if it passes both chambers and gets signed into law? DCA will now have a bunch of deals that have been signed, and the ink is dry, for last year and this year, that assume a, a lot more help than is coming.

331. 2:37:30

     And DCA will have to have an emergency scramble, essentially, to issue 300 something million more in private activity bonds in order to pay for this legislation. So I think, uh, we need to be very clear about what the chairman is proposing in terms of deciding to be fiscally responsible or not match the federal expansion. That would be nice if it were purely forward-looking. That would be maybe even a noble idea if we were planning this two or three years down the road. But what we're actually talking about is 2025 and 2026 low-income housing tax credits that have already been employed based on an assumption that this bill would undermine.

332. 2:38:12

     So there really is a choice. You have to go one of two ways. You either have to fork over 300-plus million dollars more to pay for the deals that have already been inked, or you have to abandon those projects and abandon the promise of expanding affordable housing in Georgia under this program. And I can tell you that DCA is not going to want to abandon the deals that have already been inked. So what that leaves us with is a little bit of a disconnect here, th- this bill, in fact, does not save the state money.

333. 2:38:44

     All it does is put a leading state agency on this issue into a cash crunch that it has to go into an emergency posture to solve. So that is not the fiscally responsible decision that this bill is being billed at. It is not consistent with, I think, the bipartisan goal of expanding affordable housing in the state. And so then, in reality, all it does is fight the Trump administration on housing policy in a way that forces the state of Georgia to spend twice as much money as it thought that it would.

334. 2:39:17

     And those are the facts, and that's the reason why... I don't even say this very much. I don't often urge you to vote no, because I know that that might not be a good use of my breath. But right now, I am urging you to vote no on this legislation, Mr. Leader, because I think that you can agree with me that this is not the policy on affordable housing that we want to leave with DCA at a time like this. I'll yield for any questions.

335. 2:39:42

     Chair recognizes the senator from the 36th for a question.

336. 2:39:49

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, does the gentleman yield?

337. 2:39:52

     I do, to my good friend.

338. 2:39:54

     Thank you. Um, and, and thanks for giving some background here that's tied to real numbers and the reality. Isn't it true that, uh, this low-income tax credit is the only money that the state the only program that, that, uh, it invests in creating and preserving affordable housing. Isn't that the case?

339. 2:40:17

     That, that's right. And I think we talk a lot about budgets being moral documents and reflections of our priorities. I think, and this is something I think you could say across the board with our policy-making at the state level, Senator, which is we have a number of, uh, cover stories for the policy problems that exist in this state, and those cover stories are often quite thin. And so, you know, housing trust fund that is only in the millions, that does not come close to the word billion with a B, uh, low-income housing tax credit, which is, as you suggested, the only real material policy on expanding affordable housing in Georgia that we do employ with some success.

340. 2:40:54

     You could make an analogy to healthcare, that the waivers, the pathways waivers that we implemented a few years ago were very thin narrative cover-

341. 2:41:02

     Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm

342. 2:41:02

     ... for our failure to promote access-

343. 2:41:04

     Right

344. 2:41:04

     ... to healthcare in the state. So these are all kind of part and parcel of the same brand of policymaking, which is to have a talking point about something that we do that we should be doing in earnest times five, times ten, times twenty, but to pretend that that's enough. And now this bill goes even a l- a layer less advanced than that. Not only is it that we only have this one program, low-income housing tax credit, that does even some of the work we think it should be doing, this bill seeks to further undermine that program and make it less feasible for us to keep up with federal policy, again, set by the Trump administration.

345. 2:41:40

     This is not the Biden administration that expanded this low-income housing tax credit. This is H.R.1. This is the Trump administration. And our state would be saying, "We don't want to even keep pace with that commitment to affordable housing." So yes, Senator, I would say it stands out that this is the one program we really have for this, and we're not honoring the promise of the program.

346. 2:42:03

     Uh, would you take a further question or two?

347. 2:42:04

     I would.

348. 2:42:05

     Thank you. Um,

349. 2:42:10

     isn't it true, it's certainly my opinion, and I believe it's accurate, that regardless of your party affiliation on this bill, you can oppose what's been done in this version so that we can get, get, get to conference and get this thing fixed, but you can, you can, with a clear conscience, vote against this bill as it's been amended in, in rules. Isn't that the case?

350. 2:42:37

     I, I think the senator knows of what she speaks. I think oftentimes in here there's two calculations that members of the majority party have to make for any vote like this. One is will this actually be fixed, if not by us, then by the House potentially, right? And so as long as the second consideration, which is politics, is satisfied, a lot of members in here feel safe to vote for legislation that the House may end up modifying to better effect. Uh, the concern I think here is that, A, you can't necessarily know for sure what the House will do on this, and B, uh, the politics of this vote are quite bad.

351. 2:43:13

     I mean, I think this is kind of a money where your mouth is, rubber meets the road kind of vote. This is a pretty direct up and down vote on whether you want the low-income housing tax credit to work with the effect that the Trump administration intends for it to work. A vote against this bill is a vote for affordable housing. A vote for this bill is a vote to limit the very modest amount of affordable housing investment that we do do in this state. And so I, you know, I think on this count you've got issues on both sides of the voting calculus, and I think that members would be well-advised to think of this as one of the few affordability issues this year that gets teed up pretty directly in this chamber.

352. 2:43:53

     A lot of the affordability conversation is in the abstract this year. This is one of the handful of votes that squarely tees up are you with us on affordability or are you against us on it, Senator, and so I think you're right to identify it in those terms.

353. 2:44:07

     Thank you for your clarity and for taking my questions.

354. 2:44:10

     Thanks very much, Senator. Happy to yield for any further questions.

355. 2:44:16

     No further questions.

356. 2:44:18

     Thank you, Mr. President.

357. 2:44:19

     Chair recognizes the senator from the 44th to speak to the measure.

358. 2:44:43

     Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in opposition to the legislation due to the changes, uh, made in committee to the low-income housing tax credit. Georgia's low-income housing tax credit has long been recognized as one of, of the most effective tools we have for producing quality, affordable housing. It helps finance housing for seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and working families across our state.

359. 2:45:18

     It is the only investment that we as a body, that our state has made in the creation and preservation of affordable housing. The need for housing in general and affordable housing in our state is significant and growing. According to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, who administers this program, we currently need more than 113,000 additional rental housing units and more than 100,000 home ownership units just to meet the housing needs that exist today.

360. 2:46:04

     These changes could wipe out 100,000 units when we need Those and many more. We are in the, the midst of a housing crisis, and it's not unique to Georgia, and I don't think that's much in dispute. Housing affordability has over and over been identified by voters as one of the very top issues that they are facing this year.

361. 2:46:37

     And we've got to talk about the economics of this housing being built. The developers that partner with the state in utilizing LIHTC funds are businesses. They're not charities, and their incentive to build units that are much needed by the public and by the economy, but perhaps not the way that they would most maximize their profit, means that, that a program like this is critical to do a public-private partnership and ensure that housing for all of our residents can be available at a cost that they can afford.

362. 2:47:25

     We know that the lack of, um, housing availability writ large and, and of course, um, affordable housing in particular has also directly contributed to a crisis in homelessness.

363. 2:47:42

     We need our, uh, to be partners with our businesses so that their, their revenue can cover the full cost of construction and financing. This is the tax credit that fills that gap by attracting the private investment that makes the developments financially possible. Historically, this l- this chamber has treated the, um, IRS Conformity Bill as what it is, a must-pass piece of legislation that ensures that Georgia's tax code aligns with federal law.

364. 2:48:17

     Using it to make a major policy shift is a, is a departure from that, and it is a departure we should reject. What's particularly notable in this instance is that the f- the federal, um, policy being articulated was passed in, uh, H.R.1, the big beautiful bill, to increase the amount of tax credits to help make a dent in solving this housing crisis that we are in.

365. 2:48:51

     So this is a, a, a president, a, um, a priority for the president and, uh, Republican majorities in the House and Senate. So instead of accepting that, uh, policy priority with our, with our thanks, because we have a major crisis on our hands here in Georgia, it instead rejects it and cuts the tools that we already have for addressing our housing shortage. This would have extremely serious consequences, and actually not just for the future housing developments that we need.

366. 2:49:27

     It would disrupt existing housing deals that have already been structured and financed under the expectation that we would move to conform Georgia's tax code with the federal changes. Second, it would create a complicated and unwieldy system with multiple categories of funding, adding administrative burdens without creating corresponding benefit.

367. 2:50:00

     And third, it would limit the permissible use of private activity bonds. That either means fewer resources available for first-time home o- home ownership, reduced funding available for critical economic development projects across our state, or less affordable housing being built. I suggest to you, colleagues, that none are outcomes that we should be seeking. At a time when Georgia families are struggling with the cost of housing and the cost of living in general, we should not take steps that would make it harder to finance the homes and economic development projects that our communities need.

368. 2:50:44

     So for all of these reasons, I urge you, colleagues, to reject the language around the, uh, cuts to the low-income housing tax credit, reject the non-conforming language, and, uh, return this bill to committee so that it can be made in aligning our tax code with federal law. Thank you, and I yield the will.

369. 2:51:12

     I wanna recognize the Speaker Pro Tem of the House with us, Representative Jan Jones. Glad to have you over here in the upper chamber.

370. 2:51:25

     We greatly appreciate your service to the state of Georgia. You've been wonderful. Thank you. All right, I recognize the senator from the 36th to speak to House Bill

371. 2:52:09

     1199. How does it ch- does it change? Does it have to have longer if I'm doing a longer thing? We can make it a bit shorter.

372. 2:52:22

     It's short. Okay.

373. 2:52:23

     Yeah. So you're, you're speaking to the bill.

374. 2:52:25

     Yeah.

375. 2:52:28

     Mm-hmm. Thank you very much, uh, Mr. President. Uh, colleagues, I'm, um, uh, appreciate the time and attention that's being focused on House Bill 1199. It is more than appropriate to, uh, take a close look at the bill that is before us, uh, that has been amended twice in the Finance Committee, uh, and then it's gone through the process of amendment of, uh, by the Rules Committee.

376. 2:52:58

     Uh, and it, it's, it's addressing a central issue on affordability. It's addressing the housing crisis that has been widely acknowledged exists in our state. Uh, that's why it's important to spend the time and the consideration and understand what you're doing when you cast your vote on this bill. And as I made the point, uh, i- in, uh, an inquiry to the s- senator from the 14th following his remarks, uh, I would point out that this is, uh, very inconsistent with our approach to, uh, conforming Georgia law with federal l- law and policy, uh, as we do every, every year, uh, in this chamber and the chamber across the hall.

377. 2:53:55

     Uh, this is a, this is a departure from that practice, and one might ask , w- why is that?

378. 2:54:07

     We have a Department of Community Affairs that does a quite, a tremendous heavy lift, uh, in, in, in a, in a, in an array of tasks that that agency, uh, is in charge of. They've, they've just signed contracts based on the language in the, uh, House Bill 1, passed by, passed by the both houses, uh, up, up on the Hill and signed by the President.

379. 2:54:38

     Are you gonna tear, are you gonna tear that up? You gonna tear up the contracts that have been issued? Think with me for a minute, if you can, about the debate on data centers and the widely expressed opinion that tearing up contracts with the data centers on the tax credits that they came in with an understanding they would get, I, I would dare say there was 100% of the GOP members of this Senate robustly voted to not send that message to the business community, that we were gonna tear up contracts, that they, they, they were being honored in the, in the legislation that's been passed regarding data centers.

380. 2:55:26

     So you would be absolutely going against best business practices, uh, destabilizing, uh, the, uh, f- finance, the financial arrangements that have, that have already been made, uh, by, through the, the, they're authorized by the Department of Community Affairs. And I've had some good input from that department, uh, understanding that the, uh, contracts that they just issued, the, the, the, the, the, with the, with the private, uh, bond activity, private activity bonds, would cost twice as much

381. 2:56:09

     if we were to go forward with non-conforming with President Trump's

382. 2:56:19

     vision of how to address housing in this country.

383. 2:56:25

     And that's why I made the point when the senator from the 14th was, uh, well, uh, concluded his remarks, is that you are on safe ground if you v- vote against this on the basis of we need to get, we need to get this, uh, we need to get conformed with the, with the, uh, federal language. And I've always, uh, as much as whether you disagree with it or agree with it, you know, Trump has often describes and brags himself about his, his, uh, expertise and his deep understanding of real estate and housing.

384. 2:57:01

     And this, uh, House Bill 1, that is of his creation, signed into law by him, that's exactly what this does. This addresses housing. So you're on safe ground if you s- make a vote here to say, "Let's, let's get this thing fixed and let's get in conformance." Uh, it does the job that needs to be done, and it's not a partisan issue.

385. 2:57:32

     You can go with it whether you're a D or an R and sleep good tonight. But I'll tell you, the people across the state that are so s- stretched thin in, i- i- i- i- in, in, in many ways, we, we all know the, the, uh, in fact, the gentleman I think from the 27th, uh, u- used this, uh, uh, uh, referenced this data point the other day. You have to, you know, the average home- home buyer now is, uh, 40 years old.

386. 2:58:05

     That's a neon sign blinking that we got some stuff that needs fixing. And, and when we don't continue this program and take the, the, the enhancement that is, uh, in House Bill 1, what are, what, what, what message are we sending to our real estate, uh, industry? To our banking industry, to our economy, and most of all, to the people that need to be housed with dignity, uh, and with some support.

387. 2:58:40

     You know, uh, the ability that... W- what, what this money does, it, it, it assists in the down payment, it lowers the mortgage to be affordable, and that's how you wound up with a- af- affordable housing. But you don't wind up with it if you don't, uh, uh, uh, take advantage, uh, and continue and expand low-income housing tax credit program. It's just that simple. It's just that simple. Um, so I would, I would, uh, uh, given all of these things, that one is what the, we heard the Ch- chairman of rules from this very well speak about the importance of honoring the, uh, the, uh, tax credits with the data centers.

388. 2:59:20

     Why wouldn't that, why wouldn't that logic apply to this? I- I'm, I'm, I'm, I'd be really interested in hearing, uh, uh, th- that being contested when that is precisely what we did with, with data centers. Uh, it's, it's been a bumpy road for this bill thus far. I know the, uh, uh, author from across the hall was, was, uh, a bit taken aback by what happened in the finance committee. It, it was, uh, nothing that, uh, there was no heads-up that, that, that there was gonna be any, uh, thing introduced that was not in conformance with the, with the, uh, uh, uh, federal, uh, tax program.

389. 2:59:59

     Uh, and, uh, I see he's with us today and I, I'm sure hoping for a, a, a wonderful solution that gets everybody on board and, and moves us forward and preserves and expands our commitment to affordable housing in this state. Uh, I am, uh, happy to take any questions on this bill. I w- I would hope you would weigh carefully, uh, your decision as you vote, uh, and, uh, let, let, let, let, let's try to do some repair work before we get a final bill, uh, out, uh, that gets us in conformance with the, the, uh, federal law.

390. 3:00:37

     If there are no questions, seeing none... Oh, oh, uh- There are questions- Thank you ... Senator. Mm-hmm. Yes. Chair recognizes the senator from the 44th. Thank you, Mr. President. Will the gentle lady yield? I yield. Thank you. Um, Senator, you've always been one of the members who's been the most knowledgeable in my experience, um, here in the Senate on this particular tax credit. What I'm trying to remember and I'm hoping you can enlighten me, is that I know that in some ways on its face we are putting more into this particular credit than some other states.

391. 3:01:22

     But if memory serves, isn't that also because we are not committing general funds or other programs to, um, affordable and lower income housing? Could you speak to that? Uh, the, uh, to my friend from the 41st, from the 44th, you are correct and I, I, I think that's, uh, very important to note that. That to say, uh, other states aren't doing what we're doing. Well, we're not doing what other states are doing.

392. 3:01:52

     We're putting far less into housing historically over decades than other states have done and this is the only place that we have, uh, uh, invested in to provide, uh, affordable housing. That could be part of the understanding of why we are so woefully behind, uh, in our housing stock, both for, both for rental and for, uh, home purchase. Thank you. So isn't it true that it isn't really accurate to say that we're doing l- um, far more than some other states?

393. 3:02:23

     That's right. That would really be leaving out some fundamental facts, uh, which is that we don't match what other states are doing, uh, w- with investing from their general funds in affordable housing. Um, Senator, could you speak a little bit about the connection, um, between this issue, the affordable housing tax credit, and some other issues that we're grappling with such as families, uh, living in the extended stay hotels?

394. 3:02:58

     W- would you say there's a connection there? Absolutely, uh, and, and, and it's a vital connection. Thank you for that question. Um,

395. 3:03:07

     it is ag- it's staggering when you look at the, when you pull back the, the layers and look at the reality for families that are forced to stay in extended stay, uh, hotels and motels and what they're paying. What they're paying is, uh, is, is, it's, it's, it's, it's a scandal. It's a scandal what they're, what they're, what they're being charged. And it's al- it always turns out to be true, you know, it, it, it costs a lot to be poor, you know? Everything's jacked up and, and, and you're, you're trapped in an endless cycle of poverty.

396. 3:03:42

     A- and that's very much the case for people that are housing their families. Uh, let's see, is it gonna be the backseat of the car or are we gonna put a roof over our heads that, that has running water, uh, hopefully hot running water, uh, and, uh, uh, protection from the elements? And that is, that is so true that we have, people are forced into that kind of situation because we did not do, uh, we lack the, uh, stock that we need of affordable housing. And isn't it the case, Senator, that there are sadly a lot of children living in that environment, um, in some of these extended stay motels?

397. 3:04:20

     Could you speak to the- Oh, there's no question about it. I mean, you, you, you, you spend, spend 10 minutes on, on, on, on, on, on a Google search and you will see pictures of that. You will see, uh, families crammed into what was originally styled to be a motel room and they are figuring out How to work, raise the kids, do the laundry, get some groceries on the table. It's a, the, they live a day-to-day existence, uh, that it, it, that, by the way, ends up with families being broken up very often.

398. 3:04:56

     It's been pointed out, and there's data on it, that we have, we have, uh, children, uh, in, in pushed into the foster system, pushed into the foster system, uh, because of the lack of an affordable housing stock, uh, both, both rental and, and purchasing it. Uh, it's, it- and for the richest country in the world, and a state as prosperous as Georgia, it's, it's beyond lamentable. It's, it's inexcusable. Uh, we can solve these problems if we unite, put our shoulder to the wheel, do the right thing, and invest in, in, in, in solving the problems.

399. 3:05:33

     And wouldn't you say, Senator, that unfortunately there tends to be higher than average cri- uh, crimes and other unsavory activities at some of these, um, extended stay motels? Isn't that the case?

400. 3:05:51

     Uh, uh, without a doubt. And, and the, uh, the police records, uh, on how many calls to the property. And ch- and children are in those settings that, that as a result of being in those settings are molested. Um, it, it, it's, it's not a, it, it, this is not, this is, this is weighty, uh, information and real lives and families' chances at, uh, positive outcomes are highly compromised, uh, when we cannot as a state, uh, do what it takes to put affordable housing on the market and available.

401. 3:06:27

     And isn't it true, Senator, that when you've got children surrounded by these, as you, I'll use your words 'cause I like them, um, unsavory environment-

402. 3:06:36

     That's right

403. 3:06:37

     ... then, you know, that's gonna have terrible consequences down the road for the children, which also, of course, then, uh, creates problems for us and utilization of other kinds of taxpayer money, uh, down the road when these children are, um, struggling so much and are surrounded by, uh, not the type of environment that they need to be raised in in order to be productive members of society later.

404. 3:07:02

     Sadly, you are absolutely right. You're right on point, uh, Senator. Uh-

405. 3:07:08

     Senator

406. 3:07:08

     ... it is, wh- when you think of, of, of, o- of children, I mean, it, it brings you to tears. Being r- being, because of the f- family's inability to secure affordable housing, children are in the, in, in the foster system. Children are in the foster system. I, I, I don't know how stark a picture you want to paint. Uh, that, that, this is a reality. This is not somebody's notion of what might happen sometime.

407. 3:07:41

     This is happening now. And, and there's been testimony in committees, uh, that are lo- that are looking at these issues, uh, to, to that effect. There are books written about it. I, I met the author of one of them the other day who lives in Decatur. Uh, a- and, um, this is all very real. Ponder these things in your heart and cast a vote that you can live with.

408. 3:08:06

     Yeah. Thank you, Senator. Um, I thank you for a- um, bringing to light all the myriad issues that really are involved with the, the, the topic that we're discussing.

409. 3:08:16

     Uh, and thank you, uh, Senator Swiff, for that, for that line of questioning. And I believe there's a minority report as well, uh, that is still to be presented. Uh, I will yield the well. Thank you for your attention.

410. 3:08:28

     Senator's yielded the well.

411. 3:08:37

     So does the senator from the 35th have the minority report? Is there gonna be a minority report? No minority report. S- Chair recognizes the senator from the 35th to speak to the bill.

412. 3:09:02

     Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, just, uh, from what I can gather, it looks like we have s- uh, some, uh, the federal government basically wants to do some good things that both Democrats and Republicans agree with. And then here we have changes to these good things, and it guts, it guts that, a good thing. Can you believe this? We can go back home and tell our folks in our districts that both sides of the aisle agree with the President of the United States on this matter.

413. 3:09:39

     So why is it that we have a bill that guts

414. 3:09:45

     the whole idea of affordable housing when this is something that the federal government, a Trump administration, wants? We have an opportunity to vote this down so that it can be perfected, and we can have both of those items, tax credits for tips and overtime and affordable housing credits. We can have both. We don't have to choose. So I love this opportunity. We don't get this opportunity very often.

415. 3:10:16

     Most people believe that we just disagree on everything. But on this, we agree that both sections of this are good. So why is it that we're gonna halfway do a good thing? Let's vote this down, let it get reworked, and let it come back with both of these very good things, the tax incentives for affordable housing and for, um, tips and overtime. Thank you so much. I yield the well.

416. 3:10:47

     Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the measure? Chair hears none. Is there objection to the previous question being ordered?

417. 3:11:01

     Pursuant to Senate rule, the senator from the 52nd can, has the right to close debate. I recognize the senator from the s- 52nd.

418. 3:11:23

     All I can say is, wow, I've heard some incredible things up here. You know, um, we had a study that said that the 100% match was not building any more housing, that it simply was giving money to rich developers that we didn't need to give to them. The same number of houses would get built a- and the s- other states that did it with 50% and in many states with 0% were still building those houses.

419. 3:11:55

     We're not disagreeing with President Trump. We're not gonna keep housing from being built. But apparently, if we don't wanna do the 100% match that nobody else does, it gives money to rich developers, that not giving that money to those rich developers is gonna increase foster care, and put children out on the streets, and cause more crime, and put people in extended stay housings. Um, we are very consistent. The argument that we're picking one thing out and not doing it is not the case. Georgia has always had a policy of looking at what we conform to and what we don't.

420. 3:12:31

     We pretty much never conform with everything in the federal government because sometimes it's difficult to do it. You know, we've got some stuff in there, um, dealing with, uh, business credits and deductions and stuff that we're not conforming with them on. We do this all the time. That's nothing new.

421. 3:12:49

     We, um, have a, a trip that we do, and we do what we can. We're not stopping the federal money from coming. And then I heard the argument that, um, even though we never match up everything, that somebody at a, a government agency here assumed that we were gonna pass a bill that would retroactively cover them for doing something. I don't know if that's true or not. Nobody from that agency has contacted me to say that, "Hey, we were hoping that next year you'd pass a bill, so we went ahead and signed some contracts in the hopes of that." I hope that's not true.

422. 3:13:25

     I haven't heard that from anybody there. If it is, it's wrong. It takes away this legislature's ability to, to pass laws. We're talking about last year. That's why it's last year. This conforms for taxes from last year, not this year, last year. That bill wasn't even passed till the second half of last year. And to assume that we're gonna come back and make that retroactive to the previous year, I, I don't understand that argument.

423. 3:13:59

     We are not stopping the federal government from sending money. We are still sending as much money as we have before. Um, I think that we should have that 100% back to 50%. I think they should spread it around more. The, the studies show we're not getting more housing building by that 100% match. We're simply giving money to certain people that increases their profit margin. Um, we've had people from both parties look at that in the past and, and, and had agreed that it need to be looked at.

424. 3:14:36

     This process is gonna move forward. It's not what the House did. You're gonna see it again. Um, we can continue to have this debate. The $900 million expansion does not get us more housing, and that's why we've looked at this. And with that, I urge your favorable consideration. And Mr. President, I yield the well. Senator from the 52nd has closed debate. The question is on the adoption of the committee substitute. Is there objection to the adoption of the committee substitute?

425. 3:15:08

     Hearing none, the committee substitute is adopted. Is there objection to agreeing the report of the committee, which is favorable to 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? The chair hears none, and the main question is ordered. The question is on the pass to the bill by substitute. All those in favor will vote yay. Opposed, nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

426. 3:16:36

     On the pass to the bill, the yays are at 31 and the nays are 18. This bill, having received the requisite constitutional majority, is therefore passed by substitute.

427. 3:16:52

     If you hadn't already figured this out, senators, due to some gracious, uh, host sponsorships, we do have sub sandwiches in the ante room. If you, uh, are getting really peckish like I am, you can get one. Chair recognizes the senator from the eighth for a motion.

428. 3:17:16

     Mr. President, I move that the Senate agree to the House substitute to SB 59. Secretary, read the caption.

429. 3:17:29

     Senate Bill 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 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 for other purposes.

430. 3:17:52

     Mr. President, the House offers the following substitute to Senate Bill 59, a bill to be entitled an act to amend Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and credits so as to revise the aggregate cap and application process for tax credits for timber producers incurring losses from Hurricane Helene, to provide for related matters, to provide for an effective date and applicability to repeal conflicting laws for other purposes. Mr. President, that completes the order. I recognize the senator, the senator from the eighth to speak to his motion.

431. 3:18:25

     Thank you, Mr. President. SB 59, if y'all remember, uh, last year you all help, helped me pass out House Bill 223, which was the governor's hurricane response bill. We passed it out unanimously. In that bill, there was a $200 million reforestation tax credit. Uh, there was also a $200 million reforestation tax credit from Hurricane Michael, and so the governor wanted to keep it at $200 million because there was only $80 million, uh, that was utilized from Hurricane Michael. Well, the difference between Hurricane Michael and Hurricane Helene is Hurricane Michael affected 2.4 million acres.

432. 3:19:03

     Uh, Hurricane Helene affected 8.9 million acres. Hurricane Michael, there was 296,000 acres that was severely damaged, and Hurricane Helene, there was 1.47 million acres that was severely damaged. And so what had happened is there's been, it was $200 million, there's been $241 or $243 million filed in requests, and the, the, the program is not opened up yet because, uh, if we don't put, uh, add some additional funding to it, then it's all gonna have to be prorated.

433. 3:19:40

     And what we found out is in some of these areas, especially with some of our elderly folks, that, you know, they don't do the email thing or the social media thing, and they didn't know about it. And so the DOR wants to get this program moving. This bill passed out of the House almost unanimously, but all it does is it adds another $50 million. So it's at $243 million now. The DOR was gonna open it up, and there's gonna be a hard stop at 250. And of course, if y'all know how this program works, the Georgia Forestry Commission comes out, and they, they have to go to every site and see that it's, uh, cleared and, and replanted properly and all that kind of stuff.

434. 3:20:14

     That's part of the certification process. And, uh, my friends, I just urge, uh, your favorable consideration on this measure. And Mr. President, I'll yield for questions or I will yield the will. You have a question, Senator? I recognize the senator from the 19th. Thank you, Mr. President. Senator, you yield? I'd be glad to. Help me, I, I support what you're doing. I appreciate it. I know that our area got absolutely devastated. Mm-hmm. But there's a new portion of the bill that I'm just trying to understand. On line 41, "Except as otherwise provided in division two of this subparagraph, tax credits can only be claimed by the individual." So I'm wondering what happens here in this subparagraph two.

435. 3:20:56

     That means that someone else can claim the tax credit or, or what? Can you help me understand that? That's lines 44 through 48. I don't have the bill in front of me, uh, Mr. Chairman. I'll get you a copy real quick. Um, let me get it here. Thank you. Now, you know my, I've been around farm equipment all my life, and this echo, uh, repeat your question to me, please. So on line 41- Mm-hmm ... the, it used to read, "Credits pursuant to this code shall be eligible to be claimed only by the taxpayer to which the commissioner has issued a pre-approval certificate." Mm-hmm.

436. 3:21:29

     When you add the line 41 language in, "Except as otherwise provided in subdivision two," then subdivision two can get it without having the pre-approval certificate. I'm just wondering what those lines 44 to 48 do. I, I, I don't think that they're wrong. I'm making sure that it doesn't make it where the credit can be sold. Do you think lines 44 through 48 do that?

437. 3:21:53

     And I'm reading it fast with you, so that's why I had to mash my button to- Yeah. Um, just one, just one second. Wasn't trying to catch you off guard. I know this was quick on both of us. One more time.

438. 3:22:08

     I don't think that is the case, Mr. Chairman. Okay. Although you're an expert in this, but I would imagine it has to do with getting it out faster. Okay. And I'm okay with it if- But that's, that's what I imagine, because there's some people already in the queue, but I, I'm- You know you and I have had our conversations, if the senator yield. You and I have had a conversation in the past about wanting to make sure this is actually used by the timber folks- A thousand percent ... not sold to somebody else. A thousand percent. So, and I- Yeah ... if that's where this bill is, that's where I will be, too. I- Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I believe that is to be the case, although you are an attorney and the Appropriations Chairman, so you, you know more about it than I do. But I don't think it's signif- or at least it's not the way that it has been presented to me.

439. 3:22:44

     Is that it, Mr. Chairman? No further questions. All right. Thank you. I urge your favorable consideration. Does any other senator wish to speak for or against the motion? Senator from the eighth has moved that the Senate agree to the House substitute to Senate Bill 59. All those in favor of the motion by the senator from the eighth will vote yay. All opposed will vote nay. The secretary will unlock the machine.

440. 3:23:15

     Senator from the eighth, what purpose do you rise? Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President. State your inquiry. I believe the question that the senator from the 19th asked me about is, um, so that those that have already applied do not have to submit pre-approval m- again. So that's what that is. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for clarifying that parliamentary issue.

441. 3:24:07

     On the motion, the yeas are 49 and the nays are zero. The motion prevailed and the Senate has agreed to the House substitute to Senate Bill 59.

442. 3:24:21

     Senators, I wanna take a moment to recognize somebody that is very special and does a tremendous amount of work for me and Senate District 20, but also the entire Senate body. Uh, she is going to have a birthday on Sunday, and we won't be here, but so I want to wish Orla Fennell happy birthday.

443. 3:24:53

     Thank you, Orla, for all you do for us. Thank you.

444. 3:24:58

     Chair recognizes senator from the 31st for a motion.

445. 3:25:04

     Mr. President, that was a great recognition. Happy birthday, Orla. She already left. I mean, she's gonna be partying all weekend. Um, Mr. President, I move the Senate stand adjourned pursuant to HR998 till 10:00 AM, Monday, March 16th.

446. 3:25:21

     Secretary will read the announcements.

447. 3:25:25

     The Rules Committee will meet upon adjournment in room 450 of the Capitol. The Education and Youth Committee will meet at 1:30 PM in room 307 of the CLOB. The Appropriations Judicial Subcommittee will meet at 2:30 PM in room 450 of the Capitol. The Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee will meet in room 230, at 2:30 PM in room 307 of the CLOB. The Insurance and Labor Committee has been canceled. Mr. President, that completes the order.

448. 3:25:50

     I recognize the senator for the, from the 19th for an announcement. Y'all give him your attention, our Appropriations chairman.

449. 3:25:57

     Hey, uh, subcommittee chairs of Appropriations, if you could just meet me right over here as soon as we adjourn, we need to have a quick little conference. Thank you.

450. 3:26:08

     The majority leader has moved that the Senate stand adjourned until 10:00 AM, Monday, March 16th. All those in favor of the motion will say aye.

451. 3:26:18

     Aye.

452. 3:26:18

     Those opposed, no.

453. 3:26:20

     No.

454. 3:26:20

     The ayes clearly have it, and we stand adjourned.