House Rules Committee, March 19, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1174877335 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1174877335#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-19/house-rules This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays. [0:00:00] Morning, everybody. [0:00:02] I'm gonna take a couple of [0:00:04] Morning, everybody. Morning. [0:28:19] I'll go ahead and call our meeting to order. And, uh, we'll recognize, uh, Dean Greene. Gonna open us up with a word of prayer this morning. [0:28:29] Let us pray. Lord our God, we thank you that you have called us your children. And Father, we ask you to be with us and guide us. Take us through these days that we have left at the legislature, that we may do good for the people of the state of Georgia. And Father, we just ask you now to go with us, guide us, and direct us. Carry us over those rough spots and hear our prayers, oh Lord, as we go forward. Be with us now, Father, and we ask all of this in our Lord and Savior's name. [0:29:03] Amen. [0:29:05] Thank you, Dean Greene. [0:29:09] We'll go ahead and, uh, get started. We thought about having a meeting at 6:00 AM this morning or 7:00, 7:00, or 7:30 tonight, but we felt like probably 9:00 or thereabout was a better time for us to get started. So having said that, we're gonna take our House members first. Uh, yes ma'am, come on up. [0:29:33] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members of the committee, I have H- House Resolution 1529. It's the bottom of page one, very last bill on page one. Uh, this proposes a study committee to look at the College and Career Ready Performance Index, or CCRPI, that, uh, measures our school districts. It's been in place for about 12 years now. It's not quite working as, as designed. Um, and it's just time to look at it. [0:30:00] Okay. I don't see any questions. Thank you. [0:30:03] Thank you. [0:30:03] Yes, ma'am. Chair Lee Silcox. [0:30:07] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I bring to you this morning Senate Bill 240. It's at the top of page three. And this bill is identical to my House Bill 955, and would change the state flower from the invasive species from China, the Cherokee Rose, to a native plant, um, which is the Sweetbay Magnolia. This is great policy for the state of Georgia and will hope- hopefully educate, um, lots of people about the importance of planting native plants, especially with us, um, building so many data centers and losing so much farmland. [0:30:42] It's more important than ever that we plant these native plants. Um, the best evidence I have that this is great policy for the state is I received over 100 letters from third graders who wrote to me about changing the state flower. So, thank you. [0:30:57] Okay, don't see any questions. Thank you, ma'am. Chairman Momtahan, go ahead. [0:31:10] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I have HR 1662. It's fifth down on the second page. [0:31:19] Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, first and foremost, uh, this is a resolution that recognizes the courage, professionalism, and sacrifice of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. When America calls, they answer, carrying out complex and dangerous missions with precision, discipline, and unwavering commitment to protecting our nation and defending freedom around the world. Second, this resolution draws a clear and important distinction between the Iranian regime and the Iranian people. Um, and finally, it recognizes the leadership required to confront such a regime, including the actions taken by President Donald J. [0:31:56] Trump, uh, during the last few weeks. With that, Mr. Chairman, I'll stand for questions. [0:32:01] Okay, we got a question. Whit Porter has a question. [0:32:03] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I've got just two questions. Um, is it not true that I, along with many members of my caucus, support about two-thirds of your resolution, and it was requested that an objectionable part be removed so that we could in a bipartisan manner commend our armed forces? [0:32:19] An objectionable part? I'm sorry. Uh, are you talking about, uh, I think it was a minority's position to remove our sitting president, Donald J. Trump, from this resolution, of which I'm opposed. When President Obama authorized strikes in Libya, uh, I was a, a supporter of those strikes, bringing freedom and pr- protecting our soldiers overseas. A, one more question, if I may. Uh, d- does the gentleman from the 17th really believe that a majority of Georgians think that President Trump has demonstrated leadership in starting this war without strategy, without an exit plan, that's triggered one of the worst global energy crisis since the 1970s, that's increasing gas prices, food prices, and threatening the fertilizer supply for Georgia farmers? [0:33:05] Here's what I think the majority of Georgians believe. I think that when three soldiers died at the hands of an Iranian regime who sent a drone strike into a United States military barracks that killed three soldiers while they were sleeping. And, uh, to the min- to the minority whip, I would just say this. I have a list here of hundreds of soldiers, American citizens, who have been killed by this brutal regime. That doesn't include the thousands from thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Iranian citizens who have been killed because of the protest. [0:33:44] The women who have been, uh, executed for letting their hair out, for speaking against this brutal regime. So I think the minority party wants to make this a very political thing. That's very sad to me. I don't think that Georgia or Georgians would choose to support this brutal regime. And we have to recognize, Mr. [0:34:16] Whip, that we have a leader in the White House who has taken decisive action to stop the constant barrage that our soldiers overseas have taken for decades. Thank you. Okay. Chairman Hitchens, did you have a question? Is it not true that you're of Iranian descent? I'm sorry, s- Isn't it, is it not true that you're of Iranian descent? That is true. [0:34:47] Okay. Don't see any other questions. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative Rice. [0:34:57] Good morning. I have House Resolution 1582. It is the first one on the second page. What this resolution does is it establishes a study committee to, um, for a teacher step recruiting, keeping, I'm sorry, retaining our veteran teachers with a step increase at year 28 of service. Mm. Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Chairman Gullett. [0:35:26] Thank you, Chairman. Excuse me. Um, this is Hou- House Resolution 1583, the second one down on, um, the blue sheet. Uh- Page two. Page two, I'm sorry. This resolution creates a study committee, um, to evaluate how Georgia can better support small businesses in adopting technology and innovation. It allows us, um, to take a thoughtful data-driven approach, um, to bring back targeted recommendations without rushing policy. Okay. Don't s- don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you, sir. [0:36:00] Representative Hilton. Representative Hilton, did you want to request a bill today? Yes, sir. Now's the time. [0:36:12] That's crazy. [0:36:24] Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, those of you in line. Um- [0:36:34] Here to present, uh, Senate Resolution 23, which we heard in standing committee just a couple of days ago. Senate resolution petitions Congress to implement an Article 5 convention for the purposes of imposing term limits on Congress. Mm. Okay, got a question. Whip Park has a question for you. Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, just two questions, if I may. Uh, is it not true that an Article 5 convention is a radical and dangerous way to amend the Constitution of the United States? [0:37:04] Not in the way that we've proposed it, where it's a very limited convention. Again, we, we discussed on, don't have lines in front of me, but we actually propose Congress, uh, to, uh, impose criminal charges if it goes beyond the scope of what's proposed in the resolution. I- i- is it not true that the only historical precedent for this is the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, which exceeded its mandate in which James Madison, the, who wrote the Constitution afterwards, warned that, uh, and, and wrote in a letter, "I should tremble for the re- for the result of a second convention." Is that not true? [0:37:37] W- we have women's suffrage to thank for what we're doing here today. So four times in our nation's history, uh, states have begun this process and Congress has stepped in and delivered what the states were asking for. So this is federalism at, at its, at work right now. And we have, we have many very good amendments to thank because of what we're doing here today. Mm. Okay. Don't see any other questions. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Okay. Senator Kirkpatrick. If you, if you would, Senator, when you present, please give us the page number and the bill number to help members find it quicker. [0:38:10] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have two bills for you today. Senate Bill 395, uh, the fourth down on page three, has to do with our medical cannabis program and is designed to improve communication between the Department of Public Health, who handles the administrative process, and the Composite State Medical Board, which handles enforcement. And, uh, everyone's in agreement with it as far as I can tell. [0:38:41] Okay. Okay, don't see any questions on that. Do you? Okay. And Senate Bill 444 is an insurance bill, and it basically assures that there will be a human in the prior authorization review process [0:38:57] Um, when AI is used. So we are supporting the use of AI, but also keeping a human in the loop before any adverse determinations are made. Okay, have a question for you, Chair Lady, uh, Smith. Thank you. Thank you for this bill. I'm so glad humans can fight back, so thank you. [0:39:19] Okay. Chairman Hawkins. Uh, I assume that you think it's very important for a human to answer the phone and tell a patient or a provider why they, they want, do not want to, um, have, for them to have the procedure rather than a automated e- entity on the other end. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the question. Um, we have done a lot of work on this process over the last several years on prior authorization. [0:39:52] And w- we've created guardrails that include a clinical peer in the process. So this bill just continues the work that we've done previously to be sure that AI cannot supersede the judgment of a clinical peer. [0:40:12] Chairman Martin, is that you? S- Senator, I, I think I know the answer, but I want to, I want to you to sound it for us. This is more important in the cases where there's a, a denial toward that than it is. I just want to make sure that it, injecting an individual when the answer is yes is not gonna slow down the thing for the pres- I, for the patient. And I believe, uh, you can address that in one line for us. That's 100% right. Um, we are fine with things that are gonna be approved by AI. But if there's gonna be a denial, we just need to be sure that there's a thorough review of the whole medical record. [0:40:46] Okay. Senator Kelley has a question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, I appreciate the legislation that you've brought. I guess I see an area for possible improvement. Would you think that if a denial is gonna be made, that that denial should only be made by a doctor licensed or a medical provider licensed to practice medicine in Georgia? Yes, sir. And that is why we did the definition of a clinical peer in Senate Bill 80 a few years ago. Okay. Thank you. Okay, I don't see any other questions. Did you have, was that it? [0:41:18] No more questions on that. Thank you. Thank you. Chairman McDonald. [0:41:24] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, today I've got, uh, first page down at the bottom, H.R. 1527. 1527 is a House study committee, uh, that's designed for those calls that we all get of why tractors are sitting on the side of the road in road, road construction areas, and they sit there for months and nothing's going on. So I dropped a, a piece of legislation, uh, this session. The halls came alive out there and, and my bill got tabled. [0:41:55] So the only other way to sit here and try to figure out what we've got to do to get DOT, our utilities, and our contractors all working together, I came with the idea of putting this study committee together. It's got, uh, five meetings, uh, throughout the state, and that's the resolution. Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Senator Robinson. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, bottom of page two is SB 216, which all that does is allow the director of the Georgia Ju- uh, excuse me, the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission to move from ERS to JRS. [0:42:36] Um, most of those directors, uh, that we've seen that have applied for the jobs are all district attorneys who qualify for that, that retirement system. [0:42:48] And I have a second one, um- Okay. Don't see any questions on that one. What's your next one? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, page four, SB 501, is from the, uh- Wait, wait a minute. You have a question on the first- ... Office of Fire, Fire Safety and, uh, Insurance Commissioner, and it's just some, uh, updates and cleanups in Code 25. What number is that? 501. 501. Okay, we have a question for you- Yes, sir ... Efstration. Mr. Wade, just a question for either of the bills you just presented. Were they considered in the Senate at 6:00 AM in committee? No, sir. Um, they, they were not considered at 6:00 AM. They were, um, the Insurance Commission bill went through, um, the normal committee process as did the, uh, SB 216 was in retirement- [0:42:50] Okay. Don't see any questions on that one. What's your next one? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, page four, SB 501, is from the, uh, Office of Fire, Fire Safety and, uh, Insurance Commissioner, and it's just some, uh, updates and cleanups in Code 25. What number is that? 501. 501. Okay, we have a question for you- Yes, sir ... Efstration. Mr. Wade, just a question for either of the bills you just presented. Were they considered in the Senate at 6:00 AM in committee? [0:43:25] No, sir. Um, they, they were not considered at 6:00 AM. They were, um, the Insurance Commission bill went through, um, the normal committee process as did the, uh, SB 216 was in retirement, uh, prior to crossover when there was, uh, many, many more open minutes in the day. So, uh, if I just understood you, you'd acknowledge that 6:00 AM is not the normal committee process. [0:43:56] Subcommittee process for me, yes, sir. I've held subcommittee meetings at 6:00 and 7:00 since my seven and eight years in, in the Senate, and I'd be happy to give an explanation if the, if the majority leader would, would care for one. I know we've been talking about this offline, but you'd acknowledge this legislative session you haven't had any 6:00 AM meetings prior to crossover day. Prior to crossover, I've never had a 6:00 AM, uh, subcommittee meeting prior to crossover day since I've been here. The only subcommittee meetings that I establish early in the mornings are post-crossover when, an example of yesterday, when we were on the Senate floor debating a lot of House bills for a long time, but we all had committees that we even had to miss to, to present bills over on the House side. [0:44:41] So what I try to do is use the day as, as best way possible. And I do want to point out that a 6:00 AM, uh, subcommittee meeting impacts senators just as it does those presenting bills, and these are bills that were selected and put on there because they were important Um, and, uh, I'm, I may be a unique animal, but I do nothing punitive. I support good legislation. I do not allow personalities or parties to interfere with what I do. You plan to put these important measures on the agenda in advance so the members know which bills will be heard if they're asked to appear at 6:00 AM? [0:45:21] All bills are on the agenda that are listed on the agenda. The agenda that I approved, and every single one of them will be heard and vetted. I have to be, or should be, in caucus at 9:00 o'clock. So I will put, if it takes three hours, we will be there three hours giving them the opportunity to explain their legislation. Well, thank you, Mr. Whip. I look forward to seeing that agenda posted online. I'll, I'll, I'll absolutely make sure it's posted online today. Okay. [0:45:50] Let's see. Cindy, uh, Chairman Hitchens, you had a question? Isn't it true in your f- in your first bill that if you move them, uh, Qualifications Commission, the Prosecuting Qualifications Commission, the Judicial Retirement, that they haven't, uh, nobody in the employee retirement system has received a COLA in about 15 years? It's- But the Judicial Qualifications Commission, if they go to the Judicial Retirement System, they get one every year. Y- absolutely, Mr. Chairman. You and I agree that the ERS has been neglected for a very long time, especially since 2008. [0:46:26] Okay. Cindy, how about 285? Did you want to ask for that one, too? Senate Bill 285. Yes, sir. I didn't realize it was on here. I apologize, Mr. Chair. 285, I would, uh, greatly appreciate, and I want to thank, um, the House members, um, Chairman Blackmon and, um, others who did a lot of good work on this legislation and, and cleaned up what I'd actually, uh, presented over on the Senate side. Did, they did a much better job. Okay. I don't see any questions on that. [0:46:56] Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Appreciate you. Representative Baker. Go ahead. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and m- members of the Rules Committee. I'm Sylvia Wayfer Baker, state rep for District 64. I rise today to present House Resolution 463, which recognizes the month of March as Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month in Georgia. Autoimmune diseases affect over 50 million Americans, including thousands of Georgians. [0:47:26] These diseases occur when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks heavy tissues, I'm sorry, healthy tissues, leading to chronic and often debilitating health challenges. Despite their prevalence, autoimmune diseases remain widely misunderstood, leading to delayed diagnosis, limited treatment options, and significant emotional and financial burdens for those affected. For many people living with autoimmune diseases, including myself, the journey to diagnosis can be long, frustrating, and isolating. [0:48:01] Increased awareness is a critical first step to improving early detection, research, and treatment options. This resolution is a bipartisan effort that recognizes the urgent need for greater public understanding and medical advancement. By officially designating March as Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month, Georgia joins national efforts to bring attention to these conditions and support those who live with them every day. [0:48:31] I want to thank my colleagues for their support, as well as the advocacy groups and healthcare professionals who work diligently to improve the lives of those affected by autoimmune diseases. I respectfully ask for your support, and I welcome any questions. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Senator Powers, come on up. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the committee. On page three, second from the bottom, is Senate Bill 470. [0:49:02] This is agency legislation for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. This, uh, may criminalize is what's called signal jammers. These are used, uh, that can disable all forms of communication, whether it be to a home, a business, to a 911 center. It's an evolving threat, and this allows us to attack it head-on. Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. Senator Terry. Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, on the second page, fourth or fifth from the bottom, Senate Bill 91. [0:49:34] You know we've been dealing with PBMs, pharmacy benefit managers, and the plague they've caused independent pharmacists for years. Senate Bill 91 takes a cannonball to that approach. It says you can't be a PBM- Question- ... and be an independent pharmacist- Mm-hmm ... as far as it goes for contracting with the state health benefit plan. Makes them pick, breaks the vertical monopoly, and gives our independent pharmacists a fighting chance. Okay. I have a question for you, Secretary. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the work you're doing on Senate Bill 91, but in his absence, I think I'd just ask for Chairman Hatchett how y'all's work's going on the budget we sent y'all. [0:50:09] Yeah, it's, uh, well, he knows it takes two weeks, two days to get it across, and we're one week in. We got it from you about seven days ago, so it'll take us about nine more days, and hopefully have it back over to you. Thank you. Okay. No more questions. Did you want to ask for 402 also? Didn't know I had that one on your agenda, Mr. Pre- Chairman. Y'all treat me too nice. We're trying to help you out and work with you there. 402? Children, Youth. It's at the top of page three. Oh, yes, sir. 402 is a pilot program that we started, uh, last year. [0:50:42] You guys helped us fund it as well. We looked at our foster care population and re- realized that there is a seven to one, seven times more likely to have autism if you're in our foster care system. Clearly, our foster care system is not causing autism. It just means you're more likely to end up in foster care if you have autism. We identified that in one region. We're asking to explain that, explain that, expand that pilot to three other regions to see if that is a, um, something we see elsewhere. If so, then the funding will follow to try to address that and keep the 9,500 kids in our state's foster care system, uh, as low as possible. [0:51:17] I don't see any questions. Thank you, sir. [0:51:18] Thank you. [0:51:19] Yes, sir. Senator, come on up. [0:51:23] Thank you, Mr. Chairman and honor m- members of the committee. I bring Senate Bill 485. It's the bot- very bottom of page three. Um, Senate Bill 485, it better serves our n- our growing need for, uh, mental health professionals. And all this bill does is allow students in their final semester of, um, accredited Master of Social Work program to sit for their licensure exam before graduation. Because they only offer that exam a few times a year, so they can- they don't have to wait months after they graduate if they can go ahead and take their licensure exam before they graduate. [0:51:57] Okay. No questions. Thank you, sir. [0:51:59] Thank you. [0:52:03] Senator Efthimiou, come on up, sir. [0:52:09] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I've got the last one on the last page, Senate Bill 566. The title is a little bit misleading because the, uh, publication area by the newspaper was removed, uh, in ways and means, and rightfully so. There was some complications with it. But what this does is part of what we're all working on, on property taxes. But this particular part cleans up the notice that comes out from the tax appraisers. We actually designed the form on how we want it to look to give good, concise information to the taxpayer. [0:52:42] They've been mad at all of us with confusing and sometimes misleading information, even though we as a state don't charge any property taxes. So we, we designed the form first and then, and then did the bill from the form. And it gives them information on what exemptions they're getting, what exemptions they could be eligible for, lists all the different ways to contact them, all four ways to appeal. I think it's a pretty good, uh, clean sheet now the way we've designed it. [0:53:10] Okay. Don't see any questions. Thank you, sir. [0:53:15] Thank you. [0:53:15] Senator Watson. [0:53:18] Good morning. So I have a bill that is actually fully supported by the ACLU and the Georgia Baptist Association. [0:53:33] Heard of. [0:53:33] It is. It could be a day that we're gonna have, I don't know, who knows what's gonna happen with this bill. But basically- [0:53:42] What number? [0:53:42] ... they both support it because it reinforces our freedoms in the United States Constitution. All we're doing with this bill- [0:53:51] What number, Senator? [0:53:52] ... is giving- [0:53:53] Give us a number. [0:53:54] Pardon? [0:53:54] What number? [0:53:55] Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. I apologize. SB 552, it's the back of the page, um, True Patriotism and Universal Student Access. All this does is, um, give the public high school students the ability to have extracurricular activities that include, uh, uh, political and religious organizations. That's all it does. It enshrines the US Constitution. Thank you. [0:54:25] Okay. We've got a question. Whip Park has a question for you. [0:54:28] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, Senator, I appreciate the bill, but isn't it true that the title of this bill, the acronym TPUSA, is popularly associated with the conservative right-leaning group, Turning Point USA? [0:54:39] Well, it certainly have. Um, you know, Charlie Kirk gave his life defending our freedom on that campus. And yes, this is in honor of, of Charlie Kirk, uh, and that organization. Absolutely. [0:54:51] Thank you. [0:54:53] Secretary Kelley. [0:54:55] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In that vein, Chairman Watson, wasn't Charlie Kirk murdered by a radical transgender liberal activist? [0:55:03] I, I, I think, I think you know what you speak. Thank you. [0:55:12] Don't see any other questions. Thank you. [0:55:14] I'll after that. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. [0:55:16] Yeah. Senator Hatchett, come on up. [0:55:22] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. Uh, on page three, three bills down, Senate Bill 384, what this bill does is simply allow, uh, your constituents to purchase an optional five-year tag for their vehicle instead of having to register every year. [0:55:43] Okay. [0:55:45] And then I've got two more, Mr. Chairman. [0:55:46] Yes, sir. Go ahead with... I don't see any questions on that. What, what else you got? [0:55:50] Also on page three, you go down to Senate Bill 452. This is a governor's bill. What it does is it increases the employee contribution match for our peace officers in the state, raising that match to 15% when they contribute 5% after 10 years. [0:56:10] Okay. [0:56:12] And lastly, Mr. Chairman, on page four, Senate Bill 553, this is also, uh, a bill I'm carrying on behalf of Governor Kemp. And what it does is it streamlines the licensing process in the State of Georgia for, uh, five industries in the construction trade. [0:56:31] Okay. No questions. Thank you, sir. [0:56:33] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:56:35] Last senator, Senator Burns. [0:56:39] Good morning, Mr. Chairman, committee. I have two bills on the, uh, blue sheets today. On the second page, nine down from the top is a bill we've discussed before, so I'll briefly just point it out. Senate Bill 74, that's the harmful material to minors, uh, protection. Uh, if there are any questions, I'd be happy to discuss it. We've done this before. [0:56:57] Go ahead. [0:56:58] All right. Senate Bill, um, two up from the bottom on page two, Senate Bill 214. This is the elections bill. I wanna thank, uh, Chairman Anderson and the Government Affairs Committee in the House for working diligently on this legislation, and then now it's ready for your consideration. [0:57:15] Okay. No questions. Thank you, sir. [0:57:20] Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, on page three, Senate Bill 458, we have the Home Inspector Licensing Act. Uh, currently in the state of Georgia, my 18-year-old son that is a senior in high school could go out there and print business cards and call himself a home inspector. 44 states, I believe, have a home inspector's license. This bill creates one, but just proving some core minimal competency and also requires them to have liability insurance, and it also addresses some predatory practices by wholesalers in the real estate industry. Um, I'll stand for questions with that or I'll go to my next bill. [0:57:53] Don't see any questions on that. What else you got? Okay. Thank, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, the next bill on page four, SB489, uh, that is simply just, uh, for our probate judges. After we passed constitutional carry, we saw a 60% decrease in applications for permits and a portion of those fees went into their retirement fund. Uh, there's no state money goes into this. It actually increases the amount the judges put into their retirement. The actuarial study shows that their, their retirement fund's gonna go below 100% in the next three years and it just increases the fines the pers- a little bit. [0:58:23] The pers- tweaks the percentage of the fines that go into their, uh, or fees that go into their, uh, retirement, uh, just so that, uh, we keep their retirement, uh, so it's not underfunded. Okay, got a question for you. Okay. Thank you. Mr. Kelley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Goodman, when we're looking at the probate fees, are the actual filing fees gonna go up or are they redirecting the percentages of the filing fees that are already corrected? The percentage of the fees. Is there a concern from our local governments that by redirecting some of those funds that are used in operational purposes now that they will ask our locals to backfill those funds that are now being redirected to a retirement fund? [0:59:02] No, sir. I haven't heard any concern from any of GMA or ACCG or anybody else, and it's just a small tweak. There's not but about $1.3 million a year that goes into that retirement fund. Uh, the legislation that we passed several years ago created about a, on average about a $233,000 drop. And so we're talking about small tweaks from 20% to 25%, you know, of the, of the funding. And the $2 to $5, that's just again n- not increasing the total fee. It's just taking- That's right ... the currently collected fee and dedicating $5 to $2. [0:59:33] Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Don't see any other questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. [0:59:41] Yes, sir. Morning, Chairman, committee. Good to see y'all. First time up this year. Uh, we've got two bills. First one's in the middle of page three, Senate Bill 439. [0:59:56] This puts guardrails and parameters protecting our seniors between referral agencies and assisted living, independent living communities, just making sure that we've got clarification on how that information is shared, how the fees are distributed, and the amount of time for reporting on that. Happy to take any questions. Okay, don't see any questions. Great. Our second bill is on the back middle page, SB570. [1:00:26] This is our Human Trafficking Prevention Training Act. This is mandatory frontline worker training for short-ter- short-term rentals, hotels, motels that don't already have a program in place. This ensures that within 60 days of being hired, that frontline workers will take the Human Trafficking Identification and Reporting Program created by the CJCC. This was created with their input and support. Happy to take any questions. [1:00:57] Okay, don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, committee. Senator Strickland. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. On the last page under modified structured rule, I have Senate Bill 569, and this bill is tightening up the process to allow our colonel to give emergency lights to our towers that are towing law enforcement-initiated tows on some of the busy stretches of interstate in our state. The goal is to make sure in places like Henry County, when there's a wreck, already have enough bad traffic, we can get those wrecks clear a little bit faster. [1:01:30] Also, that bill, uh, no pun intended, was a little bit of a vehicle in your committee, the Motor Vehicle, Vehicles Committee, to create a new database for abandoned vehicles. And I think you guys have considered before. Happy to answer any questions. Okay. Don't, don't see any questions. Thank you, sir. There's one other bill that the colorful chairman from Hartwell I think will talk about, but Senate Bill 89 on page two, um, that is something that his committee, I think he's gonna address that. It's no longer the federal tax credit for childcare. That was something that we did through a different bill last year. [1:02:00] But I'll let him address that. Okay, don't see any questions on that. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate y'all. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Senator, come on up. [1:02:11] Mr. Chairman and committee, thank you. Thank y'all, thank y'all for yesterday for SB399 on the AEDs and 911. The family was absolutely, when I say pleased, it's a real closure for those, but thank you for supporting that like you did, and, uh, it was a real good time. If you will, page three, uh, SB441, this is, uh, a bill dealing with local government investment pools that is regulated or overseen by the State Depository Board, which is, uh, uh, chaired by the governor. They handle about $40 billion in monies in, for cities and, and municipalities and counties. [1:02:45] And what this does is for any other local government investment pools that come into play, it makes them come under the State Depository Board. They have the people and the, and the e- experts that are managing that money, and it's really to, as a safeguard for the other counties and the cities to do that, and that's what that does. [1:03:07] Okay. Okay, don't see any questions. Okay. Thank you, sir. [1:03:20] Thank you, sir. [1:03:27] Okay. Uh, any committee members? [1:03:33] No. Chairman Powell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to ask for SB 89, uh, as referred to by the next to the last senator a while ago. Thanks to, uh, as is usual, some of the bills that comes out of the Senate are, they do serve a real purpose, and that's getting them over here to us so that we can actually- ... perfect other things. Um, SB 89, pretty simple bill if you look at it. It allows, uh, liquor stores to sell those drinks that are identified under Code 23 as intoxicating beverages by the C- CBD, uh, statute. [1:04:14] It's kinda, we've been looking at this for a couple of years. And, uh, these drinks that are being sold in convenience stores and all, uh, there's an age limit. They gotta be 21 to buy 'em. And, uh, we've been talking to Revenue for a couple of years, and they said because it's not, because it's not specified under the Revenue Code, that they wanted legislation to allow liquor stores to sell these intoxicating beverages, and we thought that was the prime place to do it. Okay. I don't see any questions. All right. [1:04:44] And I have, uh, Senate Bill 254, uh, that I'd like for consideration. This is the annual COAM bill. Um, both the Governor's office and the lottery have met with us on this. Uh, this is a constant changing environment with technology, and one of the things that's necessary among many in this, and most important, is that the distributors and the manufacturers today of these machines, they're starting to combine the Class A, Class B machines into a hybrid, and that's something we cannot allow to happen because that's what keeps stability in this market so we don't wind up with these machine casinos the way they once were. [1:05:24] Okay. No questions on that. Thank you. Any other member? [1:05:31] Okay. Let's do a little housekeeping here before we set the calendar. Do I hear a motion that Senate Bill 552 be sent back to, recommitted to Judiciary? [1:05:44] Move. Second. Have a move and a second. Any opposition? Okay, it's back in Judiciary. Okay, now let's set a calendar for today, Legislative Day 34, under modified structure. Senate Bill 216. Move. Second. Have a move and a second. Is there any opposition? It's on. Senate Bill 439. Move. Second. Have a move and a second. [1:06:15] Any opposition? It's on. Senate Bill 444. Move. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. Senate Bill 452. Move. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. Senate Bill 470. Move. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. [1:06:46] Senate Bill 489. Move. Second. Moved and second. Any opposition? It's on. Senate Bill 553. Move. Second. Moved and a second. Any opposition? It's on. Senate Bill 570. Move. Second. A move and a second. Any opposition? It's on. Okay, now under structured. Structured Senate Bill 285. [1:07:18] Move. Second. Have a move and second. Any opposition? It's on. All right, that'll be our calendar for today. Now let's go ahead and set a calendar for tomorrow. It'll be Day 35. Under modified structure, Senate Resolution 23. Move. Second. Have a move and a second. Any opposition? [1:07:46] Objection. [1:07:46] Have an objection. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed, no. No. It carries. It's on. Okay, we will have a rules meeting in the morning at 9:00, so don't forget to show up for that. And at your convenience, want to ask all the members of the Rules Committee to please stop by the office and see Ms. Pam just for a minute, at your convenience, please. We're adjourned. Thank you.