Senate Rules Committee, March 19, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1174982597 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1174982597#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-19/senate-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. [0:06:53] Order. [0:06:54] All right, all right, all right [0:06:55] Rules calendar- [0:07:00] Calendar [0:07:00] ... meeting, Thursday, March 19th, 2026 in the year of our Lord. And I'm gonna have Senator Jones lead us in a word of prayer. I like to surprise y'all. [0:07:16] Amen. [0:07:16] But we're good politicians. Every good politician has a prayer ready on demand. [0:07:21] Thank you, Mr. Chair. And bow our heads, please. [0:07:24] Reverend Jones. [0:07:25] Reverend Jones. Thank you, Father, for bringing us together today. Hopefully leading to do, uh, decisions that are best in the people of Georgia's interest, and also decisions that actually will be good in your name. We pray in your name, Jesus Christ, Amen. [0:07:39] Amen. [0:07:41] Amen. All right. Representative Ballard, lead us off. [0:07:48] It's on? It's on. [0:07:49] There you go. [0:07:49] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am back here with House Bill 1181 that, um, reduces red tape for citizens of Georgia. It allows a car title to go directly from the s- the estate, the state where the estate is domiciled to the relative in Georgia. [0:08:07] Okay. [0:08:08] And- [0:08:09] And you got another one you're gonna help, uh, Representative Burchette out with. Is that right? [0:08:14] Yes. Uh, 1268, um, which is page four, um, midway down, um, it is the annual code revision bill. [0:08:23] 1268. [0:08:25] 1268, annual code revision. [0:08:27] Mr. Chairman. [0:08:29] You got a question, Senator Ginn? [0:08:32] Yeah. [0:08:32] Go for it. [0:08:33] Well, yeah. Representative Ballard, on the, uh, estate where you're talking about car titles and so forth, does that do away with TAVT? [0:08:42] No. [0:08:43] Thank you. [0:08:46] Was that a good question? I'm not sure. [0:08:49] Well, unless, depending on who you wanna pay TAVT to. [0:08:51] Okay. All right. Thank you. [0:08:54] Okay. Thank you so much. [0:08:55] Good job. Representative Hulst, how are you, sir? [0:09:00] Good, good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I got two for you today, if you'd allow me to present. Uh, the first one is, uh, House Bill 874. It's on page two, kinda second down from the top. Uh, this is kinda known as the, uh, Georgia Taxpayers Privacy Protection Act. [0:09:16] Mm-hmm. [0:09:16] This legislation is aimed to enhancing taxpayer privacy and property tax records. This will, bill would prohibit the disclosure of taxpayer's telephone numbers when property tax records are sold, transferred, shared to third parties. [0:09:30] No questions. And then you got 1261. [0:09:32] The second one is on page four, sixth down from the top. This is House Bill 1261. Uh, this, this is amendment to Georgia tax code to create a level one free port exemption for certain goods held in inventory by electrical utilities. This bill is designed to offer targeted tax relief on qualifying inventory, establish an application process through the local county. [0:09:57] Who's carrying that bill for you? [0:09:58] I am honored that Senator Matt Brass. [0:10:01] I just wanted to hear my name. [0:10:02] Thank you so much for the honor. [0:10:05] But he didn't want you. [0:10:06] All right. No, any questions? Senator Anderson, you got anything? [0:10:09] No, I just recognize you as the chairman. [0:10:13] That's right. [0:10:14] That's the chairman. [0:10:14] I should go get my belt, shouldn't I? Nah, I won't. All right. Thank you. Good job. [0:10:20] Thank y'all. [0:10:21] You're doing fine work. Representative Petrie. [0:10:26] Thank you, Chairman. I've got another bill you're, you are carrying, as I understand. [0:10:30] Uh-huh. [0:10:31] And this is House Bill- [0:10:32] I keep mounting these things every day. [0:10:33] Yes, sir. This is House Bill 1097. It's fourth, it's the fifth down on page three. This is a bill, this is a department bill about a p- a department of behavioral health and developmental disabilities. Last year in House Bill 584, we moved the complete licensure of adult residential mental health programs, community living arrangements for the intellectually disabled, drug abuse treatment programs, and narcotic treatment programs away from DCH and over to DBHDD. One of the things we failed to do was to move the ability, uh, for that agency to do the criminal background checks. [0:11:07] And so what this bill primarily does is move, uh, the authority to do the background checks for these types of facilities over to DBHDD. It also makes it a more robust background check, allows for rap back so that we don't have to, uh, you know, have people fingerprint constantly. [0:11:23] You keep going. I'm not gonna carry that bill for you. [0:11:26] Okay. Yeah, and I think that's all you need to know, Chairman. [0:11:27] All right. Any questions? All right. [0:11:32] Thank you, buddy. [0:11:32] Moving on. Is that it? Oh, yeah. [0:11:34] That's it. [0:11:34] Good job. [0:11:34] That's all for today. Thank you. [0:11:35] Good job. Gotta be a good bill if I'm carrying it. Representative Stevens. [0:11:42] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:11:43] How are you, sir? [0:11:44] Very good. On, uh, page one, uh, yesterday I mentioned House Bill 519, um, the incentive for these employers to help these, um, disabled veterans, uh, to hire these folks. And on page five, uh, Agency Bill 1329, the annual drug update bill. [0:12:06] All right. Any questions? Thank you. [0:12:10] Yes, sir. [0:12:11] Representative Jones. [0:12:15] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I come to you with House Bill 987, second page, third from the bottom. Uh, this bill is the portable healthcare benefits bill for independent contractors and affirms that a hiring entity, uh, will not cause parti- their participation in this would not cause the independent contractor to suddenly be classified as a W-2. [0:12:37] Questions? No questions. Thank you. [0:12:39] Thank you. [0:12:40] Representative Green, how are you today? [0:12:43] I'm fine, Mr. Chairman. Thank you so much. [0:12:45] You haven't been in here in a while. We missed you. [0:12:46] Oh, well, I appreciate you saying that. I've missed y'all, too. [0:12:50] Well, good. [0:12:51] Um, this is the annual conveyances, uh, is the last two House Resolution 1050 and House Resolution 1051, Mr. Chairman and members, on the last page there. [0:13:05] Okay. [0:13:05] This is house, uh, conveyances and easements, and, uh, it's going before your committee, and y'all added some, uh, to it, so it is, uh, coming back as a committee substitute, both of them. [0:13:20] Okay. We gotta get that done, and, um, should you pick one, you get both. So those two will ride together from this day forth. [0:13:32] All right. [0:13:32] All right. Thank you. [0:13:33] Thank you, sir. [0:13:34] Thank you. Representative Corbett. [0:13:39] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Page four, second from the top, HB 1202. [0:13:45] That's how you present a bill. [0:13:48] Uh, HB 12- HB... There you go. A- a- a- HB 1202 brought to me by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Just cleaning up a scrivener's error. [0:13:55] Oh, well, you almost did it perfectly. Any questions? All right, thank you. [0:14:02] Thank you. [0:14:03] Representative Honer. [0:14:05] Hey, good afternoon. We've got- [0:14:06] Fellow delegation member. How are you? [0:14:08] I'm great. How are you doing? [0:14:09] I love it when you come here. [0:14:11] I love being here. [0:14:12] Yeah. [0:14:12] But I've got, uh, four good veteran bills to present. [0:14:15] Oh, boy. [0:14:16] First is, uh, first two are on page two. Start with H- HB 979. This simply creates a framework to allow our, uh, military installations to cede jurisdiction to the state as it relates to juvenile cases if the state wants to accept those. [0:14:32] Okay. [0:14:33] The second is, uh, House Bill 985. This clarifies eligibility for our military, uh, cemeteries, as well as expands to one federally recognized group. It's a Hmong special forces group that's federally recognized to be buried in our cemeteries. [0:14:49] Okay. [0:14:50] Um, the third is on page three, House Bill 1087. This bill says that if you're a disabled veteran and you, uh, make improvements to your home to accommodate that disability, that you don't pay the permit fees. [0:15:04] All right. What else? [0:15:05] And the last is House Bill 1328 that's actually sponsored by Representative Wade. Uh, this increases the number of, uh, military scholarships at University of North Georgia. [0:15:18] All right. Is that it? [0:15:19] That's it. [0:15:20] Thank you. [0:15:20] All right, thank you. [0:15:20] Any questions? 1328 is last on page four for those that are having trouble finding it. And Senator Rhett, that's HB 1328. [0:15:34] Thank you. [0:15:35] Thank you. Madam Proteam, how are you? [0:15:39] I'm good. [0:15:39] State your presence. [0:15:39] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. It's an earlier day for y'all than it was yesterday- [0:15:45] Yes [0:15:45] ... I hope. [0:15:46] It is. [0:15:46] Um, I'd like to ask the committee to consider House Bill 907. It regards our completion schools. It's something I've worked on with some of the senators, including, uh, Clint Dixon and others, and, uh, we've identified a number of loopholes that would better- we're closing the up to better serve students. Completion schools are dropout recovery schools at the high school level. And as of 2027, we'll have completion schools available all over the state except the core metro area. [0:16:21] The bill makes it plain that parents have the right to directly, uh, register their own student at the completion school without having to, um, go back to their home school to do it. Uh, in the age of technology, there's no reason not to. It, um, it allow, it requires them to make the information available to all parents twice a year, and it makes explicit that parents have the right to register their students at these schools. They don't have to go through... [0:16:51] There's no gatekeeping by the resident home school. And finally, it also allows any existing completion school to operate within a school system that does not have an operating completion school in its region. This is what I call the Gwinnett County, um, provision, so that- [0:17:08] Okay [0:17:09] ... if one never crea- is created, they could use it. [0:17:12] All right, I'm gonna get you. All right. Is this like 1,000-page bill? [0:17:16] It is not. [0:17:17] Oh, okay. [0:17:17] It's not. It's not. [0:17:18] You just covered a lot. I was curious. [0:17:19] I know. I'm s- [0:17:20] All right [0:17:20] ... it's about four pages. [0:17:21] All right. Senator Dolezal has a question. [0:17:23] Yes. [0:17:24] Thank you. [0:17:24] And I have one here. Um, Madam Proteam, is this your last bill? [0:17:27] It is my last bill. [0:17:28] Oh. Well, you- [0:17:30] 24 years, it'll be my last bill. [0:17:32] Well, you deserve a round of applause. [0:17:33] Thank you. [0:17:35] Absolutely. [0:17:41] All right, you want it on Friday or Monday? [0:17:45] Sooner is better than later. [0:17:46] All right. [0:17:47] Usually in th- [0:17:47] Circle 907 [0:17:48] ... in this viron- [0:17:49] 907 [0:17:49] ... in this environment. [0:17:52] 907. You get, you get it. Your last bill. [0:17:55] Thank you. Thank you. [0:17:56] And Senator Rhett has a question, I hope. [0:17:59] On behalf of this being the end of your tenure- [0:18:02] Oh [0:18:02] ... on behalf of the committee, we've got you a little gift here. [0:18:06] Thank you. [0:18:06] In appreciation for all you've done over the years, ma'am. [0:18:09] All the way from the Republic of Korea. [0:18:11] Congratulations. [0:18:18] Good, good. [0:18:18] Did you... Senator Rhett, did you really go to Korea to get that gift? [0:18:22] Uh, I went to a Korean restaurant. [0:18:25] Okay. I'm just curious, the bag had Republic of Korea- [0:18:29] Yeah, I know [0:18:29] ... on it, so. [0:18:30] Nope, straight from Korea. [0:18:32] Uh, Senator Anderson, your recognition. [0:18:34] How many years have we served, Ms., Madam Proteam? [0:18:38] Me? This is my 24th year. [0:18:40] 24. [0:18:41] That's right. [0:18:42] Oh, that's exhausting to think about. [0:18:44] It is exhausting to think about. That's right. [0:18:47] All right. Anybody else wanna kiss the feet one last time? [0:18:56] No, seriously, it's been an honor to serve with you, and we're- [0:18:58] It's been an honor to serve with each one of you [0:18:59] ... proud to know you. [0:18:59] Thank you very much. [0:19:00] Thank you. [0:19:00] Proud to have worked with many of you on different legislation over the years. [0:19:03] Absolutely. Thank you. [0:19:05] Thank you. [0:19:05] All right. [0:19:06] Thank you. [0:19:08] Kill that bill. [0:19:14] I'm just kidding. I'm kidding. I don't even know what it does. [0:19:19] Representative Franklin. [0:19:21] It's kinda hard- [0:19:22] You, you, you've got... I've... Next year, should I be rules chairman next year, which is- [0:19:26] Excuse me [0:19:26] ... we have no idea. But should I be, I'm gonna start a, uh, a bill count on how many times you come back. [0:19:35] I'm tenacious. [0:19:36] 'Cause I think you're gonna have a... I think you would be the record probably on HB 77. [0:19:40] Yes, I think so too. I hope it pays off. I'm really hopeful for that. [0:19:44] Maybe. [0:19:45] Um, but yes, I'm h- happy to be in your committee again to present h- uh, HB 77. It's the third one down on your first page, and it's a funeral, um, possession bill that requires you to pull over on the side of the road when a procession's coming, and that's all it does. [0:20:03] Questions? Chairman Williams, you have any comments? It's- No, sir ... about- I support the bill ... about funeral things. There are more bills. I'll be very good to this chairman. Ah, the leader. [0:20:17] Just so Representative Franklin knows, if he d- his bill doesn't get chosen, I'm sure there's many funeral bills he could amend it on the floor with. That's true. [0:20:26] Plenty of vehicles. No pun intended. [0:20:28] And the good thing, of the 400 and- You may have one up. Of the 421 funeral bills out there, you only gotta go to one author to get the permission to- [0:20:39] To get it on there [0:20:39] ... put an amendment on there. So, all right, no questions. [0:20:44] All right. [0:20:44] No more questions. [0:20:44] Thank y'all. I appreciate it. [0:20:46] All right. Representative Chastain, how are you? [0:20:47] Yes, sir. I'm good. Glad to be back. [0:20:48] Welcome back. [0:20:49] Thank you. [0:20:49] I know you are. [0:20:51] I have HB 1086, third down on the third page. My firefighter safety bill. Requires an eight-inch signage on visible, uh, at a commercial building that's built out of the light gauge wood trusses, uh, that will allow the firefighter or a first responder to know that to be, ex- exercise a little more caution when they're going into the building because those trusses will fail quicker under fire. [0:21:12] Okay. Help with our roofers too. [0:21:16] Yes. [0:21:17] All right. No questions. Thank you. [0:21:21] Thank you. [0:21:21] Representative Silcox, how are you? [0:21:23] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, yes, we just saw each other. [0:21:27] Yes, we did. Thank you for your vote. [0:21:28] Um, thank you for visiting us in judiciary. Um, I have, first, I have HB 1284, which is the fourth down, excuse me, the fourth page, the third one from the bottom, and this bill was brought to us by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and it would just allow parents with, that have a, a high school student, if their, their child is, is diagnosed with a terminally ill disease, to be able to request a high school diploma for that young person. [0:21:56] Okay. Questions? No questions. Thank you. [0:22:00] And one more. [0:22:00] Oh, you got another one. Go ahead. [0:22:01] Um, I've got another one, and I did not see it on the sheet, um, but it came out of Chairman Cowsert's committee, Regulated Industries. Um, it was originally the Massage Therapy Compact Bill, but those, um, parties to that bill did not reach an agreement, and so the governor's office came to me with another one of his licensing bills, and this is for electro- electrical contractors, plumbers, um, a, a group of five different professions that, um, will standardize their industry pursuant to a recent Georgia Supreme Court decision. [0:22:33] What number is that? [0:22:34] I, I, you know, even JC Martin said it was House Bill 232, but I did not see it on the sheet- [0:22:41] That's the number of it [0:22:42] ... 'cause- [0:22:42] Okay. Let me see where that is. House Bill 1254, I believe. 232 came out on the 18th. [0:22:49] It was- [0:22:49] That's where you'd look. [0:22:50] Okay. [0:22:50] Or second read on the 18th. [0:22:51] So- [0:22:52] Okay [0:22:52] ... is it under a different number? [0:22:56] 230. 230. Okay. [0:22:58] Okay. [0:22:59] All right. [0:23:00] So I did send a letter, but- [0:23:02] Okay [0:23:03] ... I hope we're cool. [0:23:04] We're still going through letters at this time. [0:23:06] I understand. I understand. Well, anyway, it is, I think, a priority. The governor would like to get this out. Um, like I said, this is pursuant to a recent Supreme Court decision. I think it's pretty important. Thank you. [0:23:16] We like the Supreme Court. [0:23:17] Thank you. [0:23:19] And the governor. Representative Dempsey. [0:23:24] Hi. [0:23:24] How are you? [0:23:25] I am doing well. How are you? [0:23:26] Is this your first time this year? [0:23:27] It is. [0:23:28] I was gonna say, yeah. [0:23:29] I'm just thrilled to finally be here. [0:23:30] I've been waiting on you. [0:23:31] Oh, thank you. Thank you. [0:23:32] Patiently. [0:23:33] So, um, I believe on page one at the bottom is 541. This probably is a familiar measure to y'all. This is the seventh time I've done it. It's to allow one nursing school, that that's all they do is bachelor's of nursing, to get a tuition equalization grant. A fairly simple measure. It's very streamlined and tight. And, um, I believe Senator Williams will be carrying this one. [0:24:02] All right. [0:24:03] Okay. [0:24:03] How'd you get him to do a non-funeral home bill? [0:24:07] Time to branch out, right? He's gonna help people stay alive with this one. [0:24:13] Well, that's, that hurts his business. That's all right with me. [0:24:25] They're very patient, very patient. [0:24:27] Very patient. [0:24:28] All right. Any questions on that? All right. None. Thank you. [0:24:32] One more. [0:24:33] Oh, well, let's hear it. [0:24:34] Page four, the fourth one down, HB 1238, and this came from the Department of Community Health to address, uh, a waiver to, uh, apply for that. They are already in process actually of doing it to help with the challenge we have of children who are getting stuck in our hospitals and psychiatric residential treatment centers and often abandoned. This would allow for wraparound services and care to help keep families together and take care of that child. [0:25:05] All right, any questions? Hearing none. Thank you. [0:25:08] Thank you. Good to see y'all. [0:25:09] You too. Representative Townsend. [0:25:12] Thank you, Mr. Chair, and committees. HB 971, second page, midway down. This is a college and career academy bill. It will allow private school, home school students in an adjoining county or RESA district to attend a college and career academy at no charge. So the parents don't pay, but the school system does get FTE, and it is opt-in on the school system. We currently do it. Senator Liggett helped me pass a bill before I got here to allow this, uh, inside the county for this to happen, and so we've had, uh, my local sy- school system actually asked me if I could help bring this across. [0:25:45] So, uh, that's the bill. [0:25:48] Okay. [0:25:48] It's a win-win. [0:25:49] No questions. We like win-wins. [0:25:51] Thank you, Mr. Chair. [0:25:52] All right. Good job. Representative New. [0:25:57] Thank you, Chairman, members. Page three, fifth from the bottom, is HB 1134. This bill is, uh, updating Georgia code for industry standards for repossessors of motor vehicles. It does three things. It updates the rules for notification for reclaiming personal property, it provides guidelines for determining the completion of a rep- repossession, and then it also allows for a rebuttable presumption. This will update our code, provide clarity, bring Georgia in line with current industry practices, and that's the bill. [0:26:27] Rebuttable. [0:26:30] All right, any questions? No questions. [0:26:33] Thank you. [0:26:36] Mr. Other Ridley. How are you, sir? [0:26:39] I'm good. How are you? [0:26:40] Good. Welcome back. [0:26:41] Today I bring House Bill 163, halfway down the first page. [0:26:44] Oh, you're just jumping right in. No pleasantries, no nothing. [0:26:47] Well, I c- I can. We can- [0:26:48] No, no [0:26:48] ... y'all ask me anything [0:26:49] ... go ahead. Go ahead. You ruined the moment. [0:26:53] But yeah, House Bill 163. Senator Dickerson's presented it the last two days. We're just trying to make sure restaurants are labeling lab-grown meat if they sell it. [0:27:06] All right. What's happened the last two days? [0:27:07] The representative... Or Senator Dickerson has re- [0:27:10] He did that. [0:27:11] Okay. I'm confused. Oh, this is the meat thing. Non... Or we're... The non-meat thing, I should say. Okay. [0:27:23] So- [0:27:23] So-called meat thing. I like that better. Can we rename it that? [0:27:27] Name it whatever you'd like, sir. [0:27:28] So-called meat bill. All right. Well, we won't do that today. Or we won't rename it today. It might get picked, you never know. Any questions for the so-called meat bill? [0:27:40] It's perfect. [0:27:41] All right. Thank you. [0:27:42] Thank you. [0:27:45] Representative Dickey, how are you, sir? [0:27:47] I'm well, uh, Chairman and members. Uh, glad to be here. HB 1133, uh, third page, middle. In, uh, my effort to, uh, try to protect some of our valuable farmland, I'd like, uh, this bill would allow GEFA, uh, Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, to p- provide some low-interest loans to local governments to develop, uh, solar f- uh, installations on closed lands- landfills. [0:28:17] Uh, sort of give them a, um, revenue stream, uh, when it's paid off and, uh, try to keep, put some land, uh, solar installations on some brownfields. [0:28:31] Mm-hmm. You look like you gotta use the bathroom. Oh, we got a hot mic. [0:28:39] Yeah. [0:28:40] Sorry. [0:28:45] Any questions? [0:28:46] Really won't cost the state anything. [0:28:49] It's not funny. [0:28:50] Thank you. [0:28:51] It's not funny when people have to go to the restroom. All right, moving on. Representative Beard. [0:28:59] Are you done, John? [0:29:00] Yeah. [0:29:02] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:29:03] Hopefully that's what it was. [0:29:04] Uh, I'm here to, uh, present House Bill 1112. It's on the third page, halfway down. Uh, LC number is 590443S. Uh, House Bill 1112 is a bill that was created to address issues related to the federal government's decision to discontinue making the penny. This bill was passed by the House Banks and Banking Committee unanimously. Uh, it essentially allows retailers to aggregate purchases and then to apply sales tax. [0:29:35] This is for cash transactions only or for blended transactions. If a, if a person uses a g- a gift card and cash, uh, this would apply as well. Uh, for cash transactions on- however, the total is then rounded up or rounded down to the nearest nickel. If the consumer has exact change, the retailer cannot round up. This bill, uh, a- and that's basically the bill. This is following guidance from National, uh, Conference of State Legislators. Uh, uh, Chairman Huff Stetler actually helped, uh, create the, the language in that. [0:30:05] And so, um, it's a g- it's a simple bill, a necessary bill that, that just provides direction for retailers right now on this complex issue. The federal government's left it to the states to deal with it. [0:30:18] And you said the federal government got rid of the penny. I like to think Treasurer Beach got rid of the penny. So Senator Still has a question. [0:30:26] On that note, Mr. Chairman, I was just gonna ask, is, uh, is this bill being done in coordination with, um, our former colleague? And if this is a problem, are you assigning blame to our former colleague as the reason why this legislation is needed? [0:30:44] I'm doing the Terminator list of responses. Uh, absolutely not. Uh, our, our, our esteemed president would only pick an excellent treasurer, I'm sure. So, no, absolutely not. But I'm, I'm pleased to be able to provide this, our state to provide this guidance to our retailers. [0:31:15] Medical situation. [0:31:19] All right, no questions. Thank you. [0:31:24] All right. Jen Carter. [0:31:30] Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, committee, for seeing me today. I bring you House Bill 948, which is a transparency bill, and it has to do with if someone is foreclosed upon, after the foreclosing procedures have taken place, if there are excess funds, it would simply say in the documents for the foreclosure that they get monthly through the process how to reclaim those funds if they do exist. And I've worked with Georgia Banking Association, McCullough Ramer, many stakeholders in this. [0:32:00] This is simply adding some additional language to the foreclosure statements. [0:32:07] Thank you, and Representative Kemp didn't get her proper introduction, so thank you for being here. [0:32:11] Well, thank you all so much today for voting on the anti-rabies bill. [0:32:17] I actually didn't. I was in committee. [0:32:20] I was giving you credit anyway. [0:32:21] I know. I voted E. All right, any questions? No questions. Thank you. [0:32:29] Thank you. [0:32:30] All right. Representative Cannon. He's back. [0:32:34] Good to see you again, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I have, uh, House Bill 964, it's on the back of the first page, about halfway down. I'm not sure if all you are aware, but, uh, local government fire departments are exempt from both ad valorem and sales tax, taxes on fire department vehicles and equipment. However, independently contracted fire departments, which are mostly your volunteer fire departments, are not exempt from those same taxes, even though they're performing the same exact service to the public for fire safety. [0:33:05] So basically, what, uh, HB 964 would, uh, treat them both the, the same in terms of tac- ta- taxation on ad valorem and sales taxes for fire department vehicles and equipment. That's the bill, Mr. Chairman. I'll answer any questions you got. [0:33:18] Who got questions? I don't see any questions. [0:33:22] Senator Albers is the Senate sponsor, Mr. Chairman. [0:33:25] Oh. Oh, gotcha. Is that supposed to h- help or hurt? You can go either way. Could go either way. All right. [0:33:34] Thank you. [0:33:34] Good job. [0:33:35] Yes, sir. [0:33:40] What's up, Representative? How are you? [0:33:42] I'm great. How are you? [0:33:43] Great. [0:33:44] Um, this is not my last bill. I hope it's not my last bill. But this is my first bill. [0:33:48] Oh. [0:33:48] So if y'all wanna give me the same pleasure as the madam pro tem, um, I would not be upset about that. You know, can't- [0:33:55] Well, I wouldn't- [0:33:56] Can't hurt for asking. [0:33:58] Yeah, never hurts to ask. [0:33:59] I present- [0:34:00] That's why you come here. [0:34:00] Today I present HB 946, it's about four from the top on page two. This is the feral hog bill. Um, so feral hogs in the state of Georgia- [0:34:10] Okay [0:34:10] ... in 2020, UGA Extension estimated that they cause about $150 million worth of damage a year. Um, through consensus of others, um, we believe that estimate is extremely low and more like quarter billion dollars a year. Uh, this bill removes, um, guidelines and restrictions in order to hunt and kill feral hogs. It also allows, um, private parties to use drones on private properties in the efforts to locate feral hogs, um, in order to hopefully- [0:34:38] Any questions for Representative Clifton on his first bill? Somebody's gotta have something. [0:34:48] It's the low-hanging fruit. [0:34:49] Senator Williams. [0:34:50] Uh, would those be male or female hogs? [0:34:53] We don't, we don't discriminate. In 2026- [0:34:55] Okay [0:34:55] ... it's however they identify, as long as they die. [0:35:02] Senator Rhett. That was good. That was good. [0:35:05] Since you're an expert in pigs, what do you call a pig who wins all the races that he runs in? [0:35:14] A prize pig? [0:35:15] A real ham- champion. [0:35:18] A real what? [0:35:19] A real champion. [0:35:21] Ham pig? [0:35:22] H-A-M, H-A-M, ham-pion. Like you're a champion. [0:35:28] He's a champion. [0:35:29] We call you a ham- [0:35:30] Oh. [0:35:33] I tried. [0:35:37] Doc, your jokes are getting worse. Keep, keep at it, though, buddy. Anybody else? We can't end on that. [0:35:46] He just threw that one out. [0:35:48] Someone please help me. All right. Is it a d- is it shooting them with drones? [0:35:53] No, sir. We are just allowing you to use, again, private drones on private property only to locate the hogs. [0:36:00] Okay. [0:36:00] We're not arming drones. I th- I, I suggested to DNR- [0:36:04] That would be pretty cool, though [0:36:04] ... they said they weren't quite ready for that. Um, but I do have a letter from DNR supporting this bill. [0:36:08] If they had, like, missiles and stuff on the drones- ... that'd be awesome. [0:36:14] We're gonna do- [0:36:14] Or at least Tannerite. We could throw some Tannerite on the drone and drop it on them. [0:36:17] We're gonna do that next year. [0:36:18] All right. [0:36:19] We gotta, we gotta get the drones in the air legally first, and then we'll, maybe we'll put some stuff on them. [0:36:23] So this is like the camel with his nose under the tent type deal. All right. Well, thank you, Representative Clifton. [0:36:31] Thanks very much. [0:36:34] From Clifton to Hilton. [0:36:35] There you go. Good afternoon, members of the committee. When you cross a pig and a, uh, cactus, you get a porcupine. Um- [0:36:45] That's the best my cellphone can come up with. [0:36:47] Oh. [0:36:47] And this segue- [0:36:49] You and Doc Rhett- [0:36:50] And this segue, yeah [0:36:51] ... have been to the same conference, I think. [0:36:54] That's right. Uh, House Bill 1009, which is the bottom of your second page, House Bill 1009 extends the cellphone-free bill that we passed last year through K through eight to include high school. Um, passed both committees unanimously, and, uh, it's just been a big win for our schools, and we'd like to keep it going. [0:37:14] A lot of happy parents and teachers. [0:37:16] Yep. [0:37:17] A lot of angry high school students. But good bill. Any questions? [0:37:23] Thank you, Mr. Chair. [0:37:24] Thank you. Representative Crowe, how are you? [0:37:29] I'm good, Mr. Chairman. How are y'all? [0:37:30] Great. [0:37:30] Thank you. Uh, House Bill 438, it's on the first page, three up from the bottom. Um, this bill would allow the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, formerly MCCD, and the Capitol Police divisions to be included, um, in the legislation under the Department of Public Safety for retirement benefits, allowing them to retire at 55 and get the same line of duty disability benef- benefits as the, uh, GSP, DNR, GBI. So just including them in the same legislation so they can get the same, uh, retirement benefits. [0:38:01] Okay. Questions? No questions. [0:38:04] Thank you. [0:38:04] Thank you. [0:38:05] Perfect. [0:38:06] Dr. Hawkins, how are you, sir? [0:38:09] Good. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, page four, four from the bottom, HB7, uh, 1278. Um, this is a bill that was brought to me the, by the Board of Dentistry. It removes the in-site requirement for conscious sedation permits. They're having a tough time getting dentists all the way down in southwest Georgia to do those in-sites. They can do it visually. They can, you know, do it by cameras and all. This will increase access to dentists with, um, conscious sedation permits. [0:38:41] Helps our kids, and especially those with behavioral problems. [0:38:46] I feel like Dr. Hawkins is the Rick Williams of the dentistry world. [0:38:51] All my patients are alive, though . [0:38:54] It's true. It's true. [0:38:55] He, he doesn't do so well. [0:38:59] But he gets your patients and he gets- [0:38:59] That's right. And, and then, I'm sorry- [0:39:03] Then all? [0:39:05] And, yeah, one more. Uh, on page five, second from the top- [0:39:09] Yeah [0:39:09] ... uh, HB1374. This is a bill that we, uh, actually passed about eight years ago, and I carried that bill also. This has to do with virtual credit cards. They're paying their providers, the insurers are paying their providers, but rather than sending a check, they're sending a letterhead with numbers on it, and the folks up front dial the numbers in. They think this is fast, but they're charging the providers up to 5%. So they're, they're charging providers to get paid. At the end of the year, that increases healthcare cost. [0:39:42] So this bill says it has to be an opt-in. We didn't put that in the first bill. So, so this one, opt-in, they have to sign a form, the, the provider or their, uh, administrative staff, and it stays like that until they sign a form saying they wanna be charged to get paid. Simple. [0:40:01] Any questions? No questions. [0:40:03] Thank you, sir. [0:40:03] Thank you. Representative Carpenter. [0:40:07] Yes. [0:40:07] How are you, my friend? [0:40:08] Just realized about 30 seconds ago my bill is not on your list, but it's always a pleasure to come to this committee at least once a year or once every other year. So I will see you guys tomorrow. [0:40:17] Well, we just wanna say thanks for coming out. [0:40:20] It's been a pleasure. [0:40:22] Representative Taylor. [0:40:26] Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee. I'm here not just because I love the pleasure of your company, but I'm bringing you two wonderful bills. [0:40:32] I know you are. [0:40:33] Um, the first one is House Bill 421, LC 48-1780S. This bill amends code 16-6-5, uh, relating to enticing a child for indecent purposes. It came to my attention, um, several years ago, a de- detective at home, they had someone that had traveled from another state, um, for these purposes. It happened that the father walked in before anything was consummated, and the man was arrested. [0:41:05] And when he went to court, the judge said the state of Georgia does not have anything for somebody that's traveling. And since, uh, the act had not happened, he was dismissed, and he went on, this person went on to other states. That detective is now my sheriff, and he has been pursuing this with me for a couple years, trying to get this done. Um, our neighboring states, Florida does have wording for traveling. Um, at this time, my sheriff has actually testified about this man in other states because of he traveled and committed the same type of crimes. [0:41:37] But it's a very simple bill. We worked on it several times, but it's very clear. Under, uh, section one, paragraph A, we're just adding five little words, "A person commits the offense of enticing a child for indecent purposes when he or she solicits, entices, or takes any child under the age of 16 to any place whatsoever," and I'm adding, "or travels from another state for the purposes of child molestation or indecent acts." I think this is something Georgia needs in our law, and I appreciate your consideration of it. [0:42:06] Okay. [0:42:08] Any questions? [0:42:09] Uh, none. I think we got HB1234 done for you today. [0:42:13] I appreciate that. [0:42:14] How long did you work on that bill? [0:42:16] Um, quite a while. Quite a while. [0:42:18] Wow. [0:42:18] I appreciate it very much. You, you guys are good guys. I'll try to do the same for you. Thank you. [0:42:23] Well, we appreciate that. [0:42:24] I have one more, if I may. [0:42:26] What you got? [0:42:26] I've got 1192, and it's on page four, um, the first one. This is a bill that has to do with, um, the Department of Human Services and Community Health. As we all know, healthcare and social services for the citizens of Georgia are extremely important. Providing these services has many applications and touches a variety of our areas and needs. As the size of our state has grown, so have these needs. The purpose of this measure is for the legislature to review accounting practices and procedures for the Department of Human Services and Community Health. [0:42:58] The bill requires all federal and state funds to have separate accounts. It'll be provided better transparency for us, so we'll know where the money's going, and they're staying in their proper places. It will also require the departments to report annually to both the House and Senate in both health and appropriation committees. As you can see, it's a very simple bill, not long, straightforward. We just wanna see where the money's going, and it's being used the way we indicate. [0:43:21] That's right. Yes. [0:43:22] Be very happy to answer any questions. [0:43:24] Any questions? [0:43:26] Thank you. I appreciate your consideration [0:43:27] Well, that's a beautiful coat. Is that velvet? [0:43:29] No. [0:43:30] Okay. [0:43:30] But thank you. I appreciate y'all. Thank- [0:43:32] It reminds me, have you ever seen the movie Coming to America? [0:43:36] Y- yes, I have, but I, I've been in America. [0:43:38] And so the king comes into the barber shop, and he's wearing a lion. [0:43:42] Mm-hmm. [0:43:42] And the, and the, one of the barbers in there, he says- [0:43:45] No, this is just- [0:43:46] ... "That's beautiful. What is that, velvet?" [0:43:48] It's, it's, it's not real, y'all. Some kind of a fake fur. [0:43:51] Well, it just reminds me of lion. [0:43:53] All right. [0:43:53] So. [0:43:53] Well, thank you. I've... [0:43:55] Huh? [0:43:56] Eddie Murphy wore it. [0:43:58] He w- actually, it was Arsenio Hall played that character. [0:44:01] Oh. [0:44:01] So. [0:44:01] Well, thank you. [0:44:02] Yeah. [0:44:02] I appreciate it. Can you quote some more of the lines? [0:44:04] I can quote a lot of them. [0:44:06] I'll loan it to you if you want. Thank you all very much. [0:44:09] All right. Thank you. [0:44:10] Zamunda. Thank you. [0:44:11] All right. [0:44:12] Zamunda. [0:44:13] S- it was Zamunda. Representative Oates, come on. How are you? [0:44:17] I'm good. Thank you so much. [0:44:19] Good to see you. [0:44:19] I'm, I'm just sad I don't have an interesting outfit to wear today. [0:44:22] Well, you're... Yeah, you do. [0:44:23] Tomorrow. [0:44:23] It's just different than- [0:44:24] There's always tomorrow. That's exactly right. I'm bringing House Bill 1191. It's at the bottom of page three. In honor of America's 250th and in honor of our veterans, um, this bill tries to address getting, uh, a veteran's, I mean, a, a, uh, sorry, a military medal award... Hang on just a minute. [0:44:48] It's a military medal award for special veteran license plates. [0:44:51] There you go. Thank you so much. I lost my pl- my, my train of thought. This adds the Navy Corps Medal, the Marine Corps Medal, Airman's Medal, Coast Guard Medal, and Combat Infantry Medal to the list of military medal awards for which veterans are eligible for special and distinctive vehicle license plates. We also add the US Navy Submariners, and it is at the cost of $25. [0:45:18] Any questions? [0:45:23] No questions. Sorry. He showed me a, a GIF of the water. [0:45:27] I thought y'all- [0:45:27] Is that velvet? [0:45:27] ... wasn't gonna lay it to me. [0:45:30] So it was funny, so. [0:45:31] Thank you so much. Thank you. [0:45:33] All right. Good job. Tana Touche. [0:45:36] There you go. [0:45:37] I've been practicing. [0:45:39] Chairman, I am back today. I was invited back again, so I guess I didn't do the g- [0:45:43] Did I say you were? [0:45:43] ... the job yesterday, and I think about half the folks were here. So mine is HB1030. It is on the top of page three. This is a combination of SB171 and HB130. It's a, a great combination. I think it makes the bill even stronger. In, uh, fourth and fifth grade, students are required one hour of math. It has automatic based on end of grade classes and end of course classes. Sixth through tenth grade, they are automatically put into the advanced math class if they are considered distinguished, and then there's discussions at a local level if they're proficient. [0:46:20] Are there any questions? [0:46:22] That's my job. [0:46:23] Oh, I'm sorry. [0:46:23] Are there any questions? [0:46:28] No questions. I was just playing. Thank you. [0:46:32] Thank you. [0:46:34] Representative Segall, how are you? [0:46:38] I'm good. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I got a little frog in my voice, but, uh, bear with me. Today I'm gonna bring you a different bill. [0:46:44] Thank you. [0:46:44] It's the governor's bill, House Bill 1415. It protects the original borders of Stone Mountain Memorial Park in trust for the State of Georgia and places all property owned by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association under the authority and review of the State Properties Commission. [0:47:01] Okay. Questions? No questions. [0:47:06] All right. Thank you. [0:47:07] Thank you. [0:47:08] And please consider House Bill 61 and 549 as well. [0:47:13] 549, top of page two, [0:47:19] and 61, top of page one. Got 'em. Thank you. [0:47:25] Thank you. [0:47:26] Representative Echols, our final representative of the day. [0:47:31] Thank you. I'll be brief. Uh, last night we passed out of, uh, Senate Health, uh, unanimously House Bill 471, which is a water safety education at the hospital level bill. Um, the number one cause of death for children ages one- [0:47:48] Hey, Representative Echols, real quick, just so you don't go through all that. So it, it got reported out of committee this morning on the Senate floor. [0:47:55] Yes, sir. [0:47:55] It'll be second read tomorrow. [0:47:57] Yes, sir. [0:47:57] So it cannot be, it, it, it doesn't make it to rules until- [0:48:01] Tomorrow [0:48:01] ... till after second read. [0:48:02] Thank you. [0:48:03] So, um- [0:48:04] Thank you [0:48:04] ... so maybe Monday or so. We'll, we'll see. [0:48:07] Thank you. [0:48:07] Yes, sir. [0:48:15] Is there anybody else that had a bill on the yellow sheet? [0:48:22] Okay. All right. I think the rest of these we've heard from. Well, let's just go through them. Senate Resolution 610, that's the recycling for Senator Hatchett. He walked in at the right time. Daylight savings, man. [0:48:43] Uh, HB79, that's, uh, Senator Anavitarte. You wanna cover that? [0:48:51] Yep. That's safe storage. [0:48:53] Okay. Uh, HB141 is Representative Montahans. [0:49:02] Y'all all know that one. Moving on. HB1024- That's Representative Hong on her debtors aggregate... Oh, there she is. [0:49:14] Yes, I'm here. [0:49:15] You're gonna do a better job than me. Go ahead. [0:49:17] Thank you, Chairman. Um, this is the bankruptcy exemption. Um, so bankruptcy law is governed by federal law, but each state, including Georgia, has a certain exemption for assets. Uh, for this one, it's a homestead exemption. Right now, it's at 21,500, which means that you can only keep up to 21,500 of the equity of your home when you file bankruptcy. This has not been updated for over 11 years. Sorry I ran up the stairs, so catching my breath. [0:49:48] It's okay. [0:49:48] Um, and we are probably at the very bottom compared to other states when it comes to these exemptions, so we're increasing it now and then we're also including an index so that we don't have to forget about it for 11 years or have to come back every year to look at it. [0:50:06] No questions. Thank you. [0:50:07] Thank you, Chairman. [0:50:09] Representative Rease. [0:50:11] Thank you, Chairman Brass and members of the Senate Rules Committee. I'm here to request House Bill 1254. Um, this is the professional licensing bill. Uh, it is the product of the 2024 Blue Ribbon Joint Study Committee on Professional Licensing. It moves auctioneers and geologists from a board to the Secretary of State Licensing division, or Professional Licensing division. It moves, um, cemeterians from the, uh, board to the Secretary of State Securities division, and all three of those currently work with those various divisions. [0:50:43] It moves everything there. And then finally, it moves hearing aid dispensers from a freestanding board to a combined board with having two seats on the audiology board. It codifies the existing regulations, so it maintains consumer protection, but it provides regulatory reform and streamlining of professional licensing, which has helped a lot over the last year since you passed House Bill 579. This is a follow-up bill to that with more study. [0:51:07] All right. Did you get any pushback from the dispensaries, hearing aid dispensaries or- [0:51:15] We had a very thorough hearing, uh, the other day, and it passed unanimously out of Regulated Industries, um, uh, after a thorough hearing in the House and Senate Regulated Industries. [0:51:26] My very first bill I ever did was around hearing aids, and I didn't even know what a dispensary was, and then- [0:51:32] Um- [0:51:32] ... I learned very quickly. [0:51:34] Since your bill, uh, uh, the FTC placed a lot of hearing aids over the counter, and, uh, this maintains consumer protection- [0:51:41] Trailblazer [0:51:41] ... in that important, important area. [0:51:43] Well, good deal. Senator Orrock, you're recognized. Talking about dispensaries, are we talking about THC and- Hearing aid dispensaries. Oh, okay. All right. Hearing aid dispensaries. All right. Sorry. Sorry, I couldn't hear you. Sorry. I know your mind is still on yesterday. What? [0:52:02] It's 3814. In case you were counting. [0:52:05] After that hearing, I could've used a trip to a dispensary. [0:52:11] All right. Moving on. Let's go. [0:52:14] Thank you. [0:52:14] The hour is late. Do we need to go through the rest? No. Let's pick a few. They're not here, so you... All right. Nothing. Mm-hmm. Is that a question? Yeah, we'll do that after we pick. All right. Where'd we leave off? Senator Anderson. [0:52:33] Oh, we got any- [0:52:34] We got some ding-dings. [0:52:36] We do. Sure. Let's go with, um, House Bill 1182. [0:52:43] 1182. Well, well, well. [0:52:49] Ooh. [0:52:49] All right. You wanna take it now? [0:52:51] I believe so. [0:52:52] All right, what you got? [0:52:54] Let's go with, um, mm, let's go with House Bill 946. [0:53:05] 946. That is not a ding-ding. [0:53:12] That ain't a ding- [0:53:13] Oh, that's the drone... That'd be a fun one. [0:53:15] Should have. [0:53:16] All right, Senator Hufstetler. [0:53:19] Uh, let's go with, um, a good department bill, HB 1097. [0:53:25] Oh. I've got some, I got some real obvious ding-dings out there, just so y'all know. What number did you say? [0:53:33] 1097. [0:53:34] 1097. Okay. [0:53:42] Senator Dixon. [0:53:45] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, I'll pick HB1181. [0:53:48] 1181. [0:53:59] All right. Senator Williams. [0:54:02] Uh, HB541. [0:54:06] 541, bottom of first page. [0:54:14] Senator Albers. How about House Bill 61? Oh, you felt bad for him. I did. House Bill 61. I felt bad for my friends. All right. Senator Still. [0:54:31] I'll, uh, I'll go with, uh, House Bill 1086 for the firefighters. [0:54:39] 1086. Seven. [0:55:00] Oh, yeah. Okay. I gotcha. All right. Back to the top. President Pro Tem Larry Walker III. [0:55:12] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to get a... Ding, ding on House Bill 1268, I hope. [0:55:20] Mm. [0:55:23] Mm. [0:55:29] What else? [0:55:30] I'd like to get a BOGO on... [0:55:35] I don't know if we wanna do any HRs tomorrow after our- [0:55:38] Eh. That's all right [0:55:39] ... luck today, but, uh, I was gonna- [0:55:43] I don't know. Have y'all... Has anybody talked? [0:55:47] 1050 and 1051. [0:55:49] All right. [0:55:53] I'd love a ding, ding on that, 'cause I got one more. [0:55:56] Okay. [0:55:59] Ding, ding. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. [0:56:02] No. What? Okay. All right, I better... We're getting stacked. I better put the rest on. All right, 987. [0:56:19] 1192. [0:56:24] 1268. [0:56:32] Oh, it's a repeat. [0:56:33] I'm gonna lose my pick. All right, 1329. [0:56:40] 1374. [0:56:45] And 1097. [0:56:53] Did we? [0:56:54] Already did. [0:56:55] Oh. I'm sorry. No. 1261. [0:57:05] Six. [0:57:11] Oops. Might've gone over my allotment. All right, HB 61, HB 541, HB 907, HB 946, HB 987, HB 1086, HB 1097, HB 1181, HB 1182, HB 1192, HB 1261, HB 1268, HB 1329, HB 1374, and HRs 1050 and 1051. [0:57:53] Motion. [0:57:55] Got a motion to pass from Senator Anavitarte. Got a second from Senator Still. Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. [0:58:05] Aye. [0:58:06] All opposed. Motion carries unanimous. All right, we got some quick business to attend to. Um, we need to get... 328 needs to be sent to standing committee. [0:58:19] Motion. [0:58:20] I got a motion from Senator Albers, second from- [0:58:22] Second. [0:58:23] Senator Watson. Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. [0:58:29] Aye. [0:58:29] All opposed. All right, motion carries unanimous. Now, we're gonna get Gavel out of there and right back into standing committee. Look in your folders. We have, first up, let's go Senator Harrell. You got SR 432. You were making some subtle changes to your resolution, if you'll cover that real quickly. [0:58:54] Yes, certainly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. Senate, uh, Resolution 432 is for a study committee looking at education in prisons. Um, I actually first filed this in 2024, and it was, um, in the Higher Education Committee, and we had a full hearing, and it passed unanimously. I refiled it this term. The changes I made were, um, to, um, have the committee membership be in line with how we are doing our study committees now with just members of the Senate, with other people. [0:59:30] Instead of participating with the committee, they provide testimony. And, um, I also, um... There's some language in there about one appointment being from a, um, private, private nonprofit university. Uh, uh, the senator who serves the district with a particular, uh, private nonprofit university that actually does a lot of work. It's, it's, uh, Brewton Parker in, I believe it's Mount Vernon, Southeast Georgia. They do a lot of work in this area, and it would be great to have a senator, um, who represents that, that college. [1:00:06] Um, the reason we need this is because our, our prisons are crowded, and we have a high recidivism rate. Uh, it's one in three, uh, will end up back in the prison system, and providing education in prison, um, is shown to be reduced by re- recidivi- recidivism is shown to be reduced by 43% if educational opportunities are offered. It, research says it int- it, um, it reduces inmate misbehavior and violence 'cause they've got something to do, and it increases employability by 13%. [1:00:44] We had some really moving testimony by some people who really turned their lives around by having these opportunities, um, which put them in a better position when they got out. [1:00:54] Okay. Did anybody have any questions? Okay, did anybody wanna speak for or against the bill from the public? All right. What's the will of the committee? [1:01:03] Do pass. [1:01:03] Got a motion do pass from Senator Rhett by substitute. And a second from the Dean of the Senate. Any further discussion or amendments? All right. All in favor, raise your hand. [1:01:25] That's everybody. Motion carries unanimous. [1:01:28] Thank you very much. [1:01:28] All right, on to Rules from Rules. Okay, Senator Rahman. You've got SR 834, the peacekeepers of Bangladesh. [1:01:43] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is the diplomatic relations between the Bangladesh and the United States, 54 years. And, uh, and a lot of people don't know that, uh, Bangladesh American, uh, w- uh, several, several of them, they serve with the United Nations peacekeeping operation. They live in my district, live in Georgia, uh, serving different capacity. And, uh, since 1988, over 200,000 Bangladeshi served at the United Nation with the blue helmet you see around the world in 63 different peacekeeping mission, in 43 different countries. [1:02:20] And hun- almost a couple of hundred people gave their, you know, uh, s- uh, member, uh, gave their lives. Around 300 got injured so far. Just to, you know, acknowledge that, uh, some of the folks that live in Georgia, i- in my district, just honoring them for their contribution. [1:02:40] Okay. Any questions? [1:02:45] And this is a bipartisan resolution, too. [1:02:47] Absolutely, and you've got, uh, one of these peacekeepers coming- [1:02:50] Yes, definitely one of them- [1:02:51] ... in a few days, right? [1:02:52] ... for sure, yeah, coming. And yes, it's for- [1:02:53] Okay [1:02:53] ... some of my friends. [1:02:55] All right. Does anybody from the public wish to speak for or against this measure? All right. What's the will of the committee? Do pass. I got a motion to do pass from my vice chair, and I got a second from Senator Steele. Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? All right. Motion carries unanimous. [1:03:16] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [1:03:17] All righty. [1:03:20] Senator Hatchett. [1:03:27] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, this is a substitute to House Bill 485. The additions that are gonna be made here deal with the World Congress Center and, uh, the chairperson versus the vice chairperson. Uh, essentially, it's going to alternate between the Senate and the House. I'm told this is agreed to by both chambers and was a compromise. Uh, just to highlight something for you though, Mr. Chairman, this was actually, has been presented throughout the process as a simple cleanup bill. [1:04:02] And I think for the most part, it is. However, I have spoken with the DNR and the EPD today, and both agree that Sections 2.3, or excuse me, 2-3, 2-4, [1:04:23] Section 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4 is actually a huge policy shift in the state of Georgia and deals with property rights for trout stream owners. What it's doing essentially is it's gonna abolish a 50-foot buffer that's afforded now to trout streams, and it's only going to apply to trout waters which are specifically designated by the DNR. They're larger, and they have to have trout present. Um, this is not appropriate in a simple cleanup bill. And so I would ask that the committee please, on behalf of property owners in the state of Georgia, please strike Sections 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4 in this substitute as an amendment. [1:05:04] This bill would need to be shepherded as a separate bill and not just tucked away in a cleanup bill. [1:05:14] So- [1:05:14] And that was from the EPD director that told me that today, too. [1:05:17] Okay. [1:05:17] This has much larger implications than what it seems. This could affect the conservation use of a piece of property, um, conservation easements, and it's a much bigger policy discussion that needs to be had and not just put in a cleanup bill. [1:05:32] Senator Gooch. [1:05:35] Um, Leader Hatchett, do you know who drafted that language? [1:05:38] I do not. Honestly, I just read it today, and it flagged my interest because of the number of trout streams in my district. And after speaking with the DNR and the EPD, they weren't, they are not even aware of what the implications of this will be. [1:05:51] Do we know who offered the substitute to House Bill 485? [1:05:55] The language about the trout streams actually passed through the House- [1:05:58] Okay [1:05:58] ... but in the House it was presented as a cleanup bill. [1:06:01] That was the underlying bill. [1:06:02] Correct. [1:06:02] So that- [1:06:03] This is the underlying bill [1:06:03] ... that was in the bill that came out of the House? [1:06:04] That's right. [1:06:05] And the, it's line 57 that sh- actually line 56 where it strikes trout streams pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 5 of this title. Then it adds underlined trout waters pursuant to code section 27-4-51. [1:06:23] That's correct. [1:06:24] That's the part that concerns you? [1:06:26] It does- [1:06:26] I just want to- [1:06:27] ... 'cause it changes the definition- [1:06:28] ... the committee [1:06:29] ... in existing streams right now that have 50-foot buffers would no longer have 50-foot buffers. [1:06:33] Most of them. [1:06:34] Especially in North Georgia and Northeast Georgia, Blue Ridge, Habersham, on the Soque, this could have a major impact. And I just think if we're gonna make this big of a change that's gonna affect this many property owners, uh, it needs to be vetted properly. [1:06:50] But la- last question. You're saying EPD or DNR did not ask for this language? [1:06:54] That's correct. And I actually just spoke to the EPD director, and he said, "We are not aware fully of what the implications of this change would be," and they respectfully ask that we take it out, and if we're gonna run it, run it in a separate bill so that they can be at the table to discuss what these implications will actually be. [1:07:10] Have you spoke to the author from the House? [1:07:12] I've tried to call him twice- [1:07:14] Okay [1:07:14] ... but I have not been able to reach him. However- [1:07:19] All right. Well- [1:07:19] ... he did present it as a cleanup bill, and those portions are not just a cleanup. [1:07:22] Hey, they wanted it in standing. It's in standing, so- [1:07:25] I would, I would make the motion- [1:07:26] Well, whatever the will of the committee is [1:07:27] ... I would make the motion for that amendment, and then if we need to, we can always negotiate back with the House if there's a compelling reason- [1:07:34] Well, hold on [1:07:34] ... to keep it. [1:07:37] But I agree, I think this opens up a Pandora's box. We don't understand the- [1:07:42] Mm-hmm [1:07:42] ... the consequences of it. [1:07:45] We don't have leg counsel. All right, we don't have leg counsel here, so. [1:07:51] Well, we have- [1:07:51] So what I think we would need to do, Mr. Chairman, in the form of an amendment is the title itself would not be, need to be changed. I've looked at that. Simply, we would just need to strike lines 50 through 135. [1:08:11] And I think we could get that in a motion. It would be a simple cleanup for leg counsel. [1:08:15] I'll make that motion. [1:08:18] We're, we're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna pause. This hearing only. [1:08:22] Well, thank you. This is fine, as long as I get another chance to- [1:08:24] We're gonna do this with leg counsel here. We're just- [1:08:26] That's good. [1:08:27] We're not gonna... [1:08:31] Well, I, I trust your lawyering abilities. I'm not sure I trust the rest of us. So let's just, let's just hold off a day- [1:08:42] Thank you [1:08:42] ... and, uh, we'll bring this back up. This will be on, uh, for standing tomorrow. [1:08:46] Thank you. [1:08:47] All right. [1:08:50] Could, could we ask the, the original- [1:08:53] I'll get with y'all [1:08:53] ... sponsor to come with a good explanation on that change? [1:08:56] I will. [1:08:56] 'Cause that really created a problem, what we did two years ago, if you guys remember. [1:09:01] No, I remember, and I- [1:09:02] We changed- [1:09:03] ... I got calls from it, from- [1:09:04] We changed- [1:09:04] ... friends that had some places up on the Sokoly [1:09:06] ... navigability def- definitions. I mean, it really opened up a stink up there. [1:09:10] And I mean, I, if I remember correctly, it was gonna open up, could potentially open up some litigation on, uh, reopening the water wars- [1:09:16] That's right [1:09:16] ... on navigable waters and all that. So yeah, let's, uh, let's punt till tomorrow and come back, and let's get with the author and figure something out. [1:09:26] Thank you. I apologize. I didn't know about this until- [1:09:27] But more importantly, let's have leg counsel here when we're gonna amend the bill. Um, all right. Or I'm, I'm sorry, I should say amend the substitute. Okay. All right, thank you. [1:09:40] Thank you. [1:09:42] And next we've got HB 445. This is Representative Martin's bill, and the main part of the sub difference is we are adding a definition of public utility to include public water systems and sewer systems. [1:10:05] Vice chairman. [1:10:06] This one's pretty simple. Any questions? All right. Anybody from the public? [1:10:15] So moved. [1:10:17] Second. [1:10:18] All right. I got a motion to pass LC590451S by substitute from s- from my vice chairman. I got a second from Senator Dixon. Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. [1:10:37] Aye. [1:10:37] All opposed? Hearing none. All right. Motion carries unanimous. And that will be it for today. Is there no other business? All right. Meeting adjourned.