House floor session, March 23, 2026 (legislative day 36, AM)
Video: https://vimeo.com/1175551614 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1175551614#t=<seconds>s)
Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-23/house-floor-am

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.
[0:14:21] Good morning. Good M- Monday morning. All members will please come to the floor. All members come to the floor.

[0:15:26] The hour for convening having arrived, all members, all members will please come to the floor and take your seats. Mr. Clerk, will you ring the bell?

[0:16:30] Well, good morning.

[0:16:34] We're going to have the morning roll call. Morning roll call. All members present will please vote green to signify your presence in the chamber, and Mr. Clerk will unlock the machines.

[0:17:22] Have all members now voted, Chairman Parsons?

[0:17:38] All members will please vote their machines, Mr. Clerk.

[0:17:48] All members voted, Mr. Clerk. You can lock the machine.

[0:17:58] Doorkeepers, will you please close the doors

[0:18:04] and keep them closed?

[0:18:11] As is our custom here in the House, we will begin our day with scripture reading and prayer by our chaplain, after which we will pledge allegiance to the flag of our country. Our chaplain this morning is going to be introduced, and has been invited, and will be introduced by the lady from the 57th House District representing, Stacey Evans. Representative Evans.

[0:18:36] Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning, colleagues. It is my honor to introduce to you today my pastor, Pastor Will Zant from Haygood Memorial United Methodist Church. And it would be an honor on any occasion, but especially today, because Haygood just yesterday celebrated its 100th anniversary as a church. Yes. Quite an accomplishment. It was an amazing accomplishment, and it was a wonderful ceremony yesterday. And I, I joked with Pastor Zant that it was, uh, even bigger than the Easter crowd.

[0:19:08] So we'll see how we do on Easter, given that we had about 700 yesterday. Um, this is a testament really to Pastor Zant's work at the church, along with so many others. Uh, Will Zant is from Jackson, Georgia, and grew up in the Jackson United Methodist Church. He received, received his Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. Still in the tournament, right? Still holding strong, unlike my dogs. Uh, while at Duke, he met his wife Blair, who is also a United Methodist minister, and together they have two children, Katie and Bethany. And I know that you're gonna be encouraged this morning by Pastor Will Zant as he brings us a message this morning to fuel us through today and these final and most challenging weeks of session.

[0:19:47] Thank you, Pastor.

[0:19:52] Thank you.

[0:19:52] Good to have you. Thank you.

[0:19:53] Thank you.

[0:19:53] Thank you.

[0:19:53] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Stacey. I want to beg- begin my remarks with just a simple question, and that is, when is it that you feel like you don't have enough? I understand that you are finishing up your session here in a few days, and as you wind down, you may feel like you don't have enough time or you're running out of patience. If you're like me, I have two kids, and they can also test me to make me feel like I don't have enough. Uh, they like to go to Starbucks.

[0:20:23] Every day. At least that's what they would love, and they will ask me if they can go to Starbucks. I call it 20 bucks. Because they're gonna get this, uh, drink called the pink drink, and they're gonna wanna add extra cold foam because it elevates the experience. It also elevates the cost. And there are times I feel like I don't have enough for it all. Yesterday, our church celebrated that God has provided for our church not only enough, but more than enough.

[0:20:56] And that's my hope for you today, that you'll know that this God will provide for you more than enough. In the sixth chapter of John's gospel, Jesus was trying to get away from a crowd, and he climbed up a mountain, and as he's at that mountain, people needed him. Maybe people need you at this time. And they needed him, and he was tired from a long day of ministry. And then as these 5,000 people come, uh, Jesus would then, uh, ask one of his disciples, "Philip, how are we gonna feed all these people?" And Philip said, "We don't have enough.

[0:21:26] We don't have enough resources. Six months' wages wouldn't be enough to be able to feed all of these people." But Jesus had everybody sit down in the green grass, and there was this little boy who all he had was, uh, two-- five loaves of bread and two fish. And out of that little bit of, uh, food, Jesus was able to distribute and multiply to feed the multitudes that day.

[0:21:52] God provided more than enough. Our church during COVID, like many churches, struggled with how are we gonna survive? How are we gonna make it to 100 years? And we got bored one day, so we made this, uh, little project. We renovated an old camper, and that camper's purpose was to go out there, we called it the Happy Camper, and to distribute treats to everybody, uh, that were outside during COVID. And so the adults had a hard time with it because the treats were free. We made sure that when we passed out popcorn and snacks, that it was all free.

[0:22:25] We wanted to send a message. And the, the adults would always say, "No, no, no, we gotta pay you something. We gotta pay you something." And, uh, there was this one time we were out in Virginia Highlands at a summer fest, and the crowds were there, and people kept coming up, up, up. And the adults would say, "We gotta pay you something." And one of my volunteers, Brenda, said, "No, you don't have to pay us anything." And the kids got it, though. The kids understood it because the kids would come up, and I remember Brenda, uh, had this little boy, seven-year-old boy, come up and ask for some popcorn, and she gave him the popcorn, and he says, "How much do I owe you?" She says, "Nothing." He said, "Seriously?" We said, "Seriously." And he says, "Well, I'll take a Ring Pop and a Snickers as well."

[0:23:08] And then in that moment, he looked around, and he spotted all of his friends, and he started running to them, and he said, "Dude, everything's free. That camper is loaded." And then within minutes, we had 17 young kids there. But in that moment, it reminded me something not only about our camper ministry, but also something about grace, that that camper was not only full, but also God's church, God's love for all of us is abounding. It's overflowing.

[0:23:39] It's more than you can imagine. So in times when you think life is scarce, not enough time, not enough patience even with your colleagues as much as you might love them, be reminded that God is more than enough. Let us pray.

[0:24:03] Gracious God, we thank you for the work that's before this body. We pray that you'd be enough. For, Lord, when there are moments, when there are times where they are tested whether there's enough, show up and give them your grace. Amen. Amen. I invite you now to please join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[0:24:41] Thank you, Brother Will. Thank you very much. Appreciate

[0:24:49] it. Members, door keepers, you may unlock the doors, door keepers. Members, you may br- join Brother Will in the South Danny Room and h- and thank him for his service and get a photo. And congratulations- Thank you ... on your first 100 years at Hagood. That's the- Just getting, just getting started. That's all. Just getting started, no doubt. Thank you for being here, and thank you for your message.

[0:26:14] Members, our doctor of the day today is Dr. Philip L. Cooley, and we appreciate Dr. Cooley being with us today for his service, and he is brought to us by Dr. Mark Newton. So thank you, Dr. Newton.

[0:26:38] Chairman Hilton, the Chairman of the Committee on Information and Audits is recognized. Chairman Hilton.

[0:26:42] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Committee on Information and Audits has read the journal of the previous legislative day, and we have found it to be correct.

[0:26:49] Chairman Hilton, the Chair of the Committee on Information Audits, reports that the journal of the previous legislative day has been read and found to be correct. Is there any objection to dispense with the reading of the journal? Hearing none, the reading of the journal is dispensed with. Is there any objection to the confirmation of the journal? Hearing none, the journal is confirmed. Mr. Clerk will read the resolution establishing the order of business for the day.

[0:27:14] Representative Efstration of the 104th moves the following be established as the order of business during the first part of the period. Unanimous consents. Introduction of bills and resolutions. First reading and reference of House bills and resolutions. Second reading of bills and resolutions. Reports of standing committees. Third reading and passage of uncontested local bills and resolutions. Morning orders.

[0:27:38] Is there any objection to the adoption of the resolution establishing the order of business for the day? Hearing none, the resolution is adopted.

[0:28:36] First reading of bills and resolutions. The clerk will read.

[0:28:39] House Bill 1589 by Representative Mathis. The 133rd, a bill being titled an act to amend an act reconstituting the Board of Commissioners of Telfair County.

[0:28:50] Intergovernmental coordination.

[0:28:51] House Bill 1590 by Representative Mass- Mathis of the 133rd. A bill being titled an act to repeal the amendment of the Constitution of Georgia.

[0:29:00] And,

[0:29:04] and for governmental coordination.

[0:29:06] House Bill 1591 by Representative Drenner of the 85th, Lupton of the 83rd, Mitchell of the 88th, Crawford of the 89th, Draper of the 90th, and others. The bill will be titled an act to amend an act to create and establish in DeKalb County, Georgia, districts from which the members of the County Board of Education.

[0:29:22] And for governmental coordination.

[0:29:23] House Bill 1592 by Representative Bonner of the 73rd, Mathiak of the 82nd, Hilton of the 48th, Berry of the 56th, Olaleye of the 59th. The bill will be titled an act to amend Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to education.

[0:29:37] Higher education.

[0:29:39] House Bill 1593 by Representative Sanchez of the 42nd, McQueen of the 61st, Cummings of the 39th. The bill will be titled an act to amend Code Section 3-3-20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to sales of alcoholic beverages on Sundays.

[0:29:54] Regulated industries.

[0:29:55] House Bill 1594 by Representative Williams of the 168th and DeLoach of the 167th. The bill will be titled an act to amend an act to provide a new charter for the City of Riceboro.

[0:30:17] Yes.

[0:30:17] Intergovernmental coordination.

[0:30:19] House Bill 1595 by Representative Fry of the 122nd, Rhodes of the 124th, Gaines of the 120th, and Giesler of the 121st. The bill will be titled an act to amend an act to grant the residents of Clarke County and the Clarke County School District upon their homesteads.

[0:30:34] Intergovernmental coordination.

[0:30:35] House Resolution 1829 by Representative Howell of the 50th. A resolution urging Georgia schools and boards of education.

[0:30:45] Special rules.

[0:30:46] House Resolution 1830 by Representative Howard of the nine- 71st and Huddleston of the 72nd. A resolution recognizing Lieutenant Colonel Larry Buford Boggs and dedicating an intersection in his honor.

[0:31:00] Transportation.

[0:31:01] House Resolution 1831 by Representative McDonald of the 26th, Anderson of the 10th, Cannon of the 172nd, Yeargley of the 152nd, Chastain of the 7th. Resolution creating a House Study Committee on Local Government Financial Audits.

[0:31:16] Special rules.

[0:31:17] House Resolution 1832 by Representative Kelly of the 16th, Cheokas of the 151st, Anderson of the 10th. Resolution creating a House Study Committee on the Assessment and Collection of Fees by Local Governments.

[0:31:29] Special rules.

[0:31:30] Senate Bill 622 by Senator Jackson of the 41st, Anderson of the 43rd, Harl of the 40th, Parr of the 44th, and Mangum of the 55th. The bill will be titled an act to amend an act to incorporate the City of Tucker.

[0:31:43] And for governmental coordination.

[0:31:44] Senate Bill 623 by Senator Wick of the 34th, Parr of the 44th, Davenport of the 17th. The bill will be titled an act to amend an act creating the State Court of Clayton County.

[0:31:55] And for governmental coordination.

[0:31:57] Senate Bill 624 by Senator Williams of the 25th. The bill will be titled an act to amend an act to create the Public Facilities Authority of the City of Milledgeville in Baldwin County.

[0:32:08] And for governmental coordination.

[0:32:09] Senate Bill 625 by Senator Parr of the 44th. The bill will be titled an act to amend an act creating the City of Decatur Public Facilities Authority.

[0:32:19] And for governmental coordination.

[0:32:21] That completes first readers.

[0:32:59] Second reading of bills and resolutions. Mr. Clerk will read.

[0:33:03] House Bill 1581 by Representative Bonner of the 73rd, Mathiak of the 82nd, Jackson of the 68th, and Bazemore of the 69th. A bill to provide a homestead exemption from City of Fayetteville ad valorem taxes, municipal purposes. House Bill 1582 by Representative Bonner of the 73rd, Mathiak of the 82nd, Jackson of the 68th, and Bazemore of the 69th. A bill to provide a homestead exemption from Fayette County School District ad valorem taxes for educational purposes. House Bill 1583 by Representative Bonner of the 73rd, Mathiak of the 82nd, Jackson of the 68th, and Bazemore of the 69th. A bill to amend an act to provide for residents of specified ages a homestead exemption from certain ad valorem taxes levied by Fayette County.

[0:33:38] House Bill 1584 by Representative Newton of the 127th. A bill to amend an act providing for the consolidation of the Richmond County and the City of Augusta. House Bill 1585 by Representative Blackmon of the 146th, Denson of the 150th, Crawford of the 89th, Williamson of the 112th, Ballard of the 147th, and others. A bill related to imposition rate computation, exemptions, and credits regarding income taxes. House Bill 1586 by Representative Gaines of the 120th. A bill related to provide a new charter for the City of, Town of Bogart. House Bill 1587 by Representative Sanchez of the 42nd, Wilkerson of the 38th, Jones of the 60th, Campbell of the 35th, Ridley of the 22nd, and others.

[0:34:14] A bill to abolish the office of elected county surveyor of Cobb County. House Bill 1588 by Representative Cummings of the 39th, Wilkerson of the 38th, Smith of the 41st, Campbell of the 35th, Adesanya of the 43rd, and others. A bill to amend an act changing the compensation of the court clerk of the Superior Court, the sheriff, and the judge of the Probate Court of Cobb County from a fee system to a salary system. House Resolution 1789 by Representative Wade of the 9th, Kelly of the 16th, Momtahan of the 17th, Clifton of the 131st, Martinez of the 111th. A resolution expressing support for dissolving the United States Department of Education and restoring educational authority to the states.

[0:34:49] House Resolution 1790 by Representative Lupton of the 83rd, Lim of the 98th, Barnes of the 86th, Beckles of the 96th. A resolution creating a House Study Committee on Long COVID. House Resolution 1791 by Representative Sainz of the 180th, Reeves of the 99th, and Thomas of the 21st. A resolution urging the federal government to establish a national data protection authority. House Resolution 1792 by Representative Franklin of the 160th, Gaines of the 120th, Wade of the 9th, Gambill of the 15th, Everett of the 123rd, and others. A resolution urging the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to refrain from adopting the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code for residential construction.

[0:35:23] House Resolution 1793 by Representative Berry of the 56th, Stevens of the 164th, Jones of the 143rd, Sainz of the 180th, and Willis of the 55th. A resolution urging the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to establish regulations for placement of lifeguards on Georgia's public beaches during times of high occupancy. House Resolution 1794 by Representative Berry of the 56th, Herring of the 145th, Park of the 107th, Frye of the 122nd, Hugley of the 141st, and others. A resolution urging the Commissioner of Insurance to conduct a comprehensive review of prescription drug pricing, identify strategies to reduce the cost of prescription medications for citizens of the State of Georgia.

[0:35:58] House Resolution 1795 by Representative Berry of the 56th, Crawford of the 89th, Evans of the 57th, Wes-Westbrook of the 163rd, Olaleye of the 106th. A resolution urging local school systems to adopt policies that encourage student civic and political participation. House Resolution 1796 by Representative Berry of the 56th, Bell of the 75th, Holly of the 116th, Román of the 97th, Cannon of the 58th. Resolution urging all state departments and agencies responsible for the management of public funds to review and, where appropriate, divest investments from Israeli bonds. House Resolution 1797 by Representative Bell of the 75th, Cannon of the 58th, Gilliard of the 162nd, Williams of the 168th, Jackson of the 165th, and others.

[0:36:36] A resolution urging the rena-renaming of the Grady Memorial Hospital to Grady Bell Memorial Hospital. Senate, Senate Bill 620 by Senator Dixon of the 45th, Cowser of the 46th, Ginn of the 47th. A bill to amend an act to create the State Court of Barrow County. Senate Bill 621 by Senator Dixon of the 45th, Cowser of the 46th, and Ginn of the 47th. A bill to create the Barrow County Public Facilities Authority. Three second readers.

[0:38:41] Reports of standing committee. Mr. Clerk will read.

[0:38:47] Representative Lauren McDonald, the 26th District, Chairman of the Committee on Intergovernmental Coordination and Local, submitted the following report. Mr. Speaker, Committee on Intergovernmental Coordination and Local had under its consideration the following bills of the House. It's instructed me to report same back to the House with the following recommendations. House Bill 1536, do pass. House Bill 1542, do pass. House Bill 1548, do pass. House Bill 1549, do pass. House Bill 1550, do pass. House Bill 1553, do pass. House Bill 1555, do pass.

[0:39:18] House Bill 1556, do pass. House Bill 1557, do pass. House Bill 1543, do pass. House Bill 1544, do pass. House Bill 1551, do pass. House Bill 1552, do pass. Respectfully submitted, Representative Lauren McDonald, the 26th District, Chairman. That completes the reading of the reports of standing committees.

[0:41:04] Members, if you'll come to the floor, we'll take up our local calendar, and then, and then we have a special invite resolution.

[0:41:21] Members, if you'll please come to the floor

[0:41:26] and get close to your seats, we'll take up our local calendar. We have a couple of bills on the local calendar with, um... In fact, there's four of them on the local calendar related to homestead exemption, and we require a recorded two-thirds roll call vote for passage. Third reading and passage of uncontested local bills. If there's no objection, we will vote on the local calendar as a whole with a recorded vote. Hearing none is ordered. Mr.

[0:41:56] Clerk, will you read the local calendar? House Bill 1536 by Representative Rhodes of the 124th, City of Eatonton. House Bill 1542 by Representative Yearta of the 152nd, Worth County. House Bill 1548 by Representative Anderson of the 10th, City of Clarksville. House Bill 1549 by Representative Anderson of the 10th, City of Cornelia. House Bill 1550 by Representative Dickey of the 134th, City of Byron. House Bill 1553 by Representative Burnough of the 77th, City of Forest Park.

[0:42:27] House Bill 1555 by Representative Ballard of the 147th, City of Fort Valley. House Bill 1556 by Representative O'Steen of the 169th, City of Nichols. House Bill 1557 by Representative Math- Mathiak of the 82nd, Fayette County. House Bill 1543 by Representative Lumsden of the 12th, Chattooga County. House Bill 1544 by Representative Lumsden of the 12th, Chattooga County. House Bill 1551 by Representative Jasperse of the 11th, Pickens County.

[0:42:57] House Bill 1552 by Representative Smith of the 18th, City of Bremen.

[0:43:20] We're gonna vote the local calendar. She gonna stay with me. Come on, Daddy. Hey, I'm done.

[0:43:58] Is there any objection to the previous question being ordered on the local calendar? Hearing none, the previous question is ordered. Is there any objection to agreeing to the report of the committee, which was favorable to the passage of the bills? Hearing none, the report of the committee is agreed to. Shall these bills now pass? All of those in favor of the passage of the bills on the local calendar will vote yes. All of those opposed will vote no. And Mr. Clerk will unlock the machines. Almost dropped it.

[0:44:29] That's pretty cool.

[0:44:45] Almost dropped it.

[0:44:53] Have all members voted?

[0:44:56] Uh, we're gonna waive the rules.

[0:44:58] All members voted.

[0:45:01] We'll take care of you.

[0:45:10] All members now voted.

[0:45:47] Have all members voted? If so, Mr. Clerk will lock the machine. On the passage the bills on the local calendar, the yays are 158, the nays are zero. These bills having received the requisite constitutional majority are therefore passed.

[0:46:16] Members, if you will, uh, if you h- need a conversation, you can take it out to any room, but we need your attention. We have a very, very special invite resolution we're gonna take up. So members, please give us your, give us your attention. Cease your conversations.

[0:46:50] Thank you, members. Mr. Clerk, will you read the caption to House Resolution 1732?

[0:46:59] House Resolution 1732 by Representative Alexander of the 66th, McClain of the 109th, Baker of the 64th, and New of the 40th. A resolution recognizing and congratulating Elana Meyers Taylor.

[0:47:18] I got to hold a medal, whether, whether y'all saw that or not. That was pretty cool, and it's pretty heavy. That's the closest I'll ever get to one. Thank you, Elana. So I'm gonna recognize Representative Kimberly Alexander to speak to the resolution. Representative Alexander.

[0:47:35] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Colleagues, it is with great honor and privilege that I rise today to welcome Elana Meyers Taylor to this distinguished body. This past weekend, the community of Douglasville proudly celebrated her with a hometown celebration in recognition of her extraordinary achievements. We are both proud and deeply honored to have her with us here today. At 41 years of age and competing in her fifth Olympic Games, Ms. Meyers Taylor had already secured her place among the most accomplished athletes in Olympic history, having earned five Olympic medals, three silver and two bronze.

[0:48:18] At the 2026 Winter Olympics, she further cemented her legacy by becoming the oldest American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in an in- individual event.

[0:48:44] Sh- she stands as one of the most decorated Black athletes in Winter Olympic history and made history as the first Black pilot to win an Olympic gold medal in bobsled. In addition, she is a multiple-time world champion.

[0:49:05] Beyond her accomplishments in athletics, she is also a devoted wife and mother of two sons, Noah and Nico. While these achievements are remarkable, they also represent a profound milestone for the State of Georgia. Her perseverance, excellence, and leadership serve as an inspiration to citizens across our state and throughout the nation. We commend her for her dedication, her historical contributions, and the pride she brings to Georgia and to the United States.

[0:49:39] I introduce you guys to Elana Meyers Taylor.

[0:49:51] Give them a

[0:49:56] hug.

[0:49:56] Good morning, everyone.

[0:49:59] Good morning.

[0:49:59] I just wanna say thank you so much for all the support and all the encouragement over about 20 years of competing and 20 years of working for this medal. Um, thank you so much. It gives me so much pride to be from the State of Georgia and to bring this medal back home to Georgia. I know we're not known for our winter sports, but hopefully we become known for our winter sports now. So to everyone out there, keep striving, join bobsled- ... and keep going out there and doing your best. Thank you so much for having me today at the Capitol.

[0:50:34] And go Team USA.

[0:50:48] Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues of the House. You know, it's, it's an honor for me to, to, to stand here, too. It's, you know, I've got, uh, Alana, you know, in fact, I've known her since she was a baby. So it was, it's been ... I guess the thing that I like to say is that watching her grow and, and watching her grow and watching her grow, she has grown. But her father is a former Atlanta Falcon as well. So I want you all to know that. It's, it's kinda in the, it's kinda in the family. So a- again, it, it is.

[0:51:20] He said it is in the family. So I just want you all to know that, uh, it, it is an honor, I mean, especially to watch, uh, Alana, uh, bobsled. If you all saw that going down and shaking, I mean, anyway, it just made me proud. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

[0:51:42] Alana, we're very, very proud of you. I guess you can tell that. And thank you for your dedication and your sick ability. Uh, you won 'em all, but then you got the really good one. Yeah. So we, I know you're proud of that as well, and it's a testament. Steady, thank you for being here with her. My pleasure. And appreciate your career. I know you used to bust him around, didn't you? No, not again. No, he didn't. Yeah, he said, he said he did. So we appreciate you. And, um, I know Douglasville is, is proud of you. But I can assure you, the State of Georgia and these United States of America are very proud of you as well. Thank you. Thank you very, very much.

[0:52:14] Thank you, members, for welcoming her. Let's give one more round of applause and thank you.

[0:53:04] Members, Alana will be in the South Annie Room. You can go reminisce with her about your time on the bobsled. I know all of y'all have ridden a bobsled. At a very fast pace. So be sure and join her in that South Annie Room and, and congratulate her on her accomplishments.

[0:54:30] Members, we have a lot of guests in the gallery. We also have a couple of, um, farewell addresses this morning. But we're gonna recognize, uh, you members so you can recognize our friends in the galleries. And we're gonna begin with Representative Herring.

[0:54:50] Representative Tangie Herring. Well, maybe we won't. Representative Beckles. Representative Arlene Beckles is recognized for morning order. Give the lady in the well your attention, please. Representative, g- we're gonna ... Representative Beckles, let's try to hold it to about a minute. We have a, a good many of those that work for you. Representative Gambill, you on deck.

[0:55:15] The lady's recognized.

[0:55:21] Oh, okay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time, I recognize Beauty Baldwin Elementary School for their outstanding achievements in the National Beta Club and the National Elementary Honor Society. These organizations reflect students' dedication to excellence in the classroom, their commitment to service within their community, and the development to their strong relationship skills, all while being in the fourth and fifth grade.

[0:55:51] Let's give a round of applause for these outstanding students.

[0:56:04] Mr. Speaker, I don't know about you, but I cannot top them. I yield the well. I can't either. That's pretty cool. Thank y'all for being here. Fourth and fifth graders. Enjoy your day at the Capitol. Good to have y'all.

[0:56:18] Representative Gambill.

[0:56:22] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the distinct privilege today to recognize somebody that many of y'all are very familiar with, Tommy Thomas of Thomas Barber Shop here in Atlanta. Now, I could say a lot of things about Tommy. He's cut hair for every governor that I can remember, as far back as Jimmy Carter. And not to mention Robert Woodruff and so many different Atlantans that you're probably very familiar with. But one story I'll tell you that not a lot of people realize is that several years ago, he was able to put together Phoenix Air with a vendor that helped to create the

[0:57:00] Containment units that Emory University and Emory used to fly the Ebola patients back to the US. That was a patented, um, uh, mechanism they created, and it started all over a conversation that happened in Tommy's Thomas Barber Shop. He's here today with his wife, Linda, and we've done a resolution to recognize him for 67 years at the barber shop. And Tommy, we're proud of you. If you would please stand, and your wife, Linda, so that we could recognize y'all.

[0:57:31] And we're proud of you, Tommy, and all that you've done to support us through the years.

[0:57:44] Thank you.

[0:57:59] Representative Park Cannon is recognized for morning ord- Members, please give the member in the well your attention. Lady will suspend just for a moment.

[0:58:16] Thank you, members. The lady is recognized.

[0:58:20] This is the first one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to recognize and commend Dr. Daniel Black. Will you please stand?

[0:58:32] Yes. He is a nationally renowned and award-winning novelist, scholar, and community leader. He lives here in Atlanta and is a professor of African American Studies and English at his alma mater, Clark Atlanta University, as well as at Morehouse College, where he has mentored writers and scholars since 1993. He is a prolific writer. His literary works include They Tell Me of a Home, The Sacred Place, Perfect Peace, Twelve Gates to the City, The Coming, and Listen to the Lambs, among many others.

[0:59:09] He has been nominated for the Townsend Literary Prize, the Ernest J. Gaines Award, the Farrell Brumley Literary Prize, the Lambda Literary Award, and Georgia Author of the Year Prize, and he was awarded the Writers' Award from the Middle Atlantic Writers' Association. In May 2024, Dr. Daniel Black delivered a viral commencem- commencement speech address for Clark Atlanta University, where he shared an encouraging message to graduates that assured them that their accomplishments made them part of a legacy.

[0:59:42] Congratulations, and thank you for joining us today, Dr. Daniel Black.

[0:59:49] Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[0:59:51] Tell him to come down to the podium.

[0:59:52] Come for photos.

[0:59:53] Members, welcome to the House.

[0:59:57] Represent-

[0:59:59] Heavily

[1:00:11] funded.

[1:00:12] Representative Herring is recognized for morning order. Then, then you can go next, Representative McQueen.

[1:00:19] Can I please have my friends with the Young Farmers to come up? Thank you.

[1:00:25] And friends. Suspend just for a moment. You have-

[1:00:33] Come on. Come on in. We have some more of your queens up here today.

[1:00:38] Oh, we do?

[1:00:42] Lady's recognized.

[1:00:43] Mr. Smeak, please, Mr. Speaker, sorry, and members of the House, good morning. I rise today to recognize a remarkable group of young leaders from my district. Today, we welcome the Rutland High School Young Farmers and FAA chap- chapter from Macon, Georgia, as they visit the capital. Agriculture is our backbone to our state. It is a vi- it is vital that our young people stay engaged and involved. These students are learning not only the importance about agriculture, but also about leadership, responsibility, and service, skills that they will carry with them beyond the classroom.

[1:01:23] Mr. Speaker, today I observe our proceedings this morning to let them know that they are a part of this house, and all the things that we do for agriculture, we appreciate their service. If you would please join me, House members, recognizing today Rutland High School Young Farmers, the principal, Dr. Wendy Pooler, and their director, Robbie Bartlett. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield the well. Welcome.

[1:01:54] Young Farmers and FFA, that's tough to beat right there. Good to have y'all. Thanks for you- what you're doing in the community. Representative McQueen and Representative Cannon.

[1:02:07] Wherever she is.

[1:02:07] Representative Park Cannon. Lady's recognized.

[1:02:10] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, I'm here to recognize Spelman's chapter of the My Sister's Keeper program. Please rise, ladies.

[1:02:20] Whoo.

[1:02:20] All right, a signature ... Mm-hmm. So, My Sister's Keeper program is a signature initiative of Black Women's Health Imperative, a national organization that empowers young Black women ages 18 to 30 to become strong advocates and leaders within their communities. As part of their 2026 advocacy goals, they plan a visit to join us here at their house, the Georgia State Capitol. Thanks for coming to get a firsthand understanding of the legislative process and civic engagement. As members of the House, we are especially eager to connect with you to learn more about your priorities and explore ways our members can engage meaningfully in the work that you are leading.

[1:02:59] Thank you so much, ladies, for being here, and please come down to the Annie room for pictures.

[1:03:07] Thank you, ladies. Thanks for being here, and thanks for your good work as well. Thank y'all. Representative Huddleston and friends.

[1:03:18] Howdy.

[1:03:20] Wait a minute.

[1:03:21] Yeah, yeah.

[1:03:21] Gentleman, suspend just for a moment. Let's get all your friends.

[1:03:24] Representative.

[1:03:24] I knew you had more than one.

[1:03:32] Gentleman recognized.

[1:03:33] Thank you, Mr. Speaker, members of the House. I rise today in recognition and congratulate Carroll Electric Membership Cooperative on the occasion of its 90th anniversary with House Resolution 1606. Since its founding in 1936, Carroll EMC has provided safe, reliable, affordable power to the people of West Georgia, growing from just a few hundred members to now serving more than 56,000 across multiple counties. For nine decades, they have played a vital role in improving quality of life, supporting economic growth, and strengthening the communities that we serve.

[1:04:08] The milestone in this testament is to their enduring commitment, and we honor their legacy and continuing service. Colleagues, help me welcome guests from Carroll EMC who are with us today in the gallery. Please stand.

[1:04:24] Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[1:04:29] Thank you, Carroll EMC, and thanks for what you do in your area to make life successful and enjoyable and, uh, very comfortable for so many people. Thank y'all. Good to have y'all.

[1:04:45] Representative McClain is recognized for a morning order.

[1:04:52] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, today, colleagues, we have in the, uh, gallery Miss Corporate America of Georgia, Dr. Yvette Etheridge, and the president of the Miss Corporate America Georgia, Dr. Jacqueline Mohe. Can we all give them a ... Oh, there they are. Yes. Can we all stand up and give them a nice, warm welcome?

[1:05:16] As you all can see, it is, we have corporate America that has a Miss America. So, Mr. Speaker, thank you, Dr. Mohe. Thank you all. Thank y'all for being here today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[1:05:32] Thank you for your recognition and leadership in corporate America, and good to have you ladies. Chairman Yearta recognized for a morning order.

[1:05:48] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanna welcome the Lee County Youth Ambassadors to the capital. Uh, they were actually scheduled to come, uh, about a week or so ago, and the weather kinda got in the way of that, but we're happy to have them today. The Youth Ambassador Program is a collaborative effort between Lee County Family Connection, Lee County School System, Lee County Chamber of Commerce, the Lee County Library, and the City of Leesburg, as well as the Lee County Board of Commissioners. This program helps build skills, uh, while working in leadership in the community.

[1:06:22] They are provided opportunities to volunteer in the community, as well as encouraged to incum- incubate and implement community projects throughout the community. Its goal in the Lee County Youth Ambassador Program is to create a culture of community commitment, and they do just that. Today with them we have, uh, Patsy James, the, uh, Lee County Family Connections leader. Yolanda Robinson, uh, Lee County School System. Judy Powers, which serves on the Lee County, or the Leesburg City Council.

[1:06:54] And Bill Turosky for Synovus Bank. Y'all stand up and let us give you a hand. Uh, there they are over here.

[1:07:00] Right on to your right.

[1:07:02] Thank you for coming. They left about 5:00 this morning, Mr. Speaker.

[1:07:08] They can get a nap a little while. Thanks to all the students from Lee County, and to the leaders, thank y'all for making the trip up. I know it's a long one, so we appreciate you being here very, very much. Representative Bazemore is recognized for a mornol- morning order.

[1:07:24] Thank you, Mr. Speaker . And can I ask everyone in the South Metro area to please come up and join me?

[1:07:33] South Metro area.

[1:07:34] South Metro.

[1:07:35] And join the lady in the well, please.

[1:07:40] South Metro area.

[1:07:43] Okay, they're coming, so I'm gonna start. Thank you, my colleagues. As chair of the City of South Fulton delegation, it gives me great pleasure that I acknowledge and congratulate the Greater South Fulton Chamber of Commerce for representing the businesses of South Fulton County for 75 years. Congratulations to the outstanding, eminent past president and CEO, Diane Matthews, for 15 years of service, and to the past board chair, Walter Vinson, for 13 years of service to the Greater South Fulton Chamber.

[1:08:32] Now let me welcome the interim president and CEO, Cathy Booker, and chairman. Please stand as I call your name. Cathy Booker, and Chairman of the Board, John Coburn, to the 2026 chamber leadership. The South Fulton County community is eagerly waiting, anticipating the GSFCC, Greater South Fulton Chamber Business Development Center, powered by Georgia Power, opening in April 2026.

[1:09:11] Everyone from South Fulton, please stand up and be recognized. I ask my colleagues to help me recognize them and

[1:09:22] thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield the floor.

[1:09:26] Welcome, South Fulton-

[1:09:27] Come down to the third floor anteroom for pictures

[1:09:30] ... South Fulton Chamber. Appreciate what the chamber does for your community and, and, and for our state. So thank y'all for being here, and thank you for your work as well.

[1:09:42] Chairman Cheokas.

[1:09:50] Did you wanna go at the end? Are you good now?

[1:09:58] Your folks will be here in a few moments. Representative Drenner and the, uh, DeKalb delegation. Representative Karla Drenner and the DeKalb delegation.

[1:10:17] Give them just a second to get here, Representative Drenner. DeKalb delegation.

[1:10:27] Ladies recognized.

[1:10:29] Thank you.

[1:10:33] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, today we honor a county, uh, with deep roots and forward-looking spirit. Today is DeKalb Day at the Capitol.

[1:10:51] Many, many of our members right now are downstairs, uh, with, uh, other, other people from DeKalb and other elected officials. But we here in the house wanted to give a shout-out and tell you what really makes DeKalb extraordinary is its people. With more than 100 nationalities and over 140 languages spoken, DeKalb reflects the richness and diversity of our state and our nation, and that diversity is matched by strong and committed leadership.

[1:11:28] I want to recognize CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson for her historic leadership, as well as the members of the DeKalb Board of Commissioners. And I see the light is on. Uh, thank you. I'm proud to represent DeKalb, and thank all of you for showing up today.

[1:11:44] Thank you.

[1:11:45] Happy DeKalb Day.

[1:11:56] Yay.

[1:11:56] Representative Ford, are you ready?

[1:12:04] Representative Ford is recognized for a morning order. Is anybody coming with you? Representative Cheokas, you wanna come down?

[1:12:17] How about you, Chairman Dickey?

[1:12:22] Ladies recognized.

[1:12:24] Thank you, Speaker. This morning, in honor of Ag Week, we would like to recognize some of the Peanut Queens that have come down from South Georgia. Today, we have Dani Jones, Miss Georgia Peanut and America's Ideal Miss South Georgia teen; Carrington Elizabeth Hayes, Teen Miss Georgia Peanut and Miss Douglas County's teen; Addy Grace Shiver, Junior Miss Georgia Peanut; Scarlett Forcynthia Tyson, Young Miss Georgia Peanut; and Ellie Collins Austin, Tiny Miss Georgia Peanut.

[1:13:00] We welcome you ladies to the Capitol today and would love for you to come down to the Annie Room, um, when you're done. And, um, if everybody could welcome our Peanut Queens and give them a big hand.

[1:13:20] Welcome. And Mr. Speaker, I yield the floor.

[1:13:25] That one little, little beautiful queen's no bigger than a peanut right there. So ladies, good to have y'all. Y'all come down to the Annie Room. We'd love to take some photos with you. Good to have you. Thank you for representing the peanut industry. Important part of our state. Number one peanut state in the union. Is that right, Chairman Dickey?

[1:13:44] Yeah.

[1:13:44] Absolutely.

[1:13:47] Representative Ali.

[1:13:52] Gentleman's recognized.

[1:13:56] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, I'd like to invite you in joining me in welcoming Ali Hassan from Gwinnett County. He's a business owner of Little Voices Speech Therapy, a treasurer at Dar-ul-Abсар Mosque, social media manager, but most importantly, he is a father, a son, a brother, a husband, and the shining example of what is possible in our great state. Please stand and be recognized.

[1:14:25] Welcome to the People's House. And Mr. Speaker, I yield the floor. Thank you.

[1:14:38] So good to have those folks with us. Thank you for recognizing him. Uh, Representative Jones. Representative Sheila Jones, then Chairman Cheokas on deck.

[1:14:55] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My group is upstairs. They were told to tap on the window when they see me come to the well. So today, I would like to welcome a school from my district, Candesy West. We have a parent, administrator, and four students from Candesy West in the Atlanta-Adamsville area. Please welcome them to the Capitol.

[1:15:51] Chairman Cheokas.

[1:15:54] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, it is indeed my pleasure to welcome the Chattahoochee County High School students here today. There are 19 students. Uh, they're young leaders that represent the best and the brightest from ChatCo Stand Up Guys. Um, they're part of the National Honor Society and a few other select students from student government. They're accompanied by Mike Nixon, who's the assistant principal, and Kim Walker, who is the National Honor Society sponsor. So Stand Up Guys, join me in welcoming them to the Capitol.

[1:16:30] Go Panthers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[1:16:44] Representative Will Wade.

[1:16:51] The gentleman's recognized. Give him your attention, please.

[1:16:54] Thank you, Speaker, colleagues. I'd like to welcome the Lumpkin County le- youth leadership to the Capitol today. They originally were gonna be here earlier in the session when we had a little ice in North Georgia, but they made the trek down. Uh, appreciate Rob Nichols in the chamber and all of those. Class of 2027 from Lumpkin County High School. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

[1:17:34] Representative Mitchell. Representative Billy Mitchell recognized for a morning order.

[1:17:41] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great delight to be able to introduce and salute some very important people from my district, senior citizens from the Lou Walker Center. Would you please stand so that we can recognize you? Understand they're up there to our left, my right here.

[1:17:59] They're on our right. Yes, sir.

[1:18:00] Great.

[1:18:03] Glad that you're here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[1:18:08] Thank you, seniors, for being here today, and thank you for what you've done in your lifetime. I can tell you you aren't done yet, so keep doing it. Thank y'all for being here.

[1:18:29] Members, if you're in any room, I would invite you to come back to the floor. Members that may be having a conversation on the floor, I would urge you to come to your seats and let's, um, we're gonna move on to a couple of farewell addresses.

[1:19:11] Doorkeepers, you don't have to lock the doors. Maybe you do. I'm not sure. We'll see. But if you'll, uh, close the doors and so we don't have, um, any of that disruption coming in from the an- any rooms, that'd be great.

[1:19:30] I wanna recognize a gentleman that I've gone to know, grown to know pretty well over the years that we've served together in this body from down in on the coast, Garden City and Port Wentworth and Savannah, all those great places down in southeast Georgia. He's a dear friend and a valued member of this body who's worked on any number of important issues over the years. I'm, we're gonna miss him, but I wanna recognize Representative Carl Gilliard to come to us and, uh, tell us about his plans and, uh, recognize him for his service.

[1:20:08] Let's give him a big round of applause, y'all.

[1:20:26] And now our feature presentation.

[1:20:32] Born in Savannah, Georgia, Representative Carl W. Gilliard is the product of a life of service. 42 years of service to his community establishing programs like the Chatham County Youth Commission, Project Love, Unity in Our Community, and Feed the Hungry, which has served over 14 cities in Georgia, South Carolina, and recently shattered the record in serving over two million servings of fresh produce and hot meals to the working poor. In 2019, Representative Carl Gilliard opened up the Empowerment Center, giving the working poor a hand up instead of a handout.

[1:21:05] Since that time, he has helped over 75 businesses acquire DBE certifications, moved over 300 people from renting houses to purchasing houses through the Georgia Dream program. He was elected in 2016, and over the 10 years he has established annual events such as the Georgia Economic Empowerment Summit, Georgia International Conference on Trade and Commerce, and The Breakfast Club. All of these events brought state leaders to the tables of his community. He is the founder and CEO of Savannah Feed the Hungry, now Feed the Hungry, which now has the largest sit-down holiday dinners in America serving thousands of the working poor during the holiday seasons for the last seventeen years, and recently has shattered the record of serving over two million servings of fresh produce and hot meals since two thousand and nine.

[1:21:53] Mammoth legislation such as House Resolution forty-eight, a resolution that focuses on preserving the coast with no offshore drilling. House Bill seventy-nine, the Blind Bill, giving blind parents the right to parent their children. He is the original author of the Citizen Arrest Repeal House Bill forty-five, later co-authored House Bill four seventy-nine, the Georgia Citizen Arrest Repeal, which was also co-authored with Senator Michael Gianaris of New York, the New York Citizen Arrested Repeal, and in South Carolina with Representative Wendell Gilliard co-author the Citizen Arrest Repeal.

[1:22:28] His work has been featured in the Geneva Convention. He is also the author of these past pieces of legislation: the Chatham County Gang Prevention and Intervention, the Gullah Geechee Heritage Society, the Weeping Times Heritage Cultural Corridor Authority, the Savannah Music Commission, the Original Thirty-Three Memorial Act, Georgia Legislator of the Year, Chair Emeritus of the, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the gentleman from District one sixty-two.

[1:23:20] My brothers and sisters,

[1:23:25] today before I start, I stood here along with you for ten years, and I begin with these words that are in our Bible, Romans eight and thirty, "And those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, He also justified. And those who He justified, He also glorified". We have been called to a purpose bigger than ourselves, and I stand before you grateful for you all answering the call.

[1:24:03] In nineteen ninety-nine, when I wa- when there was a younger Ron Stephens with salt and pepper hair, he was on the radio station talking about the Stephens Day Bill. A young Carl Gilliard called into the radio station and asked him the question. He didn't have to take the call, but he answered the call. In two thousand and eight, when I was chair of the Georgia Coastal SCLC, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, traveling across the state under the leadership of Reverend Dr.

[1:24:42] Joseph Lowery, I met another young gentleman who was a state representative for Screven County, and I was bringing down to Screven County, Savannah, Georgia, the, the Honorable Dr. Naomi King, the sister-in-law of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And that young man is the Speaker of the House, John Burns. When he assisted me with the resolution for Ms. King and ushered us into Screven County, he didn't have to answer the call, but he answered the call.

[1:25:17] Like many of you, when I think about the call, in two thousand and sixteen, I had to answer the call. State Representative Bob Bryan passed away. And in our city, there were different individuals from Democrats and Republicans who says, "Carl, we need you to go". And I'm gonna be truthful. I'm gonna raise my hand and confess before God, I said no three times. And then I said, "Why me?

[1:25:49] What would I be able to do?" And they said, "We need you to go". Mayor Don Bethune, Mayor DeLoach, Ron Stephens, and others said, "We need you to go". The neighborhood association says, "We need you to go". So I answered the call. Let me say this to you all, members of the Georgia General Assembly, thank you for answering the call. Thank you for helping to pass mammoth legislation. Thank you for shaping the state and the community to generations to come.

[1:26:23] Together, we took a bold and ambitious effort and turned vision into reality. And we, the people, we answer the call. Democrats, Republicans, Black, White, Vietnamese, Hispanic, those that believe and those that didn't believe, you answered the call. When you passed the Weeping Times Heritage, uh, Society, the corridor, uh, that became the authority in eighteen fifty-nine when over four hundred and fifty-nine African American slaves were sold into auction, and they rained for three days.

[1:26:56] They called it Weeping Time. It's almost like God Almighty cried for three days. You passed that bill. The Gullah Geechee Heritage Society, you passed the bill. And then let me thank Chairman Efstration, Leader Efstration, my friend, one of the greatest legislators that I've ever seen. Because it is not by a legislator is legislating, they don't agitate. You use the power of the pen. And God says, "Write the vision and make it plain so the vision may tell you it will come to pass".

[1:27:27] So when Ahmaud Arbery was killed-

[1:27:30] I wrote the vision to repeal the outdated, antiquated 1863 law that gave us the legal right to lynch people. And today I'm glad to have with us from the family of Ahmaud Arbery, Mr. Marcus Arbery is here on today.

[1:28:00] But leader, Leader Efstration answered the call and he took the lead in charging to repeal Georgia's citizen's arrest law. And Democrats and Republicans got together, and we got together with the governor's office, and we began to craft that in, in, in order. I wanna thank Speaker Ralston for having the courage in these chambers to stand with all that put their hands to the plow to pass and repeal Georgia's citizen's arrest law.

[1:28:33] Speaker Ralston answered the call. When you think about answering the call, the Chatham County Gang Prevention and Intervention Commission, we had 71,000 identified gangs, and those gangs were very prevalent. And so I came up with the Georgia, uh, Prevention and Intervention Commission, and we later changed it to Chatham County. And then the governor was putting in statutes with gangs, and we must look at both things. Prevention and those that commit the crime need to do the time.

[1:29:04] So I wanna thank Governor Kemp for answering the call. When it comes to music and Savannah Music Commission and the Blind Bill, 202,000 blind citizens, that they were taking their children away from them if they were parents. I wanna thank then Leader Burns. He would sit over here in this chair. And you know what he would do? He would stand up from this chair and come over there to a little kid named Carl Gilliard and he would say, "What can we do to help work these bills?" Because what you gotta understand, if you're gonna answer the call, you've gotta go across territory to answer the call.

[1:29:42] Are you hearing me today? But Leader Burns decided to defy every obstacle, and he came down to help us work things out. That is a true leader that answers the call. When you think about answering the call, we think about someone that I met when I first came in. She hasn't changed. She is a gentle woman with a powerful and intellectual voice.

[1:30:14] Leader Hugley, you have never wavered from who you are and who you have become. You are that same soft-spoken but stern, focused leader. I wanna thank you from the bottom of my heart for being unwavered and never changing and answering the call. Whip Park, my classmate, one of the smartest and most genius leaders that I've ever met in my life. Thank you, my brother, for answering the call. And to the best staff and the best chief of staff in the State of Georgia, Mr.

[1:30:47] Maso, Lawrence Maso, thank you for walking with me. Thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for carrying the water. Thank you for lifting up the weights. And thank you for, for answering the call. To the best interns in the world, thank you for answering the call. To my best friend, Darren Gale, who has been with me through thick and thin, thank you for answering the call. To my splash brothers, El Holly and Derrick Jackson, thank you for answering the call. To my best friend in the general assembly, Chairman Noel Williams, thank you for answering the call.

[1:31:22] To the three amigos, Sandra Scott, Viola Davis, and Kim Schofield, thank you for answering the call. To the best seatmates in the world, Chairman Prince, thank you, my brother, for giving me an impart, impartation. When I first came in, he said... I was getting angry over a bill and he said, "My brother, it's not about you. It's bigger than you." Thank you for answering the call.

[1:31:53] Representative Glaize, Representative Neal, one of the most intellectual, strategic leaders in the general assembly, thank you for being my seatmate, Representative Neal, Representative Glaize. And to one of the most brilliant leaders around, Mary Margaret Oliver, thank you for answering the call. But I won't stop there. I wanna talk about the best delegation in the nation.

[1:32:16] All right.

[1:32:16] I wanna talk about Representative Anne Westbrook, Representative Eddie Jackson, Representative Jesse Petrea, Chairman Bill Hitchens. I wanna talk about the best chairman in the world, Ron Stephens. Ch- uh, Rep Chairman Jesse Petrea, even though I didn't see the strip yet, I still wanna say thank you, Jesse.

[1:32:42] To my chairman of the rules committee, thank you for always being who you are. You never wavered. You never changed. To all of my seatmates, thank you, thank you, and thank you. To the house media, Betsy, thank you so much for putting up with all my news releases. Thank you so much for putting up with my every morning, "Good morning, Betsy." To the legislative council for giving us the power to pen the right division. To all of our Capitol Police, to all of those that are doorkeepers that open and close the doors and put up with us, to all of you that continue to tell the story.

[1:33:24] But most of all, before I get to the best part, I wanna thank the street committee today that came up with me, two busloads full from Savannah, Georgia, from Savannah Feed the Hungry. And all the members of Savannah, would you please stand up?

[1:33:42] Thank you for allowing me to serve you. Thank you for allowing me to lead you.

[1:33:52] Mr. Speaker, I, I wanna say this last part. I have the best. I don't have the first lady, I have the only lady.

[1:34:02] So many pounds of leather and well put together. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. 30 years you have walked with me. You have prayed for me. You have lifted me up when there were times that I was down. I wanna thank you for when you couldn't see my vision, you walked with me, and you talked with me, and you encouraged me until the vision came into fruition. I wanna thank you for being the wife, the mother, and best friend.

[1:34:32] Thank you for answering the call.

[1:34:44] To my daughters, faith. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Thank you for walking with your father. Thank you for running my campaigns. Thank you for doing everything and putting everything together when we, we couldn't even put it together. To my daughter, Diamond, who's sitting here with my granddaughter, Royalty, who is asleep, thank you so much for everything that you've done in walking with me with Feed the Hungry, when no one would walk with me.

[1:35:16] Thank you for walking with me and encouraging me when I was about to give up in the race the first time. I won the race and my, I got ready to give up, and these two daughters, these three daughters said, "Not on my watch." And they began to pray. Thank you, Diamond. And lastly, thank you to the baby of the bunch, Gabrielle. Thank you for saying, "You got this." Always giving me a hug, always giving me encouragement, and always praying for me. I know that you answered the call, and for those things, I love you. And my daughter, Destiny, is not here, but let me say this to my family, I love you greatly.

[1:35:50] Lastly, let me say this.

[1:35:56] Chairman Hatchett said one day, "I think you better call Tyrone." Today, I can't call Tyrone. I gotta call on the one that is able to do all things. El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi. I gotta call on the one, because when my back was against the wall and it looks as if it was over, I wanna thank God Almighty for the times that I was low, you picked me up.

[1:36:34] I wanna thank God Almighty for giving me the vision, 'cause he said if you write the vision, Solomon, he will give you provision. Are you hearing me today? I wanna thank God for the opportunity that he gave me to serve. Sometimes you just gotta stop what you're doing and know it's not about you, that you just gotta thank God.

[1:37:00] So to my sweet May brother Douglas, I'm getting ready to go back to Savannah 'cause I gotta answer the call. I gotta go back to Savannah because God called me. Because who he call, he justify, and who he justify, he calls. And I just gotta say this, that when my back was against the wall, you made a way. When my back was against the wall and it looks as if it were over, you, you made a way.

[1:37:40] I'm standing here only because you made a way. And you move mountains. You cause walls to fall. With your power, perform miracles. And there's nothing that's impossible. 'Cause we're standing here only because you made a way.

[1:38:17] Mr. Speaker, I yield the well.

[1:39:18] Well, Representative Gilli- Gilliard, we appreciate you answering the call, and you certainly have, and we appreciate you. You've done good work, and we know you're not done yet, is he?

[1:39:33] That's right.

[1:39:34] He's not done yet, is he? Y'all got to share him a little bit longer.

[1:39:40] Woo.

[1:39:40] We're very proud of him. Members, we all greet Representative Gilliard. Thank him for his service and his family. We'll, um, go out to the South Annie Room, and we can go out and thank them for being here with us today, and thank them for supporting Representative Gilliard over these years. It's a long drive from Savannah.

[1:40:11] Yeah.

[1:40:12] He's made it many, many times.

[1:40:17] Best part of this is that grand, grandbaby right there. So what a special time for her to be here and visit with us.

[1:41:34] Members, we'll stand at ease just for a m- moment or two.

[1:47:50] Members, we're gonna get started again in just a minute with our other farewell address. We're gonna do privilege, privileged resolutions now. Mr. Clerk, will you read the caption to a group of privileged resolutions? Mr. Clerk. Honoring the life and memory of Pamela S. Van Scoy. Honoring the life and memory of Master Derrick DeQuan Taylor. Honoring the life and memory of Little Miss Harmony Leandria Taylor.

[1:48:21] Honoring the life and memory of Delois Laura Mae Draper Brown. Honoring the life and memory of John Allen Dickerson Sr.

[1:48:36] Recognizing and commending Sandra Lee Williams. Commending Marcus Aubrey Sr. Recognizing and commending the Atlanta Lady Hawks senior women's basketball team. Recognizing and commending Mark David Dunston.

[1:48:53] Recognizing the educational, civic, and leadership impact of the Leadership Training Program. Recognizing the North Forsyth High School gymnastics team for winning the 2025 Georgia High School Association Class 5A-6A State Championship. Recognizing and commending the Lamberts School iGEM Team for its outstanding achievements at the 2025 iGEM Grand Jamboree. Recognizing and commending Shenita Evans.

[1:49:24] Recognizing and commending Representative Lynn Smith. Recognizing and commending Pamela Purdue Thompson for his outsta- for her outstanding service, generosity, and dedication. And commending Mrs. Chance Troy, Hapeville Charter Careers Academy 2026 Teacher of the Year. And for other purposes. That completes the reading of the privileged resolutions. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Is there any objection to adopting the privileged, privileged resolutions?

[1:49:57] Hearing none, the resolutions are adopted.

[1:50:05] Members, if you'll start making your way back to the floor. If you'll start making your way back to the floor. We're gonna take a couple of page pictures, and then we're gonna move on.

[1:54:27] All members will please come to the floor. All members will come to the floor, please.

[1:54:39] Members, while you're coming to the floor, I'll give you a quick piece of information. On Wednesday of this week, that'll be the day, next day we're in session, we're gonna talk about if you would like to purchase your chair. You know, we're gonna talk about that, and we're gonna tell you where you can purchase your chair, give you some more information on that, and let you know that the, um, proceeds from that will go to a very worthy cause to make this place very friendly to those who visit us, young people when they visit us in the future.

[1:55:18] So we'll talk about that on Wednesday. So, um, if you have questions, that'll be the time to get them answered. All right, members, if you'll come to the floor.

[1:55:35] Members will come to the floor. Doorkeepers, if you'll, uh, see if you can get those doors closed a little bit, that'd be awesome.

[1:55:47] We're gonna recognize another gentleman who served with distinction here in the House, a friend over the years who, uh, served with ... We served together on Game, Fish and Parks many years. We appreciate his service there and other, other areas he served as, uh ...

[1:56:09] He's from just down the road. I think he's got a lot of honey dos he has to do first. He tells me he's gonna do a little hunting and fishing after the honey dos are done. Would that be ... It's the correct order of business, right? So members, if you will, uh, doorkeepers, if you'll close the doors. Members, if you'll come to your seats, we're gonna recognize Representative Emory Dunahoo for some words of wisdom and some discussion about how he's, uh, enjoyed and the success he's had here in this House over the years.

[1:56:39] We appreciate you. Look forward to hearing from you.

[1:56:42] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And fortunately, I'm not a preacher like our good friend Carl Gilliard. What an amazing man. I was born 1955. This is gonna take a while. I'm gonna go through every year that ... No, I'm kidding. I was elected in a special session in 2011. I had no desire to run for office. I was hunting, fishing, the whole world. I enjoyed life. However, God had another plan. And with that, we had seven people in a runoff, so I can't give you the whole story, but with that seven people, I kept telling them, "No, I'm good.

[1:57:23] I'm not gonna run for office." But God had another plan. Finally, what happened was I started telling people, "Well, look, if an attorney gets in the race or a politician, I will run." The next day in the paper, guess what happened? An attorney jumped in and a politician. Well, I had to run. I didn't hire a consultant. We prayed. We worked hard. And with that, I, I started my devotion every morning again before I would start my day.

[1:57:54] Here was the day of the election. "Leave outcomes up to me. Follow me wherever I lead without worrying about how it will all turn out. Think of your life as an adventure with me as your guide and companion. Live in the now, concentrating on staying in step with me. When our path leads to a cliff, be willing to climb it with my help. When we come to a resting place, take time to refresh in my presence. Enjoy the rhythm of life.

[1:58:25] Live close to me. You already know the ultimate destination of your journey, your entrance into heaven, so keep your focus on the path just before you, leaving outcome up to me. Today, you will be victorious. Serve me as well as I will always be with you." And I won pretty big. With that, everyone that's been here 2011 or before, stand up, 'cause we're losing most of our people. I just want everybody to look around and see who's been here 2000, 2000 to '11.

[1:59:10] And thank you for your service.

[1:59:14] I met a, a gentleman, Chairman John Burns, as I was on Game, Fish and Parks committee, and with it, I got to meet a man that was very honorable. He was the chairman, and I was the new rookie that came in on Game, Fish and Parks, and I had the privilege of helping to stop a high-fence deer hunting process that was coming through. And Mr. Chairman, at the time, you remember that, I'm sure. What happened was, after that, uh, vote, we went down later, and we were quail hunting.

[1:59:51] We were down at Southern Pines, Southern Woods. And with that, we had the speaker now, John Burns, a guy named Earl, his wife sitting in front of me, and we called him Quick Draw McGraw, because once he found out I was gonna shoot him very quick, he become faster. We had a great time, because I got to know the speaker better during that trip, and he was on the phone with Speaker Ralston quite often while we were shooting, and I felt the reason was he didn't want us to outshoot him on those birds.

[2:00:28] We came to the Sheraton here, and one of the best things we had was a suite at the Sheraton that all these old-timers, we would come. We would sit and lit- listen to Butch Benefield. He was the state trooper that drove Tom Murphy around, Speaker Murphy, everywhere he went. Bob Hanna, Howard Maxwell, Mickey Stevens, Alex Atwood, Johnny Caldwell, John Defenbaugh, Tom Dixon, Tom Weldon, Bill Henry, Bill- Ben Harbin, Dave Belton, Brian Prince, Eddie Lumsden, John Meadows would show up and hold court every once in a while.

[2:01:03] We didn't go to dinner all the time. It was kinda learning about history, the fun things that we were able to do, the things of getting to know people better. And what happened, we sat around and kept it simple, but boy, did we learn a lot of history. Like a time a gentleman named Culver Kidd came in and maybe had a cocktail or two before he came to the well. And then what happened was he shows up a few days later in a purple suit, Crown Royal suit, and delivers the bill.

[2:01:33] These are the things that are precious to me. When I look around, I see all the history here and all the things that have been done. But you know these guys, some are no longer with us, but they were great guys to, to serve with. Many a tales from John Meadows would talk about Mike Jokis, my good friend, but it was always a fun time. Our first room, we had a four-bedroom condo, and when we came down, I was sharing with Steve Allison, Brad Hughes, Doug Holt, and me.

[2:02:06] We had a lot of conversation. Then we added the comical Trey Kelley, John Pizzo. I think Pizzo's family owned about 592 McDonald's, 3,700 Holiday Inns, and moved on. Of course, he never brought us a Big Mac. Trey Kelley could eat more pizza at Fileni's Pizza. We had no room in the refrigerator because we had about 400 whole pizzas that he believed we were gonna have a famine shown, and he would be prepared.

[2:02:37] You know, when I look at all that, we also had what I wear here is the pine tree. And with the pine tree, basically it is an appeal to heaven. And I do have it on today. And it says, "Anywhere the body of the people, or any single man is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, there they will have a liberty to appeal to heaven whenever they judge the cause of sufficient moment." An Appeal to Heaven flag is the iconic emblem, also known as the Pine Tree Flag, that holds a special place in the hearts of those who cherish American values.

[2:03:24] If you wanna put the couple of pictures up here, you're gonna see how much better-looking I was when I was younger and had dark hair. And, and it, it ... I was told it would be very hard to be good-looking, so, uh. But then we'll go to the next one. This was Carl Rogers, who was, was pretty unique. Carl, when you were a freshman, you came in, it's not like today. We basically sat. I asked Carl to ask questions, which he did very well.

[2:03:55] And with that, it was the respect of not coming in like we knew everything. We just sat back and learned. So Carl would ask the questions, and actually we moved on from there. So that was a, a good thing. And then the next picture.

[2:04:15] The next picture hopefully would be the one of my wife. Since we were down here, this is Governor Deal. Privileged to serve with Governor and, and Ms. Sandra, and my wife Elaine. We were at the Christmas party, and, uh, we accomplished a lot of things. Unfortunately, the redheaded young man doesn't have red hair anymore, I think behind me. Uh, he was the chief of staff and done an outstanding job for the governor. We had some ups and downs sometimes, but it always worked out.

[2:04:47] But my wife went through cancer, and you know I love you, Elaine, and the 45 years we've been together.

[2:04:56] I'll spend more time with my daughter Lindsay, son-in-law Jimmy, granddaughter Harley and Maverick. We were looking. This is Elaine up on the picture. Seth, Megan, Levi, Saylah, Rebecca, and Jedediah. Josh, Holly, Kyn, and Haven. Which this is, this is my runners. This is Harley with the shirts on that we designed, and this is Maverick. We had more people everywhere we went that would pay attention to these pictures to see what our family looked like.

[2:05:29] We moved on to Peachtree Towers, and I roomed with a gentleman named Barry Fleming for one year. He had to take care and babysit Trey Kelley, so he left after that one year. The next year, Eddie Lumsden begged me to please let him room with me. More about that later. I did let him do a lot of things. In my office at the CLOB 401, we had a nice big office, and I had the pleasure of serving with Bubber Epps, Scott Turner, Michael Caldwell, Paul Battles, Kevin Tanner, Barry Fleming, Danny Mathis, Devan Seabaugh, and Shakyra Nash.

[2:06:13] Trey told me he had a aide in mind for me, and his name was Tyler Paul Smith. I think TP learned how to break down bills pretty good, 'cause he was going to John Marshall Law School. I'm a businessman, so I read every bill as a contract. He had to use the lawyer language, and we worked it out and made it work. Every morning, "Hey, boss," 5:30, we showed up to work. We read bills and broke down bills, good and bad.

[2:06:45] We started at 5:30, and we wouldn't leave until we got things done. He would go to school for a couple hours. But one of the most valuable things, I think he would agree, I taught him, you always go to the older ladies. You flirt with them, and you help them any way you can to make sure they know who you are. At that time, we passed bills through that went to the first of the list, which was very good, very nice. You know, TP and I learned ... I won't call him TP.

[2:07:16] I'll call him Chairman later. TP and I learned a lot of good things from our friend Regina Quick. Regina, very smart lady, an attorney, representative that is still here, and she taught us so much, uh, basically how the bills worked, quicker breakdowns. My number three, one, two, and three things I always said, "Number one, do we need it? Number two, can we live without it? Number three, who's gonna pay for it?"

[2:07:47] 2014, I was blessed to drop the fair tax, and it seems like that now we're starting to head toward fixing our tax system, which is a lot better, and hopefully we'll get there. I was blessed to pass the fetal pain bill and the heartbeat bill. January 28th, 2001, I lost my dad, and I miss him every day. This is a story about my dad. He worked for-- And we're gonna go to the picture of me.

[2:08:18] There's my dad. We'll do that. This is my father, basically, and he worked for Southern Bell for thirty-five years. When I was five years old, he told me, "Bubba, I'm going to Gainesville to Lake Lanier. I'm going to catch the lake record largemouth bass." We went to Newnan for a year, Barnesville, then to Gainesville. Then sure enough, we went to Gainesville, Lake Lanier, and we were fishing a tournament July of 1965.

[2:08:52] I was eight years old. With that, the pleasure we had was my dad could do anything. We ate that morning at a place called The Old Hickory House at five AM. The guys kept coming by and said, "Hey, do you need us to come by and change his diaper, give him some more milk, or take care of him while you fish?" My dad looked up and said, "He can handle any of you." All I saw was a big plate of pancakes and bacon.

[2:09:25] We did fish, and this fish, you'll see me right here next. We'll pop that next picture. And this is about thirty minutes into the, uh, tournament. I caught a nine-pound largemouth bass. When we came in, we had a boatload of fish, and there were two guys smoking cigarettes on the dock. And I remember all of a sudden they said that, "Tom and Steve have a big bag of fish." My dad said, "Well, they won't have a bag as big as ours." When we got there, we weighed thirty-five pounds in, and that's basically how we won the tournament.

[2:10:06] Four months later-- And the picture of the, of the picture of the fish. Four months later, my dad actually, December nineteenth, nineteen-degree temperature, caught this lake record, Lake Lanier's record largemouth bass, weighed seventeen pounds, nine ounces, and it's still the record today. I remember speaking about my dad from the well the next morning after he died. I had special ladies and men, not Democrats or Republicans, friends.

[2:10:38] They hugged me. They prayed with me. I will never forget my brother from another mother, Brian Prince. The night of visitation in Hall County, he walked in. He walked straight down the aisle at the funeral home, walked straight up to me, gave me a big hug, said, "I love you, brother." I also met his precious mother. She swore me in on the Bible. I'll never forget her either and her pretty smile.

[2:11:11] And I also learned that at two o'clock on Sunday, you better be at her house for lunch. People that made a difference, Jay Powell, Richard Smith, Timmy Barr, Carl Rogers, many of these people, Tom McCall, Larry O'Neal, and Tommy Benton. I've been blessed to have seatmates that were Josh Clark, Carl Rogers, David Clark, Lee Hawkins, Joyce Chandler, Clay Cox, Greg Kennard, Park Cannon, and Greg Kennard was a different story.

[2:11:43] I had-- He gave a great speech about me being to the far right and her to the far left. But it was always fun to understand we could agree to disagree. No matter what happened, everybody here represents certain constituents, and we disagree, we need to just understand that we have to move on. And that was one of the things I really, really did enjoy. And then, of course, I have Billy Mitchell here I have to keep straight now. And I can tell you many tales about Jay Powell and the others. But real quick, back to my roommate of twelve years, Eddie Lumsden.

[2:12:16] The story is told by Trey Kelley. Many times at dinner, we shared a one-bedroom with a full-size bed. Eddie slept on the left, and I slept on the right. We were stingy with our money. Eddie calls us The Odd Couple and always says I'm the odd one. Imagine that. Then finally, we moved to the Altitude High Rise apartment, twenty-one, twenty-first floor in the penthouse bedroom. We had two bedrooms, but Eddie still liked the single bed to save money.

[2:12:49] Then we moved to Highland Walk, and now for three years, we both enjoy two bedrooms.

[2:13:01] And separate bedrooms, that is, and we do live a little bit better. Not like Lauren and Chas, who actually has a penthouse, and they still share a bed together. This year has been, this year has been tough on me. I have two bad shoulders, and with it, that's something that I have to have two reverse shoulder surgeries. Eddie has been great again. He, every morning, he, he pretty much will get up and help me get my tie under my collar and give me a cheek kiss on the left cheek as I walk out the door to go to the Capitol.

[2:13:41] Maybe this was a little exaggerated. Eddie has been great, great, my friend. And I-- you could come up here and do that so everybody could see it Thank you, Chuck Efstration, for tolerating me on no votes. I always let you know why I voted no, and you told me that. That means a lot, 'cause I know sometimes I am that guy that's trouble. Thank you, Lee Hawkins, for allowing me always to say what I believed and your friendship. I will miss you.

[2:14:11] I know you will be lost without me. To my delegation mates, Matt Dubnik, thank you. Timmy Barr for serving our constituents. To my newest delegation mates, Soo Hong, Derrick McCollum, Brent Cox, Chris Erwin, Holt Persinger, Houston Gaines, Bo Hatchett, Drew Echols, it's been fun, and David Clark, who has my back. We all learned to speak Ellis Black while I was here. And if the ones that knew Ellis Black, it was a great language to learn, and still we didn't understand much. Matt Gambill, thank you for taking over our fellowship meeting on Wednesday mornings.

[2:14:47] Trey Kelley for being the best whip we ever had, and nothing, you're still growing their Burchett, Whip Burchett. But with it, Trey Kelley would run the room. He would cover everybody to make sure you were in your seat, because half the guys were gazing, grazing on donuts in the Annie room. He could eat more pizza than anybody. Charlize Byrd for standing on principle. Sometimes I even didn't understand why you voted no, but thank you for voting no.

[2:15:19] Mandi Ballinger, what a special lady. I was blessed to pray for her and have her as a friend when she called me and told me she would miss me and was hating that I was not gonna run again, but for always standing for my principle, my value. That was much needed, and she passed away a month later. Paul Battles asked me to take over the daily devotion book 10 years ago, and I've been blessed to give out 200 of them to door keepers, and thank you to all the door keepers and every 180 in the House.

[2:15:55] I hope someone, this year we had four extra members that helped me with this. Every other year, I hope someone will step up and continuously do this. Corey, thank you for what you do. Again, the door keepers. Ms. Betsy, it's always great to see your beautiful smile. Keep, keeping the Speaker Ralston and Speaker Byrnes straight on course. To Alan Powell, who can make you blush with his wisdom and words. Steve Tarvin for being the same.

[2:16:26] To my friend, Clerk Bill Reilly, may we look forward to sharing oysters many more times.

[2:16:35] And to Lauren, Ronnie, Anna, Graham, thank you for what you do in our office to make it work. To all my friends in the House and friends outside walking the halls, happy trails. I will miss my dear friend, Abbott Massey, whom always had a smile. The Governor Nathan Deal and the Governor Brian Kemp, thank you for the good job you did. And I just want you to say, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Leader, Mr. Chairman Byrnes, thank you for listening to me on many subjects I was passionate about.

[2:17:07] We passed many under your leadership. I know sometimes you just tolerated me, and thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and gentlemen, I yield the well.

[2:17:48] Thank you. To our friend, Emory Dunahoo. Y'all recognize that guy? Boy, life changes a little, doesn't it? Emory, thank you for being steadfast. I've always enjoyed and, maybe not always enjoyed our conversation, but, um, it's always been enlightening. And, but, uh, our best to Elaine and y'all's m- years of happy marriage and your years of supporting her through some tough times. Elaine, we love you, too. Know the good Lord's blessed you as well.

[2:18:20] Emory, Representative Dunahoo, I appreciate you personally, and this body does, too. Our state's a better place because of your service. Thank you, and good luck to you.

[2:18:57] Emory's gonna go out to the Annie room if you wanna take a photo with Emory. It's Representative Dunahoo out in the Annie room.

[2:20:19] Members, if you wanna join Representative Dunahoo in the south Annie room, we're going to, um, do a couple of further actions, then we're gonna break for lunch. That'll be our schedule. Then we'll come back and get back on the rules calendar.

[2:28:14] House will come to order.

[2:28:18] House will come to order.

[2:28:37] Representative Scott Hilton is recognized to make a motion. Representative Hilton.

[2:28:44] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I make a motion that we agree to the Senate substitute on House Bill 376. Mr. Clerk, will you read the caption? House Bill 376 by Representative Hilton of the 48th and others being titled, "An Act to amend Article 2, Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to imposition, rate computation, exemptions and credits for state income tax."

[2:29:11] Representative Hilton is recognized to explain the Senate substitute. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is the historic rehabilitation tax credit that passed the House 161 to nine and passed the Senate 46 to two. While we were in committee, the Department of Revenue came to us and made two administrative changes, uh, but really didn't impact the bulk of the underlying bill. So that is the bill, and I will yield for any questions. The gentleman has a, he does have a question. Representative Park Cannon is recognized for a question.

[2:29:42] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Do you yield? Yes. On line 52, um, raising it from 30 million to 60 million, can you explain that? Yeah, so that was in the underlying bill. That was not a change on the Senate side. So, uh, that, we are raising the cap because it's current- the cap is currently all spoken for, and so the program is effectively sunsetted. By raising the cap, we provide more resources for these projects. The gentleman has no further questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield the well. Gentleman's yielded the well.

[2:30:12] On the gentleman's motion that the House agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 376, all those in favor will vote, favor will vote yes, opposed will vote no, and Mr. Clerk will unlock the machines.

[2:30:49] Have all members voted?

[2:30:59] For what purpose does Chairman Scoggins rise anyways? All members voted? All members voted. If so, clerk will lock the machines. On the gentleman's motion, the yays are 152, the nays are 10, and the House has agreed to the Senate substitute to House Bill 376.

[2:31:25] Representative Bethany Ballard is recognized for a motion.

[2:31:31] The lady's recognized.

[2:31:34] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that the House agree to the Senate amendment to the House substitute to SB 179. Mr. Clerk, will you read the caption? Senate Bill 179 by Senator Dixon of the 45th and others to be entitled, "An Act to amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to elementary and secondary education so as to require that the academic and disciplinary records of each transferring student shall be provided." Representative Ballard is recognized to explain the Senate amendment.

[2:32:09] Okay. Um, this is one of those that the title, uh, doesn't have anything to do with what's in the bill. The bill is a computer science, um, education bill that mandates it for graduation, and, uh, we passed this, uh, last year, I think, pretty much unanimously. Um, so s- that portion of the bill, uh, remains the same. The Senate added some new language that encourages local school systems to facilitate access for patriotic societies, um, for the purpose of promoting good citizenship and patriotism.

[2:32:43] And I will, uh, yield for any questions. The lady has a couple of questions. Leader Hugley, right up front, is recognized for a question.

[2:32:53] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the gentlelady yield?

[2:32:55] I do, for the leader.

[2:32:58] Isn't it true that certain school districts will find this a burden, the, not your part of the bill, but what you've been asked to do, because this is asking them to make allowances for these organizations during school hours?

[2:33:14] Um, I don't believe it will be a burden. Uh, school districts can turn this down. They just will have to write a letter to that group and make sure that it's in writing, but they are not forced to do this.

[2:33:26] Does the gentlelady further yield?

[2:33:27] Yes.

[2:33:29] Isn't it true that by virtue of the fact that they will have to write a letter, uh, turning down a particular group, and not all groups are, uh, identified, that this can create controversy, in my opinion, uh, for our local school districts?

[2:33:48] Um, I, you know, I don't, I don't know that, um, that, that it will be a huge burden. Um, the s- the organizations that are listed under Title 36, um, are already pretty much identified. They're the Scouts, FFA, American Legion, Red Cross. Um, so organizations that, uh, promote patriotic, um, good citizenship and civics education.

[2:34:14] Gentleman, gentle- lady yield? Representative Todd Jones to your right's recognized for a question.

[2:34:19] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the gentlelady yield?

[2:34:21] I do.

[2:34:22] Isn't it true that GTRI, five years ago, started the Computer Science Initiative and has now impacted over 50 school districts in this state?

[2:34:31] That is true.

[2:34:32] Thank-

[2:34:32] The gentleman knows of what she speaks.

[2:34:34] Thank you.

[2:34:35] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield the well.

[2:34:38] Lady's yielded the well. On the lady's motion, Does the House agree t- to the Senate Amendment to the House Substitute to Senate Bill 179? All those in favor will vote yes. All those opposed will vote no, and Mr. Clerk will unlock the machines.

[2:35:20] Have all members voted? All members voted. If so, Mr. Clerk will lock the machine.

[2:35:32] On the passage of Senate Bill 179 that agrees to the Senate amendment, Amendment to the House Substitute, the yays are 99, the nays are 66, and the House has agreed to the Senate Amendment to the House Substitute to Senate Bill 179. We have a couple of announcements before we break for lunch. Chairman Corbett. Excuse me. No. Chairman Guenther, and then Leader Efstration.

[2:36:02] Chairman Corbett.

[2:36:03] Guenther.

[2:36:03] I'm sorry, Chairman Guenther.

[2:36:07] Thank you.

[2:36:07] It's, it's your haircuts. Y'all's haircuts look alike.

[2:36:11] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, House Judiciary will meet upon adjournment for the day, uh, this afternoon in 132. We have three bills to take up. Thank you.

[2:36:24] Leader Efstration recognized for an announcement.

[2:36:28] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There will be a committee chairman's lunch in room 403 upon the break. Thank you.

[2:36:35] That concludes our announcements. This House will stand in recess until 1:30 PM, 1:30 PM.