Senate Rules Committee, March 23, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1176169684 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1176169684#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-23/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. [0:05:10] tried to lead a coup on Friday. He's gonna lead us in, in, uh, a word of prayer. Think he's gonna do one? Yep, sure he did. Pray for your soul. Uh, Les Bauer has. Dear Lord, thank you for looking over us and guiding us these last few days of chaos. And continue to look over and guide us, and let us have, uh, a clear thoughts, and do your will. Uh, and bless all of us. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. Amen. [0:05:41] All right. [0:05:41] Mr. Chairman? [0:05:42] Yes, sir. [0:05:43] Your vice chairman last week, he tried to sh- he got a, he pa- he picked a bill to change the time so you wouldn't, you would mess up and not get here on time. [0:05:56] Well- [0:05:56] So he could take, so he could take over again. [0:05:58] Who's got the last bit? Well, I watched from my death bed. Actually, I didn't. Um, that's a lie. Um, all right, let's get going. We got a busy day. Let's, uh, start with Representative Carpenter, you're right there. Lead us off. [0:06:19] Thank you so much. House Bill, uh, 328, you guys passed it out of standing committee, um, last week, would just increase the SSO scholarship amount to $220 million, allow another 20,000 students to participate, uh, with these scholarships. It also, um, increases... It, it allows students of military folks and students with, uh, 504 plans to skip the, uh, six-week mandatory, uh, program into, uh, uh, public school- [0:06:52] Mm [0:06:52] ... man- mandate, if you will. And then the third thing it does is it allows kids with, with these 50- 504s to utilize more money in their scholarship. Right now it's capped at $15,000. [0:07:06] All right. [0:07:10] Any questions? No questions. Thank you. [0:07:12] Thank you for your time. [0:07:13] All right. Are y'all still in over there? Yeah, we're voting on the- Okay ... voting on the trial. All right. They're all over there, so we're gonna, we're gonna help them out with their bills. If you, uh, if you know what it does, jump in. If you don't, I'll read the caption. How's that sound? Love it. All right. SR610, that's Senator Hatchett's, uh, Study Committee on Recycling. I know Coca-Cola has some interest in that one. It's a good, good resolution. Oh, real quick, Senator Payne, did you have something you wanted to go over? [0:07:45] No. [0:07:48] No? You're, you're here for standing. [0:07:50] Yeah. [0:07:50] Okay. Gonna be a minute, but we'll get there. All right. Senate Resolution 834, that is, uh, Senator Rahman's, uh, honoring our, uh, peacekeepers from Bangladesh. Senator Hodges, you're in here. You, did you have anything for regular rules, calendar rules? Okay. Senator Burns, did you have anything? Well, I'm checking, Mr. Chairman. All right. Senate 48, the Senate resolution I was looking for. All right. We'll keep going. You can, you search that. [0:08:21] I don't think you're gonna find it, but- I don't think so either Uh, SR882. Do... Let's see. SR... DCA, Senator Robertson, you're carrying that. You wanna cover that now that you got a folder on it? [0:08:40] Yes, sir. This is, this is this affordability bill dealing with, uh, building regulations. [0:08:46] All right. SR927 is a study committee on PBMs, which is the Pharmacy Benefit Managers. HB77, we've heard from Representative Franklin on that. That's the two-lane, um, funeral deal. Uh, HB141, Senator Anavitarte, you're carrying that for Montan. [0:09:16] Yep. Basically, it's a disclosure bill with, uh, local governments. [0:09:23] Okay. And HB147, anybody got that one? Came out of Science and Technology. Anybody here on Science and Technology? Been a minute. I think that'd be a first if somebody was on Science, Technology and Rules. Wow. Maybe. I don't know. W- were you, Senator Dolezal? I feel like you were at one time. I think that's what she got. Yeah, she wa- That's true. Wouldn't be a first. [0:09:54] All right. Well, does anybody wanna, anybody know anything about that? Yeah. All right. We'll move on. It's the inventory AI. Representative Jones, while you're here. I can read it. You got a couple on here. Go for them. There's Montan on. Thank you. [0:10:08] Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I come to you with House Bill 1230, fourth page, third from the bottom. Uh, this is effectively a bill supported by the Department of Corrections, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, the City of Atlanta, counties, cities, et cetera. Effectively, it is a drone bill. Um, it does two primary things, and I wanna thank, uh, the whip- [0:10:28] Yeah [0:10:28] ... for presenting it to, for me on Friday. Uh, but the first thing that it does it, is it prohibits the operation of drones over places of incarceration, jails, prisons, for the purposes of moving contraband into the jails or the prison. The second thing it does, it prohibits the operator from operating, uh, within, pardon me, within adjacent lands to the place of incarceration- [0:10:50] Yeah [0:10:50] ... and basically operating those drones. So what we're trying to do is kill the entire supply chain, kill the cartel, kill the operator, and then also kill the actual act of going over the place of incarceration. Mr. Chairman, that's the summary of 1230, sir. [0:11:02] And you don't mean literally kill them? [0:11:06] Figuratively. [0:11:07] The people, that is. Okay. Can you tell me- Any other questions? All right. Here they come. Did y'all just get out? Oh, y'all just left? Oh, I'm honored to have you here. Some of... Yeah, and just I've, I've told this to everyone, if you presented, it's... You don't have to, but it never hurts. Just make it briefer than the last time. And if you were really long last time, make it a lot briefer than last time. All right, Representative New, go for it. [0:11:39] Thank you. This is on fourth page, fifth from the top. It is HB 1134. It updates, uh, notifications on personal property and, uh, repos. [0:11:50] Yeah. [0:11:51] It provides guidelines for repos and rebuttal presumption. And that's the bill. [0:11:54] All right. Thank you. [0:11:55] Thank you, sir. [0:11:57] Representative Camp. [0:11:59] Thank you so much. Um, House Bill 948, which is on page three, what it does is it provides another form of disclosure if someone's being foreclosed, how they could recoup excess funds if any exist after the foreclosing proceedings. And the next one is HB 1409. It is mandated reporting. It will update our mandated reporting system for child abuse and provide a lot more transparency and trackability of children throughout our state. [0:12:29] Good bill. [0:12:30] Thank you. [0:12:31] All right. Representative Gullett. [0:12:35] Thank you. House Bill 447, page two, middle of the way down, um, this creates a, uh, comprehensive framework for, um, gift card fraud here happening in Georgia. Cartels are doing it. Um, they're taking gift cards that are off the shelf, stealing the numbers, putting it back on the shelf. You activate it, they take your money and are gone. This is happening, uh, all across the United States. [0:12:57] All right. No questions. [0:12:58] Thank you. [0:12:58] Thank you. Representative Rice, how are you? [0:13:02] Hi, good. Thank you. House Bill 1107, bottom of page three, um, and I have presented this before. [0:13:09] Yeah. [0:13:09] We'll take any question, questions. Excellent Teacher Preparation Act. [0:13:12] No questions. Thank you. [0:13:13] Thank you. [0:13:14] Representative Wade. [0:13:17] Thank you, Chairman. I'm not sure if it's on the yellow sheet, but it's Governor's Bill, House Bill 1001, which is the continuation of the tax cut down to 4.99. [0:13:27] All right. Thank you. [0:13:29] Thank you, sir. [0:13:29] What was that number again? [0:13:31] House Bill 1001. 1-0-0-1. Thank you. [0:13:36] It's on your green sheet. Representative Williams. It's true that's the green one. [0:13:42] Good afternoon. House Bill 1077 is, extends the sales tax exemption for creative arts and arts alliances from 27 to 32. [0:13:51] Oh, that one's in standing. We'll need you back when we get out of this committee and into that one. [0:13:57] Okay. [0:13:58] Same people, same committee, it's just a different name, in a technically a different meeting. [0:14:05] Okay. Well, you'll let me know. [0:14:05] It's really confusing. [0:14:07] The same room, the same group. [0:14:08] Yeah. [0:14:09] Same time. [0:14:09] Yeah. [0:14:09] Same place, same underwear. [0:14:10] The crowd out there will probably be the same. [0:14:12] Conversation. [0:14:13] Yeah. [0:14:13] Okay. [0:14:14] Just a few minutes. Different place. [0:14:18] It confuses me sometimes, so it... Representative Martin, come on. We got 963. [0:14:24] Yeah, page three, in the mid... Yeah, on page three, middle of page three, uh, House Bill 963. What we're seeking to do here is bring the same, um, rules to ballot referenda and local, uh, ballot questions in Georgia that already apply to federal and state elected office. Foreign actors, um, cannot participate in our individual elections or federal elections. We're just wishing to bring that forward and, uh, ap- apply that same standard to ballot initiatives and- [0:14:52] All right [0:14:53] ... constitutional amendments. [0:14:54] No questions. No questions. Thank you, sir. [0:14:55] And then will you have four- [0:14:56] Oh, you, you got it [0:14:57] ... 4:45 for us when you, you're ready, Mr. Chairman. [0:14:59] 4:45. [0:15:00] Thank you very much. [0:15:00] Noted. [0:15:04] All right, Representative Choccis. [0:15:06] Ah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, third from the last, page two, House Bill 471 emphasizes, uh, the importance of water safety education, uh, to newborn mothers. And, uh, this makes, the Hospital Association is in full agreement, no charge to anyone, uh, and justified because the number one cause of death in children ages one to four is drowning. [0:15:30] That's 471, y'all. [0:15:34] He came to me looking for 472, and I explained to him it wasn't in Rules, and it was the wrong number. So we're good. [0:15:43] Thank you. [0:15:44] Representative Bonner. [0:15:46] Hey, good afternoon. Two veteran bills on page three. The first is House Bill 985. It clarifies and expands eligibility in our, uh, veteran cemeteries. And then House Bill 1087 just says that if you're a disabled veteran and you make accommodations to your house for that disability, you don't pay the permit fees. [0:16:08] All right. No questions. Thank you. [0:16:12] Thank you. [0:16:13] Come on up. How we doing? [0:16:16] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm good. I'm good. [0:16:18] Welcome back. [0:16:18] I do have a veteran bill. [0:16:20] All right. [0:16:20] House Bill 1191, page four, midway through. I am asking this committee to agree with the House to bring this bill to the floor. It is to honor a group of veterans that have not been allowed to tell their story with their license plate yet. [0:16:37] Okay. I like that. All right. Any questions? Is it, so does each veteran get their own picture on the license plate? [0:16:47] They do not. [0:16:47] Oh. [0:16:47] But if they received one of these awards, they do. [0:16:49] Ah. Well, that's... There you go. I like that. All right. [0:16:53] Thank you. [0:16:53] Good bill. All right. Representative Hagen. [0:16:58] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:16:59] Handling all my constituent services for me. Thank you. [0:17:01] I try to help when I can. [0:17:03] I'm gonna call them later and check on them. [0:17:04] All right. Thank you. Um- [0:17:05] Make sure you did a good job. [0:17:06] Please let me know how that worked out as well. [0:17:08] I will. [0:17:08] I couldn't answer his question. [0:17:09] I'll follow up with you. [0:17:10] So, yeah. Thank you. All right, uh, House Bill 1070, it is near the bottom on page three [0:17:18] And this bill would just extend the sunset for the railroad track maintenance tax credit by one year, and it would increase the credit cap from $3,500 per track mile to 5,000 per track mile each year. [0:17:35] All right. [0:17:36] Yeah. [0:17:36] No questions? No questions. [0:17:38] Thank you. [0:17:40] Representative Donatucci. [0:17:44] Chairman, members, for your consideration, HB 1118. It extends maternal leave for the birth mother immediately following the birth. Uh, there is no additional cost because the salary has already been accounted for, and it cannot be made up later. [0:18:01] All right. No questions. Representative Yerda. [0:18:10] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, House Bill 304, uh, top of the page, page two, creates a senior, the office of senior municipal court judge in the state. Also, the bill creates a Georgia Municipal Court Clerk's Council. Very important to the municipal courts, and I appreciate your consideration. [0:18:30] All right. No questions. [0:18:35] Come on, Bill. Or sorry, Representative Carol, come on up. Sorry. [0:18:40] Thank you. Uh, s- H- HB 618, and it's on the third page, the second from the top. It's a flood disclosure bill. [0:18:50] Oh. [0:18:50] And, uh, 618 provides Georgia homebuyers the right to know their flood risk. Currently, Georgia has no statutory or regulatory requirements for a seller to dis- to disclose their property's flood risk or past flood damages to a potential buyer. Georgia law provides flood disclosure for renters. This bill would provide the same right to homebuyers. It makes a buyer and a renter be on the same page. They're equal. There's no op- no known opposition to it, and the Realtors Association is in support of it. [0:19:26] Any questions for Representative Campbell? [0:19:28] What was that bill number? [0:19:29] 618, second from the top on page three. [0:19:33] On the yellow sheet. [0:19:34] Yes, on the yellow sheet. Thank you, Doc, for the clarification. [0:19:37] That, That, That, That's from Thursday. [0:19:39] That is might be your best joke in four years. All right, um [0:19:47] That was easy. [0:19:47] All right, no questions for Representative Campbell. Thank you. [0:19:49] Happy birthday, Tom. [0:19:51] Is today your birthday? [0:19:53] No. [0:19:53] Oh, okay. [0:19:55] He wishes. [0:19:55] Representative Taylor, come on up. [0:19:59] Now, I don't have my fur coat today. [0:20:01] No, you don't. [0:20:02] But, uh, can I still offer a bill? [0:20:03] Absolutely. [0:20:04] Thank you. This is the bill I have brought. It's 421, um, LC48-1780S. This is a child predator bill, and it just adds five words to the code that if a, a person travels to the state of Georgia from another state to molest a child, that they're guilty of this crime. I appreciate your consideration. [0:20:27] That is a good bill. Any questions? All right. [0:20:30] Thank you. [0:20:31] Thank you. Representative Cannon. [0:20:36] Afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. House Bill 964, it just treats volunteer fire departments and local government fire departments the same in terms of taxation for ad valorem and sales taxes. [0:20:48] All right. No questions. Representative Jenkins. [0:20:51] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Y'all have a good one. Thank you. [0:20:52] Thank you, Representative Cannon. Thank you for your great testimony. [0:20:56] Thank you. [0:20:57] Mr. Chairman, member of the committees, uh, today I rise to, uh, present House Bill 413. This is a title relating to sawmills, but it's been used for another purpose. Uh, this bout- bill now relates to transfer on death deeds. Uh, the transfer on death deeds law was, uh, brought into, uh, the Georgia Code at the end of the last biennial. And since this has been, um, been used for about two years now, there's been some problems that have developed in how the deeds are recorded, uh, some language. So this, this bill just seeks to update the language in that bill and, uh, fix all the problems that we've identified in the last two years. [0:21:33] All right. Any questions? They're texting to see if they can get some questions from the audience. I see what they're doing. [0:21:41] And I have a second bill. [0:21:42] All right, go for it. [0:21:43] Okay. The last- [0:21:44] Is it on the yellow sheet? [0:21:45] Yes, it's only on the yellow sheet. [0:21:46] All right. Go for it. [0:21:47] The, uh, last bill on page five, 1434. Uh, this bill seeks to protect the, uh, uh, federally protected airspace above all of our general aviation airports. Uh, this airspace is protected by 14 CFR Part 77, and, uh, this, this basically is the airspace that contains the routes that flow into and out of the airport. And what this bill does is it, uh, it seeks to create local zoning to protect that airspace. It, uh, directs the airports to notify the municipalities that have this, directs GDOT to, to assist them in, in creating this. [0:22:22] Uh, 47 out of 50 states have, uh, legislation like this. All states surrounding Georgia do, and, uh, over 100 of Georgia's general aviation airports have come together to ask for this. [0:22:33] Any questions? Senator Robertson, you look like you got one brewing over there. Okay. No questions. [0:22:41] All right. Thank you, sir. [0:22:42] Representative Workhouser, how are you? [0:22:46] Doing good, thank you. Uh, Senate Bill 1015 just raises the flooring caps on the self-insured guarantee trust fund, which hadn't been done in decades. [0:22:57] All right. Thanks, sir. [0:23:00] Thanks, sir. [0:23:00] It's on your green sheet. [0:23:05] Representative Townsend. [0:23:06] Thanks, Mr. Chair. Page three, third to halfway down, this is the career academy bill. [0:23:11] Mm. [0:23:11] This, of course, allows home school, private school students to attend a college career academy at no cost, and the school system receives a FTE. And like I said the last time, the school system actually wanted this, 'cause it's working with, uh, in-county home school, private school kids. And, uh, it's been a great program, great for the school and great for the community. [0:23:31] That is, I'm sorry, HB 971. It's about halfway down, third, on the page three. Widespread support. [0:23:41] No questions. [0:23:42] Thank you, sir. [0:23:45] One more was that... [0:23:46] That's what I was thinking. [0:23:47] Oh, he was doing a stand. [0:23:50] No. [0:23:50] Come on, Representative Hodges. [0:23:53] Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, committee. Allow me to come back for you again today. This is House Bill 874, page three, four down from the top. Um, this bill would prohibit the disclosure of telephone numbers, uh, when property tax records are sold, transferred, or shared to third parties. Uh, the intent is, like I said, not only, uh, providing protection for our own, own, uh, uh, numbers, but like I say, consideration senior citizens also. [0:24:19] All right. No questions. Thank you. [0:24:20] Thank you. [0:24:24] Representative Lever, how are you? [0:24:26] Doing fine, Mr. Chairman. Um, House Bill 530, it's at the bottom of page two, would allow for electronic filing in probate court starting in January of '29. [0:24:36] All right. You're losing your voice. [0:24:38] Um, yeah, my, my wife- [0:24:39] It's a tough year [0:24:40] ... reaffirm my wife's belief in an all powerful God who performs miracles. [0:24:46] That's funny. You thought of that last night- ... just laying in bed, didn't you? [0:24:50] Yeah, I did. I did. [0:24:51] Senator Rhett, did you have a question? [0:24:52] No, I just wanted to thank him for his formal wear in front, testifying in front of this committee. [0:24:58] That's a good point. [0:24:59] I mean- [0:24:59] That's a good point. I said he didn't wear studs. [0:25:02] You know, it's just- [0:25:03] Aw, I think a bow tie- [0:25:03] It's just a bow tie with a suit. It, it, it looked like formal wear, but- [0:25:05] A couple weeks some studs will get you a bill passed. But who knows, maybe a bow tie will. All right. No questions. Thank you. [0:25:12] Thank you. Thank you, sir. [0:25:13] Representative Dempsey, how are you doing today? [0:25:17] I'm doing well. How are y'all doing? [0:25:19] Great. [0:25:19] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yeah. So I'm back again to ask the bottom of page four, second one from the bottom actually, House Bill 1238. It's to help our children that are stuck in residential treatment facilities and hospitals. It allows, um, d- DCH to pursue a Medicaid waiver program, right services at just the right time. [0:25:43] Yes. [0:25:46] Okay. All right. No questions. [0:25:49] Thank you. [0:25:52] You'll be all right. Representative Corbett. [0:25:55] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, fourth page, fifth from the bottom, House Bill 1202, brought to me by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Just fixes a scrivener's error. [0:26:05] We love scrivener's errors. All right. No questions. [0:26:09] Thank you. [0:26:09] Thank you. Representative Seabolt. [0:26:14] Mr. Chairman, committee, I want to present House Bill 549, Police Officer Training Reimbursement Bill. It's on page three, and Senator Tim Bearden will be carrying this bill. [0:26:31] Hopefully. [0:26:32] Any questions on that? [0:26:33] Any questions? No questions. [0:26:36] I've also got, uh, House Bill 1415. Senator Echols will be carrying this. This is a Stone Mountain bill that protects the borders of Stone Mountain Park, and Senator Echols explained to me that this is, uh, is a bill for freedom and literally downsizing government. [0:26:58] 1415, second to the last on page five. All right. Thank you. No questions. [0:27:06] And I've also got House Bill 1128 on page four. Senator Kirkpatrick will be carrying this, and it ensures that injured public safety officers are made aware of the indemnity benefit, uh, as well as their legal guardian when they suffer a catastrophic injury. [0:27:26] Questions? No questions. All right. [0:27:31] All right. Thank you. [0:27:31] Thank you, sir. [0:27:36] Do you... You know you're in the s- you know you're in the Senate now, right? All right. Senator Setzler. You know, crossover day was- [0:27:45] Yes [0:27:45] ... a couple weeks ago. [0:27:46] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was, uh, taking care of some Senate duty elsewhere in the Capitol. Um, HB 147, um, would ask the committee, it's the first page, about a little more than half the way down. Um, it's, uh, does two things, Mr. Chairman. It's, uh, um- Throw that number up. It, uh, d- has an inventory of our AI systems that are being used to support key decisions in state government, and it also has a, it's a p- has a procurement component that ensures large software systems can't preclude the use of other software systems, sort of eliminates anti-competitive practices in software procurement. [0:28:24] All right. No questions. I thought I gave a better summary of it personally, but... [0:28:31] You did something. [0:28:31] Oh, Senator Anavitarte. [0:28:34] My- [0:28:35] To my dear friend from Cobb County, you, you know you never have to stand in a line with house members, right? [0:28:40] I understand that. [0:28:40] Okay. I just want to make sure. Thank you. [0:28:42] Ex- expression of kindness, Mr. Chairman. [0:28:45] Never feel that pressure. You're a great American. [0:28:47] He is a great American. [0:28:50] Representative Hill. [0:28:51] Another great American. House Bill 451. [0:28:54] Whoa, whoa. Stop it. Go ahead. [0:28:56] Y- you know you don't get to call yourself a great American. [0:29:00] The title is Hunting Safety, but as someone who doesn't own a gun, it is not hunting safety. It is, uh, release time education, allowing students to go off campus to take religious courses, uh, in school. That's 451 on the one I got. [0:29:14] Yep, 451. [0:29:15] All right. [0:29:16] Second page. [0:29:16] Sadie's looking for you. 451, yep. Release time education. [0:29:21] All right. Questions? No questions. [0:29:25] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:29:25] Thank you. Representative Stevens. [0:29:29] Thank you, Chairman, uh, members of committee. Back again on second page, 519, um, an, uh, income tax incentive to help our disabled veterans get a job. [0:29:39] All right. No questions. Thank you. Mr. Leader. [0:29:44] Mr. Chairman. [0:29:45] How are you today? [0:29:45] I'm great. How are you, sir? [0:29:47] Good. [0:29:47] Good to be with all of you. On page four, House Bill 1185. This is the, uh, Georgia Statewide Business Court update which includes, um, for, uh, shareholder actions that could be brought in that court. Uh, also, if it's in the articles of incorporation, you can bring it there. Uh, objective is to make Georgia like Delaware, where big companies want to incorporate here, and, uh, that's what the business court was set up for. And I have one more bill. [0:30:16] Go for it. [0:30:16] Sorry. Okay, on page five, House Bill, uh, 1396. This would allow for tracking- [0:30:25] Yes [0:30:25] ... in the City of Atlanta of unsheltered homeless individuals receiving services from a nonprofit organization that doesn't receive government funds. Um, as we work on addressing the issue with unsheltered homelessness, uh, the HMIS database is only receiving input from those receiving state funds, and we wanna expand that to nonprofits in, uh, in a limited area. [0:30:51] Oh. [0:30:52] So we make sure the- [0:30:52] Yes [0:30:52] ... quality of services are what they need to be and that those individuals are, are getting what they require. [0:30:57] All right. I don't see any questions. [0:30:59] All right. [0:31:00] So- [0:31:00] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:31:01] Oh, oh, oh, sorry. Late arriving question. Senator Rhett. I'm sure it's profound. [0:31:06] I, I figured it out. I'm sorry. [0:31:07] You did? Are you sure? [0:31:09] The, the leader kicked me in the knee, so I figured it out. [0:31:13] Okay. Oh, your leader? [0:31:16] Yes. [0:31:17] All right. All right, we're good. [0:31:18] All right. [0:31:19] Thank you. [0:31:19] Thank you, Chairman and Committee. [0:31:21] All right. Let's get going. Um, we got... We got anybody else? Okay. So we got HB 369. Senator Albers, you're carrying that bill. [0:31:36] It's just a little cleanup bill for law enforcement in Tennessee counties. [0:31:39] Okay. And we got HB 438. [0:31:43] Oh, that's this one. [0:31:45] It's employee retirement system. Allows, uh... I believe that allows certain law enforcement to be eligible for retirement benefits. [0:31:58] Yeah. [0:32:00] Okay. Yeah, your retirement. All right, moving on. HB 668 came out of Public Safety, changing some references to assistance and guide dogs. [0:32:12] Yeah, this is a really important bill for guide dogs. [0:32:14] Yeah. [0:32:15] And service dogs. Yes. All right, moving on. We've got HB 1112, came out of Finance. Senator Hustedler. [0:32:27] That's just the rounding of the penny. It's a department bill, good and data. [0:32:31] Rounding of the penny. All right. HB 1133 came out of Natural Resources. Chairman Anderson. It's got to do with GEFA. [0:32:44] Good bill. [0:32:45] Good bill. Good bills around solar installations on closed landfills. All right, uh, HB 1208 came out of Judy. That is Chairman Guncher's bill requiring deposition to be taken before certified court reporters. HB 1247 also came out of Judy. That is the Georgia Bureaucratic Deference Elimination Act. Anybody on Judy know what that is? [0:33:17] Senator Hatchett. [0:33:18] I was getting ready on 1208, but you did such a good job. [0:33:21] Thank you. All right, well, you're carrying that one too, but whatever. HB 1254. Man, you're carrying all these. Why don't you just get up and tell us what all these do? Or do you know? [0:33:36] Some of these I was volunteered. [0:33:39] Volun-told, I get it. [0:33:40] All of them. [0:33:41] No, 1254, um, is the professions and businesses, move regulation of various professions from individual boards to the secretary of state. That's pretty much what it does, isn't it? [0:33:52] Yes. [0:33:52] Yep. All right. You're good. Thank you. Good job. [0:33:57] Thank you. [0:33:57] Good job. [0:33:58] HB 1266 came out of Natural Resources. It's on vessels being operated on the Ogeechee R- River. [0:34:09] Good bills. [0:34:10] Good bill. Um, and then we've got out of HHS, HB 1278. [0:34:21] Conscious sedation in dentist office. [0:34:26] Uh, Chairman Hawkins, uh, it has to do with conscious sedation in dental offices. [0:34:31] All right. That's anesthesia, for those of you who don't know. HB 1284 came out of Education and Youth, and this is, uh, s- Representative Silcox's bill she's presented before on high school diplomas to, uh, children with end of life diagnoses. Uh, HB 1295 is Representative Cooper's. That's her, uh, physician assistance licensure compact bill. [0:35:03] And then HB 1328 is dealing with North Georgia military scholarships. HB 1396, Leader Efstathiou. Did he not just cover that? [0:35:20] He did that one. [0:35:21] I thought so. [0:35:23] Yes. [0:35:23] Yep. [0:35:23] Are you done? [0:35:24] All right. And then missed a few on the front page. HB 163, that's, uh, the fake meat bill. HB 181 is, uh, foreign birth certificates. And HB 232 is the interstate massage compact Did that get them all? I got them all. All right, let's pick some. See where we left off. [0:35:58] I can't read this. Senator Dolezal. Mr. Chairman, let's go with, uh, House Bill 304. 304. Good bill. I think we got some, uh... clerks sitting right behind him. Municipal judges would be very happy about that. Um, yeah, municipal court clerk. Council. Good bill. Let me circle that. All right. Moving on. Where we at? Leader Jones. [0:36:31] Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, SR... First page, SR834. [0:36:40] All right. Just FYI, I've got some, some dingers here. [0:36:48] Senator Watson. Or did you pick some the other... Yes, Friday. [0:36:52] Uh, I gave it to my [0:36:55] Oh, okay. All right. [0:36:57] House Bill 519. [0:36:58] Oh. [0:37:06] All right, 519. [0:37:37] All right, moving on. [0:37:38] Moving on, moving on. What was that one? 519? [0:37:42] Yes. 519. [0:37:44] Okay. [0:37:48] All right. Uh, Senator Cowsert is gone. Senator Jackson is gone. Senator Gooch. [0:37:55] Sir. House Bill 1328 on page five. [0:37:59] 1328. [0:38:05] Making sure you can hear me. [0:38:08] Oh, taking care of North Georgia. [0:38:12] There's a lot of interest in this House bill, but none myself. [0:38:15] That's right. [0:38:17] It involves every senator in this state. [0:38:19] That's right. It's training, training leaders for tomorrow. Of tomorrow. Senator Rhett. HB 530. HB 530. [0:38:41] Senator Ginn. [0:38:44] You know I want to help businesses, and our courts is one way to get there with HB 1185. [0:38:48] 1185. Give [0:38:56] me that six. Does that count in the resolution? [0:38:59] Yes. [0:39:00] All right, 1185. All right, y'all aren't doing very good with the dingers here. Dr. Kirkpatrick. [0:39:10] House Bill 1128, Mr. Chair. [0:39:13] What was that? [0:39:14] 1128. [0:39:15] Oh. Y'all failed me again. All right. [0:39:21] Is that not a dinger? [0:39:23] Not today. It will be tomorrow. Let's see. All right. I'm gonna try one more. Senator Hofstetler. [0:39:37] That's to, uh, House Bill 1112. All right. Uh, join the- 1112 ... training the judges again. Y'all have failed me for the last time. All right, let's add 328. [0:40:00] Let's add 369. [0:40:05] Does that one...? [0:40:07] Yes. Yes. [0:40:08] Put another one down. Um, [0:40:14] 438. [0:40:21] 1247. [0:40:27] And 1266. [0:40:31] Which one of those was a dinger? I'm not telling. All of them. I mixed some in just to keep you- Keeping you guessing ... keep you guessing. All right. Here's what we got. SR834, HB 304, HB 328, HB 369, HB 438, HB 519, HB 530, [0:41:01] HB 112, HB 1128, HB 1185, HB 1247, HB 1266, and HB 1328. I've got a motion from Senator... Hmm? [0:41:17] Robertson. [0:41:17] I got a motion from Senator Robertson. I got a second from my vice chairman. Any further discussion? All in favor say, "Aye." [0:41:27] Aye. [0:41:28] All opposed say, "Nay." Motion carries unanimous. All right, we're gonna gavel all that and right into standing. Here we go, you've got an agenda before you. [0:41:42] First up, I'm gonna call on Representative Williams. Is he still with us on 1077? There you are. There you are [0:41:58] What you got? [0:41:59] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I presented this bill a couple of weeks ago, and it was extending the, um- [0:42:06] The sunset [0:42:06] ... the sunset from 2027 to 2032 on theaters and classical, um, arts in our beloved state. And we added, um, on here the admission of the Georgia National Fair in Houston County to be a part of it, and that's, that's simply what the bill does. [0:42:24] All right. Does anybody have any questions on that? Anybody want to speak for or against that? What is the will of the committee? [0:42:35] So moved. [0:42:38] Second. [0:42:38] I got a motion from Senator Anderson. I got a second from our president pro tem. Where the motion is l- passed LC590271- [0:42:51] Nope [0:42:52] ... by committees. Oh, no, no, no. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. LC443558S by committee sub. Is there any further discussion? All in favor, raise your hand. [0:43:10] Aye. [0:43:10] All opposed. [0:43:12] I need to turn my mic on. [0:43:13] Senator Rhett, are you for or against? [0:43:17] For. [0:43:17] Okay, we got one no. [0:43:18] Now we got two nos. [0:43:19] Two nos. Who's- [0:43:20] We got several nos out there. [0:43:21] Several. [0:43:22] All right. Let's do this again. If you're for this bill, raise your hand now. [0:43:34] 11, all right. All opposed. One, two, three, four. You got it? [0:43:42] All approved. [0:43:43] All right. Motion carries. All right, moving on. HB 1129. Working off of LC443554. [0:43:59] Whose is this? [0:44:01] It's- [0:44:01] Mr. Representative Seabaugh, are you still with us? [0:44:07] Who's covering that? All right. Are you sure? [0:44:13] Excuse me. [0:44:13] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:44:15] Yeah. [0:44:15] If I can, can I get, uh, Calvin Sorbe from the Governor's Office- [0:44:18] Absolutely [0:44:19] ... to speak to this? [0:44:20] Right. [0:44:27] Good afternoon, committee. Calvin Sorbe, Deputy Director of Policy from the Governor's Office. [0:44:34] You may continue. [0:44:35] Yeah. Uh, basically all the rules sub does that you've got in front of you, uh, there was a, an, an amendment placed on the bill in Senate Finance to put a sunset, uh, into the bill. Uh, that would be lines 25 through 31 in the original legislation as it passed Senate Finance. Um, what this rule sub does is basically just removes that amendment. Um, it was inadvertently placed underneath the wrong code section, but, uh, it is also our office's belief that these enterprise zones take longer than five years to get established and are identified. [0:45:05] And so, uh, a, a sunset would prohibit any economic development from taking place. [0:45:12] Okay. [0:45:17] Anybody, President Pro Tem, you got a question? [0:45:20] I do, Mr. Chairman. So Mr. Calvin, the, I think the Senate also put some guardrails around this to have some checks and balances on it. It wasn't, that wasn't the only change. [0:45:36] The, those guardrails were a part of the underlying legislation that was, uh, a part of, uh, the original House Bill 1129. [0:45:42] Okay. [0:45:42] Yes, sir. [0:45:42] Thank you. [0:45:45] Uh, Leader Go- or Senator Gooch. [0:45:48] Former leader. [0:45:49] The the senator formerly known as leader. [0:45:52] Uh, this has some familiarity with the Gulch bill we passed a year ago. Is this correct? [0:45:57] Yes, sir. So the original legislation was House Bill 342 from 2017, and that allowed enterprise zones to exempt, uh, state sales and use... Uh, state and local sales and use tax. Uh, s- specifically, that bill was passed for the Gulch. Um, they were certified back in 2018, and they've only received their revenue bond in 2024. So just giving you an example of the timeline. [0:46:17] Gotcha. Thank you. [0:46:19] Uh, Senator Robertson. [0:46:21] Yes. I appreciate the, uh, the opinion that the sunset was too short to take advantage of. [0:46:29] Mm-hmm. [0:46:29] What is, what is a reasonable amount of time based on your understanding? [0:46:34] The revenue bonds for these, um, these enterprise zones last for a period of 30 years. I'm not, I'm not asking for a sunset of 30 years. Um, I'd like to pass a bill cleanly as is, um, but understand that there were some, some other, uh, critiques to the legislation. If there, if there's a requirement for a sunset, I would, I would say a minimum of 10 years just to allow these local governments to identify and work with developers to, uh, bring forth the, the necessary bond money needed. [0:47:02] Thank you. [0:47:02] Yes, sir. [0:47:05] The Finance chairman- [0:47:07] I- [0:47:07] ... from which this bill came. Go ahead. [0:47:09] Yeah, that, the amendment that one of my members made in there, I believe if I was correct, was that anything that was in process in the next five years would continue. Those bonds go for 30 years in many cases. So it wasn't gonna stop the bonds from 30 years, it would just be they have to be in process in the next five years. [0:47:29] Yeah. [0:47:30] Um, it didn't, it didn't cut it off in five years. [0:47:33] Okay. [0:47:37] Is there any other questions? [0:47:42] All right, does anybody else wish to speak for or against this bill from the crowd? Nope. All right. Thank you, Mr. Sorbe. [0:47:52] Thank you. [0:47:53] What's the will of the committee? [0:47:55] Move do pass. [0:47:57] All right, I got a motion do pass from our President Pro Tem by substitute. [0:48:05] Is there a second? [0:48:06] Second. [0:48:07] We do have a second from Senator Rhett. All right. Uh, an- any further discussion? None. All right. All in favor, raise your hand. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. All opposed. [0:48:28] Three cheaper. [0:48:31] One, two, three, four, five. Nine-five, motion carries. Did you vote, leader? [0:48:37] He did. [0:48:38] He had to come like this. It's either this pocket or this button. I couldn't decide, did you vote? [0:48:47] All right. This is serious, y'all. All right, moving on. Um, 485 was supposed to have some changes. I think the, all the changes were not captured, so we're gonna punt on that one for now. I am adding, per the chairman's prerogative, HB1178. Representative Horner, this is your bill. It's pretty cut and dry. And I've got a question, but I'm gonna let you explain it first, and my question will probably answer why it was sent to Rules in the, to start with. [0:49:23] Perfect. [0:49:23] So go ahead. [0:49:24] Thank you, Chairman. Thank you for hearing the bill. House Bill 1178, um, it is, it reconstitutes the House Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee. It was taken out of law in 2008, and we're just basically asking you to let us get back to work. Um, it allows the state, House Budget and Fiscal Oversight Committee to audit, um, our liabilities again, and so that's what we're looking for. It completely reconstitutes and puts back into law exactly how it was, giving the speaker some oversight on it. [0:49:55] All right. Why do you need the Senate on this? [0:49:58] Well, we need the H- unfortunately, it's a two-branch, uh, government, we n- uh, legislative branch, and we need a- ... we need your opinion as well. We need to get back to work, unfortunately. We've been a little, uh s- [0:50:09] You can't, you can't provide oversight without us? You can't look at it? [0:50:14] Well, we've tried for two ye- I mean, 10 years, and Chairman, uh, Tarver has been doing everything in his power to get us back to it, and we're asking for this bill. [0:50:23] Okay. Well, is there any other questions? [0:50:27] He's trying to answer two at once. [0:50:30] Yeah. Why... Okay. That's a, that's a good question, Senator Gooch. We're gonna miss your institutional knowledge on this committee. [0:50:38] I'll jar you with my service. [0:50:40] Maybe you'll have little fingerlings on here. Who knows? Um, so why couldn't it be the House and Senate Oversight Committee? [0:50:50] So this is how it was written originally into the language of the law back before 2008. [0:50:54] And I wonder who wrote that. [0:50:56] I don't know who wrote it before. Uh, that was from a 1980 law. Uh, but in 2008 it was stripped completely. We're open to any suggestions. We just ask to be able to do the work. [0:51:07] He wasn't here in '80. He's 92. Um, all right. I got a question from Leader Anavitarte. [0:51:16] Mr. Chairman, it's, there's one suggestion as I'm reading line 19. Um, why can't the, if, as we're, if we're gonna contemplate the Senate doing this, why, why shouldn't the President of the Senate, um, appoint the, the committee chair? [0:51:31] So, um, I have spoken with the Chairman of Oversight in the Senate. He is welcome to doing something of this instance with the Senate, but I'll let him speak to that, but he's open to those ideas as well. [0:51:41] Would you, would you support the President of the Senate appointing the committee chair? [0:51:45] If he was appointing some senators on that committee, I'm fine with- [0:51:49] No, I'm saying- [0:51:49] ... doing a mutual- [0:51:49] ... the committee [0:51:50] Oh, the whole committee? I think, uh, the speaker may have some questions on that, but it's open- [0:51:54] Well, he's not here. [0:51:57] But it's open up to interpretation for you guys. [0:52:01] Talk to him. [0:52:06] All right. [0:52:06] Make that motion. [0:52:08] Anybody got a- [0:52:09] Mr. Chairman? [0:52:10] Yes. [0:52:12] I- [0:52:12] Go ahead. [0:52:13] I think in light of, um, a lot of work this needs, especially if, if the Senate's gonna be involved, I just make a motion to table this so we can have further conversation, if that's okay. [0:52:24] That won't be needed. This is gonna be hearing only. [0:52:26] Okay. Thank you. [0:52:27] That'll save us some time. All right. Well, work with the committee and let's come up with a good solution for everybody. [0:52:33] Thank you, Chairman. [0:52:33] Thank you. All right. Is that everything? [0:52:37] Yeah. [0:52:37] All right. Meeting adjourned. Go to your committees. [0:52:41] Thank you.