House Rules Committee, March 25, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1176934455 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1176934455#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-25/house-rules-2 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. [0:35:30] Good afternoon, everybody. Come on in and we'll, we'll call the meeting to order. [0:35:45] Recognize, uh, Chairman Hawkins to speak to Senate Bill 411. [0:35:52] Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Senate Bill 411, uh, is, is a bill that was brought into our committee with just, uh, one or two small changes. Uh- [0:36:04] Yeah, let's be sure we got the right LC number. [0:36:07] Oh, I'm sorry. [0:36:08] Yeah. [0:36:08] LC46-1660S. [0:36:12] Okay. Thank you. [0:36:14] Okay. I apologize. Um, yeah, so, so the first part of this bill is the OTs being able to do dry needling. Uh, the second part of this bill, starting in section five, um, are the, uh, engineers and surveyors. The real action of this bill is on line 103, 104, about retaining some of their, uh, fees to actually run the, run the board. And then starting on line six, uh, we've got 13 what was... [0:36:50] I mean, section six, 13-09, which were the physicians being able to dispense ph- pharmaceuticals in their office. That, that's- [0:37:02] Okay [0:37:03] ... and that bill was amended in committee to not allow the, uh, dispensing of Schedule II drugs, so we didn't begin again the pill mills. [0:37:14] For everybody. [0:37:15] For everybody. [0:37:15] Okay. [0:37:16] It's not to be dispensed in the office. [0:37:17] We've, we've got a question. Uh, Leader Hugley, I believe. [0:37:21] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To the author of the bill, what does engineers have to do with needling and all of these other medical things that we're talking about? It appears that we have different subject matters here. [0:37:37] Yeah. Yeah, that's the way these things were stacked. Um, and that was over on the other side of the house. So I understand. [0:37:48] Okay. Any other questions? Okay, do we hear a motion that we approve the rule substitute to Senate Bill 411, LC46-1660S? So moved. Have a motion and a second. Is there opposition? Okay, it's approved. All right, now, I'm gonna recognize, uh, Secretary Kelley to speak to Senate, the substitute to Senate Bill 540. [0:38:19] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I bring before you a Rules Committee substitute to Senate Bill 540. I'll be working off LC64-0123S. One thing that we have seen, uh, as technology continues to develop in our society and all the benefits that, uh, we're, uh, getting through AI, we are seeing some harms that could occur. One of those, uh, harms is, uh, taking place is where, uh, AI, uh, chatbots are acting in a way where children and adults don't realize that they're actually talking to a AI-generated chatbot instead of a, uh, a actual person. [0:39:00] Uh, and what's that's leading to, we're seeing in our minors and in adults are instances where the chatbots are instructing and assisting minors and adults in committing suicide and, uh, taking on other, uh, egregious actions, things like, uh, not, uh, talking to their parents about their feelings, things like that. And so what, uh, this substitute does is put some guardrails around, uh, the chatbots and notifications specifically as to, uh, certain frequencies every hour for minors, every three hours for adults, letting them know that you are talking to a computer software program chatbot, not a actual person. [0:39:47] Okay, we've got a question for you. Uh, Whip Park has a question. [0:39:51] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, Representative Kelley, uh, what is the change that the rule substitute makes to the version that passed committee yesterday? [0:40:03] I do not have the full, uh, changes in front, uh, of me, but what I can tell you is, you know, I just gave a full run-through of what the bill does- [0:40:13] All right [0:40:13] ... as I, as it sits today in front of you. [0:40:16] Thank you. [0:40:19] Okay. Chairman Jaspers, is that you with a question? [0:40:24] Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Representative Kelley, does, um, this measure require age verification? I'd look, quickly looked through it. I- [0:40:33] Yes. [0:40:34] It does? [0:40:34] It does. [0:40:35] Which- [0:40:35] And there are specific requirements for minors, and there are spec- specific requirements for adults. [0:40:40] I'll tell you, I just want to follow up. You know, we passed a bill two years ago requiring age verification on porn sites. It's worked well considering the number of negative email I get. [0:40:51] Well, I'm proud of the work you did on that measure. [0:40:54] Okay. Any, any other questions? That's it. Okay. All right, do I hear a motion that we approve the substitute to Senate Bill 540, LC64-0123S? So moved. Have a motion and second. Is there any opposition? It's approved. Okay, recognize, uh, Secretary Kelley to speak to the sub to 594, Senate Bill 594. [0:41:21] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Continuing on our path of technology innovation, LC64-0122S is a substitute to Senate Bill 594. Uh, it has three, uh, main parts, starting, uh- Part one is simply a preamble that speaks about AI and the benefits and the harms that could, uh, come about as a result of AI. Part two is, uh, House Bill 986, which has passed, uh, this chamber, uh, twice. [0:41:52] Uh, it deals with, um, artificial, uh, intelligence election content. Specifically, we have tightened that language up to where it only applies to paid political staff of a campaign committee. Uh, starting in section three, uh, we are including, uh, language that has to do with AI-generated, uh, obscenity, uh, as it relates to children, and when AI is used, making it a crime to, uh, generate, uh, obscene child photos through artificial intelligence. [0:42:23] We see this often as a gateway where a lot of times, uh, they could generate, uh, AI images of minor children, and then it leads ultimately to someone being, um, brought in and captured to then actually, uh, be part of a, a ring for child pornography, and I know that's something we all want to prevent in our state. [0:42:44] Mm-hmm. Okay. I don't see any questions. Okay. Do we have a, um, motion to approve the substitute to Senate Bill 594, that's LC64-0122S? [0:42:59] Move. [0:42:59] Second. [0:42:59] I have a motion and a second. Is any opposition? All right, it's approved. Okay, we recognize Senator Hickman. [0:43:14] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee members. I've got two bills. Um, Senate Bill 472, and, um, this is the bill that, uh, protects students and families by holding local school districts accountable for financial mismanagement, and I think we know who we're talking about. This legislation strengthens the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts' tools to support local school systems by identifying- [0:43:36] That, that's in your book. [0:43:38] Okay. [0:43:39] That should be in your book. [0:43:40] Okay. [0:43:40] Excuse me. Go ahead. [0:43:41] Yes, sir. By identifying issues early and creating a statewide fiscal monitoring intervention system by July of this year. The key shift with this bill is that previously audit findings primarily triggered corrective action. Now they can trigger removal of board members by the governor. [0:44:00] Okay, I have a question for you. Whip Part. [0:44:04] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Senator Hickman, uh, what due process protections exist for locally elected, uh, uh, locally elected school board members before the State Board of Education could reme- re- could recommend suspension or termination? [0:44:19] The que- the question you give is wha- what is the process now? [0:44:22] Well, under this, uh, s- under this proposal, what due process rights would school board members have? [0:44:29] Oh, uh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. So what happens now is, under this process, is the state auditor then recommends to the State, State Board of Education, and the State Board of Education communicates with the governor, and there's a period of time, days in there, that all this has to happen. [0:44:43] Wou- would those school board members be able to appeal a finding from the State Auditor's office? [0:44:48] Oh, I'm sure they will. I'm sure they will. [0:44:51] Okay. Thank you. [0:44:54] Okay. Okay. Don't see any other questions. [0:44:59] Can I do the second bill? [0:45:01] Yes, sir. Go ahead. [0:45:01] Okay. The second bill is, is, is another very good bill, and actually is a outgrowth of, uh, y'all's bill, Hou- House Bill 32 that happened several years ago, and it's the extension of the, uh, teacher- [0:45:13] What- [0:45:13] ... teacher- [0:45:14] What number is that? [0:45:14] Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, Hou- Senate Bill 515. [0:45:21] Thank you. [0:45:22] Thank, thank you, sir. Se- uh, Senate Bill 515. So, so it's an extension of the teacher tax credit, and it, uh, increases the, uh, number of available slots, but also, but we found out through some research that, that in the existing bill it was a $3,000 tax credit, and the most that people were using was about 24, $2,500. So we reduced the tax credit to 2,500 and expanded the number of people that are eligible for it. So the ta- the total dollar amount is still $3 million, so there's no fiscal note involved. [0:45:54] And then we extended it, uh, to December of 2031, which is five years. [0:46:02] Okay. Got a question for you. Whip Part. [0:46:04] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Given, uh, that the papers are all kind of flying around, was there a House substitute to the version of this bill, or are we reviewing... Like, do you have the LC number? Are we looking at the version that's passed from the House? [0:46:17] Um, 2750S. I'm sorry. I think that's the, the last version I have. 2750S. [0:46:25] Thank you, sir. [0:46:25] Okay. [0:46:27] I should have said that. [0:46:27] Don't see any other questions. [0:46:28] I'm sorry. I'm sorry. [0:46:29] Thank you, sir. [0:46:30] Thank you, sir. Thank you all for your time. [0:46:32] Okay. Senator Kim. [0:46:39] Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and committee. I have Senate Bill 475. It's LC492848S. And what this bill does is two really important things. It encourages, uh, voter participation to allow for, uh, referendums to be put on the ballot. It lowers that percentage from 25% to 10%, uh, but that referendum would still have to be voted on by the full city in order to consider consolidation of school districts. And then secondly, it, uh, gives some parity to locally approved charter schools, uh, to ensure that they are, uh, no less favorably treated as it rela- relates to ESPLOST funding. [0:47:19] So it addresses an issue that we're seeing across the state where locally approved charter schools are not being even considered, uh, for ESPLOST projects in their districts. And with that, I'll pause for any questions. [0:47:31] Okay. Thank you for the explanation. Don't see any questions. [0:47:34] All right. Thank you so much. [0:47:35] Thank you, sir. [0:47:35] All right. [0:47:37] Okay. Now let's set a supplemental calendar for today. Since we made so much progress this morning, let's add a few more onto this. Under, uh, modified structure, Senate Bill 472. [0:47:56] Move. Second. [0:47:57] Have a move and a second. Any opposition? [0:48:00] Objection. [0:48:01] Have an objection. All those in favor of adding it to the supplemental calendar say aye. [0:48:05] Aye. [0:48:06] Those opposed, no. [0:48:08] No. [0:48:08] Ayes carry. All right, Senate Bill 475. [0:48:13] Move. Second. [0:48:14] Move and second. Any opposition? [0:48:16] Objection. [0:48:17] Have an objection. All those in favor say aye. [0:48:21] Aye. [0:48:21] Those opposed, no. [0:48:23] No. [0:48:23] It carries. Okay. Senate Bill 540, rule substitute LC 64-0123S. [0:48:33] Move. Second. [0:48:35] Have a move and a second. Any opposition? It's on. Senate Bill 594 by rule substitute LC 64-0122S. [0:48:49] Move. Second. [0:48:49] Move and second. Any opposition? It's on. Now, under structured, under structured, Senate Bill 566. [0:48:59] Move. Second. [0:48:59] Have a move and a second. Any opposition? It's on. Okay, I'm hoping that I won't see you all anymore this afternoon, but we will plan on seeing you, uh, tentatively Friday at 9:00 AM. Thank you all.