House floor session, April 2, 2026 (legislative day 40, PM, part 1)

Transcript

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1. 0:37:55

   Good afternoon, members. This House will come back to order. House will come back to order. Mr. Clerk, will you ring the bell and let our members know we're ready to get back to business?

2. 0:42:07

   All right, let's...

3. 0:42:57

   Okay, members, we were going to do a local calendar, but it's not on your desk yet, so we'll have to hold. Well, it's on your desk, but not on everyone else's, but you're not the only one that votes.

4. 0:43:13

   All right, the House will come to order.

5. 0:43:20

   Gonna move on to the rules calendar, take a couple bills up, and get started again. So, Mr. Clerk, I'm gonna ask you to read the caption to Senate Bill 513. Five one three. Senate Bill 513 by Senator Dickerson in the 21st and others to be entitled Act to Amend Chapter two of Title 20 and Chapter five of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education driver's licenses respectively, so as to revise requirements for public school policies and procedures relative to student attendance.

6. 0:43:54

   This bill then referred to the Committee on Education. That committee recommends that this bill do pass by committee substitute.

7. 0:44:06

   Representative Scott Hilton is recognized to present Senate Bill 513. Gentleman's recognized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This body, under your leadership, has done incredible work this session and in previous sessions to help improve education here in Georgia. What we have done, though, falls on deaf ears if a student is not there to, to learn, to read, to do math, and so this is what this bill aims to address. According to the Georgia Department of Education, chronic absenteeism, this is students who miss unexcused, so just they do not show up for the school day.

8. 0:44:47

   They miss, chronic absentee is a ten percent of the school calendar or more. That's 18 days. That's almost a full month of school that a child is missing. About 20%, 19.5% of students in Georgia are chronically absent. That is not good. This is what this bill aims to address. The Everyday Counts Act seeks to provide K through 12 Public school students who are chronically absent with multi-tiered support systems and personalized attendance intervention plans.

9. 0:45:18

   This legislation requires that every local school district has at least one attendance review team available to develop a written attendance intervention plan with the student and guardian. This legislation makes chronically absent students inel- ineligible to participate in extracurricular and interscholastic activities until the student and his or her parent or guardian have met with the local school system's attendance review team to develop or modify an intervention plan.

10. 0:45:50

    We're setting the bar pretty low here. This is gonna be easy to meet. You can't participate in voluntary extracurricular activities unless you, your parent, your guardian go into the school, develop a plan, show that you're working to get back on track. Likewise, students who are ages 15 to 17 who are non-compliant with their attendance intervention plan may be permitted from obtaining a driver's license or permit. Please note this legislation does not suspend active driver's license or permits.

11. 0:46:26

    It simply prevents students from being issued a new permit or license if they are non-compliant with an intervention plan. This is in line, we have a number of things already that students have to do who are into school to present to DDS to get a license. And Mr. Speaker, that is the crux of the bill, and I will yield for a couple questions. Gentleman has yielded for questions. Representative, let's see, Representative Sanchez to your right. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the gentleman yield? Yes.

12. 0:46:57

    I understand you're saying you're not taking away licenses, but wouldn't preventing these kids who are chronically absent from getting a driver's licenses only further exacerbate the issues? 'Cause a lot of these kids already have, uh, pa- part of the reason they could be having these issues is they have lack of transportation. So why would we further worsen the issue by not preventing them from getting a license? So again, it's a very simple step that them and their parent have to do. They have to simply go into the school, develop a plan with the school, and that frees up that process.

13. 0:47:29

    And part of that meeting and that communication is a discussion around, "Hey, is this a transportation issue? Is this a scheduling issue? What's going on?" Right now, that conversation is simply not being had at all. Kids are sh- not showing up, and there's no conversation or dialogue going on with the parent and the school. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I yield for one more. Uh, one more? Uh, Representative Carpenter to your right is recognized for a question. Does the gentleman yield? Yes, sir. Is it not true that when I was in high school, the four years of high school, I missed 100 days of school?

14. 0:48:02

    Uh. Serious question. Uh, yes, sir. Is it not further true that if we had something like this in place, then I probably would've addressed that? 'Cause it was a, a personal decision for me. Yeah, and I'll, I'll tell you, these are good incentives. We need parents and schools and kids talking to figure this out. I would submit to you and to this body 20% of Georgia students being chronically absent is just unacceptable. Uh, and we've gotta take measures to address that, and that's what we do with Senate Bill 513, and I appreciate your favorable consideration.

15. 0:48:34

    And I yield the floor. The gentleman has yielded the floor. We have a number of speakers on Senate Bill 513, and we can begin that process now.

16. 0:48:58

    We have some members, I'll tell you whom they are, that are signed up to speak. And y'all will be able to divide up the time as you see fit amongst yourselves. I'm gonna recognize Representative Driner first, then Representative Santos, then Representative Lupton, and then Representative Wilkerson. Representative Driner is recogn- lady will suspend just for a minute.

17. 0:49:31

    Thank you, members. The lady is recognized.

18. 0:49:36

    Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

19. 0:49:40

    I rise in opposition to Senate Bill 513.

20. 0:49:47

    Attendance matters. We all agree on that. The question before us is not whether attendance matters, it's what actually works when students are not in school. Last year, in 2025, a Senate sub, a s- a Senate study committee, not a joint committee of this body, spent months looking at that exact question. I took the time to review their work.

21. 0:50:19

    They heard from the Department of Education, school systems, social workers, nurses, and community organizations working directly with families. And they asked this question: "Why are students missing school?" The answer was consistent. Students are missing school because of barriers like poverty, health issues, transportation challenges, and instability at home.

22. 0:50:54

    This is not primarily a discipline problem. It is a barrier problem, and that matters because when you look at what the committee heard and you look at what this bill does, they do not line up.

23. 0:51:12

    The testimony pointed towards support, early intervention, family engagement, keeping students connected to school. This bill moves completely in a different direction. It removes students from activities and ties attendance to whether they can receive a driver's license. And when asked in the Rules Committee, the author acknowledged there is no evidence that these penalties will work.

24. 0:51:48

    Hear me again. There is no evidence that these penalties will work. I did the research, and the data is not unclear. There are numerous academic studies that when students attend school, when they are connected, when they are in, when they have relationships, when there is engagement, when someone is paying attention and helping them stay on track, that is what the research shows, not punishment.

25. 0:52:25

    In fact, the evidence points the other way. Taking things away can in- increase disengagement by removing the very connections that keep students in school. And the driver's license provision raises the same concern. This has been tried in other states, and there is no strong evidence that improves attendance in any meaningful, sustained way.

26. 0:52:56

    But we do know who it impacts, students who already face the greatest barriers. So if a student is struggling to get to school, how does taking away their ability to drive help them get there? Let me bring this down to something real. I have first graders in DeKalb County schools. Even when my children have been sick, I have received a phone call. Schools are already paying attention.

27. 0:53:28

    They are already monitoring attendance. They are already reaching out to families. So the issue is not awareness. The issue is whether we respond with support or with consequences that may push students further away. Because attendance is a signal. It tells us something is wrong. This bill treats that signal as something to punish instead of something to understand.

28. 0:54:01

    And that's where I come down on this. If the study committee was grounded in data, then the research points us toward connection and support, then we should be following that evidence, not moving in the opposite direction. Because when an approach is not supported by data, it is not evidence-based policy. You know what it is? It's an opinion.

29. 0:54:32

    This is an opinion. As an academic, I don't believe we should be making decisions for our students based on opinions when the evidence points us somewhere else. I ask for you to vote no for Senate Bill 513, and I yield the well.

30. 0:54:58

    The lady has yielded the well. Representative Santos is recognized to speak to, uh, Senate Bill 513. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members of this chamber, I rise in opposition of SB 513. This bill inserts state government into a decision that historically and rightfully belonged to Georgia families. Whether and when a teenager learns to drive by conditioning a minor's e- eligibility for an instruction permit or driver's license on school attendance compliance.

31. 0:55:34

    The state substitutes its judgment for that of parents in a domain where parents are best positioned to make decisions. That is government overreach, and conservatives in this chamber should recognize it as regardless of the policy goal it serves. Let me acknowledge the bill's strongest argument directly. Its sponsors would say that driving is a privilege, not a right, and that the state already conditions that privilege on a range of requirements, age, testing, parental consent.

32. 0:56:05

    Linking the privilege to school attendance, they would argue, gives families and students a concrete incentive to address a chronic absenteeism, which is genuine and documented problem in Georgia schools. The Everyday Counts Act, as it is titled, reflects a real concern about students who are disengaged from school and the long-term consequences of that disengagement. That concern is legitimate, but here is a problem.

33. 0:56:36

    The families most directly affected by chronic absenteeism are often the families least able to navigate a bureaucratic compliance process to restore a withheld privilege. This bill requires a student to be found non-compliant with an attendance intervention plan, a plan developed, approved, and documented by a school attendance review team before the driver's license restriction applies. That process involves meetings, written plans, signed receipts, and reported non-compliance sent to the Department of Education and then to the Department of Driver Services.

34. 0:57:12

    For a family managing poverty, housing instability, a sick child, or a working parent who cannot take time off for school meetings, that process a, is not a support system, but a bureaucratic obstacle course. And the penalty for failing to navigate is imposed on the teenager, not the institution. The deeper issue is this: the state does not improve family functioning by taking away a teenager's ability to get a driver's license.

35. 0:57:44

    In rural Georgia, for example, districts that many of you represent, a driver's license is not a convenience. It is an access to a job, access to a doctor, access to independence that helps a young person stay engaged with school and community. Withholding it does not address why a student is missing school. It adds a consequence that falls on the teenager while leaving the underlying cause unnoticed. If we are serious about chronic absenteeism, we should fund the counselors, social workers, and community supports that address its root causes.

36. 0:58:22

    We should not build a punitive system that expands government reach into family life without evidence that the punishment produces the outcome we want. Mr. Speaker, I stand today not as a legislator, but as a parent, and I urge my colleagues to vote no on SB513. Thank you. I yield the floor. Lady has yielded the will. Representative Karen Lupton is recognized to speak to, uh, Senate Bill 513. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

37. 0:58:52

    Uh, Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise in opposition to SB513. Before this chamber imposes new punitive consequences on Georgia teenagers, I wanna ask a question that hasn't really been answered: does it work? Is there evidence that conditioning a minor's driver's license on school attendance actually reduces chronic absenteeism? Because if there's not any evidence, we're not solving a problem, we are performing a response to one.

38. 0:59:26

    The research on license withholding as an attendance intervention is mixed at best. States that have implemented similar provisions have not consistently demonstrated reductions in chronic absenteeism that are attributable to this policy. What the research does show more clearly is that the students most likely to be chronically absent are also the students for whom a driver's license incentive is least effective because their absenteeism is driven by factors a license cannot address: family economic instability and housing insecurity.

39. 1:00:07

    I cannot emphasize that enough. The need to work to support a household, caregiving responsibilities, mental health challenges, none of these causes are responsive to the threat of a withheld license. Georgia is not a state that adopts policy without asking whether it produces results. We have applied performance metrics to education spending, outcome requirements to grant programs, and accountability standards to state agencies. The same rigor should apply here.

40. 1:00:40

    This bill creates a new administrative system, a new data-sharing pipeline, a new category of student ineligibility, and a new compliance burden without demonstrated evidentiary basis that the intervention it's built around actually changes student behavior. Uh, there's a further problem of fit. Um, we have urban and rural districts all represented here, and the students most likely to be affected by this provision are 15 to 17-year-olds in Georgia's rural, rural and suburban counties, um, where driving is not just an aspiration to do something fun, it's actually a practical necessity.

41. 1:01:23

    Uh, in a county with no public transit where the nearest grocery store is 20 miles away and the nearest job is not reachable on foot, a driver's license is functional infrastructure. Withholding it does not incentivize a student to attend school. It removes one of the tools that might make school attendance sustainable, the ability to get there independently. Effective education policy is built on what works. Georgia has invested in evidence-based literary instruction, literacy instruction, evidence-based math interventions, and evidence-based early childhood programs precisely because we recognized that intention without evidence produces an expensive failure.

42. 1:02:08

    The same standard should govern this bill. Uh, if the goal is reducing chronic absenteeism, which is a goal that I share, I should also mention, um, due to the other, my other colleague's, uh, mention about his high school, uh, performance, this would, this would not necessarily have affected my husband, but my husband missed at least 20 days of his senior year. Um, big, big school skipper. But he lived in Metro Atlanta. It didn't matter if he had a car or not. Um, the legislature should invest in interventions that research supports.

43. 1:02:40

    School-based mental health services, attendance counselors with caseloads small enough to actually work with families. I'm gonna repeat that one for the people in the back. Attendance counselors with caseloads small enough to actually work with families. These produce results. This bill costs money in administrative ad for, ad, i- infrastructure, in data systems, in compliant management, and there's no creditable basis to believe it will produce an outcome.

44. 1:03:13

    Um, I also wanna say that in committee when there was testimony to this bill, two things came up that I thought were interesting. One is that several years ago and a whole bunch of you were here when this happened, we, this House took up, uh, justice, criminal justice reform. And you worked to uncouple license, uh, license restriction from other crimes. You weren't gonna have your license taken away if you shoplifted something.

45. 1:03:43

    That was something that this House did for criminal justice reform, and this takes this and winds the clock backwards. I would also like to state that the Senate had a study committee this past year, um, to look at chronic absenteeism, and I've read that report. It came up with maybe 17, 18, 19 recommendations. Two of the recommendations, at least two of the recommendations on that list we have already accomplished this year. One was vision and hearing screenings.

46. 1:04:16

    Universal vision and hearing screenings helps reduce chronic absenteeism. Two was prohibiting cell phones in schools reduces chronic absenteeism. Those are two, even if we don't pass this bill, we've already taken steps to reduce chronic absenteeism based on the Senate's own special study committee report. Uh, so I would ask for you to consider, um, a no vote on SB 513. We can, uh, do better. Take this up next, next session.

47. 1:04:47

    Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield the well.

48. 1:04:50

    Thank you for your comments. Lady's yielded the well.

49. 1:04:55

    That's the, um, 15 minutes for those opposed. Uh, there was one, one person that signed up. I guess he have to, he'll have to participate in it when the minority report is presented in just a moment. Now we'll have up to, up to

50. 1:05:15

    15 minutes for those in favor, and I'll recognize Chairman Carpenter speak to SB 513.

51. 1:05:24

    Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. Hey, real quick, everybody, I don't, I don't come up here with a prepared speech. I wasn't prepared to talk about this, this issue. But I, I would like a show of hands in the audience if you missed over 20 days in a school year for something other than sickness, just by physical choice you chose not to go to school for 20-plus days in a year. So we got, like, so we got like three people in this room, right? There's 180 of us, or 177, whatever it is, and we have three people that understand absenteeism.

52. 1:05:58

    And I would argue that absenteeism, regardless of what you have going on in life, is a choice. Maybe not in every incidence, but as a pattern it's a choice for 99% of individuals. And we can't sit here in this chamber and work on literacy and say we've got educational gaps if we can't figure out which lever to pull to get kids to go to school. For some kids it's sports.

53. 1:06:30

    For some kids it's a driver's license. For some kids it's graduation. And, and guess what? For some kids there's nothing you can do. But this is just a tool in the toolbox to make sure we're doing everything we can to get a kid in that seat, because Lord knows we're funding them. We're writing the school system a check for that kid, so let's get their butts in the seat so we can educate these children. I appreciate your support on this bill.

54. 1:06:59

    The gentleman has yielded the well. That completes our comments in favor of the bill. We do have a re- minority re- report and chairs time. Is there any objection to the previous question being ordered? Hearing none, the previous question is ordered. We'll now move on to our minority report that will have up to 20 minutes. We have

55. 1:07:24

    four, four folks signed up. Do we wanna begin with Representative Evans? Representative Stacey Evans is recognized to speak to Senate Bill 513 for up to 20 minutes. Lady's recognized.

56. 1:07:43

    Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm gonna do the best I can to make sure that I leave room for my colleagues, but I will tell you, this bill, this bill is personally offensive to me, and it should be personally offensive to you. My hands were shaking when I was writing my comments. I am so mad at how shortsighted and hateful we can be, and so tone deaf in this body. Yes, attendance matters. Yes, of course it does.

57. 1:08:14

    But we don't make policy for the ideal family. We don't make policy for this perfect white picket fence, two parents, one parent staying home, or two parents that work with flexible schedules. That's not this world. We don't live in a world where everyone has the resources they need all the time, and we don't live in a world where parents, as much as they might like to be perfect, they are not. They struggle.

58. 1:08:42

    Now, we've defined this chronically unexcused absent student. What are we gonna do to them? No more extracurricular activities, and if you're eligible for a driver's license, think again. That extracurricular activity for a lot of students growing up, ladies and gentlemen, that is their motivation to come to school. And they are not missing school as a choice, as my friend, the gentleman from Dalton, said. And we're gonna get to that. And that driver's license may be their ticket to school.

59. 1:09:15

    To be able to overcome the personal circumstances in their home that are keeping them from getting to school. Now, oddly in the bill, we don't just, we don't define what an unexcused absence is, and the best I can tell is that's up to the school system. Um, there's a list in one particular county that kind of goes through what is excused. You know, death in the family, illness, things like that. And there's, ladies and gentlemen, if you'll hang with me, this is a big deal. We're about to disrupt some lives. Unexcused absences in this particular district, these are things that are not excused.

60. 1:09:48

    Missing the school bus, car trouble, oversleeping. Now, a lot of y'all that have served with me for a while know my personal story. A lot of people don't. We all assume we know each other because we see the cover of the book that stands before us, but we haven't read the chapters that came before. I grew up in Ringgold, Georgia, small town in Northwest Georgia. My mom had me when she was 17 years old, never graduated high school. I moved at least 16 times before I was 18 years old. Luckily, it was a small town, so that meant I didn't change schools, but I was moving around a lot.

61. 1:10:23

    My mom was working two or three jobs trying to raise us, and I had stepfather after stepfather that were not good people. Let me tell you about some absences I had from school that would be considered unexcused. Our car broke down multiple times trying to get us to school, either my mom's car or the car that I was able to buy once I scraped enough money together from my after-school jobs. I overslept because the power was out because, guess what? Sometimes we couldn't pay the bill. I missed the bus because sometimes I was taking care of my younger brother when my parents couldn't miss work.

62. 1:10:58

    And I missed the bus multiple times because I stayed back to help my mother who was being beaten by her s- by my stepfather. I missed the bus one time to call the cops to beg them to come and do something about it, and was told, "I know him. He wouldn't hurt a fly." Those are reasons that kids miss school. It's not a choice. And there were more than five, I'm sure, in the first 10 weeks of school, which this bill would have put me in this category. Now, the presenter said it's a very simple step to fix this situation if it happens to you.

63. 1:11:32

    All you gotta do is come to school. The parent and the teacher and the kid, they come to school and they have this meeting. They all sit down. Not everybody has that flexibility. But we don't care with this bill. W- we wanna punish them. We don't even, the other thing that kills me about this bill is despite the situation for me personally and what would have put me in this category growing up, I still had good grades. I somehow figured it out. I had teachers that pulled me up, a lot of them who were my supporters and my sponsors in my extracurricular activities.

64. 1:12:07

    We don't even know that, that these kids are not getting their schoolwork done, but we're gonna make a policy to punish them. I think it's well-intentioned. Again, attendance matters, but let's make sure that we're actually going to help somebody before we do something that I know is going to hurt someone. So I hope you'll join me in voting no, and I yield the will.

65. 1:12:35

    Ladies, you would w- Representative Mary Frances Williams is recognized to speak to the bill. Please give the lady your attention.

66. 1:12:44

    Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

67. 1:12:49

    So my first job after coming back to, um, Cobb County and Marietta after finishing college was with the Cobb Juvenile Court, and I was the juvenile court officer handling all truancies. So I have been in these homes. I have met these students. I've tried to meet with their parents. I've met with their parents. So I feel like I know these kids.

68. 1:13:24

    I wish y'all would listen to me. It's so, I don't, I don't come up here much, and it's, it's, um, um, and I know I'm not the best person all the time at listening either, but I would, I would appreciate y'all listening to me. I don't come to the will very often. It would mean a lot to me. Thank you. So what I'm trying to say is I know these kids, I know their parents, and the, I really applaud, I really applaud the reason for this bill because, yes, for God's sake, we've got to do something about absenteeism.

69. 1:14:01

    So I don't have an argument with that at all. But a couple of things. When you tell these children that they can't move forward unless their parents come and there's a plan, there were very few children I met with whose parents gave a damn enough to come to school. I'm sorry. That's just the way it is. I've been in some, I've been in some homes and

70. 1:14:37

    that were not easy to be in, and I don't think you would wanna be there either. But if you wanna help kids, I think you have to go to where they are. So I guess I'm trying to give you a little bit of a feeling for the difficulties for these children. So number one, what happens if they can't get their parents to come for that conference? And most of the kids that I saw couldn't get their parents to come. So that's a problem. And then the break with extracurricular activities.

71. 1:15:10

    I don't know about you guys, but how many, how many children do you know whose lives were completely changed by a coach?

72. 1:15:21

    I mean, I have seen coaches turn especially young men's lives around and get their attention and make them care when maybe nobody else in their entire life had ever touched them in that way. Um, sometimes it's a music instructor, maybe it's theater, but there are really special people in these schools who connect with children through extracurricular activities, and to take that away from that one person, especially coaches, who maybe can touch these kids and, and, and get them to think and get them to want to come back to school, get them to see that they have a future, that bothers me.

73. 1:16:07

    And then the car's been mentioned over and over again, the driver's license.

74. 1:16:14

    For a lot of families, this child may be the actual parent in the home, so maybe they're the one, you know, taking care of younger brothers or sisters, going to the grocery store, getting people to doctor's appointments if they even have them, so again, that's a barrier. And then we haven't even touched on the fact that a lot of these kids lives li- live lives of desperation and they're depressed. So I ask you to please vote no on this bill.

75. 1:16:48

    Ladies yield to the well.

76. 1:16:53

    Representative Berry is recognized. Please give the gentleman in the well your attention. Of our c- gentlemen, well, s- some of your conversations could probably go out into the ante room, and that would be the appropriate place. So please give the gentleman your attention. Gentleman's recognized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So honestly, I didn't really wanna talk today. I just wanted to eat some donuts and be really mad about losing best dressed, but I feel compelled to speak today, and th- this is another one of those tough votes.

77. 1:17:28

    For me and a few others in this chamber who stand in front of a classroom, I recognize the importance of when a student is in their seat. When students go to school, literacy goes up, math skills go up, crime goes down, and workforce productivity increases. So yes, every day matters, but how we get to every day matters a whole lot more. I want to vote yes, but I do think this policy just needs some more refining. I quickly want to submit that the intended consequences of this bill won't even hit those who are chronically absent.

78. 1:17:58

    So my main objection is not to the goal, but to the overly punitive nature of this policy without it even reaching the students it needs to reach. Can we just take a step back, take off the lawmaker hat, and look at it through the average Georgian hat? Think about the four million Georgians who identify as income-constrained. Think about the nearly 200,000 students with an incarcerated parent in a single-parent household. Think about the nearly 440,000 Georgians who are disabled and cannot work. Through these numbers, y'all, we'll see something simple.

79. 1:18:30

    Chronic absenteeism is really about u- about, about a lack of will, it's about a lack of support. It's a very real reality that we have students in the state that, in circumstances beyond their control, become the head of the household. It's a student who's helping raise their siblings. A student who's missing school because the bus didn't come or because there is no bus. A student dealing with housing instability or working a job to help their family make ends meet. Those students are not making decisions based on whether they might lose a driver's license or sit out a game. For many of them, those aren't even real options on the table or they're going to do what they have to do.

80. 1:19:05

    So who is this bill really talking to? 'Cause if the consequences don't reach the students-

81. 1:19:15

    Continue. 'Cause if the consequences don't reach the students who are most chronically absent, then what we've built is not a solution, it's a signal, and signals don't change behavior, support does. So I believe in accountability. I have a classroom. I know expectations matter. I also learned that if a student keeps missing school, you don't start with punishment, you start with the question, what's going on? And more often than not, the answer isn't simple. That's why policies like this, when they lean too heavily on punishment, can actually miss the moment, 'cause instead of pulling students closer, they risk pushing them further away.

82. 1:19:52

    We say every day counts, and it does, but every student counts, too. We're meeting students in a 16 carriages situation, we should be pushing and investing in them to be their two most wanted. For the 98% of this body, that's a Beyoncé reference. So Beyoncé aside, this point, the point of this, if we're not designing policy with the most vulnerable students in mind, then we're really not solving the problem we say we care about. You can't punish a student into stability. You cannot legislate away the barriers they're facing, and you can't expect better outcomes without making better investments, 'cause at the end of the day, attendance improves when students feel supported, not when they feel threatened.

83. 1:20:29

    We legislate with strength when we legislate with compassion. Just because we say something strong, just because it sounds tough, doesn't mean it's doing the job we think it is, and we cannot s- two-step around the real issue here. The real issue is our students are facing real barriers, and if you don't address those barriers, no amount of penalties is going to fix the problem. So let's just take a breath and think about what success really looks like. Is success a policy that sounds tough, or is success more students in seats, more students graduating, more students with a real shot at a future?

84. 1:21:01

    'Cause if it's the second, and I believe it is, then we gotta be willing to do the harder work. We've gotta be willing to build something that meets students where they are, something that addresses the root causes, something that doesn't just react but actually resolves. Every day counts. We can all agree on that, but what really counts is whether we're going to do the work to make those days possible for every child in this state. I believe we can do that work.

85. 1:21:25

    I believe we can come together, Democrats and Republicans, to craft something that is both accountable and compassionate, something that reflects not just urgency, but understanding. But today, this bill does not quite get us there. This isn't as angry, angry as I usually am with these bills we debate. I'm not angry today. I'm just really optimistic that we can do better than this. And that's why, Mr. Speaker, I re- respectfully urge a no vote. Thank you. I yield the well to Representative Adeyina.

86. 1:21:51

    The gentleman has yielded the well. Representative Adeyina is recognized to speak to the bill. Give the gentleman your attention, please.

87. 1:21:59

    Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise in opposition to Senate Bill 513. At its core, this bill attempts to address challenges facing our youth, but does not do so in... It does do so incompletely, and in a way that ignores one of the most critical components of a child's success: parent accountability. We cannot continue to have conversations about student outcomes, disciplines, and well-being without addressing the role of parents and guardians.

88. 1:22:34

    Schools cannot raise children alone. Teachers cannot replace the structure, guidance, and responsibility that must begin at home. As the saying goes, when f- schools, families, and communities work together, students succeed. That partnership is not optional. It is essential. SB 513 places new expectations on schools and systems, yet it fails to create meaningful pathways to ensure parents are engaged, informed, and accountable partners in their child's development.

89. 1:23:13

    If we are serious about improving outcomes, we must take a holistic approach, one that includes families, communities, and yes, accountability at every level. Without that balance, this bill re- risk replacing additional burdens on educators while leaving a critical gap unaddressed. Our goal should not be shi- not be to shift the responsibility. It should be to share the responsibility. Until parent accountability is a part of the solution, this legislation falls short of what our students really need.

90. 1:23:51

    For this reason, I respectfully urge you to vote no on SB 513. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

91. 1:24:00

    Gentleman's yielded the well. Representative Wilkerson, you have about three and a half minutes or so, a little bit over. The gentleman's recognized.

92. 1:24:08

    Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, today I rise in opposition to Senate Bill 513. I know we've heard a lot of conversation about if it's chosen, if it's not chosen. I think we heard stories not just from the public, but how it impacted people that are here today. Um, what I'm gonna say is that, one, I strongly agree with the fact that this does not address why students are not in school. That's the first thing. So if we really wanna know why students aren't in school, we should ask them. And the way we ask them is by making sure when they come to track practice or soccer practice or football practice, why, you know, what we can do to make their life better.

93. 1:24:46

    We have learned from this general assembly that no, that zero tolerance does not work. When Governor Deal came here, he realized that just locking people away did not work. If you take away a student's driver's license, which by the way, I do believe, uh, driver's services is cautioned against doing this, if I'm correct. So the people that we're gonna task to do this, we're not giving any more money to, we're not asking any more, you know, giving any more help, but we're gonna make them fill out a form that nobody knows what that form looks like, and they're gonna make the students follow a plan that we don't know what that plan looks like.

94. 1:25:19

    So what are we doing? We're, we're trying to pass a bill to make us feel good. Before I came a p- I never knew more about raising kids than before I came a parent. Like, you talk to your friends that don't have kids, they can tell you how to raise that kid every day. What we are doing is talking to people that don't know why kids are not in school, and then developing laws based on that. Um, so for that, I'll, I'll, I would say I'm gonna join my colleagues in voting no, that if we really wanna address the issue, um, let's figure out why they're not in school.

95. 1:25:49

    Keep them in school, because the last thing is that we've done work on completion schools because we realize we don't care how kids get to that finish line, we wanna make sure they get to that finish line. That's what the completion schools are for. All this is, send them to home school, doesn't count. Send them to private school, take that voucher, doesn't count. So let a kid go to private school and all they gotta do is sign something and, and they can work. But with that said, um, I'm gonna join my colleagues. I encourage you, please, let's continue the positive things that we're doing for education, the literacy work that we work on, other things that we're doing, the completion schools, the work that we're doing revolving that.

96. 1:26:29

    Let's focus on how we help a child, not punish a child. Help a child, not punish a child, and I ask you to join me in voting no. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield the well.

97. 1:26:41

    Gentleman has yielded the well. That completes our minority report. We do have chairman's time.

98. 1:26:52

    We're up to 20 minutes or as brief as possible. Representative Erwin is recognized for chairman's time.

99. 1:27:00

    Great. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, uh, members, let me point out that our education committee vetted this bill. Not only did it go through subcommittee, but it went through, uh, full committee. Um, DDS was involved, came in, was collaborated with, so to be sure that we could, uh, work out any kinks with DDS. We also, uh- If you think back and you heard at the beginning from the, uh, person carrying the bill, we, we studied chronic absenteeism, and we know the negative impact chronic absenteeism has on learning.

100. 1:27:42

     So, uh, I, I, I think that I keep continually hearing the fact that we're talking about absences, and we don't seem to understand this is unexcused absences. This isn't one where somebody got sick or was in an accident, and that, that we're gonna have to pull that license or not allow them to get a license. That the- these are students that are skipping school, and they're missing their time to be more productive in the classroom.

101. 1:28:18

     So, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to clarify those. I've had quite a few that they wanted to come and use some of the chairman time. So at that, i- if I could, Mr. Speaker, let me relinquish the rest of this chairman time to those that have signed up with you.

102. 1:28:36

     Gentleman has that authority and that right. He, we will, uh, recognize Representative Hilton to speak to, um, his thoughts on SB-513.

103. 1:28:47

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, I'm gonna be real brief as well. I want to make it abundantly clear no one is getting their license taken away. Let me repeat that. No one is getting their license taken away under this legislation. The bar is low. You simply have to go to the school, have a plan in place, and then you qualify if you are 15 to 17. Say you're 15, you wanna get your learner's permit, they tell you you've been absent for more than a month of school, you gotta go to the school with your mom and dad, get a plan in place, then you go over to DDS and you get that learner's permit.

104. 1:29:29

     Say you have a learner's permit. You're 16, you wanna get the full license. You've been out of school for a month. Should we reward that? I don't think so. Should we... You go to the school, you get a plan in place. Communication is happening. We're working toward a resolution. You can gin- then get that license. This is part of a litany of things that we make our students do right now. Guys, when, when a child goes, and I just had one get his license, he's gotta submit proof of Joshua's Law, that he's done drive- some sort of driver's training.

105. 1:30:04

     He's gotta submit an ADP form around, around drug and alcohol awareness. They've gotta submit a DS1. This is proof of enrollment in school. So you have to prove that you're enrolled in school. This is the next logical step. You're enrolled in school, and you are attending said school on a regular basis. We spend $16 billion on education. We're advancing literacy, math. You cannot learn to read if you're not sitting there.

106. 1:30:37

     Someone was talking about how extracurricular activities... I have a hard time rationalizing how you can participate in a voluntary extracurricular activity when you're not showing up to school to begin with. So I think most reasonable people, we can all agree the first portion of the bill absolutely makes sense. And I think there's been a lot of confusion about kinda what the second half does. There's questions about unexcused absence. This means, unexcused absence means if you're not showing up and you don't have a legitimate excuse for not showing up, a legitimate excuse is you are ill, there's a death in the family, or religious activity.

107. 1:31:17

     So if you are just not showing up, you're unexcused, no excuse at all, I have a hard time, again, rationalizing why you should be able to participate in a voluntary activity through your school. Folks, right now, one in three students in APS, Atlanta Public Schools, one in three students are chronically absent, missing 18 or more days in school. This is not good. Is this bill a complete solution?

108. 1:31:49

     No. It is, it is a couple arrows in the quiver to address a much bigger problem, and I would welcome additional legislation to address this serious issue.

109. 1:32:03

     Again, we want kids in school. There was a, a study committee the Senate did. I think the House had one as well. This was one of the recommendations that came out of that study committee. They've looked at this issue in breadth. They've looked at all the issues impacting it. This is serious policy to address a serious issue in our state, and I ask your favorable consideration. I'll yield the rest of my time to the whip. To Representative Clifton.

110. 1:32:29

     Representative Clifton. Gentleman's yielded the wheel, ye- yielded the wheel. Wow. Representative Clifton's recognized.

111. 1:32:37

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm gonna be very brief. Um, I'm a little confused why this is so, um, I guess, contentious. We have truancy laws, and after 10 days, kids are, kids and parents are going to court for truancy. On top of your 10 days, parents have five excused written notes they can write for any reason per semester. So if you have 10 days that a parent can just write and give, and then you're up to 17 days of unexcused before this comes into play, we could have students that have missed 27 days of school before this actually applies.

112. 1:33:13

     We've been talking about education. We've been talking about helping kids. A kid that's missed 27 days of school is going to struggle. So, uh, that's just my short... I just wanna make sure we're all on the same page on there is a lot of opportunity, there's a lot of leeway, there's a lot that's already been given. Once you've gotten to this point, the ability to come back from it is so hard, and I really think we want our kids to succeed. So Mr. Speaker, I'll yield the wheel.

113. 1:33:38

     The gentleman's yielded the well. That completes chairman's time. That completes our discussion on Senate Bill 513. Is there any objection to adopting, uh, to adopting the committee substitute? Hearing none, the committee substitute's adopted. Is there any objection to agreeing to the report of the committee which was favorable to the passage of the bill? Hearing none, the report of the committee is agreed to. Shall this bill now pass? All in favor of the passage of the bill will vote yes. All those opposed will vote no. And Mr.

114. 1:34:08

     Clerk will unlock the machine.

115. 1:34:49

     Have all members voted?

116. 1:34:59

     Yes.

117. 1:34:59

     For what purpose does Representative Ridley rise? Jason Ridley.

118. 1:35:02

     Parliamentary inquiry.

119. 1:35:03

     State your inquiry.

120. 1:35:05

     Is, uh, me and Representative Carpenter not perfect example of why we need this bill?

121. 1:35:13

     I'm sure the gentleman believes what he speaks. For what purpose does Representative Burnell rise?

122. 1:35:21

     Parliamentary inquiry.

123. 1:35:22

     State your inquiry, ma'am.

124. 1:35:24

     Is it not true, Mr. Speaker, that those students that are excellent athletes, nobody's asking them how many days they're in school?

125. 1:35:33

     There may be some truth to that. Last one, for what purpose Repre- Representative Wade rise?

126. 1:35:40

     Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

127. 1:35:41

     State your inquiry, sir.

128. 1:35:42

     Um, is it not true that this legislation ensures that this is based on unexcused absences and the school systems will have an opportunity to provide virtual ser- virtual school as an option to make up attendance? And is it not further true that this c- this House will have an opportunity in future legislative sessions to do what I think is the most important, and that is to help add nurses to every single elementary school, because that actually will make just as big an impact as this legislation today?

129. 1:36:15

     I'm sure the gentleman believes what he speaks. For what purpose does...

130. 1:36:26

     For what purpose does Representative Neal rise?

131. 1:36:32

     I'm excusing myself.

132. 1:36:33

     What, for what purpose does the lady rise?

133. 1:36:35

     Make a motion.

134. 1:36:37

     Oh, make-

135. 1:36:37

     I, to excuse myself from the vote.

136. 1:36:39

     You got it. Lady has that right, and the journal will so reflect. The lady is excused on this vote. All members voted? If so, Mr. Clerk will lock the machine. On the passage of Senate Bill 513, the yeas are 8-0, 80, and the nays are 90, and this bill have, has failed to re- receive the requisite constitutional majority, therefore fails.

137. 1:37:04

     What purpose does Representative Efstration rise?

138. 1:37:07

     Move, move for reconsideration of the House's action on the previous bill.

139. 1:37:11

     Gentleman has that right. And I think that's immediate, is it not, Mr. Clerk?

140. 1:37:26

     Yeah.

141. 1:37:29

     Well, if we passed, then it just goes on the table.

142. 1:37:35

     That's right.

143. 1:37:35

     Yeah.

144. 1:37:36

     We got to vote on reconsideration now.

145. 1:37:36

     Speaker can decide whether to call it or not, so.

146. 1:37:39

     We got to vote right now.

147. 1:37:39

     We have to vote. Yeah, you got to vote on reconsideration.

148. 1:37:43

     I think we got to vote right now.

149. 1:37:46

     Reconsideration now.

150. 1:37:47

     Yeah.

151. 1:37:48

     Yeah. Reconsideration got to come right now.

152. 1:37:49

     Agreed.

153. 1:37:54

     Okay, now's the time for the gentleman to pursue the motion if he so desires. Does the gentleman move? He moves. Does the gentleman move?

154. 1:38:06

     Yes.

155. 1:38:08

     Gentleman moves. The gentleman's motion that the House reconsider its action in giving, in failing to give HB, excuse me, SB 513 the requisite majority. All those in favor of reconsideration will vote yes. All those opposed will vote no. And Mr. Clerk will unlock the machine.

156. 1:38:46

     All members voted? All members voted. If so, Mr. Clerk will lock the machine. On the gentleman's motion that we reconsider our vote on SB 513, the yeas are 96, the nays are 75. The motion carries, and the House has reconsidered its action. That bill does not have to be called immediately, but it is, uh, been reconsidered.

157. 1:39:47

     Members, we'll take up our local calendar. We have a number of bills on our local calendar.

158. 1:47:43

     Okay, members, we're going to move on to the local calendar. There are three bills on the local calar- calendar that are agreed disagrees. I'm gonna recognize the chairman of the committee first, Chairman McDonald, for a motion.

159. 1:47:59

     Mr. Speaker, I'd like to make a motion.

160. 1:48:01

     State your motion.

161. 1:48:03

     I'd like to pull HB1534 from the calendar and recommit it back to committee.

162. 1:48:13

     Mr. Clerk, can you read the caption to House- House Bill fir- 1534, please?

163. 1:48:20

     House Bill 1534, agreeing to the Senate substitute by Representative Westbrook of the 163rd Chatham County. House Bill 1534 provides an additional judge to the State Court of Chatham County.

164. 1:48:34

     On the gentleman's motion that HB1534 be withdrawn from the calendar and recommitted to the Intergovernmental Relations Committee. Is there objection? Hearing none, so ordered.

165. 1:48:56

     We'll move on to the local calendar now.

166. 1:49:03

     For what purpose does Representative Jackson rise?

167. 1:49:07

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to make a motion.

168. 1:49:10

     What's your motion?

169. 1:49:12

     My motion is to remove House Bill 1567 from the local calendar to be voted on separately.

170. 1:49:20

     Have you spoken to the chairman of the committee?

171. 1:49:27

     I did not. Do I need to-

172. 1:49:29

     I think that'd be, I think that'd be appropriate, and I will hold your motion-

173. 1:49:32

     Okay

174. 1:49:32

     ... till you speak to the chairman.

175. 1:54:06

     Members, here is our posture.

176. 1:55:15

     We have agreed to send House Bill 1534 back to Intergovernmental Committee for further consideration there. Now we have another motion on the floor that I'm going to recognize Representative Derrick Jackson for his motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to make a motion. State your motion, sir. I rise to, uh, make a motion to remove House Bill 1567 to be voted, to be removed from the f- local calendar to be voted separately. There's objection.

177. 1:55:51

     Let's make sure we're clear on the motion. Represent- Representative Jackson m- Jackson moves that

178. 1:56:00

     HB1567 be removed from the local calendar and voted separately. There's objection. Mr. Clerk, will you read the caption?

179. 1:56:13

     House Bill 1567 agreeing to the Senate substitute by Representative LaHood of the 175th City Equipment. City Equipment. House Bill 1567 provides for a referendum on consolidating the city equipment with Brooks County.

180. 1:56:28

     On the gentleman's motion that HB1567 be removed from the local calendar and voted on separately. All those in favor of removing from the local calendar will vote yes. All those opposed will vote no, and Mr. Clerk will unlock the machine.

181. 1:57:17

     It is day 40, but we are going to remain, maintain that, the quorum of this chamber. We're going to maintain our decorum as we do. So I expect all members to abide by our rules. For what purposes Leader Hugley rise? Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker. State your inquiry. Are we combining both of those, uh, motions into one, or are we taking them separately? There's one motion that's remove it from the local calendar.

182. 1:57:50

     Okay, so this is only 1567. Just to remove that and send it back to the committee as the author of the bill has requested. Is that- No, ma'am. We've already sent back 1534 as the author. Okay, I'm sorry. Now we're on another one. He made a motion when we went back to the calendar- Okay ... to remove the bill from the local calendar and vote it on separately. All members voted. If so, Mr. Clerk can lock the machine. On the gentleman's motion that House Bill 1567 be removed from the local calendar and voted on separately, the yeas are 75, the nays are 97.

183. 1:58:26

     The gentleman's motion fails. The bill will stay on the local calendar.

184. 1:58:53

     Okay, here we are having these three bills that were on the local calendar. One of them is now off. House Bill 1534 will not be voted on the local calendar. It's going back to committee. They have received the r- requisite number of signatures as, as required. The House delegation wishes to agree to the Senate substitute to all three bills. Third reading and passage of uncontested local bills. There's no objection. We'll vote on the local calendar as a whole with a recorded vote.

185. 1:59:24

     Hearing none, so order. Mr. Clerk, will you read the local calendar?

186. 1:59:32

     Senate Bill 609 by Senator Jackson of the 41st DeKalb County. Senate Bill 618 by Senator Parent of the 44th City of Decatur. Senate Bill 622 by Senator Jackson of the 41st City of Tucker. Senate Bill 625 by Senator Parent of the 44th City of Decatur. House Bill 1500 agreeing to the Senate substitute by Representative Reeves of the 99th, and House Bill 1567 agreeing to the Senate substitute by Representative LaHood of the 175th on the City Equipment.

187. 2:00:07

     Is there objection to the previous question be 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 those in favor of the passage of the bills on the local calendar will vote yes. All those opposed will vote no. And Mr. Clerk will unlock the machines.

188. 2:00:49

     Have all members voted? All members voted. If so, Mr. Clerk will lock the machine. On the passage of the bills on the local calendar without House Bill 1534, the yeas are 110, the nays are 63. These bills, having received the requisite constitutional majority, are therefore passed.

189. 2:01:20

     What's next?

190. 2:01:21

     Pardon?

191. 2:01:22

     Hopefully we got Senate, uh, what's that bill number?

192. 2:01:25

     511. 513.

193. 2:01:26

     513 back to-

194. 2:01:48

     For what purpose does Representative Hilton rise?

195. 2:01:50

     Make a motion.

196. 2:01:51

     State your motion.

197. 2:01:52

     I move that we move Senate Bill 513 back to the rules, uh, Rules Committee.

198. 2:01:58

     Mr. Clerk, will you read the caption to Senate Bill 513?

199. 2:02:01

     Senate Bill 513, being entitled An Act to Amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 and Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education and driver's licenses.

200. 2:02:13

     On the gentleman's motion that Senate Bill 513 be withdrawn from the calendar and recommitted to the Rules Committee, is there objection? Hearing none, it's so ordered.

201. 2:02:24

     Former member of this House that's kinda gone on to bigger and better things, got a great family, got children, all those good things. Our dear friend, Chairman Matt Dollar. Let's make him welcome back to the People's House. Chairman Dollar.

202. 2:03:42

     Mr. Clerk, will you read the caption to Senate Bill 440? Four four zero.

203. 2:03:53

     Senate Bill 440 by Senator Patrick, the 32nd and others, being entitled An Act to Amend Title 16, 19, 31, 48, and 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and offenses, domestic relations, health, revenue, and taxation. This bill having been referred to the Committee on Public and Community Health, that committee recommends that this bill do pass by committee substitute.

204. 2:04:19

     Chairman Martin Newton from home of the Masters is coming. Hope those azaleas are blooming next week. Chairman Newton's recognized to present Senate Bill 440.

205. 2:04:32

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker and, and colleagues. I'm glad to be-

206. 2:04:34

     Gentleman will suspend just for a moment.

207. 2:04:47

     The gentleman's presenting, but members deserve the opportunity to hear his presentation.

208. 2:04:55

     These are important issues, so please respect the member in the well and respect your colleague. The gentleman's recognized.

209. 2:05:05

     Uh, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and, uh, fellow colleagues. Um, getting on to Senate Bill 440, and it is a, is a combination of several important healthcare-related items. So I'll try to go through them fairly clearly for everyone. I know it's late in session. Don't want anything controversial, I'm sure. Uh, anyways, we'll start with SB 440. It, it is a Department of Public Health kind of a cleanup bill. It's an effort to, uh, uh, remove obsolete or unused code sections and update the statutes. Some of these nearly 20 years old that have never been funded that are, uh, that are in this cleanup, uh, area.

210. 2:05:40

     There's some dormant boards, commissions, and positions that are not active right now. Uh, there are categories of changes. For example, some brochures that were previously or currently required to be handed out, uh, whenever anybody applies for a marriage license, that that information's available on the internet now on Department of Public Health, and it hasn't been funded in a while. Um- There are some other, uh, chronic disease, uh, unfunded or non-operational, uh, committees that this, that are, that are eliminated by this. So this is, that part of the bill is a, um, is a department bill, um, just basically cleaning up.

211. 2:06:15

     Remember, it cleans up outdated and unused sections of Georgia Code. It aligns statute with the current Department of Public Health programs, interagency partnerships, and it reduces unfunded mandates that have, uh, without requiring any new funds. And once again, it doesn't create any new programs or expand any regulatory authority or change any benefits that anyone's receiving. So that's in the, uh, uh, some cleanup portion of SB 440. There are some, um, uh, additional health related additions to this.

212. 2:06:45

     One, one of which is on page seven of the bill. Re- re- relates to a medication that we may have seen in the news lately about, um, ivermectin. Ivermectin is a, an anti- uh, uh, parasitic, uh, medication. Um, it is currently, uh, available with a prescription. It's also currently available in our, um, in our veterinary supply stores and farm supply, um, you know, without any kind of a prescription. Uh, there was an earlier bill that, that wanted to make this an over-the-counter medicine, wanted to make it out there next to ibuprofen and, and, and Ad- Advil, Tylenol, and others.

213. 2:07:17

     This bill actually tightens that up. There is a current exception, uh, on the prescription requirement for ivermectin in current law, which allows it for low-dose lotions. This just adds a, a very careful addition that doesn't make it available over the counter, but makes it available only in consultation with the pharmacist behind the, behind the counter, it's c- it's called. Um, it is the same category of an opiate w- codeine that, that is now available without a prescription with a pharmacist intervention. We've recognized in several areas lately how important pharmacists can be, and the fact that they're much more accessible than making an appointment with a physician and, and getting to that.

214. 2:07:54

     And we've used that in so many areas. We've done it with, um, uh, contraceptive therapy. We've done it with, uh, post-exposure prophylac- in prep w- regarding, um, HIV prevention. We do it with vaccines. This just allows, uh, ivermectin to, along with codeine, pseudoephedrine, uh, vaccines, and others, to be carefully, um, carefully regulated by the State Board of Pharmacy, uh, and go from there. Second, or third on this, there's a section on page 27 of this bill that deals with the challenge that many of our, um, medical practices, whether hospital-owned or private practices, is the credentialing of physicians.

215. 2:08:34

     It's often a very complex and, and time-consuming method. Many of th- many of these credentialing applications by our major insurers have different types of applications for their HMO, their PPO, or their point of service plans in, in multiple different, um, insurers. And what that can mean is that when somebody wants to bring on a new provider, whether it's a new, um, a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or if it's a new physician, that can take a long time before the people are able to s- be seen by patients with those particular coverages.

216. 2:09:06

     And it's really hard when we're trying to retain and recruit physicians and other healthcare providers. This bill, uh, in line 671 and beyond, uh, requires the Department of Public Health to coordinate with stakeholders, and by July of next year, 18 months from now, to have come up with a streamlined credentialing form. That will be the way people will apply for Medicaid, to participate in Medicaid. We certainly want a, a streamlined form where those of us in the medical field f- have it easy to, uh, easy to apply for, to be a Medicaid provider.

217. 2:09:36

     Remember, a card is not worth anything if you don't have a s- a skilled provider on the other end of it that's available and accessible in your area. So this will require that, that, that standardized credentialing application that will be used for Department of Community Health for Medicaid, that it will also apply to the, the insurers to the extent that we're able to regulate insu- um, um, uh, non-federally regulated plans. So it's a first, it's a first step to streamline that. Then if you look over in part three of the bill on page 28, on page 28 and following, you'll, you'll see a reference to the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council on line 689.

218. 2:10:11

     That is something that was created back with, uh, uh, House Bill 1013, an important first step, uh, for mental health. So this just adds the insurance commissioner to it. And then in line 29, um, sorry, page 29 and following, there's a parity compliance review panel that's in this. We wanna make sure that, um, that mental health parity is, that, that is a, is a federal law. It's been restated and clarified in, in Georgia law, and we think it's important that the insurance commissioner and others on the Parity Compliance, uh, Committee are able to enforce and make sure the insurers are giving the, uh, the attention that's needed so that our patients and our family members that may have mental health challenges, that they get the care they deserve.

219. 2:10:55

     I hope you'll vote yes in favor of this, so that these people can, so that people and our, our constituents and family members can get the care they deserve when it comes to mental health. Mr. Speaker, I-

220. 2:11:05

     The gentleman has a, a couple of questions.

221. 2:11:08

     I'll, I'll, I'll yield for two.

222. 2:11:09

     Representative Buckner, did you have a question? The lady weighs, she weighs. Repres- Representative Gissler. Gentleman's recognized for a question.

223. 2:11:23

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the gentleman yield?

224. 2:11:25

     Yes.

225. 2:11:26

     Um, so my question is that, uh, Section 2 s- looks like it eliminates the Electronic Database Review Advisory Committee, which is charged with overseeing the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. And I'm curious, if that committee is being abolished, where does that responsibility go?

226. 2:11:42

     Um, good question. Uh, that was a, a particular council, uh, during the early days of the PDMP. As you, as you mentioned, the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. It was important that as it was established, that there was communication with the provider networks and physicians, and to make sure it was working properly. Since it's well into its, well past its inception, it's integrated with our electronic health records, um, there's still careful, careful, um, work by DPH on overseeing that. It's just that, that they've not needed that council for some time since it's been a, a well-established and, uh, frankly, an, an extremely valuable piece of the Department of Health, Department of Public Health's work in, uh, assisting us.

227. 2:12:18

     But thank you for the question.

228. 2:12:19

     If, if we yield for one more?

229. 2:12:21

     One more.

230. 2:12:21

     So as a physician, you're confident that, that the Prescription drug monitoring program will remain unchanged and be, we can depend on it still?

231. 2:12:30

     A- absolutely. It will, it is a, an extremely valuable program, both to protect patients and to allow physicians to have the da- data that they need to properly take care of people and do no harm, which is a ha- ha- But thank you for that concern and, and that effort, and something I looked at carefully as well.

232. 2:12:45

     Thank you.

233. 2:12:45

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope you'll get a favorable consideration. Thank you.

234. 2:12:50

     Gentleman's yielded the well. We do have a number of folks signed up to speak on the bill. Gonna recognize those that are opposed. There's three folks signed up to speak. Have up to 15 minutes. Representative Jasmine Clark, lady will be first. Representative Gisler, Gisler, excuse me, and Representative Barnes. Representative J- Representative Jasmine Clark is recognized.

235. 2:13:17

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise not in opposition to this full bill, but only in opposition to Section 14, which I believe is extremely dangerous. So I did a quick Facebook search. Ivermectin and Fenbendazole Cancer Protocols and Support Group. Ivermectin Fenbendazole Cancer Protocol. Ivermectin: Facts, Testimonies, and Truth. Ivermectin for Cancer Discussion. Ivermectin and Fenbendazole for Cancer.

236. 2:13:49

     Iver and Fenben for Cancer and Parasitic Infections. Alternative Cancer Treatments: Ivermectin, Fenbendazole, and RSO Oil Protocol. These are just a few examples of groups on social media that claim to have the cure for cancer that the medical s- field, for whatever reason, is hiding from people. These groups make these claims, and they are doing so ... And by doing so, they are preying on people when they are extremely vulnerable.

237. 2:14:21

     As many in this chamber have experienced firsthand, hearing those words, "You have cancer," can crush you in ways that are indescribable. It is a life-changing diagnosis that can completely change one's outlook on life. It creates a moment that can strip you down to your core and make you extremely vulnerable. And in this extremely vulnerable time, you are looking for any and everything to survive, and that is where these predatory groups reel people in.

238. 2:15:03

     Similar to what happened at the height of the pandemic when snake oil salesmen and agents of chaos convinced people that Ivermectin, the horse dewormer, was the cure for COVID-19, Ivermectin is being peddled as a cure for cancer. These claims are completely devoid of facts or understanding of anatomy and physiology, yet people question the well-studied advice of their doctors and care teams, and instead lean on the misinformed and frankly dangerous advice of people on the internet, because the people on the internet make promises that they just can't keep.

239. 2:15:47

     So here are some facts. Ivermectin is an antiparasitic, not an antiviral. It is not a chemotherapy or anti-cancer drug. It is not an antibiotic. Ivermectin is n- a- is not FDA approved for use as a cancer drug. Ivermectin works by going after cells in your nervous system. Mr. Speaker, if you don't mind, I'd like to suspend to give people time to find the ante room so that I can speak and that people can hear.

240. 2:16:22

     We've had this discussion, and, um, members seem to be tending to a lot of business.

241. 2:16:35

     So I do believe the lady is correct. There are some members here who would like to hear the presentations.

242. 2:16:46

     So let's try this one more time. If you have a conversation that needs to be communicated,

243. 2:16:58

     it's pretty simple. Take it to the ante room.

244. 2:17:10

     And if you're having one on the floor right now, I'm getting ready to call some names, because the lady and the issue deserves an opportunity to be heard.

245. 2:17:29

     So as they say, make it light on yourself.

246. 2:17:37

     And let's just show respect here for the next two minutes. Let's give the respect of this body, as we always do, when we deal with the facts on issues that members present from both sides of the issue.

247. 2:17:55

     Doorkeepers, if you'll mind those doors a little more carefully, it would be appreciated.

248. 2:18:03

     Lady will proceed.

249. 2:18:06

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll start where I left off. Here are the facts. Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic, not an antiviral, not a chemotherapy, not an anti-cancer drug, not an antibiotic. It is not FDA approved for use as a cancer drug. It works by going after cells in your nervous system and the nervous system of parasitic worms. So in too high of a dose, it can lead to paralysis and yes, death. People have died from taking too high of a dosage of ivermectin.

250. 2:18:39

     There are some studies on ivermectin's impact on cancer and, but these studies have only involved testing in test tubes and animal models, and all of the dosages used in these tests are lethal in humans. So this bill gives predators more tools to prey on already vulnerable cancer patients by expanding access to a drug that is largely utilized for farm animals, but if it is needed in humans, it is prescribed by a doctor.

251. 2:19:17

     Because we are making this a behind-the-counter medication, it's just as much a over-the-counter medication as anything because a person still must ask the pharmacist, but there's nothing in this bill that gives the pharmacist the ability to refuse this medication when it is clear that a person is seeking it for the wrong reasons. In this age of widespread misinformation and disinformation all over the internet, this is a dangerous provision in this bill.

252. 2:19:48

     The original intent of the bill is good. Only section 1-4 is problematic. Without it, it would be an excellent bill. But the ivermectin provision taints this good bill into something that is antithetical to public health, and I ask that you please think about the impact that this bill has on some of our, our most vulnerable Georgians. Georgians who have been diagnosed with cancer, and they will find, they will look for anything, any and everything that might cure them.

253. 2:20:21

     And they are so vulnerable to all of this misinformation on the internet, and we are making it easier for them to possibly die from a lethal dose of ivermectin. And so with that, I ask you humbly, please vote no. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies, you... We were trying to get you ready for Congress with all that noise. That's what was going on.

254. 2:20:49

     Representative Barnes. Excuse me, Representative Gissler. I'm sorry. My bad. I marked through it myself. The gentleman's recognized.

255. 2:21:00

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, I asked my previous question about the, uh, the other parts of the bill. I was concerned about the elimination of the Electronic Database Review Advisory Committee, but I'm satisfied with that. That makes sense. Um, I noticed in here this bill also eliminates some, uh, reporting requirements that inform this body. Uh, but after some research, I realized that a lot of that stuff is probably outdated, not really necessary. It was, you know, self-injected epinephrine pens that are pretty common these days.

256. 2:21:30

     So I'm good with that, too. And I agree with my colleague that it's ivermectin that, that is the problem area here. Um, and I was thinking about, you know, before, before COVID happened, I, I certainly didn't know what ivermectin was. I imagine most people in this room didn't either. And I was thinking about the first time I heard it. It was in a news story about people who were taking, I think it was fish tank cleaner because it had ivermectin in it, and they were told that it would cure COVID, and they were dying.

257. 2:22:02

     Um, that was the first I was exposed to it. So the concern here is that this is about safety, right? It's not about politics. Ivermectin, as my colleague mentioned, it's a legitimate medication. It's used for, you know, specific things. The most common use I've heard of is a parasite. You know, getting rid of parasitic infections. Um, it's not used for COVID. It is not an antibiotic. It's not an antiviral. The dosage matters.

258. 2:22:32

     Um, my, my mom is a retired pharmacist. She worked as a pharmacist for 40 years. When I first told her we were considering making ivermectin available behind the counter, she asked me if we'd lost our minds up here because the dosage does matter. It is very easy. The human doses vary based on condition and weight, right? A doctor needs to know that stuff. They need to prescribe specific doses. Moving that to a pharmacist, you're essentially trying to make a pharmacist a doctor.

259. 2:23:04

     If someone's been diagnosed by a doctor with HIV and they, they go to the pharmacy to obtain PrEP, that makes sense. It's been diagnosed. Uh, but you're asking a pharmacist to go way beyond the normal call of duty for a pharmacist, uh, to determine not only whether someone has a condition that ivermectin is the right thing for but also to figure out the dosage requirement. Um, we've seen the misuse of this firsthand. I think we all have.

260. 2:23:34

     Uh, we've heard, yes, people are going to Tractor Supply and buying ivermectin for horses and, and taking that. For whatever reason, you know, PetSmart sells flea collars, but I'm not gonna go wear one. You know? Um, you shouldn't be, shouldn't be self-diagnosing and, and using horse medicine to try to treat yourself. Um, it doesn't treat what people believe it treats. You know, we do live in a, a time of massive, massive mis- misinformation on the internet, uh, that preys on people.

261. 2:24:11

     Um,

262. 2:24:13

     And if you think about it in that context, you know, you, you've got, you've got the internet out there, you've got propagandists and influencers telling people that they need ivermectin. It's a miracle cure. It's gonna fix everything. And then you're telling them to go to the pharmacist and ask them for it. And if the pharmacist, I, I didn't pick up on the point that the pharmacist can't say no, but even if they could, you're setting up a conflict between a pharmacist who is, every pharmacist I've ever heard of is busy constantly. They're on their feet all day long, and now you're gonna have some- somebody that's been misled by online misinformation come and argue with them about whether or not they can get ivermectin.

263. 2:24:51

     It's crazy. Um, the other thing, and I'll, I'll close up and leave some time for my colleagues here, is that, is that ivermectin is available for human consumption today. The FDA says you need a doctor's prescription to acquire it, and that makes sense. So if the state of Georgia is gonna say, "No, you don't. The pharmacist can give it to you," that's, that's a direct conflict with the FDA. And I trust the FDA a lot more than I trust online influencers.

264. 2:25:22

     Uh, and I will leave it with that, yield to my colleagues, and I yield the well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

265. 2:25:28

     Gentleman's yield of the well. Now, Representative Barnes. There you go. Lady's recognized.

266. 2:25:33

     Jeez, Eric.

267. 2:25:39

     Thank you, colleagues. Um, I usually get up here and give you my educational background. I'm gonna give it to you again so you understand where I'm coming from with this and understand that I have expertise in this. I am a doctor of public health. I have been a scientist that works with research animals for over 20 years, so I directly work with this, and we use ivermectin for animals.

268. 2:26:09

     So for a regular person or a regular citizen to go out there and dose themselves off of animal ivermectin is extremely dangerous. So I'll start with my speech now. Um, I rise today in respectful opposition to Senate Bill 440, not because of the underlying bill that in, that was drafted first, but what has been added to it. This bill has began as a Department of Public Health cleanup bill, and we were good with that.

269. 2:26:44

     Um, it removes outdated language, aligns programs, and im- improves efficiency. But now the provisions give access to iverme- mectin for human use without a prescription, and that changes the conversation entirely. It's actually dangerous, y'all. So as a scientist, I do years and years worth of research to come out with a outcome, and without the research that we do for years to vet it and put it through animal testing, I know that sounds bad, we don't hurt the animals, but if it does end up hurting the animals, it doesn't reach the humans.

270. 2:27:21

     Y'all understand that, that there are things called clinical trials, and it takes 10 years to create a, a medication. COVID, everyone was ignorant to COVID except the scientists and the public health experts, and, uh, that also went through clinical trials. But the trials with COVID were us. We were the monkeys for COVID. Um, we know the outcome of that. Uh, some monkeys used ivermectin, but did it cure the COVID?

271. 2:27:55

     So we have to address the facts. This is serious. This could kill people. We are pushing policy that could actually kill people because they're dosing themselves without us putting in place parameters for them to dose themselves. If we were gonna add this to the bill, we should have put in the proper dosages for human use. Ivermectin does have legitim- legitimate medical uses, as some of my colleagues said, like, um, infections, parasitic infections, lice, and certain skin conditions.

272. 2:28:29

     Um, people are already using this under the FDA-approved medicine. I don't know how many people are going to the horse store to buy ivermectin, and no one has given me the numbers. No one has given me the data to tell me how many are actually going to the animal feed store to buy this to use so I can make a decision on why I would vote yes on this bill. But we don't have data, numbers. We don't have a fiscal note. We don't have anything. We cannot, uh, we cannot ignore how ivermectin has been misinterpreted to the public.

273. 2:29:04

     Again, as my colleague said, Dr. Clark, that it has been misinterpreted, and it could be dangerous and detrimental to our people in Georgia. There's, there's national laws for this, but Georgia's gonna make their own law? Let me be clear. There is no credible scientific evidence that ivermectin cures COVID. There are risks involved with this because people are creating their own dosages, the risk of toxic- toxicity, dangerous drug interactions.

274. 2:29:41

     What if they're mixing it with drugs that... What if a cancer patient is mixing this with drugs that this doesn't interact with? That's dangerous.

275. 2:29:52

     There's limited public vetting for this drug, limited, limited clinical input, and a major public health decision that is being rushed by us. We at least need to look at this further before we pass this bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield the well.

276. 2:30:14

     Lady's yielded the well. That completes our discussion from those who signed up to speak against the bill. I'm gonna recognize for up to 15 minutes for those in favor. I'm gonna recognize Chairman Ron Stephens to speak in favor of the bill. Bring us some clarity.

277. 2:30:37

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and gentlemen of the House, just got a question. Do you trust your pharmacist? Ladies and gentlemen, we're not putting this drug over the counter. I've got a drug in front of me that every one of you that are old enough, and I remember talking to you back then. Bunch of you anyway. This one's called Sudafed. You wanted to make that a Class 1 narcotic. Why? Because you could take a couple of these tablets, crush them up, put a couple of other dru- um, medications with them, I'll just call them chemicals, shake it up, strain it out, and you got methamphetamine.

278. 2:31:15

     And for that, you wanted to take this amazing drug and put it a Class 1 narcotic so nobody could get to it. Ladies and gentlemen, that's wrong. We decided to put this behind the counter. And by the way, I brought it. I take it. In this pollen season, it works. The ephedrine that's out there on the market today, for me, does nothing at all. Imagine just a few months ago, marijuana, absolutely no use whatsoever.

279. 2:31:48

     Actually, it's been, we've been work, debating this thing now for a few years. We just signed a bill, sent it over to the Senate, it's on the governor's desk, and you voted on it. Psilocybin was researched in Emory University. It was a Class 1 narcotic, probably gonna be an amazing breakthrough for people with life-threatening depression. Lysergic acid, another one on that same bill.

280. 2:32:20

     For those veterans that have suffered with PTSD, there was no use for lysergic acid before that. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no mandate that a pharmacy stock this drug. None. And if they do stock it, they don't have to dispense it. I hope that you'll give an opportunity for those folks that do use it as an anti-helminthic drug for roundworms, that if they decide to get a human-based drug and not have to go to their feed and seed store to try to dose themselves and get in trouble with an animal horse-based type medication.

281. 2:33:07

     Shame on us. I hope you'll consider doing the right thing for this particular bill. There's so much in this bill besides this that does some very good stuff, and thank the gentleman for explaining that. But let's put this behind the counter, and let's make sure that the average public doesn't give to it. Yeah, if you're taking Coumadin, their pharmacist is gonna know that on th- on their computer. If you're a 33-pound child, you're not gonna give that to somebody.

282. 2:33:37

     There's a stopgap there. Um, let's pass this bill. Let's, let's trust your pharmacy. And Mr. Speaker, I yield the well. The gentleman's yielded the well.

283. 2:33:53

     That completes our discussion with those opposed and those in favor of SB 440. Is there any objection to the previous question being ordered? Hearing none, the previous question is ordered. We do have a minority report for up to 20 minutes. Representative Au. The lady...

284. 2:34:16

     There she, I couldn't see you. You were be-

285. 2:34:18

     Yes, I know

286. 2:34:19

     ... hiding from me behind the-

287. 2:34:20

     Very short

288. 2:34:20

     ... counter there. The lady's recognized to speak to SB 440.

289. 2:34:24

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

290. 2:34:25

     Lady Suspend, make sure everyone gives the lady in the well your attention, please.

291. 2:34:31

     This will not take 20 minutes. You know, I really was hoping to get away with not having to speak to this particular issue of ivermectin this session. I thought we had avoided it. But here we are on sine die, and I'm talking about ivermectin. This puts me in a little bit of a interesting position because I am speaking, um, in opposition to something that my colleagues with whom I've worked and have great respect for have, um, advocated for. But I'm speaking against this aspect of this larger bill, which we recognize has many pieces to it.

292. 2:35:05

     Most of the other pieces in the bill are actually fine. They're totally fine. There's a department bill. There's some other cleanup language. So it's really a shame that you decided to put this piece in there because I think it imperils the passage of the rest of the bill. So let's get into it. Uh, we've talked a lot about ivermectin already. We've talked about what the clinical indications are. Just to my pharmacy colleague with whom I have, um, a great relationship and for whom I have an incredible amount of respect, the medications that you discussed about being available or being behind the counter, the indications that you spoke about are all FDA-approved indications for use of those medications.

293. 2:35:52

     For example, Sudafed is a decongestant, right? We are talking about ivermectin being available without a prescription for use, and the reason that we are talking about it is that people want to be able to use it for off-label conditions, non-FDA-approved conditions. So as we've heard a couple times at this point, ivermectin is used for the treatment of parasitic diseases, for example, worms and lice.

294. 2:36:26

     And the argument that we've heard is that some customers feel that this medication treats other non FDA approved conditions like COVID or cancer, right? Despite the fact that clinical trials have failed to show any meaningful benefit to real world patients. But n- nonetheless, uh, some of these customers feel that they should be able to get ivermectin at any time for any reason because they want to. And now the argument we're hearing is that because people can't get a responsible physician to write them a prescription for a non FDA approved condition, which by the way, is what we should be doing, now they, now they have to buy it, a veterinary formulation from a feed store, that, that patients are saying, "You're forcing me to have to buy horse paste." Obviously, that's a false choice, right?

295. 2:37:22

     Because the choice is not between having to take human formulation ivermectin versus veterinary grade ivermectin. The real choice is whether or not people should take medications for the wrong reasons, and whether we as a legislature in passing this policy should legitimize them doing that. All right, so let me just say on the record, please listen. Human beings should not take veterinary formulations of medications, period.

296. 2:37:54

     Second thing is there is a risk, no matter what the medication, there is a risk when you take medications for the wrong reason. For example, you should not take Ozempic because you feel that it treats strep throat. And why is that? Because it makes no sense, right? GLP-1s do not have antibiotic properties. There's no demonstrated clinical mechanism for them to work. Uh, people often cite, and I think we just heard it here, other over-the-counter medications like Sudafed, Tylenol, Benadryl, as justification for making ivermectin also available without a prescription.

297. 2:38:30

     Again, talking about behind the counter or over the counter, that is generally not as important to me. The position of the counter is not as important to me as the fact that it's available without a prescription. So generally speaking, let's just go through this because this is really important to the policy we're discussing. Medications available without a prescription need to meet two criteria.

298. 2:38:54

     The first thing is that the criteria have to be easy to diagnose. For example, a headache is easy for the lay patient to diagnose, and they can take Tylenol, right? It's easy to diagnose yourself with seasonal allergies, especially if you live here, and to take Benadryl. The FDA approved indication for ivermectin is parasitic diseases which are not as easy to diagnose. Pharmacists, for whom I have incredible respect and work with closely, do not have microscopes and slides to do a fecal smear and look for worms and eggs.

299. 2:39:34

     That is how you diagnose intestinal worms. Now, we talked about the fact that pharmacists, um, can decide who to dispense ivermectin to, and they can make a determination whether or not to dispense it or if they wanna carry these medications at all. I do want to caution that, um, for, we have a couple of pharmacy f- colleagues who I guess sit together in the pharmacy caucus, that this opens up pharmacists to some liability because you're determining whether or not you're dispensing a medication to a patient for non-indicated clinical use.

300. 2:40:11

     That opens you up to, to some liability. And what I've heard from some of our pharmacy colleagues is, "Well, we don't have to, we don't have to stock it then. We can ins- insulate ourselves from the liability by not stocking it, therefore not giving it out." That ironically actually restricts access to ivermectin, which I think is counter to the goal of this, um, this piece of the bill.

301. 2:40:34

     Let's talk about ivermectin and how it works. So ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug that kills worms. It kills worms, okay? How does it kill the worms? It kills the worms by binding to specific nerve and muscle receptors which causes paralysis and death of worms.

302. 2:40:59

     That mechanism, that same mechanism of binding to nerve cells and muscle cells can cause neurotoxicity and cardiotoxicity in humans at high enough doses. I don't wanna scare people, right? Like, there's worse things than this, but ivermectin is generally safe at therapeutic human doses. But I think we can all understand that that, even that low level of risk is unjustified when there is no possible therapeutic benefit to taking that medication.

303. 2:41:32

     There is a harm to taking medications for the wrong reasons, and it is not a good use of our time right here to make the potential of that harm larger and to legitimize unsafe behaviors.

304. 2:41:49

     Now, I have some time, so I'm gonna pause, and if people have any questions, I'm happy to stand for them now. Does anyone have any questions?

305. 2:42:03

     Lady, you up for a question?

306. 2:42:04

     Yes.

307. 2:42:05

     Uh, Representative Park Cannon, to your left, right in front of you is recognized for a question.

308. 2:42:09

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Do you yield?

309. 2:42:11

     I do.

310. 2:42:12

     In the committee process, were there questions about statistics related to-

311. 2:42:17

     5,263 people went to a feed and seed store to buy ivermectin in the form of horse paste. Um-

312. 2:42:26

     That does not feed or justify or strengthen the fact of this policy. All it tells me is that people insist on accessing ivermectin in unsafe ways and in unsafe formulations because they have determined that they should take it off-label for FDA unapproved conditions. Thank you. Do you further yield? Yes. And so do you see in any way that this policy of circumventing medical doctors highlights a healthcare access issue that we may have here in Georgia?

313. 2:43:04

     Thank you for the question. I think that's a fair point, and I think that we heard in one piece of testimony that there may be patients who feel that they need ivermectin perhaps for the correct clinical indication, but maybe they can't get to the doctor. Maybe they're in a healthcare desert. Maybe they don't have health insurance. I think those are all fair points to discuss, but that is not within the scope of this larger bill, and I wish we were concentrating on that rather than trying to make ivermectin available over the counter for non-FDA-approved reasons.

314. 2:43:39

     Lady yield for another question? Yes. Uh, Representative Donahoo to your left is recognized for a question. Left. Does the gentlelady yield? I do to my friend. Thank you, and it- you are my friend. Is it not true that the CDC made many bad decisions with COVID?

315. 2:43:58

     And a lot of people actually died because I had nurses and doctors tell me about how many people took the vaccine, Johnson & Johnson or whichever, and they didn't make it out the back door. I had a lot of my friends died, so I know that's personally true. So I think we've had more people die, and one of your colleagues said it was like guinea pigs. They were studied on the vaccine. Not knowing what the vaccine would do to people, we're now saying ivermectin could be, and the problem with could be, we know factual that the CDC made mistakes, and we're giving them credit for all kind of good things.

316. 2:44:42

     Is that not true? Well, here are two parts of an answer. The first is that I disagree with the premise of your question, and the second thing is that, again, there is no role for discussing ivermectin when we are discussing treatments for COVID-19. Does the gentlelady yield? Yes. Is it not true that chemo is poison, and actually it doesn't come into your body to make you healthy?

317. 2:45:16

     It comes in at $20,000 a treatment, and with that treatment, a lot of people it helps. However, it destroys parts of the inside of the body like radiation does, and now we are saying it could happen with ivermectin when we're taking a tool out of the toolbox that we are not gonna have people going in and, and, and just overdosing. What we're gonna do is have people now as a tool to go in, trust the pharmacy, call their doctor, have a dose as my wife did.

318. 2:45:48

     She took an eraser size of ivermectin in her coffee. There's other things that she took that wasn't poison. She was the only one that basically was not sick during her cancer. And with that, thank you again, and I appreciate what you're saying, but I, I think we're missing the boat here on what could happen when it's not happening. But thank you very much. Thank you. So two things. One is I'm glad that your wife is feeling better. That's great news, and I'm very happy for you.

319. 2:46:19

     Chemo is quite, um, a strong medication that is designed to kill cells. It is designed to kill cancer cells, and it kills other cells in the meantime that are nearby, especially quickly growing cells like skin cells, intestinal lining, right? So it is quite harsh. You're right. As we continue to study these things, we're gonna find more targeted ways to treat cancer, and I hope that I'm still practicing when, when those things come around, right? But people don't take chemo because they love chemo and they love their hair falling out.

320. 2:46:50

     People take chemo so they don't have cancer anymore, okay? So that's the first thing. Second thing is with respect to ivermectin and now being discussed as a treatment for cancer, okay? I did look this up because this was a newer thing that I hadn't heard before. Looking at ivermectin for cancer, at this point there is no scientific evidence that it treats cancer. I'm glad that your wife is doing better. There's a m- there's many things that I think she probably took in the course of her recovery, and I'm so glad she's better regardless of the reason.

321. 2:47:24

     I do want people to understand, though, that at this point the studies for ivermectin as a treatment for cancer are in the pre-clinical phase. What does that mean? That means they're studying it in a Petri dish, maybe at best looking at it in lab animals, but it has not been tested in humans. Therefore, I would strongly recommend people to not take medications for an indication that has not been tested in humans. That is why we do clinical trials, to increase safety for patients and not cause undue harm on top of the conditions they already have.

322. 2:47:58

     Tell your wife I said hi. Lady further yield? Yes. Representative Hawkins up the center aisle to your right a little bit. Gentleman's recognized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the lady yield? I do. Did you receive emails on this bill?

323. 2:48:15

     Did I receive emails on this bill? I'm sorry. Did you, did you ask if I received emails? I, I asked you did you receive any emails concerning ivermectin? To yourself. Probably. Yeah, I think I did. Do you further yield? I do. Who were they from?

324. 2:48:32

     Who are they from?

325. 2:48:32

     It's a group. Who was the group that emailed you the most about this ivermectin issue?

326. 2:48:38

     I don't believe I recall, but it seems like you have a sense of who emailed you the most.

327. 2:48:42

     Okay. I recall, and they were 80% women. Most of them were post-cancer treatment. This drug was a drug they were taking when other things may not work, and so to d- to deny them this treatment doesn't seem very reasonable to me, especially with no contraindications.

328. 2:49:06

     Wow, okay. So two things. One contraindication is that it is not FDA-approved for that treatment, and that it has not gone through human studies yet. So I generally, I as a practitioner, I know you understand this as well, I would not be doing my job if I prescribed a medication off-label that had not been tested in humans for treatment of an unsupported clinical indication. Obviously, you and I work together quite a lot.

329. 2:49:37

     I respect you. We've talked about this bill. I hoped it would not get this far. I don't wanna be talking about this, but here we are. But yes, I am gratified that so many cancer patients are doing better. I'm gratified that these women were able to get care that they needed. I'm sure there are many things they took in the course of their cancer treatment. Sometimes we ascribe outcomes to factors that may not be directly related. But what we're doing right here is we are discussing if we are going to pass a bill that enables the deregulation of a medication for people to take off-label for non-indicated clinical circumstances that has the potential to cause neurotoxicity and cardiotoxicity in patients in unregulated doses.

330. 2:50:28

     That's what we're discussing now, but I'm glad that those patients are doing better.

331. 2:50:33

     Lady, are you up for another question?

332. 2:50:35

     Yes, I do.

333. 2:50:37

     Representative Stinson in the back. Well, you know where she is. You sitting right back there.

334. 2:50:43

     Okay.

335. 2:50:43

     Lady's recognized.

336. 2:50:45

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the gentlelady yield?

337. 2:50:47

     I do.

338. 2:50:48

     And this is a friendly question. I'm just trying to get a understanding. Uh, is it not true that last year I went through breast cancer and had to go through chemotherapy and radiation?

339. 2:50:58

     It is.

340. 2:50:58

     So with this piece of legislation, if this had been on the table during my period of treatment last year, um, what would that really mean for me? What does this bill really mean for me, someone who just went through breast cancer and taking chemo and radiation?

341. 2:51:15

     In my-

342. 2:51:15

     I'm just trying to get a clear understanding.

343. 2:51:16

     Sure. In, in my opinion, it would not have changed your treatment or outcome whatsoever because ivermectin is not a medication that has a clinical indication for treatment of breast cancer. So it would not have made a difference for you, and I'm so glad to see that you're doing so much better.

344. 2:51:36

     So a further inquiry.

345. 2:51:38

     Yes.

346. 2:51:39

     So, uh, so am I understanding that you're saying the medication in this bill would not have been helpful to me had it been prescribed during the time I was going through chemo? Is that what I'm understanding?

347. 2:51:52

     Correct. There is no clinical evidence that ivermectin treats or improves outcomes in patients with breast cancer or any kind of cancer. So it would not have affected your outcome or treatment options whatsoever.

348. 2:52:08

     Okay. Thank you.

349. 2:52:10

     You're welcome.

350. 2:52:12

     Lady further yield?

351. 2:52:13

     Yes.

352. 2:52:14

     Representative Anissa Jones to your left about halfway back, recognized for a question.

353. 2:52:20

     Thank you, Speaker. Does the gentlelady yield?

354. 2:52:22

     I do.

355. 2:52:23

     All right, Doc. I have the same concerns as you have as it relates to the toxicity from overdosing, the neurological issues that can happen like stroke, coma, a co- a coma, et cetera. Um, my biggest concern is increased self di- the self-directed care without medical involvement. But the question that I have for you is, how can a pharmacist safely dispense a diagnosed dependent antiparasitic medication when the diagnostic tools required to determine its necessity, such as a stool analysis or a skin scraping, are not within their scope of practice?

356. 2:53:11

     I think that's a great point. I think that's a great point that pharmacists, as awesome as they are at their job, are not equipped to make the diagnoses to give the patient these treatments for the FDA-approved indications. And given that, allowing them to dispense these medications or to get pressure from patients to dispense these medications actually opens them up to quite a bit of medical liability. So that's a fair point, and I would ask people to consider that when they place their vote.

357. 2:53:44

     Again, I'm, I'm really dismayed that this has been hooked on to the bulk of a bill that's actually fine. Um, it's unfortunate that we can't vote this bill out clean. I don't know how this got on here. It's unnecessary, and we don't need it.

358. 2:54:02

     Lady-

359. 2:54:02

     I'll note just in closing, 'cause this is blinking, that, um, unless you want me to answer more questions, which I can, happy to do, but-

360. 2:54:08

     No, ma'am, your time has expired for the, uh-

361. 2:54:10

     Okay

362. 2:54:10

     ... presentation.

363. 2:54:11

     All right. Thank you all.

364. 2:54:14

     Lady's yielded the well. Now we'll move on to Chair's Time. The chair person will have up to 15 minutes-

365. 2:54:21

     20

366. 2:54:22

     ... excuse me, 20 minutes to speak to the bill.

367. 2:54:30

     You need to go to the well.

368. 2:54:32

     Uh, Mr.-

369. 2:54:32

     Chairlady Cooper is recognized.

370. 2:54:34

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to yield my time to the whip.

371. 2:54:39

     Lady has that right. Whip Burchett is recognized to speak to Senate Bill 440. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not gonna be here long. I'm not gonna take 20 minutes, nowhere near it. I'm a lawyer, not a medical professional, so I'm, I'm gonna come to you and tell you what I believe in, with this issue, with ivermectin particularly. What I believe is that your concerns are valid. You have valid concerns. Concerns about misuse or unproven treatments are totally valid.

372. 2:55:10

     I agree with you. I think the m- majority of the folks in this chamber would a- agree with you on that, but I don't think that's justification for restricting access. If currently we have folks already taking a veterinary grade, and that's probably not the p- correct medical term, of ivermectin right now, and what we're asking is that we allow them to take a pharmaceutical grade for human consumption. S- so it's a access, and not only an access, but a public health issue w- they're a- they're going to the v- the vet store and taking this medicine.

373. 2:55:45

     I'm not saying that your arguments aren't valid. I think misuse of any drug ... In fact, in preparing to come up here and speak, I just looked up what, uh, what over-the-counter drugs, um, have, you know, bad side effects, and one of them is ibuprofen, and I take ibuprofen all the time. I, I continue to take ibuprofen. You ... Apparently, it increases the risk of both heart and heart attack and stroke, and these medical folks out here can certainly, and one of these doctors can tell you that, but that's from the Medical Association, um, the United Medical Association that says that.

374. 2:56:18

     So I'm not disagreeing that you, th- the argument of misuse and, um, um, um, unproven treatments is wrong. I'm just saying that currently folks are taking a lower grade of ivermectin, and what we're allowing now is them to go to the pharmacist and say, "Hey, I wanna take this ivermectin." And they're say ... The, the pharmacist can say, "Well, what medication are you on right now? Well, with this medication, ivermectin will not ... You, you can't do it. It won't work." Um, how is that a bad thing?

375. 2:56:49

     How is that problematic for allowing them to go stand before a pharmacist and the pharmacist say, "Well, you're prescribed this drug, and you cannot take, uh, ivermectin with it." That seems like a better scenario fr- to me than someone going to Tractor Supply and getting a big thing of horse, um, you know, ivermectin and shooting it in their body.

376. 2:57:12

     No one's saying that we're abandoning any medical standards. Uh, we're expanding access. Um, restricting access can have unintended consequences. Where people feel currently right now that they have to go to the feed store to get this medicine, they can go to CVS or they can go to the local pharmacy and they can grab pharmaceut- pharmaceutical grade, uh, ivermectin.

377. 2:57:35

     And this is fundamentally a, a patient choice and medical freedom bill. If, if these folks that have cancer have a, a glimpse of hope of getting, you know, well with this, I don't understand why we don't give them that opportunity. Um, I don't, I don't a- I don't disagree with your arguments. I think they should be taken seriously, but I also don't agree that that is justification to just say, "We don't give them this medicine. They're taking the medicine already." And with that, Mr. Speaker, I don't think I changed any minds here, but, um, I, I would appreciate your, uh, positive vote, yes vote on Senate Bill 440's passage.

378. 2:58:11

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Gentleman, gentleman has yielded the well. That completes the Chair's time. Is there any objection to withdrawing the committee substitute? Hearing none, the committee substitute is withdrawn. Is there any objection to adopting the substitute offered by the Committee on Rules? Hearing none, the Rules Committee substitute is adopted. Is there any objection to agreeing to the report of the committee, which was favorable to the passage of the bill?

379. 2:58:42

     Hearing none, the report of the committee is agreed to. Shall this bill now pass? All those in favor of the passage of the bill will vote yes. All those opposed will vote no. And Mr. Clerk will lock the machine. Unlock the machine.

380. 2:59:32

     Have all members voted? For what purpose does Representative Holley rise? Parliamentary inquiry. State your inquiry, sir. Mr. Speaker, is it not true that I would like to add a parliamentary inquiry to this, but I couldn't for the fear that I just might nag people?

381. 2:59:57

     I can't go there.

382. 3:00:01

     I'm sure the gentleman ... Well, I was gonna do something, but I won't. Uh, gentleman believes what he was nagging about. Is, um ... What, for what purpose Repres- Representative Clifton rise? Parliamentary inquiry. State your inquiry. Mr. Speaker, is it not true that Tennessee legalized ivermectin a couple years back? Ivermectin is also available online, and to allow this behind the counter with a pharmacist is making it, the, the current availability safer. I'm sure the gentleman believes what he speaks is true, and he knows the facts.

383. 3:00:33

     Have all members now voted? All members voted. If so, Mr. Clerk will lock the machine. On the passage-

384. 3:00:41

     Of Senate Bill 440, the yeas are 98, the nays are 76. This bill having received the requisite constitutional majority is therefore passed.

385. 3:01:10

     Chairman Blackmon is recognized for a motion.

386. 3:01:19

     Mr. Speaker, um, I move that we agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1116. As amended by the House, correct? As amended by the House. Yes, sir. Mr. Clerk will read the caption. House Bill 1116 to be entitled an act to amend chapter five and eight of title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to ad valorem taxation of properties and sales and use taxes.

387. 3:01:51

     Chairman Blackmon is recognized to explain the Senate substitute and the House amendment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, um, fellow members. There are four primary provisions. All but one has, has left the House in a very similar, if not identical, form. Um, the one provision that is added was in Senate Bill 382. It, um... And, and this does not include the income approach language as added in the Senate.

388. 3:02:25

     So, uh, part of 382 was the floating homestead exemption, uh, CPI for homeowners, uh, mandate.

389. 3:02:37

     The other provisions that we have seen as left, I wanna run through really quickly. It's the revenue cap similar to what we see in 36 other states. It's exclusive of new construction and new growth. It's at 3% or CPI or 9% float over three years, which is an edit. Um, it is permissive via local act or referendum. And, um, those are the provisions that, that, that happen along with that.

390. 3:03:11

     The LHOST has been revised ever so slightly. It is permissive via local act and a referendum. It would eliminate homestead property tax if enacted in over 100 counties and cities, and in all but three would reduce property tax by 50% or more. There is the truth in taxation piece that remains unchanged. And Mr. Speaker, um, if I may, I just wanna say thank you to all the, all the local stakeholders and so many in this, this body in the Senate.

391. 3:03:45

     And as, uh, my friend Representative Al Williams likes to say, "Even if we disagreed, we seldom were ever disagreeable." Um, and I really appreciate the efforts and collaboration of the Senate, their leadership. And Mr. Speaker, I wanna thank you for your leadership and for championing meaningful reform and relief to help taxpayers overcome this sustainable trajectory of property tax over the last several years.

392. 3:04:17

     Um, will stand for a couple of questions. I don't know that any's minds are gonna be changed at this point here, but, um- You've got a couple of good ones, so I'll recognize Representative Wilkerson for a question to you, to the back. Thank, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the gentleman yield? Yes, sir. The LHOST. This has the LHOST in, is that correct? Yes, sir. And could you... Does the gentleman further yield? I got a string of questions. I, I, I do, sir. To you, I do.

393. 3:04:48

     Thank you. Um, I guess the LHOST is what a new penny sales tax that will be added. And does that penny still have to stay under the 9% cap- It does ... 9 penny cap? It does have to stay under the cap. It is available and permissive only by vote of the public and through local act, uh, both together. And final question. Does the gentleman yield? Yes, sir. Does this require a two-thirds vote? The LHOST would if- No, this, this bill. Does this bill require a two-thirds vote? No, sir. This, this, this does not. Thank you for the question.

394. 3:05:19

     Gentleman yield for another question? Representative Kelley recognized to your right in the back. Gentleman's recognized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the gentleman yield? I will. Chairman Blackmon, thank you for the work that you and the speaker have done on this measure. Isn't it true that in, with this legislation, Georgians all across our state will be able to keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their pocket? Uh, I believe the, the gentleman is 100% correct. I would agree with that. Yes, sir. No- And if you'll further yield, Mr. Chairman? I will. And isn't it true that one thing that they could do with those savings would be to maybe buy their spouse a nice gift on their anniversary, and that can mean something to you today?

395. 3:06:01

     You, you gonna get me choked up there, Representative. Um, yes, please pray for my wife. She has had to spend nine years with me as of today. And, um, honey, if you're listening, I love you very much, and happy anniversary.

396. 3:06:21

     Mr. Speaker, I'm gonna thank this body for their long consideration of this measure, and I will yield the well. The gentleman can multitask. I wasn't sure, but he did a good job on that. Gentleman's yielded the well. Is there any objection to the adoption of the House Amendment AM 590038? Hearing none, the House amendment is adopted

397. 3:06:47

     On the gentleman's motion that the House agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1- 116 as amended by the House. All those in favor will vote yes. All those opposed will vote no. And Mr. Clerk will unlock the machines.

398. 3:07:33

     Have all members voted? For what purpose has Representative Martin rise?

399. 3:07:38

     A parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

400. 3:07:40

     State your inquiry.

401. 3:07:41

     Mr. Speaker, isn't it true that while Chairman Blackmon worked on this bill to, to do new things to help people all over the state of Georgia, he also took great care to protect the homestead exemptions, the floating exemptions that have existed in some cities, counties, and school boards prior to 581? Isn't that true, that he l- he took care of those as well as the new exemptions that he is, uh, looking for?

402. 3:08:04

     I'm sure the gentleman believes what he speaks. Now, have all members voted? If so, Mr. Clerk will lock the machine. On the gentleman's motion, the yays are 102 and the nays are 73, and the House has agreed to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1116 as amended by the House.

403. 3:08:47

     Chairman Blackmon, when you're finished giving autographs,

404. 3:08:53

     like to recognize you for a motion.

405. 3:08:59

     Chairman Blackmon's recognized for a motion.

406. 3:09:05

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, I move that the House agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 463 as amended by the House.

407. 3:09:15

     Mr. Clerk will read the caption.

408. 3:09:17

     House Bill 463, to be entitled an act to amend Part 1 of Article 2, Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to tax exemptions, so to provide for a statewide homestead exemption from ad valorem taxes.

409. 3:09:33

     Chairman Blackmon is recognized to explain the Senate substitute and the House Amendment. The gentleman's recognized.

410. 3:09:43

     Thank you, uh, Mr. Speaker. Um, you'll recognize much of what is in, uh, the substitute here from House Bill 880. Um, try to hit some of the high points. Um, it, it, uh, it is an income tax cut that, um, front loads one half of the standard deduction as it left the House. So you have 3,000 increase in year one for single, 6,000 for married, and then you have, uh, 1,000 for the dependent deduction.

411. 3:10:19

     And then over time, the other 3,000 and 6,000 is coupled with a rate reduction over eight iterations, um, based on triggers that are in the bill. The, uh, senior exemption, uh, is, i- is also increased from 65,000 to 70,000. Um, you also, you see the taxpayer relief fund, the increase in the, uh, revenue shortfall reserve, and it, uh, sunsets several obsolete, for the most part, uh, credits and exemptions.

412. 3:10:52

     Um, we also, uh, add in a, a, a portion here that excludes from income tax $1,750 in tips and $1,750 in overtime. Um, we worked very well with the Senate, I think, to bring, um, real meaningful tax relief again for hardworking Georgians in this piece. And, uh, Mr. Speaker, again, I would, I would yield for a couple of questions if there are any.

413. 3:11:22

     Yes, sir. Whip Park recognized for a question.

414. 3:11:26

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the gentleman yield?

415. 3:11:28

     Uh, yes, sir, Mr. Whip.

416. 3:11:30

     Uh, so, uh, uh, Chairman Blackmon, um, you know, this accelerated movement toward a flat tax of 3.99%, uh, per the math and analysis, uh, provided on this, uh, it would be the top earners in the state of Georgia that overwhelmingly benefit. Is that not true?

417. 3:11:49

     I think everybody gets a reduction commensurate with what they put in, uh, to fund government.

418. 3:11:54

     Yeah. Um, second, with the movement toward 4.99%, you mentioned the triggers in this bill, which I appreciate they're in writing. How many times as we've moved toward 4.99 have we abided by those triggers?

419. 3:12:12

     Uh, I, I'd be happy to try to get the gentleman the answer to that question. I, I, I'm not sure I would know. But-

420. 3:12:19

     It-

421. 3:12:19

     ... I'm guessing that with the, um, structural surplus in place and with the leadership of, of the governor and, and us here in the, the House and the Senate, that we have been able to sustain those cuts and return money to the hardworking Georgians, uh, that deserve it.

422. 3:12:33

     Uh, I, I hear your point. My understanding over the past few years and continuing debate and remain, uh, as I've remained very concerned in terms of the economic ef- effect of these flat taxes, is that we haven't abided by a single one of these, uh, trigger mechanisms. We haven't met certain revenue thresholds in which under the previous version of the bill we would automatically move toward lowering the income tax. Is that not true?

423. 3:12:59

     Um, a- again, I would, I would reference the structural surplus in place, and I think that is what those decisions were based on and additional votes by this body. Uh, would the gentleman yield for maybe one or two more questions? I will yield for one more. So, um, on lines 248 to 259, section 410, we are ending a tax exemption for equipment, the primary purpose of which is reducing or eliminating air or water pollution. Why are we doing that?

424. 3:13:29

     The, uh, if you look through, uh, the, uh, expenditure reports on all these, that they are, uh, not used in, in any sig- significant degree, and, uh, most of these have just been obsolete, and they, they, it is time for those to sunset. S- so we have not utilized a tax credit, uh- Yeah ... for equipment to reduce air pollution in Georgia? Not to my knowledge. And, uh, again, these are adds from the Senate. But yes, sir, that is, that is my understanding, is that these are, are, uh, are those that are, have been obsolete and are no longer used of any s- significant degree.

425. 3:14:02

     That's what- And I've received no objections to these. I think they were in several iterations of things that were sent by the Senate. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Webb. Chairman Carson of the Senate aisle is recognized for a question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Gentleman yield? Yes, sir. I wanna thank you for your work on this. Is it not true that this is a measured approach to offer some relief for tax on tips and tax on overtime, just like the Big Beautiful Bill, but also in a measured approach that really allows for a more broad-based rate in cut on state income tax more so?

426. 3:14:34

     Isn't that true? Along with refunds to the taxpayers, yes, sir. Yes, sir. I wanna thank the chairman for his work. The gentleman knows what he speaks. Thank you for your work. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, um, once again, I know it's a long day. I wanna, uh, thank this body for their consideration, and I will yield the well.

427. 3:14:52

     Gentleman has yielded the well.

428. 3:14:56

     Is there any objection to adopting of the House Amendment AM590036? Hearing none, the House Amendment's adopted. On the gentleman's motion that the House agree to the Senate Substitute to House Bill 463 as amended by the House, all those in favor will vote yes, those opposed will vote no, and Mr. Clerk will unlock the machines.

429. 3:15:45

     Have all members voted?

430. 3:15:51

     All members voted. If so, Mr. Clerk will lock the machines. On the gentleman's motion, the yays are 104, the nays are 71, and the House has agreed to the Senate Substitute to House Bill 463 as amended by the House. Congratulations, Mr. Chairman. That's

431. 3:17:39

     it. Representative Matt Reeves is recognized for a motion.

432. 3:17:53

     Mr. Speaker, I move that we agree to the Senate Substitute as amended by the House, version AM62007, and I withdraw the previous two amendments. Mr. Clerk will read the caption.

433. 3:18:15

     Senate Bill 503 to be Title Act to amend Chapter 7 of Title 33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to kinds of insurance, limits of risk, and reinsurance so as to exempt rental home marketplace guarantees from the definition of property insurance.

434. 3:19:23

     The gentleman is recognized to explain the since, Senate substitute of the House amendment.

435. 3:19:28

     Mr. Speaker, I move to agree to House Bill, or S- House Bill 503 as amended by the Senate. And I would call on Representative David Clark to explain it.

436. 3:19:43

     The gentleman has agreed he's, would like to, uh, acknowledge Representative David Clark to explain it. I'll recognize the, the Representative Clark.

437. 3:19:58

     Th- thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is the, uh, the Bill 503 is the original House Bill 951 with the orthotics, prosthetics, and we had some issues over in the Senate, and so we moved the bill over to 50- to Senate Bill 503. Would love to have your vote. Um, and I'll take any questions if there are any. This is ju- just allowing the three additional prosthesis every three years. So if somebody needs to take a shower, go work out, the doctor can, um, sign off on that and then get the additional prosthesis.

438. 3:20:29

     Gentleman has no questions.

439. 3:20:30

     Thank you. And ask for your, um, your favorable consideration of Senate Bill 503.

440. 3:20:39

     Is there any objection to adopting of the House amendment? Hearing none, the House amendment's adopted. On the gentleman's motion that the House agree to the Senate substitute House Bill 503 as amended by the House. All those in favor will vote yes. Those...

441. 3:24:24

     Members, here's our posture. Let me see if I can get some clarity on this.

442. 3:24:32

     So the motion is the House is on Senate Bill 503. The motion is that we agree to the Senate amendment to the House sub of s- Senate Bill 503.

443. 3:24:49

     That's the gentleman's motion, and the previous statement was made about withdrawing subs was really not pertaining to Senate Bill 503.

444. 3:25:04

     And the action, the motion's been made on 503 to agree to the Senate amendment to the s- House sub.

445. 3:25:36

     To ensure that we have members' questions answered, I'm gonna bring, the gentleman made the motion, Representative Clark, back to the well and let him respond to your questions. So if the gentleman will take some questions, I'll recognize Representative Mary Frances Williams to my left, to your left, Representative Clark. Way back to your left. Representative Clark, to your left.

446. 3:26:01

     Does the gentleman yield?

447. 3:26:02

     I yield.

448. 3:26:04

     So I'm looking at, at two documents. There is a House substitute to Senate Bill 503, which is about insurance and property. It's, it's, it's about insurance fraud and property. And LC, LC 52-1103S, and it's, it's about property insurance and taxes and fees. And then, and then the Senate amendment is AM49-0330.

449. 3:26:41

     So, um, my que- my question is,

450. 3:26:47

     so, so is any of, is any of the House substitute to SB 503 on property insurance included in your amendment?

451. 3:26:59

     That shouldn't be in there. It's just they gutted the bill over there. They added House Bill 951 for the prosthetics, orthotics, to, to allow the-

452. 3:27:11

     Well, will, will the gentleman further yield?

453. 3:27:14

     Yes, ma'am.

454. 3:27:14

     So my question is, I'm looking at the House sub to SB 503. Is there any of this in what you're offering?

455. 3:27:26

     No. No, it's not.

456. 3:27:28

     The s- the insurance language has come out, and his original bill on prosthetics has been added back to the bill. That's the, um, that's a House sub.

457. 3:27:38

     Okay. So but it is, it's SB 503?

458. 3:27:43

     Yes. Yes.

459. 3:27:45

     Okay. AM49-0330. That's what we're voting on?

460. 3:27:52

     Yes. This is a standalone bill. They added 951, my original language, um, to Senate Bill 503, and that's what we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll be voting on to allow the state healthcare plan and Board of Regents, um, to be included in, um, the healthcare plan.

461. 3:28:08

     Oh, yeah. I mean, I, I, I like this language very much. That's not my question. My question is, so you've, you've taken- Everything out of, you've taken all the property insurance stuff out of-

462. 3:28:22

     Yes

463. 3:28:22

     ... the house substitute and put in your prosthetic device.

464. 3:28:27

     Exactly.

465. 3:28:28

     All right. Thank you.

466. 3:29:04

     My, my understanding is that the language in the Senate bill, and the insurance language is completely gone, and that we do have the language, two-page language that was, um, Representative Clark original bill that's been subbed in, and that's what we're, would be, that's what his motion is. No insurance language, just on the prosthetics. And that should be on your desk.

467. 3:29:41

     Oh, yeah.

468. 3:29:42

     Whip Burchette, do you have an LC number would help us get to the bottom of this?

469. 3:29:47

     Yes, um, if she's looking at the Senate substitute, AM490330, correct?

470. 3:29:56

     That's right.

471. 3:29:57

     Yeah.

472. 3:30:02

     And it should be sitting on your desk. You got it? Okay. All right. Very good. Just making sure.

473. 3:30:09

     That's what we're voting, that's what the motion is on, just that language. Is that correct, Representative?

474. 3:30:15

     That is correct, Mr. Speaker.

475. 3:30:19

     I have several lights. Is, do the members understand that? They have some questions? We're gonna make sure. Leader Hugley, see what you can add to this. Lady's recognized.

476. 3:30:32

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the gentleman yield?

477. 3:30:35

     I yield.

478. 3:30:36

     As a point of clarification, the measures in the original SB503 were insurance bills that we've already passed, so they're gone. And what we're doing now is putting in your bill about prosthetics and taking all the other stuff out. Is that-

479. 3:30:53

     Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am

480. 3:30:53

     ... is that the correct understanding?

481. 3:30:55

     Yep. It's a standalone bill, AM490330.

482. 3:30:58

     All right.

483. 3:31:00

     Yep.

484. 3:31:02

     And that is on your desk, correct?

485. 3:31:13

     Folder number two, I understand.

486. 3:31:29

     Representative Davis, have you, uh, is it on your desk as well?

487. 3:31:33

     Yeah. Uh, I found it.

488. 3:31:34

     Or do you have a-

489. 3:31:35

     I found it. I found it.

490. 3:31:36

     So you have a question?

491. 3:31:38

     Uh, I take it off. I'm good. I'm good.

492. 3:31:42

     Lady Ways. Well.

493. 3:31:48

     Gentlemen, you can leave the well.

494. 3:31:50

     Awesome. I ask for your favorable consideration of Senate Bill 503.

495. 3:31:57

     That's the part we were looking for. On the gentleman's motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment to the House substitute to Senate Bill 503. All those in favor vote yes, those opposed will vote no, and Mr. Clerk will unlock the machines.

496. 3:32:37

     Have all members voted? All members voted. I'm waiting on you.

497. 3:32:49

     All members voted. If so, Mr. Clerk will lock the machine.

498. 3:32:58

     On the gentleman's motion, the yeas are 160, nays are 6, and this House has agreed to the Senate amendment to the House substitute on Senate Bill 503.

499. 3:33:50

     Leader Efstration is recognized for a motion.

500. 3:33:53

     Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that the House agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1396 as amended by the House.

501. 3:34:03

     Mr. Clerk will read the caption.

502. 3:34:06

     House Bill 1396, being titled an Act to Amend Article One of Chapter Eight of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relevant to the Department of Community Affairs so as to require certain privately funded organizations that operate a shelter or provide outreach services-

503. 3:34:23

     To homeless individuals within 1,000 feet of schools to provide for violations and for criminal and for non-criminal citations.

504. 3:34:38

     Representative Efstration is recognized to explain the Senate substitute and the House amendment to H- to House Bill 1396. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me begin by giving you the amendment number. It's AM490335 and on your desk. So this is now an omnibus education bill with language that has been considered at different stages of the legislative process. So I'll just give you a quick overview here. Sections one and six of the bill contain language from Senate Bill 425 with respect to cursive writing in education and bleed kits at, uh, at schools.

505. 3:35:24

     Section three of the bill includes language from House Bill 1114 introduced by Chairman Yearta dealing with financial literacy. Section two of the bill includes language from House Bill 1269, which passed the House Education Committee introduced by Representative Wade with respect to digital literacy. Section eight includes language from Senate Bill 498 considered by the House Appropriations Committee with the Charter School Facility Authority.

506. 3:36:07

     Section four includes language from House Bill 971 carried by Representative Townsend, uh, with respect to, um, home and private school caregivers. It passed this body by a vote of 164 to zero. Section seven includes language from House Bill 1023 as amended by the Senate Public Safety Committee for weapons detection systems.

507. 3:36:37

     That was a bill that I carried, and I'm agreeable to the language, uh, introduced in the Senate. Sections five and nine include cleanup language from the Ricky and Alyssa's Law school safety bill that was passed last legislative session. This language was considered by Chairman Erwin, Representative Persinger, and deals with, um, notification, uh, in the event of a school tragedy where, um, uh, there are monitoring on the person, uh, for sc- school personnel as well as lighting in schools for school safety, uh, procedures.

508. 3:37:22

     I know that's a lot that I've just, uh, gone through, but sections five and nine is the multi-sensory notification when there is an active threat and lockdown. Uh, Mr. Speaker, I'd be happy to answer any questions and to go any- into any specific aspect of this bill, but that is the source of the different, um, sections to each of this, uh, of this bill. There are a few questions. The chair recognizes Rep- uh, Whip Park with for a question.

509. 3:37:53

     Thank you, Madam Speaker. Uh, Leader Efstration, do you yield? Yes, sir. Uh, does this omnibus bill have the Senate amendment, uh, that would allow for public disclosure of those who have con- who have been convicted of sexual harassment? No, sir. That, uh, issue is being taken up in a different amendment, which is on your desk. Uh, what bill is, what bill would that be? I don't have it in front of me, but it's on your desk. I'm a signer to that amendment, so it, uh, so you can just look for my signature, so.

510. 3:38:24

     I, I recall, I think, on 1247- I believe that's right ... there's language that's much weaker than the language that the Senate passed with respect to sexual harassment. So to, to answer the gentleman's question or address this, so the, uh, 1396 was originally a bill dealing with data around homelessness. Uh, the Senate put on, uh, through amendment the language that you're referencing on multiple bills, including House Bill 1247. So, uh, this bill is now a vehicle for multiple education bills that are critical to keep students safe in Georgia, and the amendment that you're talking about is on, I believe it's t- uh, House Bill 1247, which can be debated when that's taken up.

511. 3:39:14

     Th- there is an amendment specifically with respect to 1396 that I believe has bipartisan support. Uh, I remain concerned in terms of the multiple efforts to take out this language that continues to be ongoing with respect to the omnibus education bill. Um, y- again, is there any opportunity to ensure that this amendment in particular, uh, could be included in 1396 as opposed to the 1247 amendment? Mr. Whip, my concern is keeping Georgia's students safe and ensuring that well-vetted education policy that came through this body in large part here or has been considered necessary for cleanup for the school safety measure passed last year, that that be enacted.

512. 3:39:56

     And to my knowledge, that is a separate subject matter, uh, to be taken up separately where, where it'd be appropriate to do so. I'm asking for the body's favorable consideration on House Bill 1396 because these policies are critical to keep Georgia's students safe. Does the gentleman yield for a final question? Sir, I'll yield for one more question. So, uh, just to clarify, um, section eight of this omnibus bill, uh, is the, uh, Charter School Facilities Authority, uh, which is Senate Bill 498 currently sitting in rules.

513. 3:40:33

     And so- That's correct

514. 3:40:34

     Uh, with this being now added to an agree, disagree, we're not gonna have an opportunity to actually debate, uh, the Charter School Facilities Authority. Is that not true?

515. 3:40:44

     Well, sir, procedurally, it's before the body because this is where we are. That language was vetted by the House Appropriations Committee and passed favorably from that committee without any opposition to my recollection, the best of my recollection.

516. 3:40:58

     Thank you.

517. 3:40:59

     Madam Speaker, I'll yield for one other question if there are any.

518. 3:41:02

     The, the Chair, uh, recognizes Representative Persinger for a question.

519. 3:41:10

     Thank you, Madam Chair. Will the gentleman yield?

520. 3:41:12

     Yes, sir.

521. 3:41:13

     Is it not true that a portion of this bill contains the clarifying language that we sent over to the Senate on Sunday die last year to clean up some language in Ricky and Alyssa's Law, specifically relating to, uh, wearable panic alert systems and the automated visual strobes and the intercom system and, and, uh, computer displays so that everything is connected and operating in, in sequence?

522. 3:41:42

     The gentleman is, uh, correct, and I would like to thank the gentleman for his work, legislative work, to keep Georgia's students safe, uh, the work on the cleanup, uh, measures that were included last year, uh, passed out of this body and, uh, which we, we are now capturing as well in House Bill 1396. Madam Speaker, I yield the will and ask the body's favorable consideration.

523. 3:42:08

     The gentleman has yielded the will. Is there any objection to the adoption of House Amendment AM490335? The Chair hears none, and the House Amendment is adopted. On the gentleman's motion that the House agree to the Senate substitute, House Bill 1396, as amended by the House, all those in favor will vote yes, all those opposed will vote no, and the clerk will unlock the machines.

524. 3:43:04

     For what purpose does Representative Carter rise?

525. 3:43:10

     Thank you, Madam Speaker. The gentleman left the will before we could ask him a question on this omnibus bill that we had not an opportunity to dialogue about. In Section Eight, where he, this mentions the Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority. This being in this bill, I, I wa- was hoping that he would help me understand how this was a safety measure because he said he was concerned about safety in our schools, but you have a facilities authority in this legislation for charter schools that has absolutely nothing to do with keeping our children safe.

526. 3:43:44

     Is that not true?

527. 3:43:47

     Thank you, Madam, uh, Madam, uh, Carter. That is, uh, that's a decision that each and every member will have to make for him or herself. For what purpose does Representative Cannon rise?

528. 3:44:00

     A parliamentary inquiry.

529. 3:44:02

     State your inquiry.

530. 3:44:03

     Is it not true that there are members in deep concern about the speed of this bill, especially because line 395 as well as 383 include an unfunded mandate for school systems to include weapon detection systems at all main points of entry? However, main points of entry has not been defined.

531. 3:44:29

     That's a matter for each and every member to decide for him or herself. For what purpose does Representative Williams rise?

532. 3:44:38

     Parliamentary inquiry.

533. 3:44:39

     State your inquiry.

534. 3:44:42

     Is it not true that we are approving, in Section 8, the creation of a Georgia s- Charter School's Facilities Authority that's going to be a body corporate and politic with a corporate seal? Um, this is a massive, major authority we're creating. We've had no discussion. We're told it came from auth- the Appropriations Committee, not the Education Committee.

535. 3:45:13

     Um, I th- Is it not true that it's really inappropriate to include such major, sweeping language and changes with no debate and no real explanation?

536. 3:45:29

     I'm not, Chair's not sure how many members are on the Appropriations Committee, but it was discussed. I know the Appropriations Committee has at least half of this, uh, body on that committee. Uh, what little I know about the charter facilities, I do know that it only, um, it has, the reason it went through Appropriations is because it would require an appropriation, uh, for it to stand up, and it is, it does allow for grants, federal grants, and for private grants to help fund charter school facilities because charter schools so rarely receive any capital construction funds from public schools, even when they, although rarely, do approve them.

537. 3:46:13

     For what purpose does Representative Campbell rise?

538. 3:46:19

     Um, parliamentary inquiry.

539. 3:46:22

     State your inquiry.

540. 3:46:23

     Uh, thank you, Speaker Pro Tem. Uh, is it not true that I share my colleague's, uh, supreme disappointment about the lack of transparency that we've had in this body? With no debate, no discussion, no review of the fiscal impact to the entire state related to our billions of tax dollars, the impact to our public school system, with no opportunity to ask questions about how this new authority will function, accountability, or the impact in our local school systems.

541. 3:47:06

     Is that not true?

542. 3:47:08

     I'm sure the lady believes that to be true. The chair, um, will take a couple more questions including from, um, Leader Hugley. For what do you waive?

543. 3:47:20

     Yes. That was from my

544. 3:47:22

     She waives. Um, for what purpose does Representative Roberts rise?

545. 3:47:27

     Oh, sorry. I didn't-

546. 3:47:31

     She, she waives. For what purpose does Representative Berry rise?

547. 3:47:37

     Uh, parliamentary inquiry.

548. 3:47:40

     State your inquiry.

549. 3:47:41

     Waive.

550. 3:47:44

     Wai- waive.

551. 3:47:45

     Okay.

552. 3:47:46

     Uh, waive.

553. 3:47:47

     Oh, he, he waives. B- Last, uh, last question. For what purpose does Representative, does Leader Efstration rise?

554. 3:47:56

     Parliamentary inquiry. Parliamentary inquiry.

555. 3:47:59

     State your inquiry.

556. 3:48:00

     Madam Speaker, is it not true that with respect to the Charter School Facility Authority, SB 498 passed the State Senate, passed the House Appropriations Committee, that further with respect to school safety, there's $166 million in school safety funding in both the budget passed by the House of Representatives and the State Senate for FY '27, and that, uh, this omnibus education bill includes critical measures to keep students in Georgia safe.

557. 3:48:36

     Is that not true?

558. 3:48:37

     Sure. I'm sure the gentleman believes that to be true. And the clerk will lock the machine. On the gentleman's motion, the yeas were 93, the nays are 75. The House has agreed to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1396 as amended by the House.

559. 3:49:02

     Chair recognizes Representative Dempsey for a motion.

560. 3:49:09

     Thank you, Madam Speaker. I make a motion to agree to the Senate substitute to HB 1238 as amended by the House.

561. 3:49:22

     This bill-

562. 3:49:22

     Rep- rep- Representative Dempsey moves that the House agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1238 as amended by the House. The clerk will read the caption.

563. 3:49:32

     House Bill 1238 to be entitled an act to amend Article 7 of Chapter 4, Title 49 in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating med- medical assistance generally so as to direct the Department of Community Health to submit a waiver request to the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to authorize qualification of certain caregivers for Medicaid reimbursement.

564. 3:49:54

     The chair recognizes Chairman Dempsey to explain the Senate substitute and the House amendment. We're looking at amendment AM 46-0128.

565. 3:50:08

     Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have the unique opportunity here to add a bill on a bill that I carried, too. So both of these are things that I had a part of, one this year and one last year. The underlying bill, HB 1238, we passed here in the House in March with a vote of 167 to two, and in the Senate with a 46 to zero. This is the measure to help, um, DCH begin the process to get Medicaid waivers to deal with children who are stuck in our hospitals and residential treatment facilities.

566. 3:50:46

     It was their idea to do it, and that's a great thing for an agency to come forward after a study committee and say, "This is something we think we can do to help." The second measure the House voted on last year, uh, back in February of '25. It passed with a vote of 170 to two. During this time, though, when it could not pass and move through the Senate, we worked on it a lot. We've worked with the providers, the agencies, and the governor's office.

567. 3:51:17

     This is a good bill to help not only our most vulnerable children, but to help children who are helpless, who are being abandoned and left. The committee simply brings together a lot of resources to help our children have a hand on person there when a parent hits that moment that I cannot do it anymore. That foster parent who has perhaps been with that child many, many times to a treatment center, and they are at the end of their ability to care for them, or they might be a danger to bring back to their home or to the other family members there.

568. 3:51:57

     It brings the hospital match, which is the committee in DBHDD that was put together through House Bill 1013, and the family to build a real discharge plan with identified lower levels of care and support so parents understand the plan and can stay engaged. This should keep families together and help children receive the care that they need at the exact right moment. Madam Speaker, if there are any questions, I will take them. If not, I will yield the well and ask for your favorable support.

569. 3:52:30

     There is one question. The chair recognizes Representative Glaize for a question.

570. 3:52:36

     Does the gentlewoman, does sh-

571. 3:52:38

     I-

572. 3:52:38

     Do you yield?

573. 3:52:39

     I certainly do.

574. 3:52:41

     Is this bill Going to allow more med- medical comp waivers for families, or will it also provide the caregiver and the support they need to pay for it?

575. 3:52:55

     It doesn't directly affect the waivers. This could be a family with a waiver. There's always that possibility or in line to get a waiver. But what it really does is afford the opportunity to move that child from being stranded in a hospital, not receiving the care they need, at the same time with the, with the Medicaid waiver for supports to come in to help the family and the caregiver feel that they can take care of the child and have the resources and a plan to move forward.

576. 3:53:27

     So can I repeat that? Then we are really actually making sure that children who are left have access to the actual care and the caregiving medical personnel as well as the caregiver-

577. 3:53:42

     It-

578. 3:53:43

     ... to transition them into a more permanent and caring facility.

579. 3:53:48

     It does, and hopefully that means back with that own, that family that began with them as well. We're gonna hope to do that and try to build up those supports. But it also allows if a child cannot, can just not be reunited, then there is a immediate effort from MATCH, and if MATCH cannot find an appropriate partner, family to take care of them, then DFCS will need to step in as they do in other states and take care of that child.

580. 3:54:17

     Thank you so much for bringing the bill.

581. 3:54:19

     Th- there is one more question-

582. 3:54:20

     Okay

583. 3:54:20

     ... uh, if the lady will yield.

584. 3:54:22

     I will.

585. 3:54:23

     Chair recognizes Representative Cannon with question.

586. 3:54:28

     Thank you, Madam Speaker. Do you yield?

587. 3:54:30

     I do.

588. 3:54:31

     I'm looking at the Senate sub and I don't see any difference in language from the original LC. Where is the difference?

589. 3:54:39

     Okay. Okay. I can direct you right to that. Let me put my fingers on it here. Just a minute. They simply expanded some of our language to make it a little more direct. Um, oh, hang on. Getting to the one that is the Senate. Okay. So it is at line 17. It was simply changed to say, "In the least restrictive, most family-like setting possible to meet the recipient's needs."

590. 3:55:07

     Thank you. Thank you, and, uh, do you further yield? What does that mean?

591. 3:55:10

     What does that mean?

592. 3:55:11

     Correct.

593. 3:55:12

     What does it mean to be in the least restrictive- You mean why would they take the language- ... place? Well, our, our goal is for any child who is abandoned in a hospital to find quick placement in a family or a family-like setting. There are some people who, um, can take care of those very tough cases, and they work with DFCS, but MATCH has access to that and does that every day today.

594. 3:55:43

     Thank you. Do you further yield?

595. 3:55:45

     I do.

596. 3:55:45

     Just trying to understand, what does family-like setting mean legally in Georgia? Does that include LGBT parents? Does that include somebody who specifically is a foster parent? Just trying to get a better understand of what does family-like setting mean in Georgia.

597. 3:56:02

     So from this measure, I would say it means most likely in another, if not back with the family that they were with, then to be with another faster, foster parent or a foster family type setting. We have homes that also would be considered family-like. There will be one parent with maybe six children or more in certain dorm settings. So there, there's an array of places, but these are some of the children that, um, have previously been hoteled as well.

598. 3:56:36

     So we're trying to emphasize it will not be a hotel, they will not be isolated, they will not be left at the hospital, but they will be returned into a family setting where they can thrive. Thank you.

599. 3:56:48

     There are no more questions.

600. 3:56:50

     Thank you, Madam Speaker. I yield the well and ask for your favorable support.

601. 3:56:54

     Lady has yielded the well. Is there any objection to the adoption of Hou- of the House Amendment AM46-0128? Chair hears none. The House amendment is adopted. On the lady's motion that the House agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1238 as amended by the House, all those in favor will vote yes, all those opposed will vote no, and the clerk will unlock the machines.

602. 3:57:35

     Have all members voted?

603. 3:57:43

     Have all members voted? If so, the clerk will lock the machine. On the lady's motion, the yeas are 165, the nays were 0. The bill and the House has agreed to the Senate substitute. House Bill 1238 as amended by the House.

604. 3:58:06

     Chair recognizes Representative Reeves for a motion.

605. 3:58:12

     Madam Speaker, I move to agree to the Senate substitute of House Bill 1247 as amended by the House in AM62-0077, and I withdraw the previous amendments.

606. 3:58:23

     What number?

607. 3:58:25

     Representative Reeves moves that the House agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1247 as amended by the House. The clerk will read the caption.

608. 3:58:33

     House Bill 1247 to be entitled Act to Amend Chapter 1 and Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to general provisions so as to prohibit courts and administrative officers from deferring to agency interpretations of laws and regulations.

609. 3:58:51

     The chair recognizes Representative Reeves to explain the Senate substitute and the House amendment. Thank you, Madam Speaker. House colleagues, I would draw your attention to the Senate substitute for House Bill 1247, which is in Tuesday's agree folder. That's folder number one, not number two. And then I would also draw your attention to amendment AM62-0077. Uh, this is a regulatory reform bill which passed the Senate 48 to two.

610. 3:59:22

     Uh, the part one of the bill, you've seen a version of that, uh, previously, and we cleaned that up more in the Senate. We got more, uh, review from attorneys around, uh, the Capitol, and the Senate amended it. Uh, we originally had the petition for review referenced. Uh, this got broadened out to say all, uh, legal standards of review, uh, will remain in place throughout the code, and it also, uh, made the language, uh, more applicable under Georgia law.

611. 3:59:53

     On pages two through five of the Senate substitute, there were some amendments requested by the Metro Atlanta Chamber to synchronize this bill with 2021 legislation regarding the Department of Revenue. Page five and following provides for a periodic review of regulations to streamline government and make sure that regulations are not on the books that are not being used or that have outlived their usefulness and that they are, uh, being implemented in the most economical and efficient way possible.

612. 4:00:26

     And then turning to the amendment from the House, we have, uh, a provision in there, uh, about transparency and accountability of claims regarding members of the General Assembly. Uh, we put it in Title 28 of the code. There had been previous versions from the Senate that had it under Title 50. We put it in the General Assembly portion of the code, and we, um, had further depth. They had a very short one, and we made it very legally explicit to make sure people know how to make the request for the information to make sure it protected the victim and other, uh, safeguards such as that.

613. 4:01:04

     We also made some changes in response to House members about the regulatory reform. We moved the effective date to 2028 to give time to, uh, implement the strategy on the regulatory reform review. We also exempted the Department of Agriculture, the EPD, DNR, the Public Service Commission, and we provided elaboration on the federal government language in response to a request from a state agency. Uh, that is the bill. Uh, I request your favorable consideration.

614. 4:01:35

     Voting for this bill is a vote for accountability, transparency, and regulatory reform. I'd be glad to yield for any questions. Chair recognizes Representative Campbell for a question.

615. 4:01:49

     Thank you, Speaker Pro Tem. Uh, parlor- Uh, sorry. Does the gentleman yield? I do. Um, I do have a couple of questions about Section, uh, 2-4, um, if you will indulge, since we have not had a chance to discuss or debate this content. It, and- Did this language come from another bill?

616. 4:02:13

     Section 2-4 of the Senate substitute? Um, I, I guess so. Or, or the amendment. Because we don't have the full, um... So the section is adding the new code section, 50-13-24? Yes. Um, this was, um, a modification by the Senate of previous regulatory reform provisions that were fully heard in the House and the Senate. This is a, it responded to input over the last two years. So this particular language is 2026 language, I believe, that was heard in the House and the Senate, and it's been modified.

617. 4:02:49

     Was it heard as, um, SB28? Is that, uh, what is that bill about? That was the Georgia DOGE bill. No. Uh, it was- This language did not come from Senate? It was the, it was the red tape rollback in the Senate last year. Senate Bill 28. And this version responded to feedback at that time. So this is similar to Virginia's regulatory reform that saved a billion dollars to the people of Virginia and cut their regulations by 25% in a way that has been beneficial in that state.

618. 4:03:20

     It was patterned after that largely. So Senate Bill, it, does the gentleman further yield? Because I do have questions about this since we have not heard this on the main floor since that committee. I do. Thank you. Um, so if Senate Bill 28 was the red back roll tape bill, which was also described as Georgia's DOGE bill, which requires every single agency in the state of Georgia to promulgate every single rule that they have, except you've excluded- Yes ...

619. 4:03:54

     it's my understanding, Agriculture, EPD, and the Public Service Commission. I'd be curious to understand why. I'm also curious, when we asked the bill's sponsor at that time if there was a fiscal note for every single agency in the s- in the state, of which there are more than 50, how many resources, how many tax dollars would be going to the review of every single agency rule? And then related, there is another area in your amendment on line 78 and 79.

620. 4:04:33

     You have talked about a mandate, and then you've included authorization or dual supervisory regime. I'm not sure if everyone can hear these questions, but since this is the only time that we will be discussing the creation of the review of every single agency rule in the state, I believe it is important. What is a dual supervisory regime?

621. 4:04:56

     Representative Campbell, responding to your question, on page 11 of the bill there were exceptions, uh, for federal government mandates, for general course of methodology of agencies, the rules setting forth the nature of the requirements of formal and infor- informal procedures. The language you just referenced was added on line 256 to elaborate on federal government mandates at the request of one of our state agencies. So the House amendment, uh, complied with that. Uh, the, uh, many of the provisions you mentioned are not included in this.

622. 4:05:29

     This is subject to appropriations. It has an effective date in 2028, and, uh, it is different than the previous version and it responded to feedback, and it, uh, the House has improved it further.

623. 4:05:45

     Chair recognizes Representative Evans for a question. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Does the gentleman yield? I do. Um, isn't it true that I really appreciate that you made me the donkey of the day and gave me this little donkey- Of the month. Of the month. Yeah, of the, oh, of the month. Um, will you further yield? Yes. Um, with regard to the amendment about creating some sunshine on sexual harassment settlements, I appreciate the, the more lengthy discussion that, um, the more lengthy language.

624. 4:06:20

     Sorry, I have too many pages, and I lost the one I was looking for. Um, I appreciate the change to where it is in the code, and I just wanna get some clarification on line 23. Um, we're gonna be shielding the name of the claimant, which I think is good, and it does have in here also that we're gonna shield the name of any other party there, too. But it, it looks to me we're not gonna shield the identity of the member, which is good. But I wanna get some understanding about who are we referring to with the any other party there, too.

625. 4:06:55

     That would be if there are witnesses. The member who was the subject of the, uh, complaint and the agreement, the member would be publicized. But if there are witnesses, uh, it was intended to protect them in addition to the victims. Okay, thank you. And will you yield for one last question? Yes. The last section of this bill, Part IV- Yes ... that, that was originally a standalone bill that would compel, uh, nonprofit organizations to use a homeless database. I think it was originally introduced by the majority leader.

626. 4:07:27

     I don't think you mentioned- It is ... it in your remarks. I just wanted to make sure that- Thank- ... the members knew that was in there, um- Representative Evans, thank you for reminding me of that. Let me elaborate on that. It was House Bill 1396. It did pass the House. We're awaiting action by the Senate. Uh, this does require homeless service providers in Atlanta p- to participate in the state Department of Community Affairs Homeless Management Information System, which is designed to, uh, help homeless people and give some protocols and resources from the Department of Community Affairs in a uniform way, uh, leading up to the World Cup with all the money that's being spent in this area.

627. 4:08:04

     So yes, it was 1396 originally. It was previously passed by the House. Okay. And will you yield for what I promise is one last question? Yes. Um, isn't it true that while I appreciate the goal of trying to help the homeless, that is a worthy goal, um, compelling organizations to use a certain database under the threat of, uh, civil penalties, uh, is not good, and I wish we had taken a care approach. But I appreciate the intent. Thank you. Uh, if there are no further questions, I'm glad to yield the well. There are questions.

628. 4:08:35

     Does the gentleman yield, or does he yield the well? I yield the well. The gentleman has yielded the well. Is there objection to the adoption of the House Amendment AM62-0077? The chair hears none and the House amendment is adopted. On the gentleman's motion that the House agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1247. Was there objection? There is objection. Does the gentleman move?

629. 4:09:06

     The gentleman moves. On the gentleman's, uh, motion that the House- Read the amendment ... that the House adopt the amendment to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1247, all those in favor of the House amendment will vote yes. Those opposed will vote no, and the clerk will unlock. Have all members voted? If so, the clerk will lock the machines on the adoption of the amendments. The yeas are 96, the nays are 69, and the House amendment has been adopted.

630. 4:09:37

     On the gentleman's motion that the House agree to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1247 as amended by the House, all those in favor will vote yes, all those opposed will vote no, and the clerk will unlock the machines.

631. 4:09:51

     We might...

632. 4:10:10

     For what purpose does Representative Romman rise? Parliamentary inquiry. State your inquiry. Is it not true that by voting yes on this bill, you're admitting that Democrats are probably gonna win the governor's mansion this year? I'm sure the lady believes that to be true. For what purpose does Representative Sanchez rise? Parliamentary inquiry. State your inquiry. Isn't it true that the amendment to this bill only, uh, on, on sexual harassment claims only is to the members, whereas the Senate amendment actually included members and the office and the employees?

633. 4:10:46

     And I'm wondering who we're trying to protect with that amendment change. That's a decision for each and every member to make for himself or herself. Have all members voted? If so, the clerk will lock the machines. On the gentleman's motion, the yeas are 98, the nays are 70, and the House has agreed to the Senate substitute to House Bill 1247 as amended by the House.

634. 4:11:41

     There are a couple announcements. The chair recognizes Chairman McDonald for an announcement.

635. 4:11:51

     Thank you, Madam Speaker. If I could have the Intragovernmental Coordination Committee immediately at recess in room 341. That's Intragovernmental Coordination Committee in room 341 as soon as we recess. Thank you. It'll be short.

636. 4:12:05

     Chair recognizes Chairman Gunter for an announcement.

637. 4:12:18

     Thank you. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Uh, ladies and gentlemen, uh, we have a dinner in room 132. Uh, it is brought to, uh, by the owners, who are up in the gallery up here, of, uh, Jim's Smoke and Q. If you remember their slogan last year, "You can smell our butts for miles," that- that's where this is. So your, uh, Judiciary Committee, the dinner's for you. Thank you.

638. 4:12:44

     Chair recognizes Chairman Parrish for an announcement.

639. 4:12:51

     Thank you, Mad- uh, Madam Speaker. Uh, I'd like to ask the members of the Rules Committee to meet me in 341 at 7:00. 7:00, 341. Thank you.

640. 4:13:02

     The chair will s- the, the House will stand in recess until 7:30. 7:30.