In.

This house.

The people's House is committed to leaving no stone unturned when it comes to securing their safety, enacting measures that will save lives, and supporting our students well-being at every stage of their academic careers and beyond.

All the while, protecting our Second Amendment rights of Georgia's law abiding citizens.

House Speaker John Burns unveiled a comprehensive school safety plan, flanked by the family members of one of the four individuals who tragically lost their lives at Apalachee High School last September.

Welcome to Lawmakers.

I'm Donna Lowry.

Thank you for joining us on this tenth day of the legislative session.

Throughout the show, we'll break down key elements of the House's school safety legislation, focusing particularly on safe storage initiatives.

There are bills on both sides of the aisle.

We'll also tackle another pressing issue.

What regulations should be in place to ensure artificial intelligence is used responsibly?

We have legislators who have been working diligently for months to develop potential guardrails for A.I.

In Georgia.

First, we hear from Capitol correspondent Sarah Kallis on the activities from the Capitol.

Hi, Donna.

Today, lawmakers from both parties announced education legislation.

Speaker of the House John Burns announced his specific plans to make schools safer at a morning press conference.

Burns proposal includes a system for students to anonymously report threats to the authorities, requires schools to create a threat management program, and mandates a statewide student information database.

There is no doubt that the pressures of adolescence are becoming increasingly difficult for our children, leading to a significant increase in mental health issues.

Concerns among our Georgia students.

This safety plan ensures every child receives instructions in violence prevention and mental health awareness, and creates qualified mental health coordinator positions to allow for individuals to be primarily focused on efforts to identify and intervene with students who are at risk of mental health concerns.

The family of a coach killed in the Apalachee High School shooting in September, Jon Burns after Burns announcement, Democratic Senator Kim Jackson explained her own school related legislation.

Jackson's bill, SB 41, would require public schools to ensure equal athletic opportunities for boys and girls sports.

If we want to have a real conversation about true fairness and true safety in girls sports, about our truly level playing field, then let's talk.

Let's talk about how girls teams are made to practice late at night or early in the morning when it's still dark outside.

Let's talk about how girls soccer coaches who work twice as long, averaging 20 games a season, make one third.

That's right, one third.

The pay of football coaches who average.010 games a season.

Other specifics include equal equipment and locker rooms.

Also today, the Republican Senate Caucus detailed their legislative priorities for the session, including support for Governor Kemp's lawsuit reform plan.

In the past, Senate Republicans have made various attempts at lawsuit reform, with admittedly limited success.

And while some of our efforts came up short, it was simply due to disagreements over how to achieve the correct balance point for the scales of justice.

What always remained true for our caucus, and certainly hold true today, is that we all care about Georgians.

Litigation, climate and how it adversely affects hardworking Georgians.

In the Senate.

The start of Black History Month brought out some shout outs for important African American contributions to society, but it also brought out condemnation from one senator who says the current actions of the Trump administration are trying to erase those achievements.

We're trying to erase the contributions that black people have made to this country and to this and to this state, and it includes contributions of black veterans.

Black veterans who serve this country, given their lives to serve this country.

Giving.

Given valuable contributions.

This has effect on black veterans.

Why is it controversial to study and celebrate Tuskegee Airmen?

Why is that controversial.?

And finally, Bill's well, a bill actually Senate Bill 16 would change the law restricting individuals involved in the bail bonds business from certain elected local government positions.

We looked at it, and it does allow one exception.

And that exception is you can be elected to the Board of Education.

And so what I'm doing is I have come back and added more exceptions for a for county commission, city council, or in the case of a consolidated government government.

You could have a county or city commissioner or whatever they want to call it.

And so this bill will allow for that exception.

And if they are, if they do get elected again as county commission or to city council or to the consolidated government, they cannot issue bail bonds in that particular county.

The bill passed easily 51-2 Meanwhile, the House gaveled in and gaveled out without passing any bills.

Tomorrow, lawmakers will reconvene for day 11 and Latin American Day at the Capitol.

Republicans and Democrats will flip the script and give their take on school safety and girls sports initiatives spoken about today.

That's my Capitol report.

Donna, back to you.

Thanks, Sarah.

As Sarah mentioned, we learned the details of the House school safety plan from Speaker Burns.

It included safe storage initiatives, the issue.

We're going to spend a little time discussing today and a school safe student safety database.

Threat assessment teams and anonymous reporting app.

School safety funding and increased penalties for terroristic threats.

Joining us.

Are Republican Representative Mark Newton.

He's of Augusta.

He's the new chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education.

He learned his he earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia.

And he practices emergency medicine.

Also here is Democratic Representative Mary Margaret Oliver of Decatur.

She's an attorney who has served in the General Assembly for more than 25 years and served on just about every committee you can name, including appropriations, judiciary, and public and community health.

Welcome to Lawmakers to both of you.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you.

So, Chair Newton, we're going to start with you.

You've introduced House Bill 79.

And that would offer tax credit for safe gun classes and storage devices.

And as an emergency room physician I have to start with I'm thinking you've seen the results of gun violence.

We do all of us in the team that works in an emergency department and trauma, and all has seen the results of.

Firearm damage.

Most of it is homicides and felony related, but occasional suicides as well.

So it is something that a tragedy that we're looking forward to getting legislation across the finish line this year.

Okay.

So let's talk about the bill.

I mentioned the two things.

It's training and it also involves when it involves classes of some sort, some kind of learning for using a gun.

And also a tax credit.

So talk about that and you want to add something else.

And so tell us about it.

Sure.

Well we're trying to as we heard today about the the focus on school and safety for children, but really safety for people in their homes, their apartments as well.

Firearm handling and firearm storage are something we've seen to be as important.

Two parts of the bill that are there now in House Bill 79 involve using some of your tax refund or your tax obligation, and the state would help you by letting you use some of that money to to purchase a safe storage device.

What we've seen over the past few years, in particular, for the other part of the bill about firearms safe handling and training, that piece of it, we've seen over half the firearms and handguns that have often been purchased by women who have watched some of the deterioration in law enforcement, ability to respond and all.

And so we want to make sure that everyone, male or female, anyone, can have the training they need so that they feel safe with it.

And this allows them to use that same up to $300 of their tax obligation instead to spend it on this and get a credit for it.

They can spend it on safe training and handling.

They can also spend it on a on a gun, safe or other safety devices.

They make some quick release ones that are biometric and all that.

We'll put in there.

We're excited about getting those options out to people, giving choices to parents.

Yeah, but do you have something else?

Yeah.

The third thing we did look at, we're looking at adding this now is for the state.

These are inexpensive cable locks.

That kind of show it up a.

Little bit..

Sorry.

The camera.

Inexpensive cable locks that that can be used.

It's an additional tool.

It's in the legislation now.

But we're also looking at the state potentially appropriating money to be able to to give these through to families.

In particular, we would want to focus on families, maybe through pediatricians, family doctors who treat children, potentially preschool schools, potentially.

We want to make sure that we have given parents and anyone grandparents like me, we've given them the tools they need so that they can do two things.

I think, as the speaker mentioned, we want to make sure that that their their Bill of rights, their Second Amendment, Bill of rights rights are protected.

But at the same time that they can do it in a responsible and safe manner.

So we're not interested in mandates or lists or registries or anything like that.

We're not interested in arresting or threatening parents.

We want to give them the tools that they can use, where they can have their Second Amendment rights, rights, but they can also.

Work out and do this all responsibly and safely and secure.

We don't want to give them the options and tools.

Okay.

So Representative Oliver, you have signed on to a bill that represented Michelle Au has that is similar in nature in the sense that it focuses on a tax credit also.

Talk about that.

Safe storage bills have been talked about in the General Assembly for a entire long political career.

Five years in the state Senate, David Scott, now congressman, was in the state Senate leading the discussion about safe storage bills.

I'm very glad that we are having a bipartisan support for some form of safe storage relief.

Uh, Doctor Newton's bill is a tax credit bill.

Uh, Doctor Al's bill is both a tax credit bill and a mandate to provide a safe storage.

There are other bills that are being introduced.

There's over six or seven or eight at this point that give other ideas for the General Assembly to discuss.

You know, we have not had enough hearings.

We've had not enough public discussion.

Um.

Doctor Al's bill has a bill that provides a waiting list, a waiting time for three days to purchase a gun.

It also a bill that I've introduced says that if you fail to secure your gun and a child takes your gun out of your house, you can be charged with a misdemeanor.

I know that might sound harsh, but we know that the guns that children are taking to school and to the community and to out in the public are taken from the house where obviously a gun was not properly secured.

We have good ideas, I think.

I think these ideas, polling data tells us is supported, but the real positive news for this is that we're having a discussion for the first time, a bipartisan discussion where I'm really hopeful that we'll be able to pass some form of of gun safety bill in the 2025 session.

I would like it to go further than a tax credit.

I would like it to go further.

That would incentivize or set forth standards of criminal behavior, criminal negligence, behavior for failure to secure a gun.

I would like there to be other measures, but the good news is that we're talking together and we're talking with a lot of support, and that safety of our children is an appropriate focus for us to have a joint discussion.

I know there are House bills one, two, three and four.

They were the first ones you signed on to all of them and they all deal with firearms.

Also 63-64 are additional bills and Omari Crawford representative Omari Crawford has also introduced additional bill about storage in cars, which is a particular unique issue.

We have an opportunity for a good discussion over a number of different issues.

I think most of those issues, if not all, are supported by the voters of Georgia.

That's what polling data tells us.

But we're moving forward in a bipartisan way.

And that's the good news to me.

Okay, I know the Brady Law regulations are also part of things that you support.

Those are House bills three and four.

Yes.

There's a three day waiting period.

And also background checks, universal background checks, which is supported in polling data by almost 90% of the voters.

Yeah.

I'm thinking you would like to see something done, especially with the safe storage.

Well, I think I think that combination of of the safe training.

Training on safe handling and then also safe storage, giving people the tools they need, possibly giving them access, especially in families where children in the home.

We want to make sure they have the options.

I am pleased as as Mary Margaret mentioned, we we did pass this 160 2-3 last year.

So we are working in a bipartisan way to move forward.

I'm confident that with the I mean, we've we've vetted this with we're vetting it with the governor's team.

The speaker is strongly behind getting a multi-part aspect to try to treat both mental health and then also, uh, working on this safe storage as a, as multiple pieces, pushing in the same direction.

While I have you here real quick, I want to change topics to talk about HB 136, your bill that deals with contributions to organizations that support foster care.

Well, we had a great hearing today on House Bill 136.

It is a part of the Fostering Success Act, where we're looking to, um, to take care of children who have been in foster homes, sometimes a multitude of them, and they've been basically wards of the state.

And then right now at 18, they're just left.

And so what we want to make sure of is that they make the transition to adulthood, like all our kids had the benefit of mentorship, that they have help with their tuition.

Any books, fees, transportation, nutrition.

This allows tax credits for companies to be to be donated to organizations who work in that space.

For children who age out of the foster care system, it's just one more way we actually are adding justice involved youth to that, too, because in a way, they've been wards of the state as well, and similar to a foster child.

And so the needs are the same.

There's a need for mentorship and direction in addition to strict financial needs.

So we're looking forward to seeing that legislation move forward this.

Year, too.

So you're feeling pretty good about that one?

Well, we all feel good about our bills when.

We start.

Everyone, I want to thank you both for being here today.

I appreciate it.

We'll keep up with everything.

Glad to be.

With you.

Well, coming up, where where will artificial intelligence take us next?

Of course, no one truly knows.

But two legislators who have spent the summer digging into the possibilities.

Join us next.

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It's good to have everyone back together.

Good news indeed.

Put your feet up a minute.

It's beautiful.

Where does that sound with you, man?

It's what I love doing.

Cup of tea?

I was thinking more.

A double whiskey.

Harriet.

Freshly baked biscuits.

Always.

Well, this is all proving rather cozy, isn't it?

I got my head out the sunroof.

Whoa!

Ha la la la la la la la la.

Understanding the past gives a sense of the future.

Heart like a lion.

This is the first time that anyone has seen this in 2000 years.

Oh, stop.

Big is happening.

So hurry up.

We're diving in.

What?

This is amazing.

Well, I'm excited now.

Pompeii is a battle against time.

Eyes wide open.

Oh.

You think I'm joking?

But look at this.

It did really happen.

Don't let anybody tell you who you are.

Yeah.

I love this life.

History teaches us to honor the past.

We're jumping in with our eyes wide open.

When you look back, you're like, wow, that was pretty special.

This is something that's actually altering the course of history.

You're charged with keeping these stories alive.

I know that you.

Welcome back to Lawmakers.

I'm Donna Lowry.

We know A.I.

Is now a part of almost every area of our lives.

And many are worried about the danger it might pose, including Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs, who made this comment during his third state of the judiciary address to the General Assembly last week.

One way.

Our state courts are leading is by remaining diligent in addressing challenges to our legal system, and this includes examining the impact of generative artificial intelligence.

Courts across the world are dealing with this issue, and Georgia courts must be prepared.

To this end, I have established a committee led by my colleague, Justice Andrew Pinson and Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth Gobeille, to study the dangers and opportunities that A.I.

Presents for our courts.

Joining us now are two legislators exploring safety in a world increasingly shaped by A.I.

Republican Representative Todd Jones of South Forsyth is chair of the House Technology and Infrastructure Committee.

Also on that committee is Democratic Representative Dar'shun Kendrick of Lithonia.

She joined Chairman Jones on a special subcommittee last summer that dealt with A.I.

Welcome to both of you.

To lawmakers.

Okay, so this House Study Committee on A.I.

Held several sessions over the summer.

You guys were very busy.

Chairman Jones, I know the ethical use of A.I.

Was a major area when it came to recommendations.

Tell us a little bit about that.

Yeah.

So we know it's almost impossible to legislate bad actors, but we want to be able to create a framework here in Georgia that continues to basically enhance or encourage innovation.

Have our businesses have our college students have literally all Georgians want to innovate within A.I., but within some guardrails in terms of what's ethical and what's not ethical.

And we've gone through through that study committee in terms of what we believe is going to be acceptable and what's not acceptable.

But we definitely don't want to tamper down on innovation.

Yeah, I know that you've been working on this a long time, and I'm so glad you're involved too.

And we're going to talk more about how you're passing that along to the public in a minute.

Talk about the committee's recommendation when it comes to the focus on state government efficiency and on how A.I.

Can better serve constituents.

So making even the state capitol more efficient, right?

Yeah, that's always important, right?

To get services down to constituents.

Um, really, we not only talked about over the summer how we can get artificial intelligence into the public sphere, but also the private sphere, and really taking a focus at how efficient our agencies are and what tools they can use through artificial intelligence to provide those services.

Um, we know that technology is changing.

Sometimes government is ten years behind.

And so really taking an accounting of what tools are already being used by agencies and what tools are out there, like the chairman said, within an ethical framework and how we can use that in order to provide services to the almost 11 million people here in the state of Georgia.

Technology seems to be slowly moving.

In the legislature, I saw a quote where you were upset over the fact that you still had to come down to the Capitol to sign something instead of DocuSign.

Yeah, I still find it amazing.

I think we're still circa 1990, doc.

We should at least move into the DocuSign age.

But going back to what Representative Kendrick said, I think when you think of local government, they're having just as many challenges around workforce development as the private sector is, and our ability to use A.I.

To lever basically be able to give services or provide services to constituents in such a way that we're able to do it with less people, but greater efficiency and hopefully greater service, I think, is one of the possibilities for A.I.

So I remember last year you pushed for a bill to prohibit deep fakes in election interference, and it passed in the House, went nowhere in the Senate like a few bills, both sides.

So what happened?

And will you try again?

What happened was unfortunately, we did lose that momentum.

And since we are on day ten, we'll go ahead and we'll keep it civil.

In terms of why we thought that was something that needed to be done, especially in a presidential year, we're going to go ahead and take a year break on deepfakes, and we'll most likely come back in 26 with deep fakes.

During another election year, during another.

Okay, we'll see how that goes.

And it is an issue, these deep fakes that everybody is worried about.

And they're scary when it comes to children and cyberbullying.

And so talk a little bit about what you learned during the process about that.

Um, well, I learned so much.

But really what I learned is, um, there are going to always be bad actors that use the latest technology in order to do bad things, right.

They get creative and they really exploit children here in the state by making different images of them, putting it on different bodies.

And that is not only a form of cyber bullying, but it is.

It is criminal activity.

And so the committee was very, very good to try to focus on that and make sure that we are protecting our children here in the state.

I mean, it is it is hard to, you know, catch all of the bad actors, but you can at least try to put in in place a framework for what you should and shouldn't do when it comes around artificial intelligence.

Yeah, some scary stories out there.

And I know you guys are dealing with children, so Chairman Jones, you helped connect rural districts with Georgia Tech to help students with computer skills, including learning artificial intelligence.

So let's listen to educators talk about that program.

And this is our first song that we shared.

That's something these rural districts really struggle with, is just finding the staff to be able to support computer science programs.

So by being able to bring in the expertise from Georgia Tech, we kind of help them fill that gap.

This program was really Todd Jones his vision, he realized there was a lack of computer science certified teachers, computer science courses, computerized programing in rural counties and districts.

So bringing bringing that kind of technology to them, they're seeing it all.

And that was important to you.

So to have these Georgia Tech students and faculty and all connect.

Explain how this works.

Well, first and foremost, when you're in the General Assembly, you get all this information.

And one of the things that we were learning, as you saw, the computer science requirement for graduation coming up, we realize access and rigor is literally deplete within the rural parts of our state.

Unfortunately, and frankly, birthright should not determine the quality of the education that you get.

You should get equal education across the state.

All 159 counties, 181 school districts.

So we went to Georgia Tech and I said, hey, within your framework, are we able to do a train the trainer to basically upskill the teachers who are down in rural Georgia, up in the mountains, part of rural Georgia, and be able to help them basically allow these students to have an opportunity.

You can't dream something you've never seen before.

And this gave those students an opportunity.

And the program is going so well.

I think we're on 42 districts out of 181.

It's going so well that I'm really optimistic that not only are we going to do computer science, we're going to do a lot of Stem within the rural parts of our state.

I think it's awesome to be able to lift that up and provide these students that type of opportunity.

And Georgia Tech is very excited.

About Georgia Tech.

Could not be a better partner.

And we're great to have them and have them as partners for us.

I know it's important to get to the students in all of this, but you also want to get to women in particular and encourage them.

You're holding a tech demo day.

I understand, on A.I.

For women at the Capitol on March 13.

So tell us about it.

We've got it up on the screen.

Yes.

Thank you so much for that.

So it's Women's History Month, of course, for the month of March, we did the first tech Demo day highlighting, um, people of color last year.

So this year is for women in artificial intelligence, because a lot of times when we think about Stem jobs, we still a lot of us still think it is a male dominated industry.

And so I wanted to celebrate women during Women's History Month.

And so it's open to the public.

So come on down to your state capitol and we'll feature ten amazing women that are doing amazing work here in the state of Georgia on artificial intelligence.

And they are going to tell us how what they're doing is really helping the state of Georgia drive dollars here and all those good things that we like to see.

We hear so much about artificial intelligence in terms of using it and all, but to actually see the people behind it all will be cool.

Yeah, they have some demos, we'll have some special guests come in and talk about it.

It's going to be a great time.

I may have to come over and look at that.

That too.

So Chairman Jones at Georgia Tech, you had them come over to help Lawmakers with A.I.

Last week.

Talk about that session.

Well, in order to talk about it, you got to create a base of knowledge, right?

Especially when we're talking about a lot of acronyms and a lot of assumptions.

Even Chief Justice Boggs, he talked about generative A.I.

What's the difference between generative A.I.

And just machine learning as an example?

So being able to give our legislators and those that work within the Capitol just a base level of knowledge so that as we are working on this legislation and today and 25, 26, et cetera., we're going to be able to build up that, I'll call it A.I., IQ, so that we can understand that without A.I., we can't get so many other advancements that we're looking for within our state, leading in transportation, leading in manufacturing, leading in areas that, frankly, Georgia has not traditionally led in.

We can that leadership flags open.

California hasn't taken it.

North Carolina hasn't taken it.

It's Georgia's for the taking and we're going to do it.

So it was everybody kind of receptive to that or is it they take it in.

Did you have to do some basic level things too in terms of technology?

For some we had to do some basic level even before I just some basic.

Yes.

It was interesting, but helping everyone up to be able to come up to a common IQ, I think is important.

And the feedback, the feedback that we got was terrific.

So we're going to go ahead and continue to do ongoing sessions to help not just the legislators, their staff, but also the folks that work with us.

Literally.

It's like a family at the Capitol, and we won't be able to give everyone the opportunity to learn as much as they can.

How many actual bills do you think are you going to have coming out of the committee?

Do you have any idea or you're still working on it?

Is it two already?

By Brad Thomas.

Already one around?

Basically inventory with state government and other around.

Like Representative Kendrick said, around basically child exploitation and child pornography that will most likely lean also into elderly exploitation.

But we're also going to see things like we're seeing air taxi bills come in and those air taxi bills can't happen without A.I.

We're going to see some humanoid bills come in.

And again, you can't have humanoids without A.I.

So direct A.I.

Absolutely right.

I think two I'll say because of A.I., maybe ten or 15.

Yeah.

So a lot to look at.

Yeah.

So you've learned a lot.

I know you have.

And and it's always wonderful to have you.

You've been working on this for a few years.

So thank you both for coming on the show I appreciate it.

Thank you.

We'll talk more about it.

So that's it for Lawmakers today.

Tomorrow on the show we'll talk about gambling.

It's the legislation that each year seems to take a licking but keeps on ticking like that, saying in the old.

Commercial about Timex watches this year, supporters say don't bet against it.

We'll see.

For now, have a good night.