The House Rules Committee approved a rules‑committee substitute for Senate Bill 148 and authorized 11 study committees during its meeting, the committee chair announced.

The substitute, filed as LC 610264S and presented by Chairman Leverett, packages several bills already vetted in other committees. Chairman Leverett said the substitute includes: the original Senate Bill 148 language establishing a pilot program to study development of outdoor learning spaces on elementary and secondary school property; Chairman Hawkins’s House Bill 629 on automated external defibrillators in elementary schools (with one paragraph removed); House Bill 127 (a provision derived from Brent Cox’s bill regarding teacher personal paid leave); and Representative Cannon’s House Bill 451 on hunting‑safety instruction for grades 6–12.

Why it matters: the package combines multiple education measures into a single bill that the Rules Committee recommended for the supplemental calendar, potentially speeding floor consideration by the full chamber.

Committee discussion and changes: Chairman Leverett said the original Senate Bill 148 text remains as “section 2” and described section 3 as Hawkins’s HB 629, noting that the substitute strikes a paragraph in lines 86–89 of that bill because “we have so many elementary schools, it’s difficult to find enough medical staff … and the automated machines basically instruct you on their use as you use it.” He also said the substitute includes the House Bill 127 provision that had sought to raise teacher personal paid leave from three to five days; committee members then altered the provision so it reflects three days in the rule substitute.

A committee member moved and another seconded the motion to approve the rules substitute for Senate Bill 148; there was no recorded opposition and the committee approved the substitute.

Study committees and calendar actions: the committee chair reported there had been about “38 or 40 requests for study committees” and presented 11 rule‑substitute study‑committee requests for the committee’s recommendation. A motion to approve the 11 proposals as a group passed without recorded opposition. The committee also moved several resolutions and the rules substitute for SB 148 to the supplemental calendar. Items the chair read for placement on the supplemental calendar included a list of House resolutions by substitute and House Resolution 887; the chair then moved that those items and the SB 148 substitute be placed on the supplemental calendar and the motion carried.

Administrative notes and attendance: Chairman Leverett recognized Erin Garland, identified as his assistant from Elberton, in the audience. Chairman Blackman briefly addressed House Resolution 887 as a study committee item earlier in the meeting.

Ending: The committee did not record individual vote tallies or named movers and seconders in the transcript excerpts provided; the transcript records motions, seconds and the chair saying the motions passed.