Georgia House agrees to Senate substitute for reef-fishing endorsement after removing raw-milk amendment

The Georgia House on Thursday agreed to the Senate substitute to House Bill 443, approving the measure 165-2 after the chamber adopted a House amendment that removed a raw-milk provision added in the Senate. Representative Petrie, who explained the motion on the floor, said the bill is intended to create a special reef-fishing endorsement that would allow Georgia to raise revenue to conduct its own, more targeted fisheries surveys.

"This is a bill that creates and endorse a special endorsement for reef fishing," Representative Petrie said, describing the proposal as a tool for coastal fishermen and state fisheries managers to obtain data specific to Georgia waters. He said federal surveys cover the entire Atlantic coast and "lack any rigor as it relates to accuracy in Georgia," and that the endorsement would help fund state-level surveys.

Petrie told colleagues that the House had passed a prior version of the bill last year and that the Senate returned a substitute that included unrelated language on raw milk; the House removed that raw-milk language before agreeing to the Senate substitute. The clerk read the caption for House Bill 443 before the vote, and the Speaker announced the recorded tally: yeas 165, nays 2.

The House's action agreed to the Senate substitute "as amended by the House," resolving the immediate difference between the chambers. The transcript record does not show any floor amendments offered during the vote and does not identify individual yes/no votes beyond the announced tally.

Next steps for the measure were not specified in the House's floor remarks recorded in the transcript. The House adjourned after completing afternoon orders and announcements and is scheduled to reconvene at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2026.

Sources: Remarks by Representative Petrie and clerk's reading of House Bill 443 on the House floor.