Next week the General Assembly will be in session Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday for Legislative Days 26 through 28. Monday and Thursday will serve as Committee Work Days for legislators ahead of Crossover Day on Friday.
Next week is also qualifying. All candidates for the legislature and statewide office must officially file to run for office at the Capitol.
Amended Fiscal Year 2026 Budget
The original Amended Fiscal Year 2026 budget was built on a revised revenue estimate of $42.3 billion, which included $3.3 billion in undesignated surplus funds. This week Governor Kemp announced he would revise his revenue estimate to include $1.249 billion in additional undesignated surplus funds and $145 million in undesignated lottery reserves, for a total increase of $1.4 billion.
Highlights from the agreed-upon version of the AFY26 budget include:
Income Tax Reduction
Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026
It would also overhaul how reading is taught in schools to ensure that instruction aligns with the science of reading, and would change how future teachers are trained to teach fundamental reading skills. Under the legislation, school districts would be required to create a unified literacy plan. The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration.
‘True Patriotism and Universal Student Access (TPUSA) Act’
The measure was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and is now eligible for selection by the Rules Committee to receive a vote on the Senate floor.
School Safety
After passing the House this week, the legislation was assigned to the Public Safety Committee for consideration in the Senate.
High School Cell Phone Ban
Chronic Absenteeism
Senate Bill 513 would also mandate a multi-tiered intervention framework, in which students with the most unexcused absences would receive formal attendance intervention plans to improve academic engagement. Additionally, the bill would more closely tie school attendance to eligibility for extracurricular and interscholastic activities and authorize the Department of Driver Services to restrict eligibility for an instruction permit or driver’s license based on the student’s compliance with an attendance intervention plan.
The Senate considered the measure on the floor on Thursday and passed it 46 to 1. It now heads to the House for consideration.
Autism Specialty License Plate
New Senator Sworn In
Legislative Retirements
This weekly Legislative Update report is courtesy of the Regional Business Coalition of Metropolitan Atlanta (RBC), an organization of over a dozen of the largest and most active Chambers of Commerce throughout the metro Atlanta region. RBC member chambers represent over 15,000 member companies who employ millions of metro Atlanta residents. The RBC’s primary goal is to represent the interests of RBC Chamber members on regional public policy issues impacting our transportation, water and air quality and to advocate for solutions that improve metro Atlanta’s quality of life and economic vitality.
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce
Frankie Atwater President & CEO
This week legislators were in session Tuesday through Thursday for Legislative Days 23 through 25, with Monday serving as the first Committee Work Day of the session. With only one week left until the Crossover Day deadline, dozens of committees and subcommittees met throughout the week to consider legislation. Any bill that is not passed out of its assigned committee and its chamber of origin by the time the legislature adjourns next Friday, March 6 is dead this session and must be reintroduced next year. However, language from ‘dead’ bills can also be attached to ‘live’ bills after the Crossover Day deadline if the two bills are in the same Code section.
This week the House and Senate came to a final agreement on what version of the Amended Fiscal Year 2026 budget to send to Governor Kemp’s desk. The House Bill 973 conference committee, which included House Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin), Senate Appropriations Chairman Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia), Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones (R-Milton), President Pro Tempore Larry Walker (R-Perry), House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry), and Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas), met several times throughout the week. Both chambers voted to adopt the conference committee report on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the House and Senate both approved the agreed-upon version of the amended budget and immediately transmitted the bill to the governor. Both chambers are now hard at work finalizing their recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
On Wednesday the House took up House Bill 1001, which is a legislative priority for Governor Kemp. The measure, carried by Governor’s Floor Leader Will Wade (R-Dawsonville), would accelerate the reduction in the state income tax from 5.19 percent to 4.99 percent for 2026. As part of previously passed legislation that also flattened Georgia’s state income tax, the state income tax rate was in the process of decreasing 0.1 percent each year until it reached 4.99 percent. The measure passed the House 106 to 66 and now heads to the Senate for consideration.
On Tuesday the House passed House Bill 1193, the Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026, by a vote of 170 to 2. The measure, which is sponsored by Education Committee Chairman Chris Erwin (R-Homer) and championed by Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington), would require all children to attend kindergarten before entering first grade, establish Quality Based Education (QBE) funding for school-based literacy coaches in kindergartens in public schools, and implement first grade readiness assessments.
Insurance Legislation Package
Last week Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) was joined by Insurance Commissioner John King and Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Insurance Rates Chairman Matt Reeves (R-Duluth) to announce the Affordability and Claims Integrity Act and a series of other insurance reform measures:
The House took up all four measures on the floor on Thursday and all four passed with overwhelming support. These bills now head to the Senate for consideration.
This week Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones announced one of his legislative priorities, the ‘True Patriotism and Universal Student Access (TPUSA) Act.’ Senate Bill 552, which is being carried by Senator Ben Watson (R-Savannah), addresses student engagement in political and philosophical expression in Georgia’s public schools. The measure would establish that students are permitted to participate in political activities and form both partisan and nonpartisan groups during noninstructional time, ensuring equal access to school facilities for these activities. The bill would also prohibit discrimination against students based on the content of their speech in a limited open forum and require schools to provide disclaimers of sponsorship that do not favor or disfavor political groups.
On Tuesday the House passed House Bill 1023 by House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry) by a vote of 151 to 11. The measure would require Georgia public schools to use weapon detection systems at main entrances of permanent school buildings to prevent individuals from unlawfully bringing weapons onto campus. The requirement would apply to buildings owned or leased by school systems during normal school operations, with exceptions for entrances that are locked and alarmed, or only used in emergencies. Under the bill, school systems would be authorized to use existing grants and other funding to pay for the required security measures.
On Tuesday the House passed House Bill 1009 by Representative Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners) by a vote of 145 to 20. The bill would expand the Distraction-Free Education Act to high schools in Georgia. A bill passed last session requires all public elementary and middle schools to implement a ban on cell phones and other personal electronic devices for the entirety of the school day. House Bill 1009 would apply the same electronic device ban to public school students in grades nine through twelve. The measure now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Senator Jason Dickerson (R-Canton) introduced Senate Bill 513, the ‘Every Day Counts Act,’ to address chronic absenteeism in public schools. The legislation would define a chronically unexcused student as one whose total number of unexcused absences exceeds five during the first 50 school days or reaches ten percent of total school days to date.
On Wednesday the Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 433, ‘Rio’s Law.’ The measure by Senator Brian Strickland (R-McDonough) would create a specialty license plate for individuals with autism or a developmental disability, as well as for their spouses, parents, or legal guardians. The bill would also require first responder training that includes interactions with individuals with autism or a developmental disability. The training would cover best practices for encounters, communication techniques, and protocols for emergencies involving these individuals. The measure now heads to the House for consideration.
On Tuesday the Senate’s 55th member was sworn in. Senator Steven McNeel (R-Macon) defeated LeMario Brown in last week’s special election runoff to fill the Senate District 18 seat of John Kennedy, who resigned in December. The special election to fill the northwest Georgia Senate seat vacated by Colton Moore will be held March 10.
After 30 years serving in the legislature, this week Representative Lynn Smith (R-Newnan) announced she would not be seeking reelection. Last week Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones (R-Milton) announced she would not be seeking reelection. Additional legislator retirements could be announced during next week’s qualifying period.