Legislative action will likely pick up next week since House and Senate members now have just three weeks to get their bills through the committee process in the opposite chamber and on the floor for a vote for them to make it to Governor Kemp’s desk this year. Legislators will be back in session next week Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for Legislative Days 32 through 34, and Wednesday will serve as another committee work day. Legislative Day 40, Sine Die, is Friday, April 4 this year.
Fiscal Year 2026 Budget
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin) presented the budget on the House floor on Tuesday. In his remarks he highlighted:
The passage of a balanced budget is the only constitutionally required action item for the legislature each session. Unlike other bills, the governor has the ability to line-item veto the budget. The governor and his team will issue any bill vetoes and any budget-related line-item vetoes at the end of the 40-day bill review period after the legislative session concludes on April 4.
Tort Reform
Among the dozens who testified in committee this week were Waffle House Risk Management Vice President John Fervier who said that Georgia accounts for 20 percent of the company’s Waffle House locations but 83 percent of the company’s legal costs, and Piedmont Healthcare Chief Risk Officer Deborah Moses, who said that phantom damages allow plaintiffs to sue for extreme amounts that are not reflective of the actual price of care, significantly increasing commercial insurance costs for Piedmont and other healthcare providers.
No formal vote has been taken by the House committee at this point, and Subcommittee Chairman Rob Leverrett (R-Elberton) indicated this week he would announce next steps for the bill at a later date.
Senate Bill 69, the ‘Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act,’ which would regulate third-party litigation financing practices in the state, has not yet received a hearing in the Rules Subcommittee on Lawsuit Reform.
Tax Relief
On Wednesday the Senate Finance also took up House Bill 112, which is being carried by Governor’s Floor Leader Lauren McDonald (R-Cumming). The bill would provide for a one-time tax credit for all Georgia taxpayers who filed returns in 2023 and 2024. Single taxpayers would receive $250, married taxpayers filing jointly would receive $500, and taxpayers filing as heads of household would receive a $375 tax rebate. The measure was passed by the Finance Committee, so it is now eligible for selection by the Senate Rules Committee.
Both House Bill 111 and House Bill 112 are legislative priorities for Governor Brian Kemp this session.
School Safety
The House’s comprehensive school safety bill, House Bill 268 by Representative Holt Persinger (R-Winder), was passed 159 to 13 by the House last week. The legislation, which is a priority for Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington), went through the Education Committee on the House side. The Senate has assigned the measure to the Judiciary Committee for consideration.
Immigration
The Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) presented an amendment in committee that would allow for a 15-day correction period for cities and local governments. They also proposed an amendment to provide for a declaratory judgement provision, allowing people to request one for cities they believe are not following state law. The Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) requested that the legislature hold off on passing immigration-related legislation until the effects of House Bill 1105 from last session can be studied. ACCG also proposed two amendments—one that would clarify that the waiver of the immunity rests with the local government that is violating the law and not the county, and another which would clarify exactly what is required for a detainer request.
The measure was scheduled for a hearing only and did not receive a vote by the Public Safety Committee this week.
Truck Weights
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
After gaveling out for Crossover Day last Thursday night, House and Senate members were back in session this week Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday for Legislative Days 29 through 31, and Wednesday served as a committee work day for legislators. The several legislative days immediately following Crossover Day are typically much slower. While committees convened throughout the week to consider the opposite chamber’s measures, the House and Senate each only voted on a handful of measures on the floor this week.
On Monday morning, House Appropriations subcommittees convened to review House Bill 68, the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, and it was passed out of the full Appropriations Committee later that morning. The Fiscal Year 2026 budget is set by a revenue estimate of $37.7 billion, which is an increase of $1.6 billion, or 4.4 percent, over the original Fiscal Year 2025 budget.
The House approved the budget 171 to 4 on the floor on Tuesday. Senate Appropriations subcommittees met this week after the Senate received the budget from the House. In the likely event that the Senate ends up passing a different version of the FY26 budget, a conference committee made up of three House members and three Senate members will ultimately be appointed to allow the two chambers to come to a consensus on the budget before it is sent to Governor Kemp’s desk.
This week the House Rules Subcommittee on Lawsuit Reform held its third and fourth hearings on Governor Kemp’s major tort reform bill, Senate Bill 68, which is being carried by President Pro Tempore John Kennedy (R-Macon). Monday’s hearing was focused primarily on Section 6 of the bill, which deals with negligent security claims, and Tuesday afternoon’s meeting focused primarily on Sections 7 and 8 of the bill, which address phantom damages and anchoring, and trial bifurcation, respectively. Between the two hearings this week, members of the newly created Rules Subcommittee on Rules heard testimony from dozens of people over approximately nine hours.
On Wednesday the Senate Finance Committee took up House Bill 111, which is being carried by Governor’s Floor Leader Soo Hong (R-Lawrenceville). The measure would accelerate the reduction in the state income tax from 5.39 percent to 5.19 percent for 2025. As part of previously passed legislation, the income tax rate will decrease 0.1 percent each year until it reaches 4.99 percent. The measure passed out of committee 9 to 2 and now heads to the Senate Rules Committee.
This week the House Education Policy Subcommittee took up Senate Bill 17 by Senator Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas), ‘Ricky and Alyssa’s Law.’ The measure would require mobile panic alert systems in all Georgia schools and would require accurate mapping of school facilities that can be shared with law enforcement for improved emergency response. In his presentation of the bill in subcommittee this week, Senator Anavitarte said that, if passed, the measure would cost approximately $10,000 per school, but noted that most schools already have a mobile panic alert system in place.
This week the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee considered Senate Bill 21 by Senator Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia). The measure, which passed the Senate 33 to 18 earlier this session, would waive sovereign and governmental immunity for local governments, officials, and employees if they violate the prohibition on sanctuary cities. It would also require a custodial authority, which includes sheriffs, wardens, chiefs of police, and others, to honor immigration detainer requests issued by the Department of Homeland Security.
This week the Senate Transportation Committee took up House Bill 164 by Representative Steven Meeks (R-Screven). The legislation would remove the sunset from House Bill 189 (2023), which allowed large trucks carrying agricultural and forestry products to weigh up to 88,000 pounds outside of the metro Atlanta nonattainment area. House Bill 164 also explicitly gives local law enforcement officers the authority to enforce truck weight limits on county roads and on bridges within county or municipal systems. It would also require local law enforcement officers to be properly trained in commercial motor vehicle weight laws. The measure, which passed the House 164 to 9 earlier this session, was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee 5 to 3 this week. It is now eligible for selection by the Rules Committee for a vote on the Senate floor.