The 2025-2026 legislative cycle concluded on Thursday, April 2 (technically, on Friday, April 3). The House and Senate adjourned around 1:00 AM. Governor Brian Kemp has 40 days to sign or veto any bill that passed both chambers. If no action is taken by May 12, the bill automatically becomes law.
Lawmakers fulfilled their only constitutionally required duty to pass a balanced budget. HB 974, the $38.5 billion Fiscal Year 2027 Budget, includes funding for literacy coaches in elementary schools outlined in HB 1193 and cost of living adjustments for retired state employees. Other highlights include:
- $34.2 million added to the Technical College System of Georgia to reflect a 9.4% increase based on enrollment and square footage
- $41.5 million for HOPE Scholarships to meet projected enrollment at public colleges and $3.2 million for HOPE Scholarships at private colleges
- $38.2 million for student transportation formula grants to reflect updated bus counts and operations totaling $402 million
- $11.2 million to increase graduate medical education opportunities for medical students
- $13.6 million for Local Maintenance and Improvement Grants for local infrastructure projects
- $2 million to study water quality in Lake Lanier
Bills to Watch
Economic Development & Business Climate
HB 463, sponsored by House Ways and Means Chairman Shaw Blackmon, became the new vehicle to pass income tax reform by repealing several economic development tax credits to gradually reduction of income tax to 3.99 percent and increase the standard deduction. Earlier this session, the Senate had passed SB 476 and SB 477 with contained similar language, but it did not receive a hearing in the House. HB 463 received an agree in the Senate and now heads to the Governor’s desk for consideration.
HB 880, sponsored by House Ways and Means Chairman Shaw Blackmon, would, under certain conditions, incrementally reduce the state income tax rate each year to until it reaches 3.99 percent, the individual standard deduction to $18,000, and dependent deduction to $6,000. It also increases the senior exemption to $70,000. The bill did not pass.
HB 1000, sponsored by Governor’s Floor Leader Matthew Gambill, would provide a one-time tax credit for Georgia taxpayers who filed state tax returns for tax years 2024 and 2025. Enacted/Signed by the Governor.
HB 1001, sponsored by Governor’s Floor Leader Will Wade, would reduce the state personal and corporate income tax from 5.19 percent to 4.99 percent for 2026. The bill did not pass.
HB 1063, sponsored by House Special Committee on Resource Management Chairman Brad Thomas, would require electric utility companies to not pass on data center construction and operation costs to residential and retail customers. The bill did not pass.
HB 1116, sponsored by House Ways and Means Chairman Shaw Blackmon would cap property tax revenue growth to the greater of three percent or the rate of inflation with some exceptions. It would also limit local governments from imposing sales tax to five percent but could utilize sales tax revenue to offset property tax. The bill failed in the Senate.
HB 1185, sponsored by House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, would require certain shareholder-related business disputes to be filed in the Georgia State-wide Business Court. Passed/Adopted.
HR 1243, sponsored by House Higher Education Chairman Chuck Martin, would establish the Georgia Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund to help pay exclusively for the expansion, maintenance, and operation of 9-1-1 systems throughout the state, including the transition to Next Generation 9-1-1. It would require two-thirds support in both the House and Senate and then appear as a statewide ballot measure in November. The resolution passed out of the Senate Public Safety Committee. Passed/Adopted.
SB 33, sponsored by Senate Majority Caucus Secretary Kay Kirkpatrick, became the new avenue for lawmakers to pass property tax reform legislation after HB 1116 did not pass in the Senate on Sine Die. The bill would authorize local governments an optional local 1% sales tax for homestead property-tax relief and provide some related taxpayer-protection rules. It passed in the Senate and House and now heads to the Governor’s desk for consideration.
SB 382, sponsored by Senator Chuck Hufstetler, would mandate the statewide base-year homestead exemption for all local governments and streamline the process for calling a referendum on special district option sales and use tax. The bill did not pass.
SB 410, sponsored by Sen. Matt Brass, would sunset the tax exemption for new data centers by 2031 and the tax exemption for high-technology data equipment by 2028. It would prohibit the issuance of new certificate of exemption upon the date of bill’s signing. The bill did not pass.
SB 437, sponsored by Senate Majority Caucus Vice Chair Clint Dixon, would allow applicants for building, plumbing or electrical plan reviews to use a private professional provider to conduct them and have that work recognized in place of review by a city or county. It also shortens the timeframe for plan and inspection reviews to 10 days and eliminates or reduces certain fees. The bill passed in the Senate this week. The bill did not pass.
SB 447, sponsored by Senate Majority Caucus Vice Chair Clint Dixon, would ensure permit applicants receive clear and timely reasons when their permits are denied. The bill also revises how counties and municipalities may accept, reject or deny permit applications. The bill passed by substitute in the House 95-72 and the Senate agreed.
SB 503, sponsored by Senator Marty Harbin, codifies best practices used in short term rentals to protect homeowners who rent out their properties. It was amended in the House Insurance Committee to include language from HB 1344, HB 1274, HB 1262, HB 1263, and HB 1042 that strengthens the enforcement authority of the Commissioner of Insurance and clarifies regulations on insurance, insurance fraud, uninsured motorists, excluded drivers, premium tax, insurance rates, claims processing, and uninsured or unregistered motor vehicles. It also partners the Insurance Commissioner and Economic Development Commissioner to work together to recruit and retain insurance company headquarters in Georgia. It passed in the House by substitute and the Senate agreed.
SB 553, sponsored by Floor Leader Bo Hatchett, would codify objective licensing requirements to streamline licensing process for the State’s Construction Industry Licensing Board’s five divisions. This includes electrical contractors, plumbers, conditioned air contractors, low voltage contractors, and utility contractors. The bill passed in the House by substitute and the Senate agreed.
Transportation & Infrastructure
HB 297, sponsored by Chairman Victor Anderson, abolish the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) and the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (ATL) and replace them with the new Georgia Transportation Efficiency Authority (GTEA). The bill also extends the MARTA sales tax to 2063. The bill passed and now heads to the Governor’s desk for consideration.
HB 328 originally focused solely on increasing the annual cap of the student scholarship organization tax credit program. Several other provisions were added to the bill, include language from HB 583 that would prohibit Transit SPLOSTs from being on the ballot for 8 years after a failed referendum. This would only apply to 7 Metro-Atlanta counties, including Cobb and Gwinnett. The bill also includes a provision that prohibits using transit sales and use tax for free or reduced fares. The Senate agreed to the House Amendment for HB 328, and the bill now heads to the Governor’s desk for consideration.
HB 1070, sponsored by Chairman Leesa Hagan, would increase and extend the tax credit for the investment and maintenance of Class III railroads. The bill passed in the Senate by substitute 44-3 and the House agreed to the Senate substitute.
SB 463, sponsored by Senator Greg Dolezal, would prohibit business enterprises from owning more than 500 single-family residential properties but excludes build-to-rent companies. It also bans foreign investors from purchasing single family homes for rental. The bill did not pass.
Education & Workforce
SB 150 by Senate Education and Youth Chairman Billy Hickman would allow certain retired K-12 public educators to return as a teacher to help fill educational workforce needs. The bill passed in the Senate and House by substitute and now heads to the Governor’s desk.
HB 1009, sponsored by Rep. Scott Hilton, would ban the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices to public high school students. Last year, Governor Kemp signed into law Rep. Hilton’s bill that banned cell phone use to public elementary and middle school students. The bill passed in the Senate and now heads to the Governor’s desk.
HB 1023, sponsored by House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, would require local boards of education and other public school governing bodies to utilize weapon detection systems. The bill did not pass.
HB 1030, sponsored by Rep. Sandy Donatucci, is also known as Math Matters Act. The bill aims to improve math proficiency, training, and instruction. The bill passed in the House and Senate and now heads to the Governor’s desk for consideration.
HB 1107, sponsored by Rep. Carmen Rice, would strengthen the state’s teacher pipeline by establishing uniform statewide performance measures. It also utilizes graduate employee feedback and performance data to better connect teacher training programs with local hiring needs. It passed unanimously in the Senate.
HB 1193, sponsored by House Education Chairman Chris Erwin, would require all children to attend kindergarten, places and funds a dedicated literacy coach in every elementary school grade K-3, and establish the Georgia Literacy Coordinating Committee to oversee statewide literacy programs. Passed/Adopted.
HB 1254, sponsored by Rep. Matt Reeves, would consolidate occupational licensing from individual boards to the Secretary of State for certain professions. Passed/Adopted.
HB 1302, known as the Education and Workforce Strategy Act, is sponsored by Floor Leader Matthew Gambill and would designate the Governor’s office of Student Achievement as the lead coordinator among Georgia’s existing state education agencies and boards to prepare a combined Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Plan and Perkins State Plan. It passed out of the Senate.
SB 515, sponsored by Senate Education and Youth Committee Chairman Billy Hickman, would increase the maximum number of participating teachers in the teacher recruitment and retention tax credit program and only applies to teachers in the lowest 25 percent performing schools teaching certain classes including Math, Special Education, Career and Technical, English and Language Arts. The bill did not pass.
Healthcare
SB 427, sponsored by Sen. Ben Watson, seeks to address Georgia’s shortage of healthcare workers by creating a process for limited provisional licenses and a pathway to full medical licensure for certain internationally trained physicians. The House passed the bill on Wednesday by substitute and the Senate agreed to the House substitute.
SB 439, sponsored by Senate Majority Caucus Chair Shawn Still, would require referral agencies for assisted living communities and personal care homes to disclose referral fees to customers. The bill passed unanimously in the House and now heads to the Governor’s desk.
Arts, Tourism & Entertainment
HB 1077, sponsored by House Banks & Banking Chairman Noel Williams, Jr., would extend the sunset date for sales and use tax exemption for ticket sales in certain museums and fine arts performances or exhibitions at nonprofit facilities. The bill passed in the Senate by substitute and the House agreed.
Policy
HB 369 was stripped of its original language and replaced with language from SB 573 that would change elections for Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett to nonpartisan. Positions impacted include District Attorney, County Commissioner, Tax Commissioner, and School Board. It passed in the Senate by substitute 32-21 and the House agreed 93-64.
HB 1057, sponsored by Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick, would add an eight State Court Judge in Gwinnett County in 2027 and a ninth in 2028 to help meet the demands of backlog cases. It passed through Local Consent Calendars in the House and the Senate.
HR 251, sponsored by Representative Kimberly New, would propose a statewide constitutional amendment to change all probate judge elections to nonpartisan. The bill was favorably reported in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The resolution failed to receive the two thirds majority vote required, but the Senate voted to reconsider. The resolution heads to the Governor’s desk.
SB 457, sponsored by Senate Majority Caucus Vice Chair Clint Dixon, would stagger the City of Mulberry councilmembers’ elections and terms of office, with Districts 1, 3, and 5 serving through 2031 and Districts 2 and 4 serving through 2029. It passed through the local consent calendars in the Senate and the House.
