The General Assembly convened this week for legislative days 15 through 18. Legislative activity continues to fill each day with committee meetings and floor votes. Appropriations subcommittees also continue to meet to hear from state agencies on FY27 budget requests.
On Thursday the Senate debated and passed SB 476 and SB 477, two bills that aim to reduce state income tax. Both bills are sponsored by Senate Appropriations Chairman Blake Tillery. SB 476 would exempt state income tax for individuals making $50,000 or less and households making up to $100,000. It makes up the revenue loss by eliminating 29 economic development tax credits/exemptions, including the sales and use tax exemption on high-technology data center equipment. The bill passed in the Senate 32-18. SB 477 would reduce the state income tax rate to 3.99 percent by 2028 under certain state revenue conditions. It would also increase the standard deduction for individuals to $16,000 and $24,000 for households. It would decouple the state income tax with corporate tax, keeping corporate income tax rate at 4.99 percent. The bill passed in the Senate 31-14.
According to the state constitution, revenue-related bills need to originate in the House. Thus, the Senate Finance Committee replaced HB 134 (which passed last session in the House) with the same language in SB 476 and replaced HB 463 with the same language in SB 477. Both bills passed in the Senate and head back to the House.
Lawmakers will return to the Capitol next Tuesday through Friday for Legislative Days 19 through 22.
Bills to Watch
Economic Development & Business Climate
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 standard deduction to $15,000, and dependent deduction to $5,000. It also increases the senior exemption to $75,000. The bill passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee.
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. The bill has been assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee.
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 passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee.
HB 1012, sponsored by Rep. Ruwa Romman, would place a statewide moratorium on the construction of new data centers until March 2027. The bill has been assigned to the House Governmental Affairs Committee.
HB 1074, sponsored by Rep. Matt Reeves, would provide a homestead exemption from City of Suwanee ad valorem taxes in the amount of $15,000 if city residents vote to approve in the November elections. It passed out of the House through the Local Consent Calendar.
HB 1078, sponsored by Rep. Scott Hilton, would require periodic review and automatic sunset of state agency rules, and require agencies to justify why each regulation remains necessary. The bill has been assigned to the House Governmental Affairs Committee.
HB 1116, sponsored by Representative Shaw Blackmon, would exempt homesteads from local property taxes by 2032. Local governments and school systems would be allowed to levy or repurpose sales taxes to cover the difference. The companion bill, HR 1114, would create a statewide ballot referendum. The resolution will require two-thirds majority vote from both chambers. Both received first hearing this week in the Ways & Means Public Finance and Local Policy Subcommittee.
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. It has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.
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.
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 passed in the Senate 31-19. It was read and referred to the House Ways & Means Committee.
SB 410, sponsored by Sen. Matt Brass, would repeal the tax exemption for new data centers, but the 2032 sunset date would remain in place for data centers under contract. The bill has been assigned to the Senate Finance Committee. There have been several data center bills that have been introduced in the House and Senate.
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 Senate State and Local Government Operations Committee favorably reported by substitute.
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. It has been assigned to the Senate State and Local Government Operations Committee.
SB 476, sponsored by Senate Appropriations Chairman Blake Tillery, would exempt income tax for individuals making $50,000 or less and households making up to $100,000. It makes up the revenue loss by eliminating 29 economic development tax credits/exemptions, including the sales and use tax exemption on high-technology data center equipment. The bill passed in the Senate 32-18.
SB 477, sponsored by Appropriations Chairman Blake Tillery, would reduce the state income tax rate to 3.99 percent by 2028 under certain state revenue conditions. The bill passed in the Senate 31-14.
Transportation & Infrastructure
HB 1115, sponsored by Rep. Derrick McCollum, would limit institutional investor’s ownership of single family residences to 2,000. The bill is assigned to the House Government Affairs Committee. 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 has been assigned to the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
Education & Workforce
HB 372, sponsored by Rep. Bethany Ballard, would allow certain retired K-12 public educators to return as a teacher to help fill educational workforce needs. The House Retirement Committee favorably reported by substitute.
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 House Education Committee and has been assigned to Rules.
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 passed in the House Education Committee and has been assigned to Rules.
HB 1193, sponsored by House Education Chairman Chris Erwin, would require all children to attend kindergarten, places a dedicated literacy coach in every elementary school, and establish the Georgia Literacy Coordinating Committee to oversee statewide literacy programs. It passed unanimously out of the House Education Committee hearing on Thursday. SB 459 sponsored by Senator Billy Hickman is the companion bill in the Senate. It is assigned to the Senate Education and Youth Committee.
Healthcare
HB 1110, sponsored by Rep. Scott Hilton, would create a tax credit for certain employers that offer individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements to employees. The bill has been assigned to the House Ways & Means Committee.
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 bill was favorably reported by substitute in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
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 received a hearing only this week in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
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 out of the House Ways and Means committee.
Policy
HB 1057, sponsored by Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick, would add an eight State Court Judge in Gwinnett County to help meet the demands of backlog cases. It passed through Local Consent Calendar vote and was read and referred in the Senate.
HR 251, sponsored by Representative Kimberly New, would propose a statewide constitutional amendment to change all probate judge elections to nonpartisan. This bill was introduced last year and passed by the Judiciary Committee before being recommitted. It passed out of the House 147-20 and was read and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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 is assigned to the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee.
