Legislative

Original source: Georgia Legislative Report - MCO Group

01. Legislature Completes Day 34

The General Assembly convened for three days this week, completing day 34 of the 40-day session. The legislature will reconvene Tuesday, March 25th, for legislative day 35, recess Wednesday for a committee workday and reconvene Thursday and Friday, completing day 37 by the week's end. Committees are meeting as early as 6 a.m. to pass legislation as we enter the final stretch of the legislative session.

As a reminder, the adjournment resolution (SR 6) and House and Senate committee schedules are linked below.

Legislative tracking reporting through Legistracker is up to date. Please let us know if you have questions or trouble accessing your account.

02. Governor’s Tax Package Receives Final Passage

Gov. Kemp's tax package, HB 111 & HB 112, received final passage by the Senate this week, largely along party lines.

HB 111 accelerates the reduction in the state income tax rate contemplated by current law. For tax year 2025, the income tax rate will be 5.19% (rather than 5.29%, as provided in current law). The rate will continue to drop in increments of 0.10% per year until reaching a terminal rate of 4.99% (as provided by current law).

HB 112 provides a tax rebate to individual taxpayers who filed an income tax return for both 2023 and 2024. This tax rebate is non-refundable and cannot exceed the taxpayer’s tax liability for 2024.

03. Gov. Kemp Appoints New Labor Commissioner

Gov. Kemp appointed Bárbara Rivera Holmes as Georgia’s new labor commissioner.  The announcement comes after Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson, who was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, passed away in November.  The labor commissioner oversees the administration of unemployment insurance and helps place job seekers. In August 2023, then-commissioner Thompson announced his office had found more than $105 million that should have been handed over to the state treasury but was allegedly squirreled away. Holmes, a business executive, will serve the remainder of Thompson’s four-year term, until early 2027.

04. Gov. Kemp Announces Further ICE Partnership

At the direction of Gov. Kemp, Department of Public Safety (DPS) Commissioner Billy Hitchens has requested that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) train all 1,100 sworn officers under his command through the 287(g) Program to better assist in identifying and apprehending illegal aliens who pose a risk to public safety. First authorized by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, this program enables ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under the agency's direction and oversight.

05. Tort Reform Legislation Passes

Today, the Senate voted 34-21 for final passage of Gov. Kemp's landmark tort reform legislation, SB 68. Yesterday, the House narrowly passed the measure 91-82. The bill is now before the governor to be signed into law. The House successfully amended the bill with the following changes:

• Anchoring - allows arguments in opening and closing close, but voir dire can only ask about “unspecified” amounts to root out bias.
  
• Discovery stay - adds only a statement that 90 days starts after briefing and specifies that mandamus is a possibility when judge doesn’t rule.
  
• Voluntary dismissal - includes a provision that 60 days after answer instead of after answer or MSJ, whichever is sooner.
  
• Atty fees - no changes
  
• Seat belts - tries to limit when may be admissible but still doesn’t specify relevance.
  
• Premises liability - attempts to carve out the cases that are not actually premises cases (like hiring, supervision, etc.)
  
• Collateral source - no changes
  
• Bifurcation - can move the court to reject the bifurcation demand if it is a case involving a sex crime and amount at issue is less than 150k.
  

Original source: Georgia Legislative Report - MCO Group

Special Update: AFY 2025 Budget Signed by Gov. Kemp

Governor Kemp yesterday signed the Amended Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 into law, which includes:

Hurricane Helene Relief: More than $867 million for response costs and relief, including but not limited to, one-time grants to public rural and critical access hospitals included in the major disaster declaration area to assist in financial stabilization and recovery efforts, disaster relief assistance to impacted farmers and timber producers, and grants to non-profits for Hurricane Helene rebuilding and recovery efforts.  This includes $5 million in funds to GEMA for 911 Next Gen infrastructure upgrades.

• Education and Workforce Development: $140 million in additional allocations to fully fund QBE and support our local school systems to help us build an unrivaled workforce as we work to make Georgia the Top State for Talent.
• Public Safety and Corrections: More than $434 million in new funding for the Department of Corrections to fortify state facilities, invest in Corrections Officers, and equip them with the tools they need to be effective and efficient.
• Fighting Human Trafficking: $3.5 million to design a recovery center for victims of human trafficking - an effort championed by First Lady Marty Kemp - and over $187,000 to expand the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit to the Macon and Augusta regions.
• School Security: An additional $50 million in one-time funds for another round of security grants to all K-12 public schools.
• Coastal Water Infrastructure: $501.7 million in funding for the development and construction of water infrastructure in Georgia’s coastal region to meet the growing demand due to historic economic development.
• Local Water and Sewer Infrastructure: Over $266 million in funding for the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority to support water and sewer infrastructure development projects across Georgia.
• Local Road Infrastructure: $265 million into the local maintenance and improvement grant program and $46 million to the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank’s grant and loan program.
• Combating Wildfires: $4.7 million for the Forestry Commission to purchase a new fire suppression helicopter.

Schedule: Legislature Completes Day 28, Crossover Day

The General Assembly convened for three days this week, completing day twenty-eight of their forty-day session, also known as crossover day, the day a bill must pass out of its chamber of origin. The legislature will reconvene Monday, March 3rd, for legislative day twenty-nine. They will work Tuesday, recess Wednesday for a committee workday, and reconvene on Thursday, March 13th, to finish the week with day 31.

Committees will begin working on legislation that has crossed over from the other Chamber, although both Chambers will continue accept new bills into the Hopper as this is the first session of the Biennium.

As a reminder, the adjournment resolution (SR 6) and House and Senate committee schedules are linked below.

Legislative tracking reporting through Legistracker is up to date. Please let us know if you have questions or trouble accessing your account.

Two Tax Relief Bills Clear House

The House passed two tax relief bills Thursday, one unanimously and another that proved controversial. HB 112, which cleared the chamber 175-0, provides $1 billion in one-time income tax rebates to Georgia taxpayers. Single filers would get a rebate of $250, while heads of households would receive $375 and married couples filing jointly would get $500.  

HB 111, on the other hand, drew substantial opposition from Democrats before passing 110-60. The legislation calls for reducing Georgia's income tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% retroactive to the beginning of the current tax year.

Three Safety Bills Pass Senate

The Senate passed three legislative measures to address school safety enhancements in the wake of the school shooting in September that left two teachers at two students dead at Apalachee High School. Lt. Governor Burt Jones’ school safety priorities include the appropriation of $50 million in the Amended Fiscal Year 2025 Budget for one-time additions to school safety grants and three Senate Bills:

• SB 17 - "Ricky and Alyssa's Law" requires all Georgia schools to install mobile panic alarm systems directly linked to emergency responders and state and local law enforcement.
• SB 61 - Strengthens Georgia’s law so that attempted homicides and terroristic acts directed toward schools will be offenses for which juveniles will be tried as adults.
• SB 179 – Requires a transferring student’s academic and disciplinary records to be transferred to the new school administration within 10 days and requires the parent or guardian to be notified of the transfer within five days.

The House overwhelmingly passed HB 268 aimed at preventing school shootings through better information sharing and alertness to possible threats by students:

HB 268 enacts several policies, including creating a database to "collect and integrate data to evaluate the behavior of students who may pose a threat to the school, school staff, or students" shared between school officials, law enforcement, and mental health officials. It also requires schools to develop active shooter plans and creates a system allowing anonymous reports of threats to be shared with officials.

Charter School Bill Clears Senate

SB 82, the "Local Charter School Authorization and Support Act of 2025" authored by Senator Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett) passed the Senate on crossover day by a vote 44-9. The legislation

Establishes a program under the State Charter Schools Commission to promote the approval of new local charter school petitions by local boards of education.

Provides financial incentives in the form of grants to local boards that approve new charter school petitions.

Mandates local boards provide detailed written statements when denying charter petitions and introduces accountability measures for local boards that repeatedly deny petitions later approved at the state level, potentially affecting their eligibility for charter system status renewal.

Medical Cannibas/Hemp Bills Pass Senate

Three bills changing the way Georgia regulates hemp and medical cannabis cleared the Senate ahead of Thursday’s Crossover Day deadline. The votes on the bills are some of the only ones this session that didn’t fall cleanly along party lines, with Senate Republicans divided over expanding medical access to cannabis and members of both parties split over new regulations on recreational hemp products.

Medical Cannabis:

SB 220, the “Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act,” passed in a contentious 39-17 vote after more than an hour of debate in the Senate. The bill

• Replaces the term “low-THC oil” with “medical cannabis,” in Georgia code.
• Removes requirements that certain medical diagnoses like cancer or Parkinson’s disease be “severe or end stage,” and adds Lupus to the list of qualifying health conditions.
• Removes an existing prohibition against vaping cannabis oil and raises the percentage of THC that medical cannabis products may contain from 5% to 50%.

The bill was amended on the floor to include a provision allowing caregivers to pick up medical cannabis from pharmacies. Three other amendments aimed at reducing the amount of THC allowed in medical cannabis, removing the provision that allows for vaping, and removing PTSD and intractable pain from the list of approved diagnoses failed during a series of floor votes.

Hemp:

SB 33 and SB 254 passed the Senate in decisive votes on Crossover Day.

• SB 33, sponsored by Marietta Republican Kay Kirkpatrick, subjects chemical compounds like delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and other cannabinoids to testing and labeling regulations that were added last year under Senate Bill 494. It passed in a 50-6 vote.
• SB 254, sponsored by Athens Republican Bill Cowsert, imposes new limits on THC-infused products after the Georgia Department of Agriculture raised the maximum amount of THC that can be included in a single beverage from 5 mg to 10 mg. A surprise Senate floor amendment offered by Randy Robertson, Majority Whip, that bans all drinks with THC barely passed 29-27. A maneuver to reconsider the motion failed, and then the Senate passed the amended bill with a large bipartisan majority.

Vape:

HB 577, the "Georgia Nicotine Vapor Products Directory Act," aimed at regulating nicotine vapor products sold in Georgia, passed the House just prior to adjournment on Thursday. The bill

• Requires the creation of a directory listing authorized products and prohibits selling any vapor products not listed.
• Mandates compliance checks for retailers, outlines penalties for violations, and provides for the seizure of unauthorized products.
• Stipulates that manufacturers must certify their products annually and report compliance to the state.

The act will take effect upon specific funding appropriations and aims to improve public health and safety around nicotine vapor products

Technology: AI & Data Privacy Bills Pass Senate

The Senate this week adopted measures regulating artificial intelligence and data privacy.  

• SB 9 rewrites the laws on obscene material, particularly focusing on computer-generated images of children, establishing stricter penalties, including imprisonment of 1 to 15 years for offenders.
• SB 111 enhances consumer privacy by regulating how personal data is handled by businesses. It establishes clear definitions, consumer rights regarding data, and obligations for controllers (those processing data) and processors. Consumers can request details about their information, corrections, deletions, and can opt out of data selling. The bill includes protections for sensitive data, stipulates how businesses must handle requests, and imposes penalties for non-compliance. It also preempts local governments from imposing stricter privacy laws.

Bills introduced seeking to sunset the data center tax incentive and to codify the PSC's rate making process for data centers were not considered by the full Senate.

Original source: Georgia Legislative Report - MCO Group

01. Legislature Completes Day 21

The General Assembly convened Tuesday through Friday this week, completing day 21 of the 40-day session. The legislature will reconvene Monday, February 24th, for legislative day 22, recess on Tuesday for a committee workday and reconvene on Wednesday and work through Friday, February 28th, completing day 25 of the legislative calendar.  

Committees are in full swing, and legislation continues to make its way through the sub-committee and committee process. By the end of next week there will only be 30 legislative days before crossover day (the day a bill must pass its Chamber of origin) and long days of committee hearings and floor deliberations will continue.

As a reminder, the adjournment resolution (SR 6) and House and Senate committee schedules are linked below.

Legislative tracking reporting through Legistracker is up to date. Please let us know if you have questions or trouble accessing your account.

02. Kelly Loeffler Confirmed to Lead Small Business Administration

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia businesswoman and former senator, to lead the Small Business Administration, returning a stalwart supporter of President Donald Trump to Washington.  At SBA, Loeffler will oversee the entity that describes itself as the only Cabinet-level federal agency "fully dedicated to small business” by providing “counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses.” Typically, the agency, which was founded in 1953, offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by a disaster, loans that can be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other expenses that would have been met if not for the disaster. 

03. Gov Kemp Appointed to White House Council of Governors

Gov. Kemp is among ten governors President Donald Trump appointed to the bipartisan Council of Governors. The Council focuses on helping states and the federal government coordinate on issues related to national security, disaster responses, the military and more. The governors will serve a two-year term. Kemp’s appointment marks the first time a Georgia governor has served on the council. The other appointees include:

• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, co-chair, Republican
  
• North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, co-chair, Democrat
  
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican
  
• Lousiana Gov. Jeff Landry, Republican
  
• Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Democrat
  
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Democrat
  
• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Republican
  
• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Democrat
  
• South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, Republican 

04. Duracell Establishing R&D Global Headquarters in Atlanta

Gov. Kemp announced this week that Duracell, one of the world’s leading battery manufacturers, will establish its new Global Headquarters for Research and Development at Science Square in Atlanta, creating 110 jobs and investing approximately $56 million. Duracell currently has a manufacturing facility in LaGrange, Georgia, that has been in operation since 1980 and a logistics and distribution plant in Fairburn, Georgia, that began operations in 2020 

05. House Passes Hurricane Helene Tax Relief Bill

Tuesday the House of Representatives passed HB 223, which would provide tax relief to agricultural and timber communities in areas of the state impacted by Hurricane Helene, by a vote of 173–0.

The bill was introduced by Majority Whip James Burchett and co-signed by Majority Leader Chuck Efstration and Governor Kemp’s House Floor Leaders State Representatives Lauren McDonald (R-Cumming), Soo Hong (R-Lawrenceville), Matthew Gambill (R-Cartersville) and Will Wade (R-Dawsonville). It mirrors legislation passed in the wake of 2018’s Hurricane Michael and would provide tax benefits to allow federal aid and crop insurance dollars to go further in rebuilding impacted Georgia communities. 

Original source: Georgia Legislative Report - MCO Group

01. Legislature Completes Day 13

The General Assembly convened Monday through Thursday this week, completing day 13 of the 40-day session. The legislature will reconvene Monday, February 10th and work through Thursday, February 13th, to complete days 14 through 17 of the legislative calendar.

Committees continued their organizational meetings, and we began to see legislation making its way through the sub-committee and committee process, and saw several bills debated on the floor of each Chamber. By the end of next week there will only be 11 legislative days before crossover day (the day a bill must pass its Chamber of origin) and we anticipate long days of committee hearings and floor deliberations in the coming weeks.   

As a reminder, the link to the adjournment resolution (legislative calendar ) and the committee meeting schedule can be found weekly in the footer below. 

Legislative tracking reporting through Legistracker is up to date. Please let us know if you have questions or trouble accessing your account.

02. Speaker Burns Introduces School Safety Bill

House Speaker Jon Burns announced Monday the House Republican Caucus will introduce a legislative package to enhance school safety following last year’s deadly school shooting in Barrow County. The bill (HB 268) calls for

A statewide database to track student mental health histories

Development of an app for anonymously reporting threats to schools

A requirement for school districts to create safety management plans

An additional $50 million in one-time school safety grants, which would give each public school in the state $68,000 for safety upgrades

Tax incentives for the purchase of firearm safes and other safety equipment

Strengthening criminal penalties for students and other individuals who target schools with terroristic threats

The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency would help develop the system tracking student mental health history and reported threats that would be investigated by school personnel, mental health professionals and law enforcement agencies to determine the seriousness. Burns said the plan would also create mandatory suspensions of students from school while the extent of their threats are investigated.

03. House Approves $40.5B AFY2025 Budget

The House voted today to approve the $40.5 billion AFY2025 budget that funds improvements to the state's prison system and provides disaster relief to victims of Hurricane Helene. The mid-year budget increases state funding by $4.4 billion over the original budget adopted in March 2024.  $2.7 billion of the increase is funded from reserve funds.  The House proposal fully funds the QBE formula for students in grades K-12 and Governor Kemp's one-time school safety grants, which makes every public school in Georgia eligible for $68,000 to spend as local school officials see fit.

The Senate will begin considering the House version next week. The House Appropriations Committee will begin hearings on the FY 2026 budget, which is expected to be more than $2 billion less than the AFY25 budget. 

04. Doug Collins Confirmed as Secretary of Veteran Affairs

Doug Collins, former Congressman and Air Force Reserve chaplain from Georgia, has been confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the secretary of Veterans Affairs. Both Democratic Senators Jon Osoff and Raphael Warnock voted to confirm Collins. For Warnock, it was a show of support for a former opponent he beat during a 2020 special election. They said they felt confident after meeting privately with Collins that he would work in a bipartisan fashion to provide veterans with the services they need. Collins served in the House of Representatives from 2013-2021

05. Gov Kemp Makes Legal Staff Changes

Governor Kemp announced changes to his legal staff this week, following the announcement that current Executive Counsel Kristyn Long will depart the Governor's Office to serve as General Counsel for the Georgia Hospital Association, effective February 14. Sam Hatcher will then serve as Executive Counsel, as Christine Hayes and Rachel Byers continue to serve as Deputy Executive Counsel and Associate Executive Counsel, respectively. The Governor also announced Evan Meyers departed at the end of January following over three years of dedicated service as Deputy Executive Counsel. 

Legislative Day is quickly approaching, don't miss out. This year we have lined up so many great speakers.  This will be the best Legislative Day Event Ever!