While many lawmakers and lobbyists crawled into the Georgia State Capitol on Monday after the double-whammy of Crossover Day and the return of Daylight Savings Time (to Senator Ben Watson’s chagrin), a few select legislators arrived fresh and dressed for success. As they took turns striking poses for a photo around the building, there was no question what was going on — the publication of the AJC’s annual “Best Dressed Lawmakers” must be near. We could spill the beans on all the expected honorees, but we wouldn’t want to diminish the value of your newspaper subscription. Instead, we’ll stay in our lane by providing free legislative committee meeting summaries in this #GoldDomeReport.
Although there was little floor action in the House and Senate on Monday, all eyes were on the House Appropriations Committee as it revealed its version of the FY 2026 State Budget. Read on for the departures from Governor Brian Kemp’s initial proposal and what programs were prioritized by House appropriators. The full House is expected to vote on the budget on Tuesday.
In this Report:
- House Appropriations Committee Advances FY 2026 State Budget
- Floor Action
- Committee Notes
- New Legislation
- What’s Next
House Appropriations Committee Advances FY 2026 State Budget
The House Appropriations Committee took its funding plan to the full committee for review early this morning. A few highlights are as follows:
- It is a spending plan of more than $37.7 billion (an increase of more than $1.6 billion over the FY 2025 original spending plan).
- Education
- It has funding included to support literacy efforts with $32.7 million for literacy (including $10 million new funds). And there is money for RESAs included for literacy coaches to help give individualized teacher support.
- School safety also has expanded funding — it includes $25 million for the first-year cost of the School and Student Safety Database to gather/investigate school-based threats.
- Money is also included for Student Support Services, providing academic and mental health support for students in and outside of school. This has $19.6 million for the mental health support grants to school systems (much like how school security grants were structured).
- It further contains $302.4 million for education enrollment growth and training and experience for the more than 1,200 students and 3,400 teachers.
- General Government
- State retirees are getting $23.25 million in state funds for an enhanced annual benefit adjustment (this is in addition to a cost-of-living adjustment from the ERS Board of Trustees).
- In the Department of Administrative Services budget, there is $1.5 million for supplemental funds to first responders with occupational post-traumatic stress disorder (as authored HB 451 (2024)).
- The Georgia Department of Natural Resources was restored $4.3 million in funds to its Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program.
- Health
- $32 million is included for reimbursement rate increases to providers treating Medicaid enrollees (e.g. EMS, speech-language pathologists, neonatologists, applied behavior analysis, primary care physicians).
- $10 million in funding for maternal health is included.
- Independent pharmacists are to receive a boost in drugs dispensed to a covered person in an amount equal to the national average drug acquisition cost (an additional $1.2 million for this effort).
- Graduate medical education continues to be a priority and includes funding for 150 new residency slots to the tune of $2.8 million.
- $1.5 million is added to help Georgia’s healthcare professionals who have career fatigue and wellness concerns.
- Higher Education
- This spending plan has $169.5 million in formula funds for the University System of Georgia.
- $2 million is added for research grants through the Georgia Research Alliance.
- $17 million is included for students in the Dual Enrollment program.
- $10 million is added for HOPE private awards, bringing the total award amount to $88 million for those students.
- The Technical College System of Georgia has an additional $33 million in its funding formula.
- Human Resources
- 100 NOW/COMP waiver slots are supported and 50 additional slots are proposed with $3.4 million.
- $9.4 million is added for a new behavioral crisis center in North Fulton County.
- $1 million is included for 400 new non-Medicaid home and community-based slots (meals, respite, home care) to help older Georgians remain in their homes.
- $19.2 million is added to address the State’s growth in foster care numbers and the increased costs of care for those children. Additionally, there is a 2% provider rate increase for child caring institutions, child placing agencies, and relative caregivers.
- Public Safety
- Judges are proposed to get a new salary enhancement, with a new salary structure, for Supreme Court judges, Court of Appeals judges, the Statewide Business Court, and superior courts. There is $16.3 million to fund this.
- $250 million is included for the Department of Corrections. This includes funding for more than 700 correctional officers to address staff-to-inmate ratios. Additionally, there is funding to address capital maintenance efforts for the Department and staff to make those repairs (this is more than $34 million in total).
A tracking sheet of all the House changes to the FY 2026 Budget can be found here. The full House is expected to vote on the spending plan on Tuesday.
Floor Action
The Senate took up the following measures on Legislative Day 29:
- HB 15 - Banking and finance; update terminology; provisions (B&FI-18th) Williamson-112th - PASSED 46-1
The House did not have a Rules Calendar on Legislative Day 29.
Committee Notes
Senate Health and Human Services Committee
Chairman Ben Watson (R-Savannah) and the Health and Human Services Committee discussed three measures:
- HB 473, authored by Representative Ron Stephens (R-Savannah), is the annual drug update in Title 16, addressing controlled substances and regular medications. There are four Controlled I, Class I medications in this year’s bill. Those are addressing opioid designer drugs, mushroom-derived drugs, “illegal” Ritalin, and sports doping drugs. The legislation received a DO PASS recommendation, moving it forward to the Senate Rules Committee.
- HB 89, authored by Representative Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), is a Department of Public Health priority this year. It contains changes in Titles 31 and 37 to address regional perinatal centers and establish a Regional Perinatal Center Advisory Committee (this group will be no fewer than 11 and not more than 21 members). Georgia has six perinatal centers located statewide. Mental health is a major reason for mortality issues, per the latest Maternal Mortality Report (2020-2022), and this legislation addresses access to psychiatric records (which have been restricted in part due to HIPAA). Senator Sonya Halpern (D-Atlanta) shared that she was a part of a meeting that took place last year involving individuals from the Departments of Public Health and Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. This legislation is a part of the “output” from that meeting. Megan Andrews, Assistant Commissioner for the Department of Public Health, noted that this group will be separate and apart from the Maternal Mortality Review Committee. This group is intended to look at the level of care provided in hospitals and determine if there is a need for another perinatal center as there have been no changes in the last 30 years. The legislation received a DO PASS recommendation, moving it forward to the Senate Rules Committee.
- HB 352, authored by Representative Devan Seabaugh (R-Marietta), addresses gestational diabetes management. The legislation before the committee today was a Committee Substitute addressing the prior approval process for the glucose monitors. The original legislation addressing glucose monitors was passed in 2024 in O.C.G.A. 49-4-159.4. This legislation is for Medicaid-covered individuals (pregnant women). The legislation received a DO PASS recommendation, moving it forward to the Senate Rules Committee.
House Health Committee
The room was overflowing with mothers and babies as Chairman Lee Hawkins convened Monday afternoon’s meeting of the House Health Committee. There were four measures on the agenda, including a bill related to midwife licensure, which drew the crowd.
- HB 520, by Representative Karen Mathiak (R-Griffin), is the Georgia Licensed Midwife Act. In Georgia, midwifery is regulated, but the level of recognition and legal status depends on the type of midwife. Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) are licensed and regulated as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) with graduate-level training in midwifery. They primarily work in hospitals, birth centers, and clinics, and they have the authority to prescribe medications. However, CNMs must have a collaborative agreement with a physician to practice, which can limit their autonomy. On the other hand, Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) and lay midwives, who primarily attend home births, are not legally recognized or licensed in Georgia. While families can still hire them, they operate in a legal gray area without state oversight or protection. Representative Mathiak explained that the goal of today’s presentation (hearing only) was for the committee to understand the need for licensure of midwives, stating she was “shaken to [her] core” over reports from constituents of bad actors. She further stated, “When a state has an underground network of healthcare providers, it is our responsibility to provide regulation rather than prosecution.” The bill seeks to provide for licensure and regulation of midwives; it would remove oversight from the Department of Community Health (DPH) over to a separate licensing board. Many midwives currently operate under fear of prosecution and may leave the state (resulting in fewer providers), or have women leave the state to give birth (creating burdens on Georgians). Representative Mathiak said that she did not want to discuss how members feel about midwifery generally, but rather to discuss the specifics of licensure, noting that it is a service that people obviously want, as evidenced by the many mothers in the room.
Two providers spoke to the committee, noting that Georgia ranks 45th in premature deliveries, 44th in infant mortality, and 48th in maternal mortality (Department of Health 2022). They also pointed out the difference between midwives and doulas, which are often conflated. Doulas are non-clinical providers. Midwives train from three to seven years. Trained to prevent loss. There are nurse midwives and non-nurse midwives. Educational pathways are flexible. Under HB 520, all direct-entry midwives (non-nurses) would be required to pass a competency exam. The goal is safe midwifery for those who want an alternative to hospital-based care. A midwife’s scope of practice includes preconception, pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. Outside of delivery, there are usually 10-15 hour-long appointments with a patient. Midwives don’t write prescriptions but would like to be able to carry certain emergency medications. Every neighboring state licenses midwives.
19 people were signed up to speak to the bill, but limited time allowed for only a few. There was wide support for the practice of midwifery, but opinions varied on how it should be regulated. Some midwives opposed the bill as written, wanting the provisions to be broader to include more providers. Representative Park Cannon (D-Atlanta), spoke in her capacity as a birth doula (she is not a member of the committee) and testified that she believes licensure is too high a bar. Though many did not get an opportunity to speak at this meeting, there will be time for more public comment, as this was a hearing only and no vote was taken.
- SB 6, authored by Senator Kay Kirkpatrick (R-Marietta) and sponsored in the House by Representative Sharon Cooper (R-Marrietta) authorizes the use of testing equipment to determine whether a controlled substance has been adulterated. The bill broadens the fentanyl test strip authority provided in a previous legislative session to allow other types of drug testing strips and equipment to be possessed and used without violating the statutory ban on “drug-related objects.”
Jeff Breedlove spoke on behalf of Georgia Council for Recovery, expressing full support. Adulteration of these products happens at lightning speed, and this will help people keep up with it. These strips undoubtedly will save lives in Georgia. The bill received a DO PASS recommendation.
- SB 58, authored by Senator John Albers (R-Roswell) and sponsored by Representative Rick Townsend (R-Brunswick) in the House, is the "Georgia Transporting Life-Saving Organs and Personnel Act." This measure, amending Chapter 11 of Title 31, allows life-saving organ transport vehicles to operate in the same way as other emergency vehicles, with lights and sirens. Senator Albers shared that this bill is personal to him, having donated a kidney to his own son. Vehicles won’t need to run red lights and sirens that often, but when they do, it’ll be no different than fire trucks, ambulances, or police during an emergency. The legislation was crafted with input from the Department of Public Safety. The bill received a DO PASS recommendation and moves on to the Rules Committee.
- SB 130, authored by Senator Mike Hodges (R-Brunswick), amends Title 31 to expand medical education funding and the service cancelable loan program. Specifically, the bill expands the definition of designated teaching hospitals to cover clinics and FQHCs participating in Medicare and Medicaid for purposes of securing facility funding under O.C.G.A. 31-7-95. It also expands the service cancelable loan program for providers in rural areas to cover those participating in residencies and fellowships in their final year.
Senator Hodges presented the bill to the committee, explaining that it simply expands two existing programs focused on increasing providers in underserved areas. Representative Jasmin Clark (D-Lilburn) asked how much money would need to be appropriated. This does not expand the pool of money but rather expands who is eligible to receive it. The author offered two verbal amendments, and the bill was held to give time to refine the language and draft a substitute.
Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) and members of the Senate Finance Committee took up several initiatives this afternoon:
- HR 32, authored by Representative Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula), seeks to create a constitutional amendment in Article VI, Section i, Paragraph III for bona fide conservation use property, including agricultural and timber land. Currently, this allows a single owner to have 2,000 acres; this amendment would increase that to 4,000 acres per single owner. This change will hopefully preserve property from being split when families own large numbers of acres of property. HB 90 is the enabling legislation for this amendment and also seeks to increase the number of acres from 2,000 to 4,000 for single owners. The legislation received a DO PASS recommendation, moving it forward to the Senate Rules Committee. Note, the legislation was previously before the committee but legislative counsel suggested a grammatical change. Senator Sam Watson (R-Moultrie) will carry the initiatives in the Senate.
- HR 42, authored by Representative Matthew Gambill (R-Cartersville), is seeking to ratify the diesel and motor fuel tax suspension which was done by Governor Kemp during the hurricane response. Representative Gambill, an administration floor leader, explained that this was a savings to Georgians of $140-160 million over the two-week period where the tax was suspended. This type of suspension has been ratified previously. Senator Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) noted that these funds were coming from the State’s general fund and that not all Georgians have a car and benefit. The savings was approximately $.30 per gallon of fuel. The committee gave the initiative a DO PASS recommendation, moving it forward to the Senate Rules Committee. Senator Drew Echols (R-Gainesville) will carry the measure forward in the Senate.
- HB 141, authored by Representative Martin Momtahan (R-Dallas), is the legislation addressing gross receipts of a business in Chapter 13 of Title 48. The goal of the bill is to offer financial privacy protection. Rather than requiring that the business owner provide details on occupation taxes and other financial information (vendor lists, competitive pricing, payroll information, etc.), this allows a CPA to submit an affidavit to certify the gross receipts. This will allow the safeguarding of information and offer tax compliance. Senator John Albers (R-Roswell) commented that this legislation was a “beautiful thing.” The initiative received a DO PASS recommendation, moving it forward to the Senate Rules Committee.
- HB 223, authored by Representative James Burchett (R-Waycross), is another piece of legislation addressing damages from Hurricane Helene. It addresses Chapter 7 of Title 48. Senator Russ Goodman (R- Homerville) added his TREES Act (SB 52) legislation to the proposal. The underlying legislation addressed an income tax exemption for disaster relief, allowed up to $400 tax credit per acre of impacted timber property, and provided that building supplies would be exempt from taxation if those supplies were used in the construction of livestock barns. That tax credit aggregate cap was placed at $200 million. Senator Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) had a number of questions for the authors — such as credits from losses that can exceed taxable income (which was also done after Hurricane Michael) and the fact that it is not a transferable credit. The legislation received a DO PASS recommendation (unanimous despite questions), moving the legislation forward to the Senate Rules Committee. Senator Goodman will carry the measure forward in the Senate.
- HB 290, authored by Representative John Carson (R-Marietta), is the annual Internal Revenue Code update. This “marries” Georgia’s law in Title 48 with the current federal provisions. In part, it addresses the Disaster Relief Act and the grants provided. The fiscal note on the proposal shows less than $1 million in revenue lost. The legislation received a DO PASS recommendation, moving it forward to the Senate Rules Committee. Senator John Albers (R-Roswell) will carry the legislation forward in the Senate.
New Legislation
The following new legislation of interest has been introduced in the House:
The following new legislation of interest has been introduced in the Senate:
