Senate committee meetings continue under the Gold Dome as this report is published on Wednesday. With the Senate’s requirement that bills pass out of committee before the chamber convenes for Legislative Day 38, legislators will work furiously late into the night to get their measures out to Rules before gaveling in at noon on Thursday. At that point, bills still pending in committee turn into pumpkins, only to see life again next year — or on a vehicle arriving sometime during the final three days. Join us for the ride in the #GoldDomeReport.

Both chambers had brisk floor calendars on Wednesday. The House passed Governor Brian Kemp’s labor union-busting bill (SB 362) and legislation establishing the School Supplies for Teachers Program that also includes literacy screener requirements (SB 464). Meanwhile, the Senate took up a slew of “department bills” promoted by the State’s executive agencies before giving final approval to the voucher bill passed by the House earlier in the week (SB 233).

In this Report:

• Floor Notes
• Committee Reports
• New Legislation
• What’s Next

Floor Notes

The House took up the following measures on Legislative Day 37:

• SB 328 - Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund; provisions; revise — PASSED 161-0
• SB 362 - State Government; employee representation by a labor organization for employers to receive certain economic development incentives from the state; provide requirements — PASSED 96-78
• SB 412 - Professions and Businesses; administrative and civil sanctions against charitable organizations, paid solicitors, and solicitor agents for certain violations; change provisions — PASSED 173-1
• SB 424 - West Georgia Judicial Circuit; create — PASSED 175-0
• SB 455 - Medical Assistance; provisions to comply with federal law; revise - PASSED 170-2
• SB 464 - School Supplies for Teachers Program; establish — PASSED 169-1
• SB 465 - Homicide; the felony offense of aggravated involuntary manslaughter; provide — PASSED 175-0
• SB 493 - Sexual Offender Risk Review Board; additional penalties for registered sexual offenders; provide — PASSED 170-0
• SB 533 - Proceedings; jail-based competency restoration programs; provide — PASSED 159-8
• SB 340 - Sales and Use Taxes; firearm safes and firearm safety devices; exempt — PASSED 169-1

The Senate took up the following measures on Legislative Day 37:

• HB 285 - Employees' Retirement System of Georgia; total percentage of funds invested in alternative investments; raise limit — POSTPONED
• HB 456 - Local government; increase term for municipal court judges from one year to two years; provisions — PASSED 51-2
• HB 808 - Ad valorem tax; increase a statewide exemption for tangible personal property — FAILED 33-18
• HB 935 - Motor vehicles; standards for a conviction through the use of speed devices; provide — PASSED 53-0
• HB 984 - Insurance, Department of; Office of the Safety Fire Commissioner; update practices — PASSED 50-1
• HB 1015 - Income tax; reduce rate of tax — PASSED 40-12
• HB 1023 - Income tax; match tax rate imposed on corporations to that imposed on individual taxpayers — PASSED 34-17
• HB 1083 - Community Health, Department of; adult residential mental health services licensing; extend grace periods — PASSED 49-0
• HB 1114 - Data Analysis for Tort Reform Act; enact — POSTPONED
• HB 1122 - Education; provide for funding requirements to apply to local agencies; charter schools; provisions — PASSED 51-0
• HB 1201 - Criminal procedure; vacating of sentences of victims of trafficking; provisions — PASSED 51-0
• HB 1237 - Agriculture; agricultural commodity commissions; revise a definition — PASSED 51-0
• HB 1267 - Georgia Tax Court Act of 2025; enact - PASSED 45-1
• HB 1326 - Crimes and offenses; Schedule I, Schedule III, and Schedule IV controlled substances; provide certain provisions — PASSED 50-0
• HB 1344 - Behavioral Health Coordinating Council; allow for certain officials on to be represented by a delegate or agent — PASSED 49-1
• HR 598 - Georgia Tax Tribunal; vest judicial power; provide for venue and jurisdiction - CA — PASSED 49-1

Committee Reports

House Public Health Committee

Chairman Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) and the House Public Health Committee met to take up one bill this afternoon:

• SB 198, authored by Senator Sally Harrell (D-Atlanta), is the legislation seeking to codify the creation of the Georgians with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Innovation Commission in Chapter 1 of Title 37. This bill was stripped of its original language and in its place, Representative Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville) inserted language to amend O.C. G.A. 33-64-9.1 relating to reimbursement methodologies utilized by pharmacy benefits managers to address issues around payments made to independent pharmacies by the State Health Benefit Plan’s PBM, CVS-Caremark. It requires reimbursement of an independent pharmacy for a drug dispensed to an insured individual under the State Health Benefit Plan for self-administration in an amount not less than the average reimbursement for chain pharmacies reimbursed for the same drug on the same day the drug is dispensed by the independent pharmacy. The committee had a number of questions raised about these reimbursement practices. Chairman Cooper indicated she was going to have a study committee (including members Representative Darlene Taylor (R-Thomasville), Representative Teddy Reese (D-Columbus), and Representative Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna)) to look further into these issues post-session, but at the moment, immediate relief is needed for the independent pharmacies. Representative Teri Anulewicz (D-Smyrna) noted her concern relating to the elimination of the commission originally proposed but Chairman Cooper shared that Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Kevin Tanner has instituted many new measures that may address the concerns the commission might have reviewed. She further indicated that they could come back later to create the commission. Greg Reybold, an attorney for the American Pharmacy Cooperative (which represents independent pharmacies) spoke to the need for the language offered by Representative Hawkins, including that five Georgia independent pharmacies have closed since February 1, 2024, because of financial reasons. Further, Reybold noted that pharmacy benefit managers have contracts with the individual pharmacies and sometimes the payor (State Health Benefit Plan) would not know the intricacies of those contracts. There was discussion on how contracts are confidential and a difficulty for the Department of Community Health, which Representative Hawkins indicated was working diligently on these issues and does not always know about the PBM’s actions. The legislation, LC 33 9725S, received a DO PASS recommendation, moving to the House Rules Committee.

House Ways & Means Committee

Chairman Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) called the House Committee to order to discuss the following measure:

• SB 349, originally authored by Senator Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome), amended Title 48 to revise property taxation. Chairman Blackmon presented LC 50 0898S, which now includes language from Representative Dale Washburn’s (R-Macon) HB 1031, Representative Beth Camp’s (R-Concord) HB 1185, and Representative Noel Williams (R-Cordele) HB 1115. Section 1 includes language out of HB 1031. Section 1 includes the estimated rollback, adjusts notice, and requires the bill appraiser to appraise every three years. If neither the taxpayer nor the agent attends the appeal moving forward to the superior court, the 85% increases to 100%. Section 2 has language from HB 1185. Section 2, instead of opting in, is now an opt-out. If the referendum goes out, it would require an opt-out for the levying authority of that homestead exemption. Section 3 is from HB 1115 with adjustments. Section 3 includes FLOST only if all counties and cities do not opt-out and allows for a LOST to reduce property taxes. Several amendments were passed:
  • On line 512 replace “each local Act that imposes the tax authorized” with “the intergovernmental agreement required” and strike “within a special district.”
  • On line 515 replace “local Act” with intergovernmental agreement.”
  • On line 519 replace “local Act” with intergovernmental agreement.”
  • On line 524 replace “local Act” with intergovernmental agreement.”
  • On line 592 replace “local Act” with intergovernmental agreement.”
  • On line 637 replace “local Act” with intergovernmental agreement.”

The measure received a DO PASS recommendation as amended.

New Legislation

The following new legislation of interest has been introduced:

What’s Next

The General Assembly will reconvene for Legislative Day 38 on Thursday, March 21 at 10 a.m.

The House is expected to take up the following measures on Legislative Day 37:

• SB 69 - Honorable Clarence Thomas; placement of a monument in his honor within the capitol building or grounds; provide
• SB 112 - "Workforce EXCELeration Act"; enact
• SB 368 - Government Transparency and Campaign Finance; foreign nationals from contributing to candidates or campaign committees; prohibit
• SB 469 - "College Success 529 Expansion Act"; enact
• SB 472 - "Combating Organized Retail Crime Act"; enact
• SB 520 - Domestic Relations; provisions relating to income withholding orders; change and clarify

The Senate Rules Committee had not yet set a Rules Calendar for Legislative Day 37 at our deadline.