Need help understanding these bills? A bill glossary is at the bottom of this page. You can also view our bill tracker here.
Yesterday was Crossover Day, the day by which a bill must pass out of its originating legislative chamber to be considered by the other chamber before the end of Georgia’s Legislative Session. The end of session, known as Sine Die, is scheduled for March 28, 2024.
Georgia’s Legislative Session is constitutionally limited to a maximum of 40 days each year, and the decisions lawmakers make between now and Sine Die will affect every Georgian. These decisions will dictate how our public education system serves Georgia’s children and workforce, how welcoming we are as a state, what supports are offered to families with low incomes and whether we continue to treat poverty as a criminal offense.
With the state’s unprecedented cash reserves, each legislative decision this session has an opportunity to move Georgia toward supporting all people to prosper, especially low-income Georgians and communities of color. Georgia remains one of two states that continue to lack broad state need-based financial aid for college and this Legislative Session has seen the state come as close as ever to meaningfully expanding educational opportunities. Still, concerns remain regarding harmful property tax and immigration legislation, which threaten to further entrench historical legacies of racism.
As the Georgia General Assembly heads into the last leg of the session, it is vital for lawmakers to make informed decisions. They must consider Georgia’s history and context while determining what should be continued, left behind or started anew. Lawmakers can support funding options and policies that support children and adults and help advance prosperity in every community.
Critical Bills That Crossed Over (And Some That Did Not)
The Budget (HB 915, see also Conference Committee Highlights)
Every session, the General Assembly is constitutionally required to pass a budget to fund state government. The budget embodies what is important to elected officials and reflects their values and priorities. The General Assembly passed the $37.9 billion Amended Fiscal Year (AFY) 2024 budget, which Governor Kemp signed into law. The amended budget represents an increase of 16.9% ($5.4 billion) from the original FY 2024 budget passed last year and makes up to $2 billion in funding from Georgia’s undesignated reserves available. However, if revenue collections continue at the current pace, the state may retain all or most of that $2 billion. The AFY 2024 budget also allocates over $2.7 billion in funding for infrastructure projects, including $392 million for repairs and improvements to the state Capitol building and complex, $50 million for a new medical school at the University of Georgia, $178 million for a new dental school at Georgia Southern University, and $436.8 million for the construction of a new state prison facility in Washington County.
Finally, the budget includes $500 million to fund the Freight Infrastructure Projects program, $250 million in one-time funding for local transportation projects and $98 million in airport aid. The AFY 2024 Budget also includes $500 million for the Employees Retirement System of Georgia to support cost-of-living adjustments for retirees in future years and over $300 million for a one-time $1,000 bonus for state employees and teachers.
The House has not yet advanced the full-year, FY 2025 budget, which legislators can pass after the Crossover Day deadline.
Revenue
Georgia’s year-over-year tax revenue collections are up through January, and the state maintains a balance of $5.4 billion in its Revenue Shortfall Reserve, along with an additional $10.9 billion in undesignated state reserves. Georgia continues to hold most of its surplus funds rather than invest them in core services to meet the bevy of needs facing Georgians and their communities. Last year, members of the House and Senate undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the state’s tax code as part of the General Assembly’s Joint Tax Credit Review Panel, which was authorized under 2022’s HB 1437. Four pieces of legislation emerged as a result of the panel’s work, which all passed the chamber in which they originated by Crossover Day.
The legislative package includes SB 366, which provides greater transparency around tax expenditures, including listing annual cost estimates in appropriations legislation, creating a permanent Joint Committee on Taxation and Economic Development, and strengthening the current process of evaluating the effects of existing and proposed tax provisions. The package also included HB 1180, which implements common-sense safeguards to Georgia’s Film Tax Credit, including an annual cap on the amount of credits that can be transferred (equivalent to 2.5% of the state budget, or about $902 million in FY 2025) and new requirements to obtain the full 30% credit that prioritize hiring in-state vendors and workers.
Also included are HB 1181, which adds sunsets to a series of tax credits and standardizes the time limitations within which these tax credits must be used, and HB 1192, which discontinues the state’s sales tax exemption for high-technology data center equipment and creates the Special Commission on Data Center Energy Planning.
Other positive developments included the House passage of HB 1021 to increase the state income tax exemption allowed for a dependent, such as a child or elder parent, from $3,000 to $4,000, amounting to about $54 per year in tax savings per dependent and an overall cost of $152 million in FY 2025.
Several new policies would create a drain on state revenues. The House passed HB 1015, reducing the state’s personal income tax rate to 5.39% effective January 1, 2024. Most Georgians are unlikely to notice the impact of this change, which is estimated to save middle-income households an average of $34 over a full year, at an overall estimated cost of $361 million in FY 2025. Another measure, HB 1023, secured passage in the House to reduce the state’s flat corporate income tax rate from 5.75% to match the personal income tax rate going forward. In FY 2025, the corporate tax rate would be reduced to 5.39% at an estimated cost of $151 million, of which the vast majority would go to the state’s largest corporations and top earners. This cluster of tax breaks could be strengthened and made more impactful for low- and middle-income Georgians by adding an Earned Income Tax Credit or by enacting similar refundable tax credit programs such as those proposed in HB 79 and SB 118.
Despite strong interest in exploring the issue at the start of the session, lawmakers did not advance legislation to lift the state’s tobacco tax, which ranks 49/50 nationally at $0.37 cents per pack of cigarettes in contrast to the national average of $1.93.
The House and Senate also advanced measures seeking to cap annual increases in homesteaded property taxes (owner-occupied primary residences). In the Senate, legislators approved SB 349, which proposes a statewide referendum to create a new property tax homestead exemption limiting annual assessment increases to 3% year-over-year. These caps are likely to result in less funding available for public schools, causing budget cuts or increased reliance on other sources of revenue such as fines and fees. SB 349 also includes positive provisions aimed at closing loopholes in the assessment appeals process and freeing up resources to allow tax assessors to assess and collect property taxes fairly.
In the House, members advanced HB 1185 and HR 1022, a constitutional amendment package, which would authorize individual local referenda to create new homestead exemptions, capping annual property assessment increases at the inflation rate. These measures were passed in addition to House Bill 808, which would increase the statewide tax exemption for all personal property from $7,500 to $20,000 and House Bill 1019, which would increase the existing statewide homestead exemption from $2,000 to $4,000 at an estimated cost of up to $126 million.
Education
One of the most positive highlights of this Legislative Session is the introduction of SB 526, “The Good Faith Grant.” The Good Faith Grant Act seeks to establish a comprehensive need-based financial aid program for students attending two-year and four-year colleges in Georgia who demonstrate financial need. To remove barriers to higher education, lawmakers propose the Good Faith Grant to assist Georgia students with college affordability. SB 526 was filed on February 16 and referred to the Senate Higher Education Committee, but the bill did not have a hearing. It is a small but significant step that will propel Georgia’s need-based aid forward in the coming years.
With the possibility of state funding that could support need-based aid at public colleges and universities, sports betting is also in motion. SB 386 passed in the Senate along with a constitutional amendment, SR 579, and 80% of the proceeds would be allocated to fully fund pre-kindergarten and provide financial aid to students through tuition grants, scholarships and loans.
In addition to these sports betting bills, HB 853 would repeal the Postsecondary Education Act of 1990 to seek parity with federal law. This bill allows students who have drug convictions involving marijuana or a controlled substance to become eligible for the HOPE Scholarship. The House Higher Education Committee heard HB 853 once, but the bill did not have a second hearing in committee and, therefore, will not crossover for further consideration this legislative session.
In alignment with decreasing college affordability issues, HB 1124 crossed over, which lowers the threshold of courses that students in need must complete to receive a “completion grant” and finish their degree. HB 1435, passed in 2022, allowed individuals who have completed 80% of their degree requirements to qualify for a completion grant. HB 1124 lowers that threshold to 70% for individuals in a four-year program and provides that individuals in a two-year program complete 45% of their courses to qualify for a completion grant. HB 1124 also extends the sunset of this bill from 2025 to 2027.
In pre-K through 12, a trio of bills that would have each significantly reformed how public schools are funded failed to cross over: HB 3, HB 668 and SB 284. Georgia is one of only six states without specific funding to educate students living in poverty, and all three of the bills would have created such a grant.
One often-overlooked area of the school system got a lifeline via SB 105 passing out of the Senate. This bill increases and tweaks the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS). While teachers and other certified school employees are eligible for the Teachers Retirement System, many employees, such as bus drivers and custodial workers, are only allowed to participate in PSERS, a pension with a significantly smaller retirement benefit. SB 105 increases the monthly benefit and provides the Employees Retirement System of Georgia, which manages PSERS, the authority to increase the pension in the future without legislative approval.
Vouchers remain unpopular with Georgians, but voucher bills continue to be introduced yearly. Two voucher bills, SB 233 and HB 101, have not moved this session, but are still in play after crossing over in the first year of the biennium.
SB 233 needlessly risks precious public school funding when school districts are wrestling with teacher and staff turnover. SB 233 has echoes of SB 601, which failed in 2022 amid similar cost concerns as those raised above. SB 233 and 601 both amount to a private school handout at the expense of a public school system that equitably serves all Georgia students across urban and rural areas.
In addition, HB 101, another voucher bill, crossed over last year. This bill would increase the annual limit on the Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit to $130 million from $120 million. Like SB 233, HB 101 threatens to drain millions of dollars away from public schools.
Both SB 233 and HB 101 are fiscally irresponsible and come at a time of surging public support for increased funding for public school transportation, children in poverty, and more. Lawmakers should listen to Georgia voters and vote NO on these two bills.
One voucher bill that crossed over this session would take steps to provide some much-needed transparency for one of Georgia’s existing private school vouchers. HB 579, which passed the House, makes an incremental tweak to the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship, a voucher for students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan. This bill would add certain data reporting requirements (e.g., race, income) so that the public understands the performance and use of public funding inside private educational institutions.
On the Pre-K front, HB 941 and SB 360 call for school systems to consider projected Pre-K student counts when considering capital improvements. This action should support the creation of more Pre-K classrooms in public schools. The Senate version crossed over this year.
Immigrant Communities
A trio of harmful immigration-related bills advanced this session under the guise of public safety reform. However, these bills risk increasing burdens on overstretched local police and jail personnel by withholding state and federal funds and mandating cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). HB 1105 crossed over and included language that would effectively turn all of Georgia into a statewide 287(g) jurisdiction, requiring a depth of cooperation with ICE previously only pursued voluntarily by a few local governments. At the same time, HB 1415 never made it out of committee, but its most harmful provisions were folded into HB 1105.
HB 1102, a bill without a clear public policy purpose but with clear narrative implications, focuses on transferring undocumented immigrants who have experienced incarceration to “sanctuary states,” or states that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or other agencies to enforce federal immigration rules. This bill never made it out of committee.
A pair of other harmful immigration-related bills would open local governments up to the risk of drained coffers and extensive civil litigation. HB 1359 would permit a property owner to submit a claim for a property tax refund based on a claim that their local government does not enforce immigration law because of a “sanctuary policy” as defined in OCGA § 36-80-23. This legislation runs the risk of encouraging fraudulent property tax reduction claims, defunding public schools, and lacks sufficient guardrails to prevent abuse by property owners. HB 1359 failed to cross over.
Additionally, SB 559 restates current obligations of local law enforcement with regards to immigration law including immigration “detainers” (a “hold” that keeps a person in jail longer while waiting for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pick them up from the jail). The bill adds a new provision around a waiver of “sovereign immunity” if a local government fails to comply with the state’s requirements to follow federal immigration law. In other words, local governments are open to lawsuits if they are found to have violated immigration rules. SB 559 failed to cross over.
Another pair of harmful immigration-related bills center around property ownership and may risk violations of the federal Fair Housing Act, which helps shield people from discrimination when renting or buying a home. HB 1093 provides for limitations on the holding, purchase, and lease of agricultural lands for foreign nationals of China, Cuba and Venezuela to protect Georgians from the risks posed by governments deemed a “foreign adversary.” However, when implemented, it is unclear whether the bill will effectively focus on the governments of those countries or instead harm individuals and immigrant communities, potentially stripping people of color of their land ownership, a pattern repeated throughout the history of the deep south. HB 1093 did cross over.
Like HB 1093, SB 420 enhances the possibility of depriving immigrants of their right to own property, with potentially little impact on the foreign governments deemed to be the focus of the legislation. SB 420 crossed over. Both HB 1093 and SB 420 are like HB 452 and SB 132 from last year’s Legislative Session.
Together, these harmful bills remove the ability of local governments (who know their communities) to make the best decisions for their communities. These bills thus deprive residents of the representation of their local officials. The bills also add burdensome compliance requirements and either actively drain local tax coffers or expose local governments to potentially fraudulent tax reduction claims and expensive legal liability. They also risk furthering a pattern of stripping communities of color of land ownership with potentially little value added from a national security perspective. Finally, the bills support a broad anti-immigrant narrative at a moment when heightened public tensions could lead to discrimination and violence against immigrant communities.
In addition to harmful bills, three beneficial, immigrant-inclusive bills were introduced this session; however, none crossed over.
SB 478, The Freedom to Drive Act, expands driving authorization for non-US citizens, helping them get to work, care for their children and more fully participate in their communities. This bill is important because Georgia ranks 27th in public transit spending. Families depend on driving to work, doctor’s appointments, and groceries. Although Georgia now has fewer 287(g) jurisdictions, a major mechanism by which undocumented drivers were detained and deported, licensing undocumented drivers remains an important step in protecting immigrant communities.
In higher education, non-US citizens of Georgia who have obtained a high school or high school equivalency diploma and are legally authorized to work in the state can receive in-state tuition under SB 476. This bill would cover beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and refugees. Similarly, HB 131 would provide “opportunity tuition” (between 101% and 110% of in-state tuition) for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Finally, HB 127 establishes rules and regulations for foreign-language interpreters working with students in educational settings. It requires that parents and children be informed of the availability of interpretation services in discussions around their child’s Individual Education Plan.
Economic Justice
The legislature maintained much of the status quo around economic security in some areas and worsened the issue in others. Advancing through the committee was HB 565, which increases the Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) time limit from 48 months to 60 months, increases the savings and assets limits and raises the monthly benefit to 30% of the federal poverty guidelines. However, HB 565 failed to cross over.
A bill harmful to workers, SB 475, related to unemployment insurance (UI) made it through committee but fortunately failed to cross over. SB 475 seeks to boost UI trust fund revenue by claiming a higher percentage of fraud penalties. Unfortunately, this bill may incentivize charging those who make honest UI claim filing mistakes with fraud, and then using the penalty revenue generated from that alleged fraud to boost the trust fund. The need for UI trust fund revenue remains a critical need. However, restoring the trust fund to health (it is headed toward insolvency) requires more sustainable revenue through the state appropriations process and employer contributions. As with last year, the state continues to make UI financing choices that limit the replenishment of trust fund reserves depleted by the pandemic-triggered economic downturn.
SB 362, another bill harmful to workers, crossed over early in the session. This bill seeks to charge and enforce repayment of “any and all” economic incentives to employers that automatically recognize and accept union representation in response to worker organizing. This bill says that employers can only recognize union representation through secret ballot union elections that are coordinated through the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
This bill could allow employers to carry out union-busting, employee intimidation and time-stalling tactics commonly practiced during secret ballot union elections. However, labor attorneys suggest that the legislation is pre-empted by federal law. Therefore, there will likely be litigation if SB 362 passes. HB 501, which also crossed over, would repeal the requirement that certain employers need an employment certificate to hire 14- and 15-year-olds for work outside school hours. This bill requires no training and exposes young teenagers to potentially dangerous work conditions in the landscaping industry.
With these three worker-harming bills, two bills benefitting workers crossed over: HB 1010 and HB 1125. The HB 1010 bill aims to enhance the previous efforts made to provide parental leave to state and public school employees. The new bill proposes to increase the maximum parental leave from 120 hours to 240 hours, which is a significant improvement. However, it is important to note that the bill does not come with any state funding to support it. This bill does not cover other valid reasons for workers to take paid leave, such as an extended health concern. HB 1010 passed out of the House before Crossover Day. HB 1125, which also crossed over, would raise the floor for working Georgians with disabilities, phasing out sub-minimum wage and raising their pay to the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
Criminal Legal Systems
GBPI recognizes that the safety of children and everyone entering and leaving the schoolhouse is essential. However, GBPI has major concerns that some of the proposed bills may not fully consider the impact of enforcement mechanisms like speeding cameras. For example, HB 348, while failing last year, addresses school zone safety by allowing an expansion of automated speeding devices in school zones to be the primary enforcement tool for school traffic safety. This bill would remove authority from schools to apply to the state Department of Transportation for school zone speeding camera permits. It would give that authority instead to local governments or local law enforcement agencies.
It is anticipated that the use of speeding cameras in school zones will increase exponentially, which is expected to provide an additional source of revenue for local governments and law enforcement agencies. However, this may lead to increased fines and fees, further burdening Georgians who are already struggling financially. HB 348 did not pass beyond the House Rules Committee this year.
Legislation that will exacerbate entanglement with the criminal legal system also advanced. SB 100 and SB 63 would increase the number of offenses mandated for cash bail. The legislature made similar attempts last year through multiple bills that failed. SB 100 mandates cash bail for anyone facing criminal charges who failed to appear for a court date in the past ten years, including those related to traffic offenses. SB 100 did not advance this session.
SB 63 is currently awaiting the governor’s signature and, if signed, would introduce 30 new charges that would require mandatory cash bail. These charges include missing a court date for a traffic ticket more than once, charges typically associated with protesting, and charges frequently brought against unhoused individuals in Georgia. The bill restricts the number of times a person or organization can post bail for someone. It also limits who can set bail terms and puts more constraints on the functions of bail funds.
While harmful criminal legal system bills continue to advance year after year, there are occasional positive measures that do make a difference. For instance, HB 926 crossed over and offers a streamlined process for license restoration and a rescheduled court date for someone with only one instance of failing to appear for a court date and having their driver’s license suspended. This bill was passed to address the negative impact of driver’s license suspensions on Georgia’s workforce.
Health
Expanding access to life-saving health care for hundreds of thousands of uninsured Georgians has garnered significant attention this Legislation Session. Despite early indications that House leadership is open to closing the coverage gap by purchasing uninsured, low-income Georgians qualified health plans on the health insurance marketplace, legislation authorizing such a program has yet to materialize. Governor Kemp has signaled his continued desire to pursue the Pathways to Coverage program and, in February 2024, announced a lawsuit against the Biden Administration to extend the timeline for the demonstration. Pathways to Coverage expands access to health care for Georgians with lower incomes who work, go to school, or volunteer at least 80 hours per month. Despite an initial investment of about $20 million in state funds, that program has enrolled only about 3,000 Georgians within the first seven months (as of mid-January)—amounting to about 1% of the eligible population. As elected officials weigh the health care policy options, they can consider that Georgians continue to overwhelmingly support the state doing more to improve health care access for its residents.
For many years, the General Assembly has also grappled with Certificate of Need laws, which regulate how the state approves the creation of new or expansion of existing health care facilities. HB 1339 makes modest reforms to Certificate of Need, increases the cap for the Rural Hospital Tax Credit, and establishes a Comprehensive Health Coverage commission to advise the General Assembly on issues related to health care access and quality for uninsured and low-income Georgians.
HB 1339 crossed over to the Senate, where a 2023 Study Committee on Certificate of Need reform recommended full repeal of the existing laws. While GBPI remains neutral on Certificate of Need reform, we strongly recommend including language to expand access to health care for Georgians earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level rather than pursuing a commission. Almost 82% of Georgia voters agree that the state should do more to improve access to health care, and closing the coverage gap is a fiscally responsible and racially just solution that the state can enact immediately.
Georgia also continues to grapple with too many women dying of preventable causes during and after pregnancy and a concerning increase in babies dying during infancy. HB 1037, which has crossed over to the Senate, creates the Georgia Commission on Maternal and Infant Health and requires that a report with policy recommendations be submitted to the Governor and General Assembly by June 2026. While focused attention on this issue is important and appreciated, the membership of the Commission should be amended to include Georgians with lived experience—particularly Black women, who are two times more likely to die from maternal mortality compared to white women in Georgia.
Similarly, HR 1231, which failed to cross over, is a resolution to create a House Study Committee on maternal, prenatal and pediatric care, access and funding and would result in policy recommendations no later than December 2024. Lastly, SB 293, which crossed over to the House, changes the qualifications required for district public health directors from a medical degree to a master’s degree and makes some modifications to the governance structure for our state’s public health system—all of which has implications for our ability to track and respond to health threats and ongoing public health issues, like maternal and infant mortality.
Looking Ahead
The bills mentioned above must still pass through the other legislative chamber before they become law. This is the second year of a two-year Legislative Session, which means that bills that do not cross over cannot be considered again. However, lawmakers can introduce new proposals in 2025 that may include similar language. Lawmakers can also, in this session, append language from bills that have not crossed over to other, relevant legislation.
Legislators should consider whether the policies they vote on after Crossover Day truly serve Georgians. GBPI also encourages lawmakers to take seriously the racial equity dimensions of their job and ask themselves whether and how the policies in front of them dismantle racial inequity or reinforce it. Lawmakers must consider the broader transparency implications of their work and what macro-level state practices can make government more honest, ethical and responsive.
While GBPI did not get all it wanted on Crossover Day, the organization will advocate for movement this session on other priorities, including:
- Passing a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit, the Georgia Work Credit, which would reduce the amount of income tax owed by low- and middle-income families.
- Creating and funding an Opportunity Weight that provides additional money to educate students living in poverty.
- Advocating for the expansion of access to driver’s licenses for all Georgians regardless of legal status.
- Restructuring Georgia’s cash assistance program, also known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, by eliminating barriers that prevent families in deep poverty from accessing and keeping cash aid.
- Deprioritizing spending increases in law enforcement, jail and prison construction, instead funding alternative strategies to further rehabilitate, reintegrate, and preserve criminal legal system-involved Georgians within the workforce.
- Closing the health care coverage gap to ensure hundreds of thousands of low-income, uninsured adults have access to life-saving care.
A full list of GBPI’s policy priorities is available here.
Bill Glossary
Senate Bill 364
Senate Bill 364 (one of several bills focused on either a cap or a freeze on assessed home property value or related taxes) Provides for a statewide homestead exemption (typically governed at the local level), capping annual changes to the property’s assessed value at no more than three percent over the base year established. GBPI has concerns about the long-term effects of this bill on local school funding.
House Bill 1021
Increases the exemption allowed for a dependent, such as a child or elder parent, from $3,000 to $4,000, amounting to about $54 per year in tax savings per dependent.
House Bill 191
Modestly adjusts the tobacco tax from 37 cents per pack to 57 cents.
House Bill 192
Adjusts the tax on vaping products from a non-uniform system of taxation to a flat 15% rate, estimated to raise about $25 million in FY 2025 if passed
House Bill 413
Authorizes $100 million in new tax credits to finance an expensive tax credit program that operates through state-sponsored quasi-venture capital funds, seeking to replicate a failed multi-level lending scheme that has been discontinued in multiple states after failing to produce promised jobs or revenues and serving as a magnet for waste, fraud and abuse.
House Bill 1015
Accelerates reduction of the state’s income tax rate ahead of the previously determined schedule, reducing the personal income tax rate from 5.49% to 5.39%, effective on January 1, 2024. The bill maintains other provisions from last year’s SB 56.
Senate Bill 366
Provides for greater transparency around tax expenditures, including listing annual cost estimates in the appropriations bill, creating a permanent Joint Committee on Taxation and Economic Development and strengthening the current process of evaluating the effects of existing and proposed tax provisions.
House Bill 1180
Implements common-sense safeguards to Georgia’s Film Tax Credit, including an annual cap on the amount of credits that can be transferred (equivalent to 2.5% of the revenue estimate) and new requirements to obtain the full 30% credit that prioritizes hiring in-state vendors and workers.
House Bill 1181
Adds sunsets to a series of tax credits and new limitations to the time limit in which tax credits must be used.
House Bill 1192
A measure originating from the Joint Tax Review Panel to discontinue the state’s sales tax exemption for high-technology data center equipment”
House Bill 1023
Lowers the state’s corporate income tax rate from 5.75 to 5.39% and pegs it to match the state’s individual income tax rate in the future
House Bill 79/ Senate Bill 118
Creates a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit that is fully refundable and matches the federal version at a 25 percent value; creates a state Child Tax Credit and increases the current Child and Dependent Tax Credit from 30% to 100% of the federal level (fully refundable).
House Bill 565
Increases the TANF time limit from 48 months to 60 months, increases the savings and assets limits, and raises the monthly benefit to 30% of the 2024 federal poverty guideline.
House Bill 1010
Building on momentum in recent years around providing parental leave to state employees, this bill doubles the maximum parental leave from 120 hours to 240, but without state funding to back it up. This bill ignores other reasons workers need paid leave, like an extended health concern.
Senate Bill 362
Seeks to charge and enforce repayment of “any and all” economic incentives to employers that automatically recognize and accept union representation in response to worker requests. This bill says that employers can only recognize union representation through secret ballot union elections that are coordinated through the NLRA. Ultimately, this bill would allow employers to carry out union-busting, employee intimidation and time-stalling tactics that are commonly done during secret ballot union elections.
SB 475
Following last year’s harmful passing of SB 160, which reduced employers’ contributions to the UI Trust Fund, lawmakers now seek to boost low trust fund reserves in ways that could wrongfully punish dislocated workers that are the hardest to serve – via SB 475. This bill offers to generate trust fund revenue by creating a perverse incentive to charge those who could make honest UI claim filing mistakes, with fraud, and boost the trust fund with that fraud penalty revenue.
House Bill 565
Increases the TANF time limit from 48 months to 60 months, increases the savings and assets limits, and raises the monthly benefit to 30% of the 2024 federal poverty guideline.
House Bill 1010
Building on momentum in recent years around providing parental leave to state employees, this bill doubles the maximum parental leave from 120 hours to 240, but without state funding to back it up. This bill ignores other reasons workers need paid leave, like an extended health concern.
Senate Bill 362
Seeks to charge and enforce repayment of “any and all” economic incentives to employers that automatically recognize and accept union representation in response to worker requests. This bill says that employers can only recognize union representation through secret ballot union elections that are coordinated through the NLRA. Ultimately, this bill would allow employers to carry out union-busting, employee intimidation and time-stalling tactics that are commonly done during secret ballot union elections.
SB 475
Following last year’s harmful passing of SB 160, which reduced employers’ contributions to the UI Trust Fund, lawmakers now seek to boost low trust fund reserves in ways that could wrongfully punish dislocated workers that are the hardest to serve – via SB 475. This bill offers to generate trust fund revenue by creating a perverse incentive to charge those who could make honest UI claim filing mistakes, with fraud, and boost the trust fund with that fraud penalty revenue.
House Bill 127
Establishes rules and regulations for foreign language interpreters working with students in educational settings and requires that parents and children be informed of the availability of interpretation services in the Individual Education Plan.
House Bill 1093 and Senate Bill 420
Provides limitations on the acquisition of agricultural lands by certain foreign nationals, subject to specific conditions, and establishes a new felony for intentionally violating the statute (if the bill becomes law). We have concerns that these bills could, if passed, lead to unfair treatment of immigrant communities due to their vagueness and breadth.
House Bill 1102 and House Bill 1105
Both of these bills—the “Sanctuary State Deportation Act” and the “Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024”—expand the narrative that immigrant communities engage in illicit behavior. The bills focus on transferring undocumented immigrants who have experienced incarceration to “sanctuary states” and mandating the Georgia Department of Corrections, without accompanying state funding, to post statistics regarding undocumented individuals within GDC custody—a duplicative effort as this data is largely already supplied through other monthly reports. Much of the language in HB 1105 appeared previously in other bills such as SB 452 (2018) and HB 136 (2023).
Senate Bill 264
Would classify special immigrant visa (SIV) holders (who supported the US military in foreign conflicts) as well as humanitarian parolees and refugees as in-state students so that they might be able to pay in-state tuition at Georgia public colleges and universities. This group would include students from Ukraine and Afghanistan to authorized to resettle in Georgia.
Senate Bill 478
The Freedom to Drive Act expands driving authorization for non-US citizens, helping them get to work, take care of their children and more fully participate in their communities.
House Bills 38, 62 and Senate Bills 17, 24
Fully expand Medicaid; however, if Medicaid is to be expanded this year, it may come through an alternative bill instead. We are looking for these to be announced soon, and their numbers may change.
HB 1339
(crossed over) enacts modest reforms to the way the state approves the creation of new or expansion of existing health care facilities; increases the cap for the Rural Hospital Tax Credit; and establishes a Comprehensive Health Coverage commission to advise on issues related to healthcare for uninsured/low-income Georgians.
HR 1231
is a resolution to create a House Study Committee on maternal, prenatal, and pediatric care, access, and funding
HB 1037 (crossed over)
creates the Georgia Commission on Maternal and Infant Health
SB 293
revises the qualifications for district health directors and makes minor changes to the state’s public health governance structure
