UNDER THE GOLD DOME

LEGISLATIVE WEEK 1

BACK TO WORK

The Georgia House of Representatives convened on Monday, January 12, 2026 for the first day of the 2026 legislative session, marking the start of the second regular session of the 158th Georgia General Assembly. As we gathered together again, the House celebrated the first day of the 2026 session with a special performance by Audrey Kittila, Miss Georgia 2025, who delivered a violin rendition of “Georgia on My Mind,” which may be viewed here. The performance was a great way to begin the session and set the tone before the House took up the business for the day! 

NOTABLE LEGISLATION

We moved on with our session business Monday as the House voted to adopt House Resolution 998, the Adjournment Resolution establishing the legislative calendar for the entire 2026 legislative session. Georgia’s Constitution requires the Georgia General Assembly to convene for 40 non-consecutive legislative days, and the final day of this year’s session—also known as “Sine Die”—is scheduled for Thursday, April 2, 2026. With the goal of ensuring a smooth and efficient legislative process, this calendar provides a clear schedule for the session, allowing legislators, staff, and visitors to plan ahead as we conduct the people’s business. 

STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS

Later in the week on Thursday, members of the House and Senate gathered in the House Chamber for a joint session to hear the governor deliver his final State of the State Address as Georgia’s 83^rd governor. Given annually, the address provides the governor an opportunity to share his assessment of the state’s condition and outline his legislative priorities for the year ahead. Gov. Kemp’s final address centered on lowering the cost of living for Georgians, while also prioritizing education, workforce training, school safety, strengthening retirement security for law enforcement and intensifying efforts to combat human trafficking and gang-related crime across Georgia. A video archive of the address is available here.

SPONSORED LEGISLATION

Because the Georgia General Assembly operates on a two year cycle, bills introduced last year are still "alive" during this second year of the biennium. You can click on the red text of the bill number to read the text of each bill.

HOUSE BILL 372 -- This bill will allow teachers who have attained 30 years of creditable service to return to the classroom after certain qualifications have been met. This will allow school districts to ensure that quality teachers are in our classrooms. This program is already in place in Georgia, but it ends this June. HB 372 will ensure this program continues. This bill was heard during the interim in the Retirements Committee and an actuarial study was ordered.

HOUSE BILL 487 --This bill will require that computer science become a graduation requirement beginning in 2031. At the end of last session this bill was merged with SB 179 sponsored by Senator Clint Dixon, and is now listed under that bill number. It passed the House last year, and is now waiting for the Senate to agree to an amendment.

HOUSE PAGE PROGRAM

If your child is between the ages of 12 and 18 and would like to come participate in a House floor session, I would love to have them work with me one day as a House Page. They will see the inner workings of our governmental process, meet students from across the state, participate in a tour of the Capitol, and have fun! Their day at the Capitol will not be counted as a school absence. Please reach out to my administrative assistant at the link below to arrange this special day for your child. I can't wait to meet them!

LINKS AND INFORMATION

You can click the link below for our website and watch all our floor session days and committee meetings on livestream. If you want to catch up with previous years, all the meetings and floor sessions can be found in our archives. I look forward to continuing to represent your families, and I encourage you to contact me if you need assistance.