UNDER THE GOLD DOME

LEGISLATIVE WEEK 2

BUDGET WEEK

On Tuesday, January 20, 2026, my colleagues and I returned to the Georgia State Capitol for the second week of the legislative session, kicking off “budget week.” While we did not convene in the House Chamber, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees held joint hearings throughout the week where Governor Brian Kemp, state leaders and agency officials presented their budget recommendations for both the current and upcoming fiscal years. Each legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly’s sole constitutional obligation is to pass a balanced budget, which underscores the importance of our work this week. The hearings began with Gov. Kemp presenting his budget recommendations, which will ultimately be incorporated into two pieces of legislation: the Amended Fiscal Year 2026 (AFY 2026) budget, which appropriates spending for the remainder of the current fiscal year ending June 30 and uses a more accurate estimate of state revenue to account for any differences between the previous estimate and actual revenue obtained, and the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY 2027) budget, which establishes state spending for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, using a projected state revenue estimate. 

Gov. Kemp’s AFY 2026 budget proposal is set by a revised revenue estimate of $42.3 billion. Along with expected revenue growth, the governor’s AFY 2026 budget estimate includes $3.3 billion in undesignated surplus funds, resulting in a total revenue adjustment of $4.5 billion—or an 11.9 percent increase—over the original FY 2026 budget estimate. The governor’s FY 2027 budget is set by a revenue estimate of $38.5 billion, representing an increase of $738 million—or two percent—over the original FY 2026 budget. A video archive of the governor’s presentation to the joint committee may be found here, and you can find a copy of the governor’s budget recommendations here.

EDUCATION UPDATE

In 2023, we passed and the governor signed HB 538 that requires our elementary schools use a literacy curriculum that is scientifically proven and backed by data. Our goal is to ensure that ALL our children learn to read proficiently to ensure success in school and in life. We followed it up last year with HB 307 to put more literacy coaches in our schools to help our teachers better serve our state's children. My colleagues and I are committed to fighting for your children and their futures!

Each year, Georgia's 3rd graders take the English Language Arts Milestones test. Our scores show that we have a long way to go with only 35% of students scoring proficient or above. You can view scores here. These scores align with the Nation's Report Card which you can find here. Superintendent Woods touts a different metric to assess reading proficiency which he says shows a 65% reading proficiency rate. You can view those scores here. During Superintendent Woods's presentation, I made sure to ask him why there is such a discrepancy between these scores.

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.