Pepa and Flo of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta “Canines for Kids” program at the Georgia State Capitol on Wednesday.

Wednesday was a rainy day outside the Georgia State Capitol, but the inside of the building was brightened considerably by a few glowing golden retrievers trotting through the halls. Several pups from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s “furry fleet” of therapy dogs were under the Gold Dome in recognition of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week, which occurs Feb. 7-14 each year. Nine out of 10 lawmakers and lobbyists agree legislative days are better with dogs.

The House and Senate each took up several measures on Wednesday before adjourning to a variety of committee and subcommittee meetings throughout the afternoon. A highlight was State Economist Robert Buschman’s outlook for the state’s economy, which was finally delivered to the House Appropriations Committee after being delayed by January’s winter weather. Details on Dr. Buschman’s projections and his opinion on the biggest “self-inflicted risk” facing the economy in this #GoldDomeReport. 

In this Report:

• State Economist Shares Outlook with Appropriators
• Floor Action
• Committee Notes
• New Legislation
• What’s Next

State Economist Shares Outlook with Appropriators

The House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin), met Wednesday afternoon to hear a presentation by Dr. Robert Buschman, the State Economist. Dr. Buschman provided an overview of state revenues, the overall economy, and his economic outlook for the state. This presentation is typically provided to the committee during Joint Budget Hearings in January, but those hearings were delayed by winter weather.

Looking first at state revenue trends, Dr. Buschman explained that state revenues are up 38% over the past five years, but collections have been mostly flat since FY22. Since the pandemic, Georgians’ personal income and wage and salary income have outpaced their national averages, each with increases exceeding 10%. Tax revenue from capital gains has also increased over the last seven years, although it has been more volatile. Sales tax revenue has grown an average of 7.6% over the past five years. According to Dr. Buschman, strong nominal wage and salary income growth continues to drive withholding collections and the boost to sales tax revenue growth from excess pandemic savings, high inflation, and consumption shift from services to goods is over.

On a macroeconomic level, Dr. Buschman noted that Georgia continues to outperform the nation in unemployment (3.7% versus 4% nationally). The state also outperforms the nation in real GDP, which is up 12% since the pandemic. Dr. Buschman also discussed the outlook for additional interest rate cuts. Only one quarter-point reduction, predicted in September, is expected between now and the end of 2026. Dr. Buschman noted that this is good news for the State’s reserve balance, which earns interest. He called the Fed’s performance in addressing inflation “better than a soft landing, so far.”

Looking ahead, Dr. Buschman said strong consumer financial health and well-capitalized banks reduce the chance of an impending financial crisis. However, he did highlight “minor worries” including high mortgage and auto loan rates and continuing squeeze of consumers by inflation. Dr. Buschman opined that the biggest risk for the economic outlook are tariffs, which he noted will drive higher prices for consumers and business inputs, contractionary effects on demand for non-tariffed goods, and retaliation from trading partners. Georgia is the 12th largest state for exports, with a value of $49.9 billion in 2023 and growing at 6.1% per year since 2002. It accounts for 6% of the state’s GDP. Aerospace is the largest export sector by value. Dr. Buschman reiterated that the biggest risk to the economy is a“self-inflicted risk” of trade policy.

Dr. Buschman concluded his prepared remarks with his revenue estimates for the Amended FY25 and FY26 State Budgets. For Amended FY25, Dr. Buschman is projecting a 3.7% increase in State revenue receipts from the Original FY25 Budget. FY26 contemplates a 0.7% increase in State revenue receipts over the Amended FY25 Budget. Dr. Buschman acknowledged that his estimates are conservative.

Floor Action

The House took up the following measures on Legislative Day 16:

• HB 15 - Banking and finance; update terminology; provisions (B&B-Williamson-112th) - PASSED 163-1
• HB 55 - Alapaha Judicial Circuit; superior court; provide for an additional judge (Substitute)(Judy-Ford-170th) - PASSED 166-1
• HB 137 - Contracts; increase dollar value of certain public works contracts exempt from provisions relating to retention of contractual payments (GAff-Anderson-10th) - PASSED 152-9
• HB 199 - Courts; protection of personally identifiable information of judges and their spouses; modify provisions (Substitute)(Judy-Kelley-16th) - PASSED 165-0
• HB 216 - Richard H. Smith Georgia CHIPS Advancement in Research and Economic Development Act; enact (ED&T-Smith-138th) - PASSED 163-2

The Senate took up the following measures on Legislative Day 16:

• SB 5 - Private Review Agents; health insurers to implement and maintain a program that allows for the selective application of reductions in prior authorization requirements; provide (I&L-32nd) - PASSED 51-1
• SB 47 - Sales and Use Taxes; sales of firearms, ammunition, gun safes, and related accessories during an 11-day period each year; exempt (Substitute) (FIN-31st) - PASSED 31-21
• SR 95 - "Sonny Perdue Legislative Center"; naming the forthcoming new legislative office complex (Substitute) (RULES-27th) - PASSED 47-4

Committee Notes

House Committee on Ways & Means

Chairman Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) all bills before the committee this morning have already had two hearings and received favorable consideration in their respective subcommittee, so it was a quick meeting. This will also be familiar to daily readers of the Gold Dome Report.

• HR 32 (a constitutional amendment) and HB 90 (its enabling legislation), by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry), will increase maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property from 2000 to 4000. Both received a DO PASS recommendation and will move on to the Rules Committee.
• HR 42, by Rep. Matthew Gambill (R-Cartersville), ratifies the governor’s temporary suspension of motor fuel tax in October 2024 during Hurricane Helene, saving Georgians $140-$160 million. This resolution is required since the governor’s executive action took place when the legislature was not in session. The resolution received a DO PASS recommendation and will move on to the Rules Committee.
• HB 112 - Rep. Lauren McDonald (R-Cumming) presented the governor’s bill to provide income tax rebates, courtesy of the State’s $16 billion budget surplus currently on hand, $1 billion of which is being returned to taxpayers. Those filing jointly will receive a $500 refund, $375 for heads of household, and $250 for individual filers. The bill received a DO PASS recommendation and will move on to the Rules Committee.
• HB 111 was presented by its author. Rep. Soo Hong (R-Lawrenceville, a governor’s floor leader). The measure cuts income tax rates 20 basis points, from 5.39% to 5.19%, effecting July 1, 2025. This is a follow-up to HB 1473 from 2022, described as the largest tax cut in history, which established a schedule to cut the rate by 10 basis points each year, to reach 4.99% by 2029. This bill accelerates that to establish 5.19% as the rate for 2025 and adjusts the schedule so that the rate of 4.99% will be reached by 2027. Rep. Spencer Frye (D-Athens) was not happy with the corporate tax rate also being cut (which was not part of the original plan from 2022) presumably leading to his “no” vote. The bill received a unanimous DO PASS recommendation along party lines and will move on to the Rules Committee.

House Higher Education Committee

Chaired by Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta), the committee met Wednesday afternoon to hear four bills.

• HB 56, by Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) provides scholarship grants to spouses of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and prison guards who are killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty. This expands the current program that exists for children of those killed in the line of duty. The Student Finance Commission has $4 million in reserves right now, doing quite well. 43 children were served by this program in 2024. The bill received a unanimous DO PASS recommendation and will move on to the Rules Committee.
• HB 172, by Rep. David Huddleston (R-Roopville), tuition reimbursement program for large animal veterinarians, to address the severe shortage of veterinarians. This bill expands a 1-year program to a 4-year program. The bill moves forward to the Rules Committee with a unanimous DO PASS recommendation.
• HB 217, presented by Rep. Soo Hong (R-Lawrenceville), a governor’s floor leader), is part of the governor's legislative agenda for this session. The bill seeks to expand the Dual Achievement program (currently a pilot program, created by SB 204 in 2021) to a permanent statewide program. Georgia’s Dual Achievement Program is an alternative pathway for students aged 16 and older who have completed at least 10th grade but choose to withdraw from high school to earn their diploma through a Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) institution. To graduate, students must complete at least nine high school-equivalent credits through college coursework and earn either a technical college diploma or two technical certificates in a specific career field. This program benefits students by providing hands-on career training, faster graduation, and workforce readiness, while still allowing future educational opportunities. Unlike Dual Enrollment, which lets students earn college credits while in high school, the Dual Achievement Program replaces high school entirely with technical college education. It’s ideal for students who prefer career-focused learning over a traditional high school experience. To date, 2,322 students have been served by this program. 344 earned a high school diploma, and 898 earned both a high school diploma and some college credit. This was a hearing only; no vote was taken.
• HB 150 was presented by its author Rep. Tim Fleming (R-Covington) alongside Tom Rawlings of State Shield. Known as “Combating Threats from China Act of 2025 - Higher Education,” This is a retread from last year, which came in the form of SB 511 last year but failed to pass for lack of time. The bill promotes transparency and requires the University System of Georgia (USG) to report any funds received from any country of concern (other than tuition payments). Must track funding source and purpose. Doesn’t prohibit them from accepting the funds, simply a reporting requirement. Mr. Rawlings noted that the Chinese government has funneled billions of dollars into U.S. universities, and it is not out of goodwill. No vote was taken; hearing only.

House Juvenile Judiciary Committee

Chairman Mandi Ballinger (R-Canton) hosted a discussion this afternoon on child fatality review processes and the Department of Juvenile Justice. 

The Child Fatality Review Panel presented information to the committee about the process by which deaths of children are reviewed in the state. Scott Dutton, with the GBI; Judge Carolyn Altman, the CFR Vice Chair; and Nicole McDougald, DFCS interim Safety Director presented the overview. One major takeaway is that there are counties in the state that are not reporting data as required. Maltreatment of children overlaps with fatalities. They have also found that the number one reason for infant deaths in the period of 2012-2023 was due to sleep-related reasons (SIDS and SUIDS).  Prevention has been one of the panel’s recommendations (and reminded the committee of some of its earlier recommendations (e.g. life jacket stands, passage of Joshua’s Law, Safe-to-Sleep onesies, etc.). The panel did not ask for anything specific from the committee today but did indicate that they would be asking for a legislative update next year as the last time it was done was in 2014. They also reminded the committee that there was no dedicated funding for prevention and they need funding for a full-time epidemiologist.

Margaret Cawood, with the Department of Juvenile Justice, provided an overview of the work performed by the Department. The Department has 19 RYDC facilities and 6 YDC facilities (long-term stay facilities). Additionally, it has 78 community offices which are aligned with judicial circuits. There are 142 dependent courts and 17 counties which are independent. Juvenile courts have jurisdiction up to the age of 17. Unruly/CHINS children are the truancy cases or runaways. Dependent cases are where the youth have charges like adults. The Department has in its community services youth tracking, FFT services, MST services, and CIVICS academy. The average age in a RYDC is 15/16 years and generally, they have a three-day to three-month average (this is determined via a court order) length of stay. The state has 1,100 RYDC beds with 915 in those. YDC serves children mostly who are 17 plus years of age and have a one to three year average length of stay in their 301 beds (average population is 191). The department’s facilities are accredited. Services include treatment and care (such as chaplaincy services, mental health, classification and transportation, and nutrition and food services. They have clinical staff providing mental health services, including psychologists and psychiatric services. The number one mental health diagnosis is “disruptive, impulse control.” The department also has the 181st school district in the state which has 25 campuses statewide (as well as three education transition centers). They provide a Pathways program (GED) as well as a high school diploma program. YDCs also have re-entry services and the department starts within 60 days to commence transition planning (which has employment as a top priority).  29% of the youth have disability issues (this compares with 13% in regular public schools).

This committee will commence hearing bills next meeting and will have a presentation from the state’s juvenile court judges next Thursday.

House Rural Development Committee

Rep. Leesa Hagan (R-Lyons) chaired the meeting where she presided over the committee passage of a bill for the first time. Two bills were before the committee.

• HB 51, by Rep. James Burchett (R-Waycross), amends O.C.G.A. § 50-23-4, relating to the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, to include natural gas facilities (storage, distribution lines, etc.). The committee recommended DO PASS by committee substitute, and the bill will move on to the Rules Committee.
• HB 262 was presented by Rep. Angie O’Steen (R-Ambrose), a freshman in the House this year, presenting her first bill. This measure provides grant funding for certain rural hospitals for installing backup generators to ensure continuity of operation during an emergency, a recommendation of the rural development council out of response to Hurricane Helene. Ben Floyd with Coffee County Regional Medical Center estimated that for a hospital his size, a system would cost $1.2-$1.5 million. The committee recommended DO PASS, and the bill moves on to the Rules Committee.

House Government Affairs

Chairman Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia) presided over Wednesday afternoon’s meeting of his committee. The committee heard three bills, all of which passed through subcommittees yesterday. HB 244 (State auditor; local governments to request and receive in certain circumstances due date extensions related to filing annual audits; provide) was removed from the agenda for some more workshopping and will be heard next week.

• HB 113, by Rep. Lauren McDonald (R-Cumming, a governor's floor leader) is aimed at increasing the security of the state’s purchasing process and cybersecurity. Directs the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) to establish and maintain updated lists of companies or products made or sold by foreign adversaries (as defined by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce) to prevent the state and its agencies from inadvertently introducing cybersecurity vulnerabilities into our systems. The bill received a DO PASS recommendation and moves on to the Rules Committee. Rep. Martin Momtahan (R-Dallas), who was out sick, joined the committee via Zoom to share his comments. He voiced that he's been working with advocates in Vermont, Maine, Illinois, Florida, and Texas since 2022. There is an overly narrow definition of foreign companies of concern. Organized, or headquartered by a company with nefarious ownership could skirt this law by being registered in a neutral location. Also, there isn’t a good definition of what constitutes a security threat, but there is a federal list. Committee rules prohibit Rep. Momtahan from participating in committee action remotely, so he was not able to offer an amendment. Rep. McDonald said top lawyers for the affected agencies believe the bill is thorough and ready to move forward. The bill received a DO PASS recommendation and moves on to the Rules Committee.
• HB 140, by Rep. Joseph Gullett (R-Dallas), is the “End Local Taxation by Citation Act.” This measure would ensure that no municipality can raise more than 10% of its entire budget through criminal and civil fines. A number of cities in the state are abusing the ticketing process, using tickets and fines to fund their government. The author hopes to remove the financial incentive for officers to write speeding tickets so that offenders know that a citation is really about public safety and not about over-policing for revenue generation. Revenue from citations above 10% of the city’s total revenue will go to the state. Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) reminded the author that there is a formula that determines if municipalities are able to keep their radar privileges, which should be sufficient to disincentivize speed traps. She admitted to being guilty of speeding, often, and thinks that if a person gets caught for speeding, they should have to pay the fine, regardless of the motivation of the officer. More than one representative was concerned this could unfairly penalize cities with high traffic but small populations; they could be generating a large share of their budget through ticketing/fines even if they are not actually issuing a disproportionate share of tickets. Rep. Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee), a former state trooper, believes that this bill will remove a focus on highway policing (easy revenue) to be re-focussed on community policing and public safety. Per GMA, there are 37 cities that this legislation will affect.

Rep. Oliver offered an amendment to raise the cap from 10% to 20%; it failed. The measure received a DO PASS recommendation and will move on to the Rules Committee.

• SB 16 by Senator Matt Brass (R-Newnan). Current law does not allow for a bail bondsman to become an elected official, with one exception for school boards. This bill narrows that prohibition so that it will only apply in the county where the bondman operates. Senator Brass shared the impetus for this legislation, which was a woman from his district who was elected to her county commission before being made aware of the law. Her family is in the bail bonds business but does not operate in her county. The bill received a DO PASS recommendation and will move to the Rules Committee.

Senate Health and Human Services

At time of publishing this Gold Dome Report, Senator Ben Watson’s (R-Savannah) committee was underway on consideration of the following bills, but no action had yet been taken.

• SB 30– Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah): Hospitals and Related Institutions; hormone therapies and puberty-blocking medications for certain purposes to minors; prohibit prescribing or administering LC 52 0659
• SB 95- Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah): Certificate of Need Program; an exemption from certificate of need requirements concerning life plan communities; revise LC 52 0727S
• SB 91- Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia): State Employees' Health Insurance Plan; Board of Community Health from entering into, executing, or renewing a contract with any pharmacy benefits manager that owns or has an ownership interest in any retail pharmacy; prohibit LC 52 0705

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:

What’s Next

The General Assembly will reconvene for Legislative Day 17 on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 10 a.m.

The House is expected to consider the following on Legislative Day 17:

• HB 36 - Guardian and ward; revise list of providers who are authorized to participate in the processes for appointment of a guardian for an adult (Judy-Leverett-123rd)
• HB 74 - Georgia Lottery for Education Act; correct a reference (RegI-Powell-33rd)
• HB 81 - Interstate Compact for School Psychologists; enter into (Ed-Ballard-147th)
• HB 105 - Public officers and employees; increase indemnification award of certain state public school personnel in the event of death (Ed-Wade-9th)

The Senate is expected to consider the following on Legislative Day 17:

• SB 21 - Local Governments; violation of the prohibition on immigration sanctuary policies; waive sovereign and governmental immunities (Substitute) (PUB SAF-19th)
• SB 44 - Equalization Grants, Annual Calculations, and Allocation; the definition of the term "qualified local school system" by reducing the minimum required millage rate; revise (Substitute) (RULES-11th)
• SB 76 - License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (Substitute) (PUB SAF-49th)
• SB 99 - Crimes and Offenses; definition of law enforcement officer; provide (Substitute) (PUB SAF-29th)