SR282: SR282 Joint Study Committee on Funding for Next Generation 9-1-1 Sustainability; create

Georgia's 9-1-1 funding system dates to 1977, when the state set a maximum fee of $1.50 per landline phone to pay for 9-1-1 centers. Since then, most calls now come from mobile phones and other devices rather than landlines, and new technology lets people contact 9-1-1 through text messages and data sessions. This resolution creates the Joint Study Committee on Funding for Next Generation 9-1-1 Sustainability to look at whether Georgia's funding model, part of the Georgia Emergency Telephone Number 9-1-1 Service Act of 1977 (O.C.G.A. Title 46, Chapter 5), needs updating. The committee would include five senators, five House members, and representatives from state agencies and local government associations. It can hold meetings, study the issue, and recommend legislation. Members would receive standard state travel and expense allowances. The committee is set to be abolished on December 1, 2025, after filing a report or meeting minutes.

• Creates the Joint Study Committee on Funding for Next Generation 9-1-1 Sustainability to review Georgia's 9-1-1 funding system.
• Sets committee membership at five senators and five House members, plus representatives from the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority, GEMA, the Department of Revenue, the Georgia Municipal Association, and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.
• Authorizes the committee to study 9-1-1 funding issues and recommend legislation or other action it finds necessary.
• Provides standard legislative allowances and expense reimbursements for committee members under existing state law.
• Requires the committee to file a report or committee meeting minutes with the Senate and House before it is abolished.
• Sets December 1, 2025 as the date the committee automatically ends.

State senators and representatives appointed to the committee, officials from the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority, GEMA, the Department of Revenue, the Georgia Municipal Association, and county commissioners, plus indirectly anyone who relies on 9-1-1 emergency services, since the committee's work could shape future funding legislation.

If Georgia's 9-1-1 funding model, largely unchanged since 1977, is not adjusted to match how people now call for help using mobile phones and other devices, local 9-1-1 centers could face funding gaps. This committee's findings could shape future legislation on emergency call center funding.

• Paragraph 1 creates the Joint Study Committee on Funding for Next Generation 9-1-1 Sustainability.
• Paragraph 2 sets membership: five Senate appointees, five House appointees, and designees from the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority, GEMA, the Department of Revenue, the Georgia Municipal Association, and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.
• Paragraph 3 charges the committee with studying 9-1-1 funding issues and recommending action or legislation.
• Paragraph 5 sets pay and expense rules, capping allowances at five days unless additional days are authorized, funded through legislative and agency budgets.
• Paragraph 6 requires the cochairs to file a report or, if none is approved, committee meeting minutes with the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House.
• Paragraph 7 abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025.

1. 2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senate)
2. 2026-01-12Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
3. 2025-03-06Senate Tabled (Senate)
4. 2025-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
5. 2025-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
6. 2025-02-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
7. 2025-02-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)Primary sponsor
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)

• 9-1-1 funding
• emergency services
• telecommunications
• legislative study committee
• public safety