Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB310: SB310 Creating Hope and a New Georgia for Everyone or CHANGE Task Force; establish

Last action February 28, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would create a 13-member CHANGE Task Force to study problems facing Georgia's urban, suburban, and rural communities and recommend labor and community development solutions, with a state grant program to fund local fixes.

In plain language

This bill amends Georgia's community affairs law (O.C.G.A. Title 50, Chapter 8) to create the Creating Hope and a New Georgia for Everyone, or CHANGE, Task Force. The task force would bring together civic leaders, business owners, educators, and lawmakers appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate, along with the commissioner of community affairs, to study issues facing communities across the state and recommend solutions focused on jobs and community development. Each year the task force would pick one priority issue, study its root causes, and recommend legislation, programs, or policies to address it. It would also run a grant program, if the General Assembly appropriates money for it, to fund local labor and community development projects across different parts of the state. The task force would be attached to the Department of Community Affairs for staffing, must report annually starting July 1, 2026, and would automatically end on June 30, 2031 unless lawmakers extend it. The bill would take effect once signed by the Governor.

What the bill does

Creates a 13-member CHANGE Task Force made up of gubernatorial, House, and Senate appointees plus the commissioner of community affairs or a designee.
Directs the task force to pick one priority community issue each year, study its causes, and recommend legislation, programs, or policies to address it.
Establishes a grant program, contingent on state funding being appropriated, to pay for labor and community development projects in various geographic areas of Georgia.
Requires the task force to submit a detailed annual report to the Governor starting July 1, 2026, and a final report to the General Assembly before it ends.
Automatically repeals the task force and its authorizing law on June 30, 2031, unless the General Assembly votes to continue it.

Who it affects

Civic and community leaders, small and large business owners, public and private colleges and technical schools, the Department of Community Affairs, and members of the House and Senate who serve on or interact with the task force are all named in the bill's text.

Why it matters

Georgians in cities, suburbs, and rural areas could see new state-backed recommendations and grant funding aimed at local labor and community development problems, though any actual grant money depends on the General Assembly choosing to appropriate funds for the program in a future budget.

Key provisions

Section 1 adds Article 14 to Chapter 8 of Title 50, creating O.C.G.A. §§ 50-8-400 through 50-8-405 to establish the task force and its rules.
O.C.G.A. § 50-8-402 sets the task force's 13-member composition, with specific seats for metro Atlanta and non-metro leaders, small and large employers, and public and private postsecondary schools.
O.C.G.A. § 50-8-403 requires quarterly meetings, sets a majority quorum, and details expense reimbursement for legislative, citizen, and state employee members.
O.C.G.A. § 50-8-404 lists the task force's duties, including annual issue prioritization, and creates a grant program 'subject to appropriations' for community development funding.
O.C.G.A. § 50-8-404 requires an annual report to the Governor beginning July 1, 2026, and a final report to the General Assembly before dissolution, both posted publicly online.
O.C.G.A. § 50-8-405 automatically repeals the entire article on June 30, 2031 unless the General Assembly extends it.
Section 2 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without that signature.

Status timeline

2025-02-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-27Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

community development
state task force
labor policy
rural and urban issues
state grants