--- title: HB 1008. General Assembly; approved allowances paid to members residing within 50 miles of the state capitol shall be paid through the legislative payroll system; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1008 cite_as: HB 1008, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1008 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1008.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1008/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72303 date: 2026-01-28 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1007.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1009.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1008.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1008 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-01-16 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Bruce Williamson - David Wilkerson - Jan Jones - Drew Echols text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1008/2025 upstream_id: 2085220 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - General Assembly pay - legislative allowances - state payroll - government administration --- # HB 1008. General Assembly; approved allowances paid to members residing within 50 miles of the state capitol shall be paid through the legislative payroll system; provide ## Text House Bill 1008 By: Representatives Williamson of the 112th, Wilkerson of the 38th, and Jones of the 47th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Chapter 1 of Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding the General Assembly, so as to provide that approved allowances paid to members of the General Assembly residing within 50 miles of the state capitol shall be paid through the legislative payroll system; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Chapter 1 of Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding the General Assembly, is amended in Code Section 28-1-8, relating to salary and allowances of members and officers, by adding a new paragraph to subsection (b) to read as follows: "(5) If a member's residence is located within 50 miles of the state capitol, all allowances provided for in this subsection shall be paid to such member through the legislative payroll system." SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House bill would require that expense allowances paid to state lawmakers who live within 50 miles of the state capitol be issued through the legislative payroll system, rather than by other means. ### Plain-language summary Members of the Georgia General Assembly receive salary and allowances under an existing state law (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8). This bill adds a new rule for how one part of that payment, approved allowances, gets delivered to certain lawmakers. Under the bill, if a member of the General Assembly lives within 50 miles of the state capitol in Atlanta, any allowances they are approved to receive under that section of law must be paid to them through the legislative payroll system. The bill does not change how much any lawmaker is paid or who qualifies for allowances; it only changes the payment method for lawmakers who live close to the capitol. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not state a separate effective date beyond the standard process for new Georgia laws. ### What it does - Adds a new paragraph to Georgia's law on legislative salary and allowances (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8) covering payment method. - Requires that approved allowances for General Assembly members living within 50 miles of the state capitol be paid through the legislative payroll system. - Does not change allowance amounts, eligibility, or allowances for members living farther than 50 miles away. - Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new payment rule. ### Who it affects This bill directly affects members of the Georgia General Assembly, particularly those who live within 50 miles of the state capitol in Atlanta, and the state office responsible for administering the legislative payroll system. ### Why it matters For lawmakers living near the capitol, this would standardize how their approved allowances arrive, routing that money through the same payroll system used for salary rather than a separate payment process, which could affect timing, recordkeeping, or tax withholding for those payments. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8(b) by adding a new paragraph (5) specifically addressing allowance payments to members living within 50 miles of the capitol. - The new paragraph requires such allowances to be paid through the legislative payroll system rather than any other payment channel. - Section 2 repeals any laws in conflict with the new requirement, a standard clause with no separate substantive effect. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-01-16) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-28) - Sponsors: Bruce Williamson, David Wilkerson, Jan Jones, Drew Echols - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72303 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1008.md?full=1