Georgia CommonsHB 1096: Public Health, Department of; provide that if certain employees of a county board of health become employees of such department such employees will retain accrued annual and sick leave
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-07-01
A Georgia House bill lets county board of health employees keep their accumulated vacation and sick leave, and their seniority, when they move over to become employees of the state Department of Public Health.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Some public health workers in Georgia counties are technically state employees only for retirement purposes, but otherwise work for their local county board of health. This bill addresses what happens to their accrued leave when they formally transition to being employees of the state Department of Public Health with no gap in employment. The bill adds a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-3.1) stating that these employees keep their built-up annual (vacation) and sick leave, and keep their seniority for purposes of how quickly they earn future leave. The county board of health is barred from paying out that accrued leave in cash when the employee switches to the state. The State Personnel Board is authorized to write rules to carry this out. The bill repeals any conflicting laws.
What the bill does
- Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-3.1) letting county board of health employees keep accrued annual and sick leave when they become Department of Public Health employees without a break in service.
- Preserves those employees' seniority so their future leave continues to accrue at the same graduated rate instead of resetting.
- Prohibits the county board of health from cashing out an employee's accrued leave when that employee transitions to state employment.
- Authorizes the State Personnel Board to create, change, or eliminate rules to put this leave-transfer process into practice.
Who it affects
County board of health employees in Georgia who belong to the state retirement system covering certain public health workers, especially those who move into direct Department of Public Health employment. It also affects the county boards of health and the State Personnel Board, which gains new rulemaking authority.
Why it matters
Public health employees who switch from county to state employment would no longer lose their banked vacation and sick time or start over on seniority, which affects how quickly they build future leave and their pay if leave were otherwise cashed out.
Key provisions
- Section 1 creates new Code section 31-2A-3.1, applying to county board of health employees who are members of the retirement system under Chapter 2 of Title 47 and who become department employees with no break in service.
- Subsection (a) guarantees these employees retain accrued annual and sick leave and their seniority for graduated leave accrual, and bars the county board from paying out leave in cash upon transition.
- Subsection (b) authorizes the State Personnel Board to promulgate, amend, or repeal rules to implement the leave-retention process.
- Section 2 repeals any laws that conflict with the new provisions.
From the bill
“shall retain accrued annual and sick leave possessed by such employee and shall retain seniority for purposes of graduated leave accrual”
“No employee shall be paid accrued leave by the county board of health when transitioning to state employment.”
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-07-01
- Act 481
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
Show full history (15 actions)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
- James Hatchett (R, HD-155)
- Dexter Sharper (D, HD-177)
- Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
- Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)
- Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 18, 2026
163 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 6 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 23, 2026
50 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)
Topics
- public health employees
- state employee benefits
- sick and annual leave
- county boards of health
- government personnel rules