---
title: HB 1178. Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee of the House of Representatives; establish
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1178
cite_as: HB 1178, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1178
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1178.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1178/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72791
date: 2026-03-06
status: engrossed
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 494
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1178.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1178
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-04
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Mitchell Horner
- Steve Tarvin
- Holt Persinger
- Mitchell Scoggins
- Jason Ridley
- Charlice Byrd
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1178/2025
upstream_id: 2106647
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- state budget oversight
- legislative committees
- government accountability
- performance audits
- Georgia House of Representatives
---
# HB 1178. Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee of the House of Representatives; establish
## Text
House Bill 1178 (RULES COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
By: Representatives Horner of the 3rd, Tarvin of the 2nd, Persinger of the 119th, Scoggins of
the 14th, Ridley of the 6th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 5 of Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions regarding financial affairs, so as to establish the Budget and
Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee of the House of Representatives; to provide for
appointment; to provide for duties, functions, and powers; to provide for reporting and
summaries; to provide for member allowances; to provide for audits; to provide for related
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 1 of Chapter 5 of Title 28 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions regarding financial affairs, is amended by revising Code Section 28-5-5,
which is reserved, as follows:
"28-5-5.
(a) There is created the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee comprising 19
members of the House of Representatives appointed in accordance with the rules of the
House of Representatives, to include the chairperson of the House Committee on
Appropriations. The members of such committee shall be selected within ten days after
the convening of the General Assembly in each odd-numbered year and shall serve until
their successors are appointed.
(b) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint a member of the committee
to serve as chairperson. The committee may meet up to nine times per year between
sessions and, upon the call of the chairperson, at such additional times as deemed necessary
by the chairperson, with the approval of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(c) It shall be the duty of such committee to consult with the Governor and the Office of
Planning and Budget concerning the development and implementation of the strategic
planning process, the development of outcome measures for program evaluation, and the
implementation of related actions.
(d) It shall be the duty of the committee to review and evaluate the following:
(1) The strategic plans for the state and individual departments submitted by the Office
of Planning and Budget;
(2) Information or reports to be submitted by the Office of Planning and Budget
identifying moneys received and the purposes for which moneys are expended in any
case in which the receipt or expenditure is not contemplated by an appropriations Act;
(3) Such other information or reports as deemed necessary by the committee; and
(4) Liabilities of the state and individual departments and agencies.
(e) The Office of Planning and Budget and the head of each budget unit shall cooperate
with the committee and shall provide such information or reports as requested by the
committee for the performance of its functions.
(f) The committee shall make an annual report of its activities and findings to the
membership of the General Assembly and the Governor within one week of the convening
of each regular session of the General Assembly. The chairperson of the committee shall
prepare written executive summaries of such report prior to the adoption of the General
Appropriations Act each year. The committee shall not be required to distribute copies of
the annual report or the executive summaries to the members of the General Assembly but
shall notify members of the availability of such materials in the manner which it deems to
be most effective and efficient. The committee chairperson shall provide a copy of the
executive summaries to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairperson
of the House Committee on Appropriations.
(g) The members of the committee shall receive the allowances authorized for legislative
members of legislative committees. The funds necessary to pay such allowances shall
come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives.
(h) The committee, upon a determination of necessity, shall be authorized to request that
a performance audit be conducted for any state or local governmental entity which receives
state funding. Such audit may be conducted by one or more third-party auditors. Subject
to approval by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the funds necessary to pay for
such audit shall come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives.
(i) The committee shall have the power, at the discretion of the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, to call any elected official, state department, state agency, state employee,
county commissioner, county manager, or school superintendent to address the committee's
findings. Reserved."
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.
House Bill 1178 would create a 19-member Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee in the Georgia House of Representatives to review state spending, agency performance, and strategic plans between legislative sessions.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently has a reserved, unused section (O.C.G.A. § 28-5-5) in the state's general financial affairs statute. This bill fills that section by creating a new House committee called the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee, made up of 19 House members including the chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations. Members would be chosen within ten days of the General Assembly convening in odd-numbered years, and the Speaker of the House would appoint the committee's chairperson.
The committee's job would be to work with the Governor and the Office of Planning and Budget on strategic planning, review state agency spending and liabilities, and issue an annual report and executive summaries before the state budget (the General Appropriations Act) is adopted each year. It could request performance audits of any state or local government entity that receives state funding, and could call elected officials, agency heads, county officials, or school superintendents to testify. Committee members would receive standard legislative allowances paid from the House's budget.
### What it does
- Creates a new 19-member House committee, the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee, to review state budget and spending matters.
- Requires the committee to consult with the Governor and the Office of Planning and Budget on strategic planning and program evaluation.
- Directs the committee to review state and department strategic plans, unbudgeted spending reports, and state and agency liabilities.
- Requires the Office of Planning and Budget and other state agencies to cooperate and provide information the committee requests.
- Authorizes the committee to request third-party performance audits of any state or local government entity receiving state funds, paid for through House funds with the Speaker's approval.
- Gives the committee power, at the Speaker's discretion, to summon elected officials, agency heads, county officials, or school superintendents to address its findings.
### Who it affects
This bill affects members of the Georgia House of Representatives who would serve on the new committee, the Governor's office and the Office of Planning and Budget, state agencies and departments, and local officials such as county commissioners, county managers, and school superintendents who could be called before the committee.
### Why it matters
The bill gives House lawmakers a standing, year-round mechanism to scrutinize state agency spending, liabilities, and strategic plans, and to trigger outside performance audits of entities receiving state money, before the legislature finalizes the state budget each year.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 28-5-5 to establish the 19-member committee, including the House Appropriations chairperson, with members chosen within ten days of convening in odd-numbered years.
- Subsection (b) lets the Speaker appoint the chairperson and allows up to nine meetings a year between sessions, plus additional meetings the chairperson calls with Speaker approval.
- Subsections (c) and (d) task the committee with reviewing strategic plans, unbudgeted spending reports, and state and departmental liabilities.
- Subsection (f) requires an annual report and pre-budget executive summaries to the Speaker and the Appropriations chairperson.
- Subsection (g) pays committee members standard legislative committee allowances from House-appropriated funds.
- Subsection (h) allows the committee to request third-party performance audits of any state or local entity receiving state funding, subject to Speaker approval of funding.
- Subsection (i) lets the committee, at the Speaker's discretion, call officials such as county commissioners and school superintendents to address its findings.
- Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-03-04)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-03-06)
- Sponsors: Mitchell Horner, Steve Tarvin, Holt Persinger, Mitchell Scoggins, Jason Ridley, Charlice Byrd
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72791
> The history, votes, and amendments (494 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1178.md?full=1