--- title: HB 71. General appropriations; State Fiscal Year July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026 collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb71 cite_as: HB 71, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb71 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb71.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb71/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69398 date: 2025-01-27 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/hb70.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb72.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb71.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 71 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-01-16 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Jon Burns - Jan Jones - Chuck Efstration - James Hatchett text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB71/2025 upstream_id: 1925835 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - state budget - government funding - public education funding - appropriations --- # HB 71. General appropriations; State Fiscal Year July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026 ## Text House Bill 71 By: Representatives Burns of the 159th, Jones of the 47th, Efstration of the 104th, and Hatchett of the 155th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To make and provide appropriations for the State Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026; to make and provide such appropriations for the operation of the state government and its departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, institutions, and other agencies, for the university system, common schools, counties, municipalities, and political subdivisions, for all other governmental activities, projects, and undertakings authorized by law, and for all leases, contracts, agreements, and grants authorized by law; to provide for the control and administration of funds; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: PART I The sums of money hereinafter provided are appropriated for the State Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026, as prescribed hereinafter for such fiscal year. PART II This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval. PART III 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 71 is Georgia's annual state budget bill, setting spending for state government from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, though the text provided here does not include the actual dollar figures. ### Plain-language summary Each year the Georgia General Assembly must pass a general appropriations bill that funds state government operations for the coming fiscal year. House Bill 71 is that bill for the year running from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. It authorizes spending for state departments, boards, commissions, the university system, common schools (K-12 public education), and grants to counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions. The version of the text supplied here contains only the bill's framing language: a statement that it appropriates funds for the fiscal year, a provision that the law takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature, and a standard clause repealing any conflicting laws. The specific dollar amounts for each agency and program, which are the substance of any budget bill, are not included in this text. ### What it does - Establishes the general state budget for Georgia for the fiscal year from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. - States that funds are appropriated for state agencies, the university system, common schools, and grants to counties and municipalities, without listing specific dollar amounts in the supplied text. - Sets the law to take effect as soon as the Governor signs it, or automatically if it becomes law without his signature. - Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this budget act. ### Who it affects Every part of Georgia state government depends on this bill, including state agencies, the university system, K-12 public schools, and local governments that receive state grants. State employees, students, and residents who rely on state-funded services are all indirectly affected. ### Why it matters This bill is what actually funds Georgia's government for the year, including schools, universities, and state agencies. Without it or a similar appropriations act, the state would lack legal authority to spend money on these functions, but the supplied text does not show the funding levels themselves. ### Key provisions - Part I states that money is appropriated for state government operations, the university system, common schools, counties, municipalities, and other authorized activities for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. - Part II sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill, or the date it becomes law without his signature if he does not act. - Part III repeals any laws that conflict with this appropriations act. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-16) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-01-27) - Sponsors: Jon Burns, Jan Jones, Chuck Efstration, James Hatchett - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69398 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb71.md?full=1