Georgia CommonsHB 977: General appropriations; State Fiscal Year July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027
Last action January 16, 2026 · House Second Readers
House Bill 977 is Georgia's general appropriations bill, setting the state budget for the fiscal year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, funding every state agency and program.
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 Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
House Bill 977 is the annual state budget bill for Georgia. It authorizes spending for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2026 and ends June 30, 2027, covering the operation of state government, its departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, and institutions, as well as funding tied to the university system, common (K-12) schools, counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions. The text supplied here contains the bill's framing parts rather than the detailed dollar figures for each agency: it states that money is appropriated for the fiscal year, that the Act takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law without his signature, and that any existing laws conflicting with it are repealed. The actual line-item spending amounts for individual agencies and programs are not included in the excerpt provided.
What the bill does
- Appropriates state funding for all of Georgia's state government operations, departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, and institutions for the fiscal year from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
- Provides funding authority for the University System of Georgia, common schools (K-12), counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions.
- Authorizes funding for leases, contracts, agreements, and grants that are otherwise authorized by law.
- 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 laws that conflict with this budget Act.
Who it affects
This bill affects every part of Georgia state government, including state agencies, the University System of Georgia, K-12 public schools, and local governments such as counties and municipalities, since it determines the state funding they receive for the coming fiscal year.
Why it matters
This bill is the mechanism that funds Georgia's state government, schools, universities, and local governments for a full fiscal year. Without it or a similar appropriations act, agencies would lack legal authority to spend money on salaries, programs, and services that Georgians rely on daily.
Key provisions
- Part I states that the sums of money provided elsewhere in the Act are appropriated for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027.
- Part II sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval, or automatically if the bill becomes law without his signature.
- Part III repeals any prior laws that conflict with this appropriations Act.
From the bill
“The sums of money hereinafter provided are appropriated for the State Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, as prescribed hereinafter for such fiscal year.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Jon Burns (R, HD-159)
- Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
- Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
- James Hatchett (R, HD-155)
Topics
- state budget
- government funding
- appropriations
- Georgia state agencies
- education funding