--- title: HB 977. General appropriations; State Fiscal Year July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027 collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb977 cite_as: HB 977, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb977 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb977.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb977/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72237 date: 2026-01-16 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/hb976.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb978.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb977.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 977 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-01-15 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/HB977/2025 upstream_id: 2083446 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - state budget - government funding - appropriations - Georgia state agencies - education funding --- # HB 977. General appropriations; State Fiscal Year July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027 ## Text House Bill 977 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, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027; 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, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, 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 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. ### Plain-language summary 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 it 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. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-01-15) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-16) - Sponsors: Jon Burns, Jan Jones, Chuck Efstration, James Hatchett - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72237 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb977.md?full=1