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House · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 980: Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission; create

Last action February 9, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred

House Bill 980 would create a new 15-member Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission to promote trade, investment, and cultural ties between Georgia and Ireland, funded through a dedicated state trust fund.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

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 the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Georgia law does not currently have a body focused specifically on trade relations with Ireland. This bill would add a new article to Georgia's commissions law (O.C.G.A. Title 50, Chapter 12) creating the Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission. The commission would have 15 members appointed by the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, and the Governor, including state officials, university representatives, business or trade representatives, and members of Georgia's Irish American community. The commission's job would be to encourage trade, investment, business and academic exchanges, and infrastructure cooperation between Georgia and Ireland. Members would serve staggered terms without pay, though they could be reimbursed for expenses. The bill also creates a Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission Fund in the state treasury to hold appropriations, grants, and donations for the commission's work, and requires an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly starting within one year of the commission's first meeting.

What the bill does

  • Creates the 15-member Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission within Georgia law, with members appointed by the Speaker, the Senate President, and the Governor.
  • Assigns the commission the purpose of advancing trade, investment, policy cooperation, and academic and business exchanges between Georgia and Ireland.
  • Sets staggered four-year terms for members, with different initial term lengths depending on who appointed them, and requires appointments within 90 days of enactment.
  • Requires the commission to meet, designate a chairperson, and submit a written annual report to the Governor and General Assembly by February 1 each year.
  • Establishes the Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission Fund in the state treasury to hold appropriations, grants, gifts, and other funds for the commission's expenses.
  • Provides that commission members serve without pay but may be reimbursed for actual expenses within available funding.

Who it affects

The bill affects state officials who make appointments, including the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the Senate President, as well as the commissioners of economic development and agriculture. It also affects Georgia university representatives, business and trade organizations, and members of Georgia's Irish American community who may serve on the commission.

Why it matters

If enacted, Georgia would gain a formal, state-sanctioned body dedicated to building trade and investment ties with Ireland, giving businesses, universities, and Irish American communities a structured channel to pursue joint economic and academic projects, backed by a dedicated state fund rather than general agency budgets.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 adds new Code Section 50-12-140 creating the Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission with 15 members: four appointed by the Speaker, four by the Senate President, and seven by the Governor.
  • Subsection (a) specifies the Governor's seven appointees include the commissioner of economic development, the Commissioner of Agriculture, two higher education representatives, two Irish American community representatives, and one business or trade representative.
  • Subsection (b) sets four-year terms with staggered initial terms: two years for gubernatorial appointees, three years for Senate appointees, and four years for House appointees.
  • Subsection (c) requires all initial appointments within 90 days of enactment and fills vacancies the same way as original appointments.
  • Subsection (g) lists the commission's purposes, including advancing trade, joint policy action, business and academic exchanges, and infrastructure investment, and requires an annual written report to the Governor and General Assembly by February 1.
  • Subsection (h) creates the Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission Fund in the state treasury, funded by appropriations, grants, gifts, and other sources, with interest credited back to the fund.
  • Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

From the bill

“There is established the Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission which is created to advance bilateral trade and investment between Georgia and Ireland.”

This is the core provision creating the new commission and stating its main purpose.

“The state treasurer shall establish a separate trust fund in the state treasury that shall be known as the Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission Fund”

This creates a dedicated state fund to pay for the commission's activities.

Discussed in meetings (9)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

  1. House Economic Development & Tourism Committee, January 29, 2026

    From 0:10:42 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would create a 15-member Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission to strengthen economic development ties and access to European Union markets through Ireland. The sponsor said more than 43 Irish companies employ over 4,100 people in Georgia, and that 20 states had adopted similar legislation, with another 20 considering it. The sponsor described appointments by the House speaker, Senate and governor, and said private donations would cover commission expenses without direct state costs. One committee member asked where donations would be held and who would distribute them. The sponsor pointed to language authorizing the state treasurer to establish a separate trust fund. Another member supported stronger ties after visiting Ireland. The committee approved a do-pass motion by voice vote, with no opposition heard, and the chair sent the bill to Rules. Near adjournment, a late-arriving member also expressed support, citing discussions during an independent visit to Ireland about trade and Georgia's ports.

  2. House Rules Committee, February 3, 2026

    From 0:15:10 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 980 would create a 15-member Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission appointed by the House, Senate and governor to strengthen trade ties and access European Union markets through Ireland. The sponsor said 25 other states already had such commissions and about 15 had proposals pending, and said the commission would use privately raised funds at no cost to the state. No members asked questions, and no vote was shown.

  3. House Rules Committee, February 5, 2026

    From 0:43:46 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 425

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair called HB 980 while setting Friday’s calendar. The chair recognized a motion and second, and the committee placed it on the calendar without opposition. There was no presentation or substantive discussion.

  4. House floor session, February 6, 2026 (legislative day 14)

    From 1:39:14 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 459

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 980 would create a 15-member Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission, with four appointments each from the House and Senate and seven from the governor. The sponsor described goals of expanding trade, business and academic exchanges, and investment, and said the commission would raise its own funds without taxpayer cost. The sponsor said 25 states already had similar commissions, 15 more were pursuing them and Irish-owned companies employed more than 10,000 Georgians. One member mentioned a suggested appointment preference for an Irish citizen, but no amendment was formally offered or adopted. Other members voiced support for medical-technology partnerships, port trade and relationships developed through visits to Ireland. The sponsor agreed with those potential benefits. The House passed the bill 166 to 2.

  5. Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee, March 26, 2026

    From 0:43:03 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 980 would create a 15-member Georgia-Ireland Trade Commission to promote trade, investment, and business and academic exchanges. The sponsor described four-year unpaid terms, annual reports to the governor and legislature, and appointments divided among the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker. The sponsor said it would complement existing economic development work rather than duplicate it. Asked about comparable arrangements, the sponsor said this would be Georgia’s first such bilateral commission. The sponsor said it would cover both Ireland and Northern Ireland, offering connections to European Union and United Kingdom markets. The sponsor distinguished it from a legislative caucus and said appointments could follow enactment. Ireland’s Senate chair supported the proposal, citing trade relationships, workforce training and support for the peace process. A former Irish prime minister also supported it, emphasizing business, education and community ties. Members questioned costs and language allowing annual appropriations. The sponsor said private donations would fund the commission through a state account, but acknowledged the bill would not prohibit legislative appropriations. Asked about financial reporting, the sponsor pointed to the annual reporting requirement. The chair held the bill without a vote, requested further clarification and said it could be revisited.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-02-09Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  2. 2026-02-06House Passed/Adopted (House)
  3. 2026-02-06House Third Readers (House)
  4. 2026-02-02House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
  5. 2026-01-27House Second Readers (House)
  6. 2026-01-16House First Readers (House)
  7. 2026-01-15House Hopper (House)

Sponsors

  • Josh Bonner (R, HD-73)Primary sponsor
  • Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
  • Jesse Petrea (R, HD-166)
  • Shea Roberts (D, HD-52)
  • Long Tran (D, HD-80)
  • Trey Kelley (R, HD-16)

Votes

  1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 6, 2026

    166 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 7 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #482

Topics

  • international trade
  • economic development
  • Georgia-Ireland relations
  • state commissions
  • business exchanges

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Answers come from this document. Not legal advice.

Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb980.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp