--- title: HR 1582. House Study Committee on Veteran Teacher Compensation; create collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1582 cite_as: HR 1582, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1582 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1582.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1582/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73873 date: 2026-03-16 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/hr1581.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1583.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 185 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1582.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1582 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-03 last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported sponsors: - Carmen Rice - Chris Erwin - Matt Dubnik - Sandy Donatucci - Scott Hilton - Deborah Silcox text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1582/2025 upstream_id: 2128593 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - teacher pay - education policy - teacher retention - legislative study committees --- # HR 1582. House Study Committee on Veteran Teacher Compensation; create ## Text House Resolution 1582 By: Representatives Rice of the 139th, Erwin of the 32nd, Dubnik of the 29th, Donatucci of the 105th, Hilton of the 48th, and others A RESOLUTION Creating the House Study Committee on Veteran Teacher Compensation; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, protecting and strengthening the teacher workforce are key priorities for this state, the General Assembly, and the House of Representatives; and WHEREAS, experienced veteran educators provide skilled instruction to students and serve as an invaluable resource in the mentoring of their less experienced peers; and WHEREAS, Georgia's current state-wide teacher salary schedule does not include any salary step increases after 21 years of service; and WHEREAS, while some school districts provide further step increases through local supplements, other school districts are unable to provide similar step increases with current resources; and WHEREAS, the State of Georgia is currently experiencing a persistent and ongoing teacher shortage; and WHEREAS, Teachers Retirement System of Georgia reports the average length of service for teachers is currently 25.5 years, several years short of the full-retirement service length of 30 years; and WHEREAS, the lack of salary increases in the later stages of a teacher's career fails to recognize the value veteran teachers bring to the profession and contributes to higher attrition rates; and WHEREAS, in December 2025, the Georgia Roundtable for Strategic Educator Recruitment and Retention recommended an additional salary step at Year 28 to encourage continued service in its "Strategic Plan for Educator Recruitment and Retention"; and WHEREAS, further study on this issue is needed to study and identify the most beneficial and cost-effective way to recognize the importance of veteran teachers and properly reward and incentivize their continued retention in the workforce. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee on Veteran Teacher Compensation. (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of six members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Speaker shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee. (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate. (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution. (5) Allowances and funding. (A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. (B) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives. (6) Report. (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph. (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph. (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee. A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives. (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof. (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution would create a study committee to examine whether veteran public school teachers should get additional pay increases after 21 years of service, the current cutoff on the state salary schedule. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's statewide teacher salary schedule currently stops adding step increases after 21 years of service, even though the average teacher stays in the profession for 25.5 years. Some local school districts add their own supplements for longer-serving teachers, but others cannot afford to. This resolution does not change teacher pay itself; it creates the House Study Committee on Veteran Teacher Compensation to study the issue and recommend legislation. The committee would have six House members appointed by the Speaker of the House, who would also name a chairperson. It can hold meetings as needed, and members would receive standard legislative allowances (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8) for up to five days unless more are approved, paid from House funds. The committee must file any approved report or recommended legislation before it is abolished on December 1, 2026. ### What it does - Creates the House Study Committee on Veteran Teacher Compensation to examine pay for experienced teachers. - Directs the Speaker of the House to appoint six House members to the committee and designate a chairperson. - Authorizes the committee to study the lack of salary step increases after 21 years of teaching and recommend legislation. - Sets standard legislative per diem allowances for committee members, capped at five days unless extended, funded through the House budget. - Requires the committee to file a report or meeting minutes with the Clerk of the House before it dissolves. - Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2026. ### Who it affects Georgia public school teachers, especially those with more than 21 years of service; local school districts that set teacher pay supplements; the six House members appointed to the committee; and the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, whose data is cited in the resolution. ### Why it matters No teacher's pay changes because of this resolution. It sets up a formal House process to study whether Georgia should add a later-career salary step, similar to a Year 28 step recommended by a state educator retention group, which could shape future teacher pay legislation. ### Key provisions - Paragraph (1) creates the House Study Committee on Veteran Teacher Compensation. - Paragraph (2) sets the committee at six House members appointed by the Speaker, who also names the chairperson. - Paragraph (3) authorizes the committee to study veteran teacher compensation issues and recommend legislation. - Paragraph (5) sets member allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at five paid days unless more are authorized, funded from House appropriations. - Paragraph (6) requires any approved findings or recommended legislation to be filed with the Clerk of the House before abolishment. - Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-03-03) - Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-03-16) - Sponsors: Carmen Rice, Chris Erwin, Matt Dubnik, Sandy Donatucci, Scott Hilton, Deborah Silcox - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73873 > The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1582.md?full=1