---
title: HR 1947. House Study Committee on Education Finance; create
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hr1947
cite_as: HR 1947, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1947
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1947.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1947/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74500
date: 2026-03-31
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 185
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1947.md?full=1
bill_number: HR 1947
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2026-03-25
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
  - Shaw Blackmon
  - Chris Erwin
  - Matt Dubnik
  - Jan Jones
  - Robert Dawson
  - Scott Hilton
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1947/2025
upstream_id: 2138461
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - education funding
  - school finance
  - QBE formula
  - legislative study committee
  - school poverty funding
---

# HR 1947. House Study Committee on Education Finance; create

## Text

House Resolution 1947
By: Representatives Blackmon of the 146th, Erwin of the 32nd, Dubnik of the 29th, Jones of
the 47th, Dawson of the 65th, and others
A RESOLUTION
Creating the House Study Committee on Education Finance; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, state funding for the operation of Georgia's public schools is based on the
Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula, which was established in 1985 and calculates
funding to local units of administration, including local school systems, based generally on
full-time equivalent (FTE) student counts and types of programs; and
WHEREAS, the QBE formula, which requires local school systems to spend a calculated
amount of the local five-mill share of funds annually in order to participate in the QBE
program, is supplemented with state funding for equalization grants for local school systems
in order to help such systems initiate what they have been unable to accomplish with existing
revenue sources; and
WHEREAS, a comprehensive review of equalization grants, local five-mill share, and all
other education financing sources and mechanisms, including programmatic funds, is needed
to determine whether the current education financing system continues to be an appropriate
and equitable method of calculating and distributing state education funds; and
WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to consider overhauling the current education financing
structure, if necessary, including to identify ways to simplify the QBE funding formula and
to adequately assist districts within the state with high poverty levels.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
(1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee
on Education Finance.
(2) Members and officers.
(A) The committee shall be composed of five members of the House of
Representatives and shall include the chairperson of the House Committee on
Appropriations, the chairperson of the House Committee on Education, the chairperson
of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Education, and two members of the
House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
(B) The Speaker shall designate one of his appointees as chairperson.
(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 31, 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 review how the state funds public schools through the Quality Basic Education formula, including grants meant to help poorer districts.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia funds its public schools mainly through the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula, set up in 1985, which calculates state money for local school systems based on student counts and program types. Local systems must also spend a required local share of property tax revenue, and the state supplements poorer districts with equalization grants. This resolution creates the House Study Committee on Education Finance to review that whole funding system, including the equalization grants, the local five-mill share requirement, and other funding mechanisms, to see whether the current approach is still fair and effective.
The five-member committee would include several House committee chairs and two Speaker appointees, who would study the issue and recommend legislation if needed. It could meet as often as needed, members get standard legislative allowances for up to five days of meetings unless more are approved, and the committee must file any report before it is abolished on December 31, 2026.

### What it does

- Creates the House Study Committee on Education Finance to review Georgia's public school funding system.
- Directs the committee to examine equalization grants, the local five-mill share requirement, and other education financing mechanisms for fairness and effectiveness.
- Sets the committee's membership at five House members, including three specific committee chairs and two Speaker-appointed members.
- Authorizes standard legislative meeting allowances (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8) for up to five days unless additional days are approved.
- Requires any approved findings or recommendations to be filed as a report with the Clerk of the House before the committee ends.
- Abolishes the committee automatically on December 31, 2026.

### Who it affects

The resolution directly affects the House members appointed to the committee, including the chairs of the House Appropriations Committee, House Education Committee, and House Appropriations Subcommittee for Education. Indirectly, it affects local school systems and school districts, especially those with high poverty levels, whose funding could eventually be shaped by the committee's recommendations.

### Why it matters

If the committee finds the current QBE formula outdated or inequitable, it could recommend legislation that changes how much state money local school systems receive, especially districts with high poverty. No funding changes take effect from this resolution itself; it only authorizes a study.

### Key provisions

- Paragraph (1) creates the House Study Committee on Education Finance.
- Paragraph (2) sets membership at five House members, naming three chairs by title and giving the Speaker two appointments, one of whom becomes chairperson.
- Paragraph (3) directs the committee to study education financing issues and recommend action or legislation as needed.
- Paragraph (5) limits paid legislative allowances to five meeting days unless additional days are authorized, funded from House appropriations.
- Paragraph (6) requires any adopted report with legislative recommendations to be filed with the Clerk of the House before the committee is abolished.
- Paragraph (7) sets the committee's abolishment date as December 31, 2026.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-03-25)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-03-31)
- Sponsors: Shaw Blackmon, Chris Erwin, Matt Dubnik, Jan Jones, Robert Dawson, Scott Hilton
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74500

> The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1947.md?full=1