--- title: HR 29. General Assembly; appropriation of funds received from certain legal judgments or settlements; provide - CA collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr29 cite_as: HR 29, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr29 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr29.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr29/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69378 date: 2025-04-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hr28.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr30.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 249 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr29.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 29 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-01-15 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Beth Camp - James Hatchett - James Burchett - Stan Gunter - Marvin Lim - Rick Jasperse text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR29/2025 upstream_id: 1922213 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - state budget process - constitutional amendment - federal funding - legal settlements - legislative appropriations --- # HR 29. General Assembly; appropriation of funds received from certain legal judgments or settlements; provide - CA ## Text 25 LC 56 0340S The House Committee on Appropriations offers the following substitute to HR 29: A RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide for the appropriation of funds1 received from certain legal judgments or settlements; to revise the disposition of excess,2 changed, or unanticipated federal funding allocated to the stat e; to provide for related3 matters; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for4 other purposes.5 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 Article III, Section IX, Paragraph II of the Constitution is amended by revising subparagraph8 (b) as follows:9 "(b)(1) The General Assembly shall annually appropriate those state and federal funds10 necessary to operate all the various departments and agencies. The General Assembly11 shall appropriate all moneys and funds derived from any legal judgments awarded to the12 state on or after January 1, 2027, and any legal settlements entered into by the state or on13 its behalf on or after January 1, 2027.14 (2) To the extent that federal funds received by the state for an y program, project,15 activity, purpose, or expenditure are changed by federal authority or exceed the amount16 or amounts appropriated in the general appropriations Act or supplementary appropriation17 H. R. 29 (SUB) - 1 - 25 LC 56 0340S appropriations Act or Acts, or are not anticipated, such excess, changed, or unanticipated18 federal funds in excess of $10 million shall be continually appropriated by the General19 Assembly through one or more methods or manners that shall be prescribed by general20 law or held in the state treasury to be appropriated by the Gen eral Assembly through a21 supplementary appropriations Act or Acts. are hereby continually appropriated for the22 purposes authorized and directed by the federal government in making the grant. In those23 instances where the conditions under which the federal funds have been made available24 do not provide otherwise, federal funds shall first be used to replace state funds that were25 appropriated to supplant federal funds in the same state fiscal year.26 (3) The fiscal year of the state shall commence on the first day of July of each year and27 terminate on the thirtieth of June following."28 SECTION 2.29 The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be publi shed and submitted as30 provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the31 above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following:32 "( ) YES33 ( ) NO34 35 36 Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to ensure that all proceeds from legal judgments or settlements and unanticipated changes t o federal funding in excess of $10 million are appropriated by the Genera l Assembly?" All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes."37 All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If38 such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall39 become a part of the Constitution of this state.40 H. R. 29 (SUB) - 2 - ## 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 proposed Georgia constitutional amendment would require the General Assembly to approve any money the state receives from legal judgments or settlements starting in 2027, and would tighten legislative control over unexpected large amounts of federal funding. ### Plain-language summary Right now, Georgia's Constitution lets the state receive certain federal funds automatically for the purposes the federal government specifies, without a separate vote by the General Assembly each time. This resolution proposes changing that system. Under the amendment, any money Georgia wins or receives from legal judgments after January 1, 2027, and any settlement money the state enters into after that date, would have to be appropriated (formally approved for spending) by the General Assembly rather than spent automatically. It also changes how the state handles federal funding that is later changed, increased beyond what was budgeted, or was not expected at all: amounts over $10 million would have to go through a legislative appropriation process, either through a method set by general law or held in the treasury until lawmakers pass a supplementary appropriations act. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it must be approved by Georgia voters in a statewide referendum before taking effect. ### What it does - Requires the General Assembly to appropriate (formally approve spending of) all money from legal judgments won by the state or settlements entered into by the state on or after January 1, 2027. - Removes the current automatic appropriation of federal funds for purposes directed by the federal government, replacing it with a requirement for legislative approval when those funds exceed $10 million. - Requires unexpected, changed, or excess federal funds over $10 million to go through a method set by general law or wait for a supplementary appropriations act. - Sends the proposed constitutional change to Georgia voters for ratification or rejection in a statewide referendum. ### Who it affects This affects the Georgia General Assembly, which would gain more direct control over judgment and settlement proceeds and large unanticipated federal funds. State agencies that currently receive automatic federal funding allocations, and Georgia voters, who must approve or reject the amendment at the ballot, are also affected. ### Why it matters If approved by voters, state agencies could no longer spend certain large unexpected federal funds or legal settlement money without the legislature first voting to appropriate it, which would shift budgeting power toward the General Assembly and could slow how quickly such funds reach their intended uses. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends Article III, Section IX, Paragraph II(b) of the Georgia Constitution to require legislative appropriation of judgment and settlement funds received on or after January 1, 2027. - Section 1 also replaces automatic appropriation of federal funds directed by the federal government with a requirement that excess, changed, or unanticipated federal funds over $10 million be appropriated through general law or a supplementary appropriations act. - Section 2 sets the ballot language voters will see, asking whether proceeds from judgments, settlements, and federal funding changes over $10 million should require General Assembly appropriation. - The amendment must be submitted for statewide ratification under Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution before it can take effect. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-15) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Beth Camp, James Hatchett, James Burchett, Stan Gunter, Marvin Lim, Rick Jasperse - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69378 > The history, votes, and amendments (249 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr29.md?full=1