--- title: HR 42. General Assembly; motor fuel and diesel fuel taxes; ratify Governor Brian P. Kemp's Executive Orders collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr42 cite_as: HR 42, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr42 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr42.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr42/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69472 date: 2025-03-20 status: passed 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/hr41.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr43.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 988 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr42.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 42 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-03-20 last_action: Senate Passed/Adopted sponsors: - Matthew Gambill - Soo Hong - Lauren McDonald - Will Wade - Shaw Blackmon - Bruce Williamson - Drew Echols text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR42/2025 upstream_id: 1929319 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - fuel taxes - state of emergency - Tropical Storm Helene - executive orders - tax policy --- # HR 42. General Assembly; motor fuel and diesel fuel taxes; ratify Governor Brian P. Kemp's Executive Orders ## Text 25 LC 33 9741-EC House Resolution 42 By: Representatives Gambill of the 15th, Hong of the 103rd, McDonald III of the 26th, Wade of the 9th, Blackmon of the 146th, and others A RESOLUTION Ratifying Governor Brian P. Kemp's Executive Order Nos. 10.01.2 4.02, 10.08.24.01, and1 10.15.24.01 suspending the collection of motor fuel and diesel fuel taxes; and for other2 purposes.3 WHEREAS, on September 24, 2024, under the authority granted in Code Section 38-3-514 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Governor Brian P. Ke mp declared a state of5 emergency for Tropical Storm Helene and issued Executive Order No. 09.24.24.01 as6 necessary and appropriate action; and7 WHEREAS, pursuant to Code Section 45-12-22 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,8 under the state of emergency for Tropical Storm Helene, the Gov ernor suspended the9 collection of motor fuel and diesel fuel taxes required by Code Section 48-9-3 beginning on10 October 1, 2024, by issuing Executive Order No. 10.01.24.02; and11 WHEREAS, pursuant to Code Section 45-12-22 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,12 the Governor continued the suspension of the collection of moto r fuel and diesel taxes13 through October 16, 2024, due to the ongoing state of emergency for Tropical Storm Helene14 by issuing Executive Order Nos. 10.08.24.01 and 10.15.24.01; and15 H. R. 42 - 1 - 25 LC 33 9741-EC WHEREAS, pursuant to Code Section 45-12-22 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,16 action by two-thirds of the General Assembly is necessary to ra tify the suspension of the17 collection of motor fuel and diesel fuel taxes as declared by E xecutive Order Nos.18 10.01.24.02, 10.08.24.01, and 10.15.24.01.19 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF20 GEORGIA that the members of this body ratify the suspension of the collection of motor fuel21 and diesel fuel taxes as declared by Executive Order Nos. 10.01 .24.02, 10.08.24.01, and22 10.15.24.01 issued by Governor Brian P. Kemp in response to a s tate of emergency for23 Tropical Storm Helene.24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Represent atives and the25 Secretary of the Senate are authorized and directed to make app ropriate copies of this26 resolution available for distribution to Governor Brian P. Kemp and members of the public27 and the press.28 H. R. 42 - 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 House resolution formally ratifies Governor Brian Kemp's 2024 executive orders that suspended Georgia's motor fuel and diesel fuel taxes during the Tropical Storm Helene emergency. ### Plain-language summary After Tropical Storm Helene hit Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency on September 24, 2024 and used his emergency powers under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 45-12-22) to stop the state from collecting motor fuel and diesel fuel taxes (O.C.G.A. § 48-9-3), starting October 1, 2024. He extended that suspension twice more through October 16, 2024 with additional executive orders. Georgia law requires that when a governor suspends tax collection this way, two-thirds of the General Assembly must vote to ratify, or formally approve, that suspension afterward. This resolution is that ratification. It does not create new policy; it approves the governor's past emergency action and directs copies to be sent to the Governor and made available to the public and press. ### What it does - Formally ratifies (approves after the fact) Governor Kemp's suspension of state motor fuel and diesel fuel tax collection during the Helene emergency. - Confirms three specific executive orders (10.01.24.02, 10.08.24.01, and 10.15.24.01) that extended the tax suspension through October 16, 2024. - Directs the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the Governor, the public, and the press. - Satisfies the legal requirement in Georgia's emergency powers law (O.C.G.A. § 45-12-22) that two-thirds of the legislature must ratify such a tax suspension. ### Who it affects The resolution directly concerns Governor Kemp's use of emergency powers and applies to Georgia drivers and businesses who buy motor fuel and diesel fuel, since it retroactively approves the period when those state taxes were not collected due to Tropical Storm Helene. ### Why it matters Without this legislative ratification, the temporary suspension of fuel taxes ordered by the Governor during the storm emergency would lack the formal approval Georgia law requires, since only the General Assembly can retroactively validate a governor's suspension of tax collection. ### Key provisions - Recites that Governor Kemp declared a state of emergency for Tropical Storm Helene on September 24, 2024 under O.C.G.A. § 38-3-51. - Notes the Governor suspended motor fuel and diesel fuel tax collection under O.C.G.A. § 48-9-3 starting October 1, 2024 via Executive Order 10.01.24.02. - States the suspension was extended through October 16, 2024 by Executive Order Nos. 10.08.24.01 and 10.15.24.01. - Resolves that the General Assembly ratifies all three executive orders' suspension of the fuel taxes. - Directs distribution of copies of the resolution to the Governor and to the public and press. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-03-20) - Last action: Senate Passed/Adopted (2025-03-20) - Sponsors: Matthew Gambill, Soo Hong, Lauren McDonald, Will Wade, Shaw Blackmon, Bruce Williamson, Drew Echols - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69472 > The history, votes, and amendments (988 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr42.md?full=1