Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 588: Labor and Industrial Relations, Revenue and Taxation, and Social Services; certain protections of caregivers; provide

Last action February 26, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred

Senate Bill 588 would expand caregiver protections in Georgia by tripling the sick leave employees can use for family caregiving, expanding a caregiving tax credit, and letting spousal caregivers keep other program benefits.

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In plain language

Georgia law currently lets employees use up to five days of employer-provided sick leave per year to care for an immediate family member, and it offers a tax credit for people paying for a relative's caregiving expenses. This bill changes several parts of that framework. It raises the sick leave cap from five to 15 days per calendar year for caring for an immediate family member, though employers still are not required to offer sick leave at all. The bill also broadens who counts as a 'qualifying family member' for the caregiving tax credit by explicitly including spouses, and lowers the minimum age for a qualifying relative from 62 to 55. It increases the credit from 10 percent to 30 percent of qualified caregiving expenses, and raises the maximum credit from $150 to $750. Finally, it adds a rule to the Georgia Family Caregiver Support Act saying a spouse who is a primary caregiver and receives state-funded caregiver support cannot be ruled ineligible for other benefits just because they are the care recipient's spouse.

What the bill does

Raises the annual cap on employer-provided sick leave usable for caring for an immediate family member from 5 days to 15 days (O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10).
Expands the definition of 'qualifying family member' for the caregiving tax credit to explicitly include the taxpayer's spouse (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2).
Lowers the minimum age threshold for a qualifying family member from 62 to 55 years old.
Increases the caregiving tax credit rate from 10 percent to 30 percent of qualified caregiving expenses.
Raises the maximum dollar amount of the tax credit from $150 to $750.
Adds a protection so a spousal primary caregiver in a state-funded caregiver program cannot be deemed ineligible for other benefits solely due to being the care recipient's spouse (O.C.G.A. § 49-6-76).

Who it affects

Georgia employees who need sick leave to care for family members, employers who already offer sick leave, family caregivers claiming the state caregiving tax credit (including spouses caring for each other), older Georgians aged 55 to 61 who were previously excluded, and participants in state-funded caregiver support programs.

Why it matters

Caregivers, including spouses, could take more paid sick time and claim a larger tax credit for costs like home health aides or adult day care. Spousal caregivers would also be protected from losing other public benefits simply because of their marital relationship to the person they care for.

Key provisions

Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10(b) to raise the yearly sick leave usage cap for caring for an immediate family member from five days to 15 days, without requiring employers to offer sick leave.
Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.2 to add spouses to the definition of 'qualifying family member,' lower the qualifying age from 62 to 55, raise the credit rate from 10% to 30% of expenses, and raise the maximum credit from $150 to $750.
Section 2 keeps in place existing rules barring the credit for expenses already deducted elsewhere and barring carryforward of unused credit to future tax years.
Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 49-6-76 to add a new subsection (b) protecting spousal primary caregivers in state-funded programs from being deemed ineligible for other benefits solely due to their spousal relationship.
Section 4 repeals conflicting laws.

From the bill

“A person who is a primary caregiver and participates in a state funded program shall not be deemed ineligible for benefits, entitlements, or resources available under other programs solely because the individual is the spouse of the care recipient.”
New protection preventing spousal caregivers from losing other public benefits solely due to being married to the care recipient.

Discussed in meetings (2)

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.

Senate Finance Committee, March 5, 2026
From 0:15:37 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would allow spouses to receive payment for caregiving when only state funds are involved, addressing a shortage of home-care workers. The sponsor projected 53,000 workers entering the field and 173,000 leaving. The chair and sponsor also discussed increasing a separate caregiver tax credit from $150 to $750. A Freedom Care witness supported paying spouses through the existing home-care waiver program, saying this could help people remain at home rather than enter nursing homes. The witness said the program pays about $110 daily, with at least 60%, about $66, going to the caregiver, and estimated savings of $60,000 annually per participant compared with other care arrangements. In response to questions, the witness said eligible caregivers generally must be adults, pass a background check and live with the patient. The witness explained that a mother caring for an adult daughter with a disability could already qualify, while a spouse could not. One committee member noted that some private long-term care policies already cover spousal caregiving. The chair said a fiscal estimate was still pending. The committee took no vote.

Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 26, 2026 (legislative day 25), 0:22:55

Status timeline

2026-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2026-02-25Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

caregiver rights
sick leave laws
tax credits
family caregiving
Georgia tax law

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Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb588.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp