---
title: SB 588. Labor and Industrial Relations, Revenue and Taxation, and Social Services; certain protections of caregivers; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb588
cite_as: SB 588, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb588
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb588.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb588/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73639
date: 2026-02-26
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: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb588.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 588
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-25
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
  - Harold Jones
  - Kenya Wicks
  - Elena Parent
  - Nikki Merritt
  - Nan Orrock
  - Sonya Halpern
  - Gail Davenport
  - Tonya Anderson
  - Jaha Howard
  - Donzella James
  - Michael Rhett
  - Sheikh Rahman
  - Randal Mangham
  - David Lucas
  - Josh McLaurin
  - RaShaun Kemp
  - Sally Harrell
  - Kim Jackson
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB588/2025
upstream_id: 2124799
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - caregiver rights
  - sick leave laws
  - tax credits
  - family caregiving
  - Georgia tax law
---

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

## Text

Senate Bill 588
By: Senators Jones II of the 22nd, Wicks of the 34th, Parent of the 44th, Merritt of the 9th,
Orrock of the 36th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Titles 34, 48, and 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor
and industrial relations, revenue and taxation, and social services, respectively, so as to
provide for certain protections of caregivers; to provide for duration of sick leave; to revise
a definition; to increase the tax credit for qualified caregiving expenses; to provide for no
displacement from other programs; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws;
and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial relations,
is amended in Chapter 1, relating to general provisions, by revising subsection (b) of Code
Section 34-1-10, relating to use of sick leave for care of immediate family members, as
follows:
"(b) An employer that provides sick leave shall allow an employee to use such sick leave
for the care of an immediate family member; provided, however, that nothing in this Code
section shall be construed to require an employer to offer sick leave or to require an
employer to allow an employee to use more than <del>five</del> <ins>15</ins> days of earned sick leave per
calendar year for the care of an immediate family member."
SECTION 2.
Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is
amended in Article 2 of Chapter 7, relating to imposition, rate, computation, exemptions, and
credits relative to income taxes, by revising Code Section 48-7-29.2, relating to tax credits
for qualified caregiving expenses, as follows:
"48-7-29.2.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Qualified caregiving expenses' means payments by the taxpayer for home health
agency services, personal care services, personal care attendant services, homemaker
services, adult day care, respite care, or healthcare equipment and supplies which
equipment and supplies have been determined to be medically necessary by a physician
which services, care, or equipment and supplies are:
(A) Provided to the qualifying family member; and
(B) Purchased or obtained from an organization or individual not related to the
taxpayer or the qualifying family member.
(2) 'Qualifying family member' means the taxpayer or an individual who is <ins>the spouse
of the taxpayer or who is</ins> related to the taxpayer by blood, marriage, or adoption and who:
(A) Is at least <del>62</del> <ins>55</ins> years of age; or
(B) Has been determined to be disabled by the Social Security Administration.
(b) A taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed by Code Section 48-7-20
for qualified caregiving expenses in an amount not to exceed <del>10</del> <ins>30</ins> percent of the total
amount expended for qualified caregiving expenses. No taxpayer shall be entitled to such
credit with respect to the same qualified caregiving expenses claimed by another taxpayer.
(c) In no event shall the amount of the tax credit exceed <del>$150.00</del> <ins>$750.00</ins> or the taxpayer's
income tax liability, whichever is less. Any unused tax credit shall not be allowed to be
carried forward to apply to the taxpayer's succeeding years' tax liability. No such tax credit
shall be allowed the taxpayer against prior years' tax liability.
(d) No credit shall be allowed under this Code section with respect to any qualifying
caregiving expenses either deducted or subtracted by the taxpayer in arriving at Georgia
taxable net income or with respect to any qualified caregiving expenses for which amounts
were excluded from Georgia taxable net income.
(e) The commissioner shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement
and administer this Code section."
SECTION 3.
Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to social services, is amended
in Article 6 of Chapter 6, relating to the "Georgia Family Caregiver Support Act," by revising
Code Section 49-6-76, relating to displacement of other programs prohibited, as follows:
"49-6-76.
<ins>(a)</ins> Funding authorized under this article shall not be used to displace benefits,
entitlements, or resources available under other programs.
<ins>(b) 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."
</ins> SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

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.

### Plain-language summary

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 it 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.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-02-25)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-02-26)
- Sponsors: Harold Jones, Kenya Wicks, Elena Parent, Nikki Merritt, Nan Orrock, Sonya Halpern, Gail Davenport, Tonya Anderson, Jaha Howard, Donzella James, Michael Rhett, Sheikh Rahman, Randal Mangham, David Lucas, Josh McLaurin, RaShaun Kemp, Sally Harrell, Kim Jackson
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73639

> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb588.md?full=1