SR 474: Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability; create

This resolution sets up the Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability. The Senate President appoints five senators to the committee and names one as chairperson. The committee's job is to study the cost of college in Georgia and related problems, and to recommend legislation if it finds anything worth acting on. The resolution notes that Georgia has the third highest student loan debt per borrower in the country, that most future jobs will need education beyond high school, and that Georgia lacks a scholarship program based on financial need even though the state's lottery reserves hold $1.6 billion. Members get standard legislative allowances for up to five meeting days, paid from Senate funds. The committee must file any approved report before it is abolished on December 1, 2025.

• Creates the Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability, made up of five senators appointed by the President of the Senate.
• Directs the committee to study college affordability problems in Georgia and recommend legislation if it finds any action necessary.
• Lets the chairperson call and schedule meetings wherever needed to carry out the study.
• Pays legislative members standard daily allowances for up to five meeting days, funded through existing Senate appropriations.
• Requires any approved findings or recommendations to be filed as a report with the Secretary of the Senate before the committee ends.
• Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2025.

The five senators appointed to the committee, the Senate President who makes the appointments, and indirectly Georgia college students and families who could be affected by any future scholarship program or legislation the committee recommends.

The resolution itself does not change any law or create a scholarship program. It only sets up a temporary group to study the issue and suggest possible legislation, so any real impact on tuition costs or student debt would depend on what the committee recommends and whether lawmakers later act on it.

• Paragraph (2) sets committee membership at five senators appointed by the President of the Senate, who also names the chairperson.
• Paragraph (3) charges the committee with studying higher education affordability issues and recommending action or legislation.
• Paragraph (5) ties member pay to the allowances in O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at five days unless additional days are approved, funded from Senate appropriations.
• Paragraph (6) requires a majority vote of a quorum to approve any report, which must be filed with the Secretary of the Senate before abolishment.
• Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025.

1. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
2. 2025-03-28Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2025-03-28Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
4. 2025-03-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2025-03-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Nan Orrock (D, SD-36)Primary sponsor
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-15)
• Max Burns (R, SD-23)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-40)

1. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   52 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 1 excused)

   CONSENT CALENDAR FOR SENATE STUDY COMMITTEES: Senate Vote #380

• higher education affordability
• student loan debt
• college scholarships
• Georgia lottery funds
• legislative study committees