--- title: SR 474. Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability; create collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr474 cite_as: SR 474, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr474 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr474.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr474/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71714 date: 2025-04-02 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/sr473.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr475.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 429 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr474.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 474 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-04-02 last_action: Senate Passed/Adopted sponsors: - Nan Orrock - Clint Dixon - Ed Harbison - Max Burns - Sally Harrell text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR474/2025 upstream_id: 2015499 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - higher education affordability - student loan debt - need based scholarships - education lottery funds - Georgia Senate study committee --- # SR 474. Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability; create ## Text 25 LC 61 0254 Senate Resolution 474 By: Senators Orrock of the 36th, Dixon of the 45th, Harbison of the 15th, Burns of the 23rd and Harrell of the 40th ADOPTED SENATE A RESOLUTION Creating the Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Afforda bility; and fo r other1 purposes.2 WHEREAS, Georgia has the third highest graduate and undergraduate student loan debt per3 borrower in the nation; and4 WHEREAS, by 2031, 72 percent of all jobs will require postsecon dary credentials and5 currently Georgia has a postsecondary completion rate of 50.8 percent among young adults;6 and7 WHEREAS, unlike many other states, Georgia does not have a mean s tested scholarship8 program; and9 WHEREAS, the amount of unrestricted education lottery reserves currently totals $1.610 billion; and11 WHEREAS, this body should explore options for making higher education more affordable12 for Georgians, including the creation of a means tested scholarship program.13 S. R. 474 - 1 - 25 LC 61 0254 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE:14 (1) Creation of Senate study committee. There is created the Senate Study Committee15 on Higher Education Affordability.16 (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the17 Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate. The President shall designate one18 member of the committee as chairperson of the committee.19 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,20 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or21 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.22 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee23 may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or24 convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and25 accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.26 (5) Allowances and funding. The legislative members of the committee shall receive27 the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Offic ial Code of Georgia28 Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any29 member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. 30 Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds31 appropriated to the Senate.32 (6) Report.33 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that34 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the35 same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolut ion, subject to36 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.37 (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not i nclude suggestions for38 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)39 of this paragraph.40 S. R. 474 - 2 - 25 LC 61 0254 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of41 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.42 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with43 the Secretary of the Senate.44 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Secretary45 of the Senate a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof.46 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.47 S. R. 474 - 3 - ## 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 Georgia Senate resolution creates a five-member study committee to examine whether the state should make higher education more affordable, including whether Georgia should adopt a need-based scholarship program. ### Plain-language summary This resolution notes that Georgia has the third highest student loan debt per borrower in the country and that most future jobs will require some postsecondary credential, while Georgia's postsecondary completion rate lags. It also notes Georgia lacks a means tested (need based) scholarship program even though the state currently holds $1.6 billion in unrestricted education lottery reserves. To respond, the resolution creates the Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability, made up of five senators appointed by the President of the Senate, with one designated as chairperson. The committee is directed to study higher education affordability issues, including a possible need based scholarship program, and to recommend legislation. It can meet as needed, members get standard legislative per diem and travel allowances, and the committee must file any approved report before it is abolished on December 1, 2025. ### What it does - 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 higher education affordability issues, including the possible creation of a means tested (need based) scholarship program. - Allows the committee to hold meetings wherever and whenever the chairperson calls them to carry out its work. - Sets member pay using the standard legislative allowance rules (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8), capped at five days unless more are approved, funded through Senate appropriations. - Requires the committee to file any approved findings or recommendations with the Secretary of the Senate before it is abolished. - Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2025. ### Who it affects The resolution directly affects the five senators who will serve on the new study committee. More broadly, it concerns Georgia college students, borrowers with student loan debt, and anyone who might benefit from a future need based scholarship program funded through lottery reserves. ### Why it matters The resolution does not create any new scholarship or spending itself; it only sets up a committee to study the issue and recommend legislation. Any real change to how Georgia funds higher education, such as a new need based scholarship, would depend on future bills the committee's work might produce. ### Key provisions - Paragraph 1 creates the Senate Study Committee on Higher Education Affordability. - Paragraph 2 sets the committee's 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 and recommending action or legislation. - Paragraph 5 ties member pay to O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8 allowances, limited to five days absent additional authorization, funded from Senate appropriations. - Paragraph 6 sets the rules for filing a committee report, including that any report needs majority approval from a quorum before the abolishment date. - Paragraph 7 abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-02) - Last action: Senate Passed/Adopted (2025-04-02) - Sponsors: Nan Orrock, Clint Dixon, Ed Harbison, Max Burns, Sally Harrell - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71714 > The history, votes, and amendments (429 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr474.md?full=1