HB1096: HB1096 Public Health, Department of; provide that if certain employees of a county board of health become employees of such department such employees will retain accrued annual and sick leave

Under current Georgia law, employees of county boards of health who join the state retirement system as state employees but work for a county board sometimes lose their built up vacation and sick time if they later become direct employees of the Department of Public Health. This bill adds a new section to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-3.1) to fix that gap. The bill says that if such an employee moves to the department with no break in employment, they keep their accrued annual and sick leave and their seniority for graduated leave accrual (the practice of earning more leave the longer someone has worked). The county board of health cannot pay out that accrued leave when the employee transitions to state employment. The State Personnel Board is authorized to write rules to carry out the change. The bill repeals any conflicting laws.

• Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-3.1) allowing certain county board of health employees who become Department of Public Health employees to keep their accrued annual and sick leave.
• Applies only to employees who are members of the state retirement system under Chapter 2 of Title 47 and who move to the department with no break in employment.
• Lets these employees keep their seniority for graduated leave accrual, meaning their years of service still count toward earning leave at a higher rate.
• Bars county boards of health from paying out accrued leave in cash when an employee transitions to state employment instead of letting it carry over.
• Authorizes the State Personnel Board to create, change, or cancel rules to put this leave carryover policy into practice.
• Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new leave carryover rule.

County board of health employees across Georgia who are members of the state employees' retirement system and who move into direct employment with the Department of Public Health, as well as the State Personnel Board, which will write implementing rules, and county boards of health, which can no longer cash out that leave.

Employees moving from a county health board to the state Department of Public Health would no longer lose their earned vacation and sick time or start over on seniority for leave accrual, which affects their pay, benefits, and job security during workforce reorganizations within Georgia's public health system.

• Section 1 adds new O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-3.1, applying to county board of health employees who are members of the retirement system under Chapter 2 of Title 47 as state employees for retirement purposes only.
• Subsection (a) requires that such employees, upon becoming department employees with no break in service, retain their accrued annual and sick leave and their seniority for graduated leave accrual.
• Subsection (a) also prohibits the county board of health from paying out accrued leave to the employee when they transition to state employment.
• Subsection (b) authorizes the State Personnel Board to promulgate, amend, or repeal rules and regulations to implement the leave carryover policy.
• Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the Act.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 481
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-23Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-23Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-20Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-19Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)Primary sponsor
• James Hatchett (R, HD-155)
• Dexter Sharper (D, HD-177)
• Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
• Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 18, 2026

   163 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #525

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 23, 2026

   50 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #795

• public health department
• state employee benefits
• annual and sick leave
• county boards of health
• state personnel rules