HR1528: HR1528 Joint Study Committee on Higher Education Fiscal Stewardship; create

This resolution creates the Joint Study Committee on Higher Education Fiscal Stewardship, a temporary legislative body meant to look at how the University System of Georgia handles money it receives from the state. The committee would review annual audit reports from the Department of Audits and Accounts and other information about the university system, looking for financial trends, risk areas, and possible improvements. The committee would have ten members: five appointed by the Speaker of the House and five appointed by the President of the Senate, each side naming one cochairperson. Legislative members would receive standard travel and expense allowances under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8) for up to five meeting days unless more are approved. The committee would issue a report with any findings or proposed legislation before it is automatically abolished on December 1, 2026.

• Creates a new ten-member Joint Study Committee on Higher Education Fiscal Stewardship made up of five House members and five Senate members.
• Directs the committee to review University System of Georgia audit reports and other financial information to spot trends and risk areas.
• Authorizes the committee to recommend legislation or other action based on its findings.
• Sets a limit of five paid meeting days per legislative member unless additional days are specifically authorized.
• Requires the committee to file a report or, if none is approved, meeting minutes before it is abolished.
• Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2026.

The resolution directly affects House and Senate members appointed to the new committee, the Board of Regents and University System of Georgia administrators whose fiscal practices would be reviewed, and the Department of Audits and Accounts, whose audit reports the committee would examine.

If adopted, lawmakers would get a formal, time-limited venue to scrutinize how billions of dollars in state funding for Georgia's public colleges and universities are managed, potentially leading to legislative recommendations affecting future university system budgets and oversight.

• Paragraph (1) creates the Joint Study Committee on Higher Education Fiscal Stewardship.
• Paragraph (2) sets the committee's makeup at ten members, five from each chamber, with one cochairperson from each side.
• Paragraph (3) directs the committee to study university system fiscal conditions and recommend needed action or legislation.
• Paragraph (5) sets member allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at five days unless extended, funded through House and Senate appropriations.
• Paragraph (6) requires a report of findings or recommendations, approved by majority vote, filed with the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate.
• Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026.

1. 2026-03-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-03House Hopper (House)

• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)Primary sponsor
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)

• higher education oversight
• University System of Georgia
• state budget audits
• legislative study committees