HB 328: Revenue and taxation; increase annual aggregate limit for tax credits available for certain contributions to student scholarship organizations

Georgia allows donors to get a state tax credit for contributing to student scholarship organizations (SSOs), which fund private-school scholarships. This bill raises the annual statewide cap on those credits from $120 million to $150 million, and changes the separate cap on credits businesses can claim against insurance premium taxes from a flat $6 million to 6 percent of the total credit pool. It also raises the cap on a related tax credit for donations to public school grant programs from $15 million to $25 million per year. The bill changes who counts as an eligible scholarship student, waiving the usual six-week public school attendance requirement for children of active-duty military stationed in Georgia and for students with an IEP, a Section 504 Plan, or certain diagnosed disabilities, and lets those students receive scholarships above the normal per-student cap. It bars General Assembly members and their spouses from taking income from an SSO in a year it received credited contributions. Separately, it restricts virtual instruction to out-of-district students where school performance is low, excludes those students from equalization funding counts, and limits how transit sales tax revenue and reelection timing work for local transit ballot measures. Most provisions take effect July 1, 2026, applying to tax years starting January 1, 2027.

• Raises the statewide annual cap on tax credits for donations to student scholarship organizations from $120 million to $150 million.
• Changes the insurance premium tax credit sub-cap from a flat $6 million to 6 percent of the total scholarship tax credit pool.
• Increases the annual cap on tax credits for donations to public school grant programs from $15 million to $25 million.
• Waives the six-week public school attendance requirement for scholarship eligibility for military dependents and students with an IEP, Section 504 Plan, or certain diagnosed disabilities, and lets those students exceed the usual scholarship dollar cap.
• Bars members of the General Assembly and their spouses from receiving income from a scholarship organization in a year it received tax-credited donations.
• Prohibits a local school system from offering virtual instruction to out-of-district students if its performance index average falls below 65 for two straight years, and excludes those students from equalization funding counts.

Private school scholarship donors and recipients, families of active-duty military and students with disabilities seeking scholarships, members of the General Assembly and their spouses, local school systems that run virtual schools enrolling out-of-district students, public school grant donors, and counties considering transit sales tax measures.

More donors could claim scholarship tax credits before the pool runs out each year, potentially expanding private-school access, while military and disability-designated students gain easier eligibility and higher scholarship amounts. Meanwhile, districts with low-performing virtual schools would lose the ability to enroll outside students, and transit sales tax revenue could no longer subsidize free or reduced fares.

• Section 1 waives the six-week public school attendance rule for military dependents and students with an IEP, Section 504 Plan, or designated disability, letting them qualify for scholarships immediately.
• Section 2 exempts students with those same designations from the cap limiting scholarships to the average per-student public school expenditure.
• Section 3 creates new Code Section 20-2A-2.2 barring legislators and their spouses from receiving income from a scholarship organization in a year it received credited donations.
• Section 4 allows parents to authorize scholarship deposits by electronic signature instead of only by physical endorsement.
• Section 5 bars virtual instruction to out-of-district students if a school system's performance index averages below 65 over the prior two years, and excludes such students from equalization fund counts.
• Section 6 raises the overall scholarship tax credit cap from $120 million to $150 million per year and changes the insurance premium tax sub-cap to 6 percent of that total.
• Section 7 raises the cap on tax credits for donations to public school grant nonprofits from $15 million to $25 million per year.
• Section 8 bars transit sales tax revenue from funding free or reduced public transit fares, and Section 9 requires an eight-year wait before resubmitting a failed transit sales tax ballot question.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 463
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2026-04-02Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senado)
6. 2026-03-31House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub As Amended (Cámara de Representantes)
7. 2026-03-25Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senado)
8. 2026-03-25Senate Third Read (Senado)

• Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-004)Patrocinador principal
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
• John Carson (R, HD-046)
• Jason Ridley (R, HD-006)
• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)
• Martin Momtahan (R, HD-017)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes6 de marzo de 2025

   98 a favor, 75 en contra (1 sin votar, 6 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #267

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado25 de marzo de 2026

   32 a favor, 19 en contra (2 sin votar, 1 ausentes)

   Motion To Engross: Hb 328, Hb 369, Hb 519, Hb 1112: Senate Vote #800

3. AprobadaVotación: Senado25 de marzo de 2026

   30 a favor, 20 en contra (2 sin votar, 2 ausentes)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #802

4. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes31 de marzo de 2026

   99 a favor, 67 en contra (2 sin votar, 8 ausentes)

   Agree To Senate Sub As Am: House Vote #831

5. AprobadaVotación: Senado2 de abril de 2026

   30 a favor, 22 en contra (0 sin votar, 2 ausentes)

   Shall The Ruling Of The Chair Be Sustained: Senate Vote #972

6. AprobadaVotación: Senado2 de abril de 2026

   30 a favor, 22 en contra (0 sin votar, 2 ausentes)

   Agree To House Amendment To Senate Substitute: Senate Vote #973

• private school scholarships
• tax credits
• virtual schools
• education funding
• transit sales tax