SB 267: State's Employee Benefit Plan Council; establish health savings accounts and to continually provide for education or salary reductions for such accounts; require

Georgia's Employee Benefit Plan Council currently has discretion over which benefits, such as life insurance or health spending accounts, it offers through payroll deductions or salary reductions in the state's flexible employee benefit plan. This bill amends Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 45-18-52) to add health savings accounts, a tax-advantaged savings option under federal law (Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code), to the list of benefits the council may offer. More importantly, the bill removes the council's discretion specifically for health savings accounts. Starting January 1, 2026, the council must continually make payroll deduction or salary reduction options for health savings accounts available as part of the benefit plan, even though it keeps discretion over other listed benefits like life and disability insurance. The bill also makes small wording updates, such as changing 'public schoolteachers' to 'public school teachers,' and repeals any conflicting laws.

• Adds health savings accounts, authorized under Section 223 of the federal tax code, to the list of benefits the council can offer through payroll deductions.
• Requires the council to continually provide payroll deduction or salary reduction options for health savings accounts starting January 1, 2026, removing its usual discretion for this one benefit.
• Keeps the council's discretion over whether to offer other listed benefits, such as life, disability, and property and casualty insurance.
• Makes minor wording corrections, updating 'public schoolteachers' to 'public school teachers' in the statute.

State employees, public school teachers, and public school employees who participate in Georgia's flexible employee benefit plan, along with the state's Employee Benefit Plan Council, which administers the plan and would lose discretion over whether to offer health savings accounts.

State workers and public school employees would gain a guaranteed option to set aside pretax salary in a health savings account starting in 2026, giving them a new tool for covering medical costs that the council could not simply decline to offer, unlike other optional benefits.

• Section 1 restructures O.C.G.A. § 45-18-52 into subsections and adds health savings accounts under Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code to the benefits the flexible plan can cover.
• Section 1 adds a new provision stating that beginning January 1, 2026, the flexible employee benefit plan must continually provide for deductions or salary reductions relating to health savings accounts.
• Section 1 clarifies the council retains discretion over whether to offer other benefits like group life insurance, disability insurance, and spending accounts.
• Section 1 keeps existing language allowing the council to set disability insurance rating categories and to self-insure or contract for benefits.
• Section 2 repeals any laws that conflict with the bill.

1. 2025-02-27Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2025-02-26Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)Patrocinador principal
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• Blake Tillery (R, SD-019)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Josh McLaurin (D, SD-014)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)

• health savings accounts
• state employee benefits
• public school employees
• payroll deductions
• state government