SB 310: Creating Hope and a New Georgia for Everyone or CHANGE Task Force; establish

Georgia does not currently have a standing body dedicated to studying labor and community development issues across the state's different types of communities. This bill would add a new article to the law governing the Department of Community Affairs (O.C.G.A. Title 50, Chapter 8) that creates the Creating Hope and a New Georgia for Everyone, or CHANGE, Task Force. The 13-member task force would include appointees from the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate, plus the commissioner of community affairs or a designee. Members would represent civic groups, businesses of different sizes, colleges, and the legislature. The task force would meet at least quarterly, pick one priority issue each year, study its root causes, and recommend solutions such as new legislation or programs. If lawmakers provide funding, it would also run a grant program for labor and community development projects. It must file annual reports starting July 1, 2026, and the whole article automatically repeals on June 30, 2031 unless the General Assembly extends it. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Creates the CHANGE Task Force within the Department of Community Affairs to study issues facing urban, suburban, and rural Georgia communities.
• Sets task force membership at 13 people appointed by the Governor, the House Speaker, the Senate President, and the commissioner of community affairs or a designee.
• Requires the task force to pick one priority issue per year, study its causes, and recommend solutions to community and government leaders.
• Authorizes a grant program for labor and community development projects, but only if the General Assembly appropriates money for it.
• Requires annual public reports to the Governor and General Assembly starting July 1, 2026, plus a final report before the task force ends.
• Automatically repeals the entire task force law on June 30, 2031 unless the General Assembly votes to continue it.

Civic and community leaders, business owners of various sizes, public and private colleges and technical schools, members of the House and Senate appointed to the task force, the commissioner and staff of the Department of Community Affairs, and communities that might apply for the grant program.

If enacted, Georgia would gain a formal, government-linked forum where business, civic, and government leaders study a chosen community or labor issue each year and push recommendations toward lawmakers. Whether it produces real funding depends entirely on future budget appropriations, since the grant program has no guaranteed money.

• Section 50-8-401 establishes the task force's purpose: examining community issues and recommending labor and community development solutions.
• Section 50-8-402 sets a 13-member structure with specific seats for metro Atlanta and non-metro leaders, employers of different sizes, and educators, plus two House and two Senate members.
• Section 50-8-402 sets two-year terms for appointees and designates the Governor to choose the chairperson.
• Section 50-8-403 requires quarterly meetings, sets a majority quorum, and details expense reimbursement rules for legislative and citizen members.
• Section 50-8-404 directs the task force to prioritize one issue annually, gather data, and, subject to appropriations, run a grant program for labor and community development.
• Section 50-8-404 requires annual reports starting July 1, 2026, published on the department's website, plus a final report before dissolution.
• Section 50-8-405 automatically repeals the whole article on June 30, 2031 unless the General Assembly extends it.
• Section 2 makes the Act effective as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without signature.

1. 2025-02-28Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2025-02-27Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)Patrocinador principal
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)

• community development
• state task forces
• labor policy
• rural and urban development
• Department of Community Affairs