Georgia CommonsGeorgia General Assembly
Meetings on February 11, 2026
Machine-readable: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-02-11.md
Senate Rules Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee unanimously approved placing SB 476, SB 477, HB 134 and HB 463 on the Senate floor calendar for the next day. The chair described SB 476 as an incremental income tax reduction and SB 477 as eliminating income tax for households filing jointly with income up to $100,000 and individual filers with income up to $50,000, along with tax credit provisions. The committee chair who had handled the bills confirmed those descriptions and described the two House measures as duplicates of the Senate measures. The committee then adjourned.
House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved HB 1182, concerning soil amendment storage and loading, by voice vote with no opposition heard. Members also held a hearing on a substitute for HB 947, concerning SNAP eligibility checks, work requirements, benefit-card security and purchases. Discussion focused on payment errors, possible state costs, technology limits and access to food. No vote was taken on HB 947. The chair also announced a new subcommittee to handle some consumer bills.
House Ways & Means Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved HB 1001 to accelerate an income tax rate cut and HB 880 to provide further phased tax cuts and higher deductions, with an amendment linking the latter bill's tax-rate reductions to financial conditions. Members also approved an employment tax credit, tax relief for independent fire services, an arts admission tax exemption extension, a proposed constitutional amendment on timber taxes, and a partial update aligning Georgia tax law with federal changes. Members questioned why the federal tax breaks for tips and overtime were excluded from HB 1199, which passed. The committee also held a voice vote on HB 1070, concerning railroad maintenance credits, but the chair did not explicitly announce the result.
House Rules Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee heard presentations on vehicle titles, bankruptcy exemptions, foster caregivers, firefighter safety, judicial privacy, student sports physicals, pharmacy payments and insurance coverage. It returned HB 211 and HB 1024 to the Judiciary Committee. It approved a substitute for HB 998 and placed it on Thursday’s House calendar along with HR 999, HB 948, HB 983 and SB 195. The committee held off on scheduling HB 810 after a request to consider it Tuesday instead. No further action was recorded on the other bills presented. The chair announced that the committee would not meet Thursday morning and would next meet Tuesday.
House floor session, February 11, 2026 (legislative day 17)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The House passed bills on delivery robots, completion schools, incest law, high school athlete compensation and oversight of executive agencies. Members also agreed to Senate changes to HB 117, concerning seafood labeling, and HB 414, concerning campaign finance rules. The House adopted HR 251, proposing a statewide vote on nonpartisan elections for probate judges. All recorded floor measures passed, with vote totals reported below. The session also included first and second readings, committee reports, recognition of the Georgia National Guard and other visitors, and adoption of honorary resolutions. The House adjourned until February 12 at 10 a.m.
Senate floor session, February 11, 2026 (legislative day 17)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The Senate passed SB 400, concerning oversight of private postsecondary schools, by a 48-1 vote, and SB 444, requiring human clinical review before certain insurance coverage denials, by a 49-0 vote. The chamber moved SB 398 to the bottom of the calendar after the chair said its sponsor had left for an emergency. Senators also received bill readings and committee reports, adopted recognition resolutions concerning congenital heart defects, family and consumer sciences, and the Georgia National Guard, and approved an unnamed consent calendar of resolutions. The Senate adjourned until 10 a.m. on February 12.
House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered four measures and recommended passage of each: HR 1243, proposing a dedicated statewide 911 fund; HB 967, creating grants for bullet-resistant protection in law enforcement vehicles; HB 1128, improving benefit notices for incapacitated workers and injured officers; and HB 1161, requiring drivers being pulled over to move right when safe. Members discussed how 911 funding would be distributed, whether smaller police departments would receive vehicle-protection grants, and how traffic-stop rules would address unsafe stopping locations and driver confusion. The chair announced unanimous approval of HB 1128.
House Judiciary Juvenile Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved both bills after making changes. HB 943 would establish an autism screening, evaluation and treatment pilot for children in foster care. Members added the committee chair to those receiving progress reports. HB 1061 would create a planning committee to examine how Georgia could move 17-year-olds into juvenile court jurisdiction, without changing the age rules now. Witnesses discussed rehabilitation, public safety, costs and detention capacity. Members approved earlier deadlines for that planning work, then passed the bill. No opposing votes were voiced on either bill’s final passage.
House Higher Education Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee voted to recommend passage of HB 419, concerning campus access to opioid overdose medication; HB 385, allowing unused HOPE eligibility to support graduate or professional study; and HB 541, extending tuition equalization grants to students at a nursing school. All three moved to the Rules Committee by voice vote, with no opposition heard. The committee held first hearings without votes on HR 6, concerning multiple state investment funds, and HB 203, requiring public historically Black university graduates on the Board of Regents. Members also continued reviewing HB 1064, concerning recognition of the Classic Learning Test. Speakers disagreed about score comparisons, test safeguards and financial effects. The chair requested more information and took no action on that bill.
Senate Finance Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The Senate Finance Committee advanced three measures: SB 432, extending colleges’ authority to carry certain funds into future years, unanimously; SR 668, allowing separate property-tax rates for manufacturing property and data centers, by an 8-4 vote; and SB 446, putting Georgia’s participation in a federal scholarship tax-credit program into state law, with no vote count announced. The committee rejected an amendment to the scholarship measure that would have excluded schools still seeking accreditation. Members also heard SB 436, concerning public access to data-center water and electricity information and a proposed one-year pause on large data centers. That measure received a hearing only, with no vote.
House Defense & Veterans Affairs Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved two bills. HB 1087 would waive local permit fees for disabled veterans making home renovations to accommodate a disability. Members asked about eligibility, local government input and whether the proposal covered developments for veterans. A Georgia Realtors witness supported the bill. HB 1184 would end honorary promotions for retiring Georgia National Guard officers. A Georgia Department of Defense representative said some retirees were improperly wearing honorary ranks on federal uniforms, creating confusion and enforcement work. Members asked about the program’s purpose, benefits and penalties. The committee passed the second bill unanimously.
House Rural Development Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee held a hearing on HR 656, which would create a House study committee on expanding homeownership opportunities. The sponsor, committee members and witnesses discussed large investors buying single-family homes, competition for starter homes, construction costs and rural housing shortages. Witnesses supported further study while offering different approaches, including increasing housing supply, changing regulations and using tax policies rather than ownership limits. The discussion also covered HB 555 and objections to its proposed ownership caps. The chair designated the meeting as hearing only, and no vote was taken.
House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee heard three bills. It held hearings without votes on HB 478, which would require disclosures on AI-generated commercial content, and HB 1230, which would restrict drone operations at prisons and jails. The chair planned to revisit both the following week and said the Public Safety Committee had been invited to join the discussion of HB 1230. Members raised questions about enforcement, penalties and protecting lawful drone use. The committee also considered a revised version of HB 949 targeting specified drone activities over agricultural land. After questions about emergency landings, penalties and landowners’ own drone use, the committee approved that bill by voice vote and sent it to Rules.
House Game, Fish & Parks Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee took up and approved two bills by voice vote, with no vote counts stated. The sponsor of SB 420 described fishing-related fees as a way to improve fishery data and support Georgia’s effort to gain more control over coastal fishing management. The bill also included Department of Natural Resources rule updates. The sponsor of HB 1266 proposed removing a 9.9-horsepower motor limit on a section of the Ogeechee River. The chair reported community support for that change and said the department had no objections.
Senate Health and Human Services Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee unanimously approved both bills it considered. SB 440 would update Department of Public Health laws by removing outdated requirements, inactive advisory groups and unused positions. The sponsor and a department representative said active services would continue. SB 462 would address surprise bills for out-of-network ground ambulance transportation. Supporters said its payment rules would protect patients and help fund ambulance services. A health insurance industry witness supported protecting patients from balance bills but questioned the proposed reimbursement rate and raised a possible state cost under newly announced federal rules. Members discussed patient costs, which insurance plans would be covered and how ambulance payments would be calculated before approving the bill.
House Industry and Labor Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair announced that HB 1119 would go to an advisory council and would not be considered this year. Most of the meeting was a Department of Labor briefing. The commissioner outlined plans to modernize unemployment systems, improve customer service and connect people with jobs. Members asked about veterans, career center locations, appeals, employee advancement, worker misclassification, workforce shortages and data sharing. Department staff described audits and penalties for misclassification, and the commissioner said the governor’s budget recommended 12 additional tax auditors. The commissioner also said the unemployment insurance trust fund was about $1.5 billion below the federal solvency benchmark and discussed options to strengthen it. No bill votes were recorded.
House Governmental Affairs Committee, February 11, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee advanced all five agenda bills: HB 913 on government software contracts, HB 1066 on racetrack nuisance claims, HB 1130 on campaign-funded security, HB 1133 on financing solar projects at closed landfills, and HB 1180 on removing a housing authority bond limit. The racetrack substitute passed 9 to 8 after debate over property owners’ access to courts, changes in racing operations and local authority. The other bills passed by voice vote, with no opposition recorded. During public comment, two witnesses opposed ending Georgia’s participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center, citing concerns about costs, voter records and data security. No action followed those comments.