Georgia CommonsGeorgia General Assembly
Meetings on March 24, 2026
Machine-readable: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-24.md
House Appropriations Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered SB 498, which the sponsor said would create a charter school facilities authority and revolving loan fund to help finance construction and renovations. Members asked about eligibility, state funding, local school board involvement and loan safeguards. The committee approved the bill by voice vote and sent it to Rules.
Senate Government Oversight Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee unanimously recommended passage of two bills. HB 158 would centralize access to trade-name and doing-business-as registrations in an existing database. The chair clarified that a proposed warranty-related amendment had been removed because it was unrelated to the bill. HB 689 would establish a homelessness prevention program through the Department of Community Affairs, subject to funding approved by lawmakers. Members supported prevention while asking how grant recipients would be evaluated, spending monitored and results measured. The sponsor said local organizations would set eligibility guidelines and the department would evaluate grant applicants.
Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee discussed HB 1272, which would establish state oversight of payment stablecoin issuers. Members asked about security, financial backing, issuer approval, transaction speed and borrowing against stablecoins. The sponsor said the proposal closely follows the federal GENIUS Act and would help Georgia lead other states in setting rules. No audience members testified. The committee approved a do-pass motion and sent the bill forward to Rules. No vote count was stated.
House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved SB 591, concerning disruptions of religious services and military funerals, and SB 468, concerning reporting, monitoring and risk classifications for registered sexual offenders. Witnesses supported the latter bill’s provisions for homeless offenders but opposed classifying people by their convictions rather than individual risk assessments. The committee also approved a substitute for SB 163 that replaced its weapons-related contents with criminal evidence-sharing rules, procedures for serving law enforcement officers and address privacy protections. Each approval was by voice vote, with no count stated. The chair said SB 398 would be reworked and brought back at Thursday’s meeting.
House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved HR 1670, which the sponsor described as encouraging local governments to use digital platforms to share food. The committee also approved a revised SB 540 focused on AI companion chatbots, after discussing protections for minors, crisis responses, age verification and responsibility for harmful content. Members adopted three amendments addressing age-verification data, chatbot statements encouraging self-harm and wording in the bill’s title. Both measures passed by voice vote, with no opposition heard. The chair said SB 540 would move to the Rules Committee.
House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved SB 527, which would require sheriff candidates to be certified peace officers before qualifying to run. The committee also approved a substitute for SB 442 after removing a section limiting truck owners’ duties to add newer equipment. A separate amendment addressing noncitizen commercial driver’s license expiration and transfer testing failed. Members heard extensive testimony on SB 482, which would change access to booking photographs and law enforcement videos. Speakers discussed privacy, public access, police accountability, staffing costs and possible exceptions for news organizations. The chair postponed action on that bill until a planned Thursday meeting so proposed changes could be combined into a revised version.
Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered three bills. It held action on HB 1027, which would allow longer electric-power contracts, after questions about whether added pricing restrictions would put municipal utilities at a competitive disadvantage. It approved a substitute for HB 187 establishing rules for optional vehicle value protection agreements, voting 5-4 to send it to Rules. The committee also considered replacing HB 34 with hemp-product restrictions, including THC limits and driving-impairment warnings. A convenience-store industry witness opposed that proposal, while members discussed product safety and impaired driving. After an initial 5-4 vote against passage, the chair voted to create a tie and said the proposal would remain alive for discussion at the next meeting.
House Motor Vehicles Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered SB 76, focusing on eliminating license-plate renewal stickers and expanding where side-by-side vehicles may travel. Members questioned how sticker removal would work with one-year and five-year registrations, electronic notices and annual emissions testing. The presenters said the changes would save money and make road rules more uniform. The committee approved an amendment changing the effective date to July 1, 2027, then approved the bill as amended by voice vote. No vote count was stated.
House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered two versions of SB 33 addressing hemp-derived products. The sponsor presented a version intended to align Georgia law with federal limits on intoxicating cannabinoids. Members raised concerns about federal timing, enforcement, businesses and consumers who use the products. The chair then presented a narrower substitute targeting cannabinoids that cannot occur naturally in the cannabis plant. After adding a definition of products containing those cannabinoids and related references, the committee unanimously recommended passage of the substitute as amended.
Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved HB 521 with an amendment narrowing one county-approval requirement for annexations, and unanimously approved HB 1316 to correct a school-tax exemption ballot question. Members heard testimony on HB 646, covering coroner pay and staffing, and provisions from HB 868 concerning health coverage for retiring county officers. The chair deferred a vote for further work. The committee also held a hearing on SB 628, which would let Augusta-Richmond County voters decide whether to adopt a council-manager government. Supporters described a need for clearer management and accountability, while witnesses questioned the timing, unfinished local charter review and proposed division of authority. No vote was taken on that bill.
Senate Children and Families Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved HB 943, a five-year pilot program to screen children in foster care for autism. It also approved an amended substitute for HB 256 that expands foster caregiver protections and incorporates the juvenile court recording provisions of SB 525. Members discussed caregivers’ access to confidential records, the role of volunteer advocates, and who could obtain court recordings. The committee adopted an amendment clarifying that parties, including the state, could obtain those recordings. No vote counts were announced. The committee adjourned after these actions.
Senate Retirement Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved a measure that members described as giving experienced teachers a pathway back to the classroom amid a teacher shortage. The committee then approved HB 818, which the sponsor said would move Georgia Tax Court judges into the Judicial Retirement System while leaving court staff in the Employees’ Retirement System. Members asked about the financial effects of the transfer and retirement benefits for staff. Both measures passed by voice vote, with no opposition heard. The committee then adjourned.
House Defense & Veterans Affairs Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee reconsidered SB 555, which would allow certain nonveteran family members into Georgia War Veterans’ Homes, and reviewed a substitute adding protections for benefits appeals after an applicant dies. Members questioned veteran admission priorities, waiting lists, occupancy requirements and funding. A Department of Veterans Service witness said veterans would retain priority. The committee approved the substitute with three opposing votes and sent it back to the Rules Committee.
Senate Education and Youth Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee unanimously approved HB 310, which the sponsor described as a pilot program to help low-income student teachers cover expenses and encourage them to teach in Georgia public schools. Two college students testified about the financial strain of preparing to teach. The committee also heard HB 1259, concerning academic requirements and funding for district-operated virtual schools enrolling students from outside the district. Members debated school performance, oversight, parental choice and the consequences of requiring students to move elsewhere. The chair postponed a vote and said discussion and testimony from the other side would continue Thursday.
House Retirement Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered three retirement bills. Members approved SB 150 as a substitute with an amendment requiring another review of the program that lets certain retired teachers return to full-time teaching. The committee heard support for SB 143, which would change firefighter retirement eligibility and allow pension recipients to continue paid fire service, but took no vote. Members raised questions about pension costs, investment risks and possible federal tax consequences. The committee also discussed SB 261, covering magistrates’ pension benefits, contributions and board membership. The chair said a revised version and updated financial analysis were expected before further consideration. No vote was taken on that bill.
Senate Insurance and Labor Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered a substitute for HB 1344, an insurance affordability and claims-handling package. The sponsor described provisions addressing fraud, uninsured drivers, storm claims, insurer penalties, property claims deadlines and other insurance issues. Members asked about premium taxes, expected savings and rental-home marketplace guarantees. One member objected to including the marketplace guarantee provisions. The committee held a show-of-hands vote on a motion to recommend the substitute, but the transcript does not clearly establish the result or a complete vote count.
Senate Higher Education Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee reviewed HB 419, HB 1113, HB 962 and HB 1413, then unanimously recommended a combined substitute for HB 1413 as amended. The package kept the Dream Scholarship provisions, added campus opioid-overdose response provisions and the part-time student retirement-plan exclusion, and raised the college savings contribution limit to $550,000. It omitted proposals for medical scholarships and tax deductions for contributions to other states’ college savings plans. The committee also unanimously approved an amendment changing how lottery reserves would be calculated. No separate votes were taken on the other three bills. The chair canceled the committee’s Thursday meeting before adjournment.
Senate Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved two bills concerning veterans. Most of the meeting focused on HB 108, which the sponsor described as protections for veterans using paid benefits consultants. Members and witnesses debated fees, veterans’ access to alternatives to free services, and whether consultants must have federal accreditation. The committee added an accreditation requirement by a 6-4 vote, then approved the amended bill 8-1. The committee also approved HB 632, which the sponsor and the Department of Veterans Service commissioner said would clarify eligibility and procedures for disabled veterans’ business tax and fee exemptions. That bill passed by voice vote.
Senate Ethics Committee, March 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved an election-law substitute for HB 960, replacing its original proposal to add a Gwinnett County judge. The substitute’s sponsor proposed hand-marked paper ballots counted by machines for November’s election. Members questioned the timing, county costs, ballot security, recount procedures and privacy protections for voters facing violence or stalking. The chair did not allow public testimony, citing earlier hearings and debate. The committee unanimously adopted amendments reducing proposed fines and clarifying when manual recounts must begin. Amendments restoring the original judgeship proposal and preserving the secretary of state’s oversight role failed. The amended substitute passed 8-4.