--- title: House Appropriations Committee, March 24, 2026 collection: meetings id: 2026-03-24/house-appropriations cite_as: House Appropriations Committee, March 24, 2026, video https://vimeo.com/1176199426 (machine transcript by Georgia Commons) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-24/house-appropriations md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-24/house-appropriations.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-24/house-appropriations/text source_url: https://vimeo.com/1176199426 date: 2026-03-24 status: machine transcript corpus_version: meetings-2026-10-23-8c15ead0f18d license: Machine transcript and summaries by Georgia Commons from the General Assembly's public video; the video stays on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-24.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-23/senate-judiciary.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-24/senate-government-oversight.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/index.md chamber: House body: House Appropriations Committee body_url: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/house-appropriations.md meeting_kind: committee session: 2025-2026 Regular Session start_time: 2026-03-24T08:00:00-04:00 location: 341 CAP duration_seconds: 1321.0 video_id: 1176199426 video_title: 3.24.26 Appropriations agenda_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/agendas/house/Appropriations%2FFull Appropriations Committee Meeting-3-24-26.pdf bills_discussed: - SB 498 summaries_model: gpt-6.1-sol transcript_turns: 46 --- # House Appropriations Committee, March 24, 2026 House Appropriations Committee; March 24, 2026; 2025-2026 Regular Session. Video, on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/1176199426. Agenda: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/agendas/house/Appropriations%2FFull Appropriations Committee Meeting-3-24-26.pdf. > This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays. ## Summary written by Georgia Commons Written by gpt-6.1-sol from the transcript below. It is not part of the record. Quote the transcript or the video, not the summary. The committee considered [SB 498](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb498), 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. ## Bills discussed (1) Each account was written by gpt-6.1-sol from the stretch of the transcript it names. The bill's number is said in that stretch, unless it was the only bill on a committee's agenda. ### SB 498. Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority; establish [SB 498](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb498) (2025-2026 Regular Session). From [0:14:20](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=860s), turns 3 to 45. The sponsor said [SB 498](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb498) would create the Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority and a revolving loan fund to provide affordable financing for construction and renovations. The sponsor said charter schools lack access to local facility funding available to other public schools, and these loans could preserve classroom dollars. The sponsor described a committee substitute removing technical assistance duties because the State Charter Schools Commission already provides that service. Asked about eligibility, the sponsor corrected an initial answer and said both state- and locally authorized charter schools would qualify, later affirming broader eligibility as described by another member. Responding to separate members, the sponsor said state funding would be one-time, the authority would issue loans, and local school boards would have no role. The sponsor said safeguards included a 20% project-cost cap, reserve funds or property securing debt, and loan terms no longer than the charter, up to five years. Asked about a $2 million or 20% limit, the sponsor cited risk reduction without explaining the dollar amount. The sponsor confirmed funding was for facilities, not operations. The committee approved the bill by voice vote and sent it to Rules; no vote count was stated. ## Transcript (46 turns) [0:13:53](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=833s) And I got my two changes. [0:13:58](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=838s) Good morning. Good morning. [0:14:02](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=842s) Good morning. [0:14:08](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=848s) I can't believe we got this many people here at 8:00 on a committee day. Who would've scheduled a meeting at 8:00 on a committee day? God, I don't know. But thank y'all for being here. We do have one little bill today. It's SB498. But before that, we'll get started, and I'll ask Chairman LaHood if he'll open us in prayer. [0:14:27](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=867s) Thank you, Chairman. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for this day. Thank you for gathering us all here safely. Uh, Lord, we need you. We need your guidance, for your wisdom as we, uh, contemplate this, uh, bill before us. And just, uh, God, everything we say and do, help us to honor you. In Jesus name, amen. [0:14:44](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=884s) Amen. [0:14:46](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=886s) Thank you. All right. Does everybody have a copy of the bill? I think so. Senator Dixon, tell us what it does. [0:15:00](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=900s) Good morning, Mr. Chairman and, uh, committee members. Uh, thank y'all for allowing me to bring, uh, Senate Bill 498, uh, before you today. Uh, this has to do with charter schools and for facility funding when they're either building new schools or remodeling schools. Uh, it passed the Senate with bipartisan support, uh, the vote, uh, 49 to three. Uh, in your folders, you've got a, a committee sub. There were some minor change, changes, uh, there. It was just administrative in nature. Uh, and what it does, it just clarifies, uh, that the authority attached, um, to the, uh, the funding, it, the administration, uh, they would not, uh, provide technical assistance to charter schools 'cause the State Charter School, uh, Commission, they already provide that. [0:15:48](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=948s) And so that was a minor change there. Uh, but what the, the bill, what it does, it overall, it addresses a significant challenge faced by Georgia charter schools when, uh, financing their facilities. In Senate Bill 498, it creates a system including a revolving loan fund, uh, to provide charter schools with increased access to affordable capital. Uh, and es- essentially what it does, uh, it creates the Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority, and then it lays out the authority's ability to issue, uh, the revolving loans and other funds to support charter schools' capital needs. [0:16:24](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=984s) And then third, uh, it mitigates risk. It caps the loan to 20% of the total project. Uh, it also, uh, it sets up, uh, requirements for schools to either establish a reserve fund or put up property to title, uh, to secure the, the debt. With that, Mr. Chairman, be happy to answer any other questions. [0:16:49](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1009s) Do we have any questions? [0:16:51](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1011s) Is the mic done working? [0:16:53](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1013s) Go ahead. [0:16:56](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1016s) Chairman Jaspers. [0:16:57](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1017s) Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just, when I'm reading the bill, just at the very beginning on line 24, or 23, 24, you know, there are a number of different types of charter schools. You know, there's state authorized, local authorized, just, I think there's six. Does this cover all types of charter schools or...? [0:17:19](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1039s) Uh, it's Georgia, uh, the state charter schools. [0:17:23](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1043s) Okay, so not the ones that are authorized by a local school system. [0:17:29](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1049s) And no, it does. Sorry, I was mistaken. It does, it does with the local approving authority as well, so it's both. [0:17:35](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1055s) How about, excuse me, if I can keep on, how about the ones that are not, you know, that may be... I think there's some hybrids of all this different things, so I assume that it's covering all types. [0:17:43](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1063s) It does. [0:17:44](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1064s) Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. [0:17:48](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1068s) Chairman David. [0:17:49](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1069s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Chairman, for bringing this bill. Um, i- Chairman, could you talk to us about how this funding would, would be allocated? Is this one-time funding? Is this annual line item? And then how would this be distributed, uh, if you will, in prac- in practical purposes, how would this be doled out? [0:18:07](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1087s) Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Great question. Uh, yeah, it would be, it would be one-time, uh, funding, and then, you know, they would, uh, the authority would issue, uh, the, the loan, uh, you know, in... But as far as for the state, it would just be a one-time. [0:18:22](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1102s) Thank you very much. [0:18:24](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1104s) Leader Higley. I lost you there. Hold on. There we go. [0:18:29](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1109s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, to the author of the bill, uh, what role will local school boards have in this? Is this completely outside and separate from, from them? [0:18:42](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1122s) Uh, yes, it would be. [0:18:44](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1124s) Okay. And then this, this t- number that you have, this 2 million number or 20%, uh, what is that, what is that based on? [0:18:55](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1135s) Uh, it's just, uh, it's just mitigating risk, capping that at the, at a lower rate, mitigating risk. And then it also, uh, caps the length of the term of the loan to the length of the charter, so it wouldn't be any more than five years. [0:19:09](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1149s) Thank you. [0:19:12](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1152s) Representative Au. [0:19:14](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1154s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. How are you doing, Senator Dixon? Hi. [0:19:19](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1159s) I'm doing good. [0:19:20](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1160s) Nice to see you again. Uh, real quick question, just in terms of the underlying motivation of the bill. Can you talk briefly about, um, how charter schools are funded and how they're funded differently than other public schools and the motivation between, uh, behind needing this type of bill? [0:19:36](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1176s) Yeah. In dealing with, uh, especially deal- with this, dealing with facilities funding, uh, you know, your, uh, your public schools, they've got access to ESPLOST money, um, if, if the county has that. You know, they also have access to, you know, local dollars, tax dollars, uh, for facility funding where your charter schools don't have that. And this would, um, this, this would basically, instead of having to use other funding, this would allow them, uh, to use this line for- You know, as far as building schools or remodeling schools and keeping more of their dollars, uh, in the classroom. [0:20:16](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1216s) Any more? I don't see any more questions. Oh, okay. Chairman Taylor. [0:20:22](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1222s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, just a quick follow-up. This is specifically for building and facilities. It's nothing to do with operation. Is that correct? [0:20:31](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1231s) That's correct. [0:20:32](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1232s) And also, as follow-up, it doesn't matter if it's a, a local, a state, public, private, anyone, non-profit, profit can use these funds if they are a charter school that's approved in the state? [0:20:43](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1243s) That's correct. [0:20:44](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1244s) Thank you. [0:20:48](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1248s) I see no more questions. What's the pleasure of the committee? Move to pass. I have a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. [0:20:56](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1256s) Aye. [0:20:57](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1257s) All opposed. Motion carries. Thank you. It's on to rules. [0:21:02](https://vimeo.com/1176199426#t=1262s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.