Georgia CommonsGeorgia General Assembly
Meetings on March 26, 2026
Machine-readable: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-26.md
House Judiciary Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee reviewed the Senate changes to HB 61, focusing on removing unauthorized occupants from property, hotel guests’ rights and clearing certain eviction records. Members disagreed over protections for families living in extended-stay hotels. The chair then proposed replacing the contents of SB 463 with the language under discussion, and a motion to approve that bill was seconded. Members requested clearer protections and testimony from housing advocates after hearing from the hotel industry. No amendment vote or final vote appears in the transcript. The chair recessed the meeting until 1 p.m. to prepare a substitute and allowed written testimony before then.
House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved a substitute for SB 586 allowing sheriffs to donate impounded livestock, as its presenters described. The committee also approved SB 482, concerning access to booking photographs, law enforcement video and government recordings of deaths. Discussion focused on family privacy, public access to police footage, press exemptions and which relatives could receive protected recordings. After a recess to work on amendments, members added a press exemption to the death-recording restrictions and expanded the family relationships covered. Both bills passed by voice vote, with no numerical counts announced.
House Governmental Affairs Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved three bills and tabled another. Members tabled SB 21 after its original sponsor asked to restore language allowing lawsuits against local governments over violations of Georgia immigration law. The committee approved a monument-protection substitute to SB 175 by a 9-5 vote. Members approved SB 423 with an amendment narrowing its proposed limit on out-of-state campaign contributions to candidates and campaign committees, following debate over constitutional concerns and reporting burdens. The committee also approved SB 437, covering private residential building inspections, after changing the project-cost threshold for higher insurance coverage.
House Ways & Means Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee discussed and approved a substitute for SB 382 by voice vote, with opposition heard but no vote count stated. The chair described a plan to cut homeowners’ property taxes in half over five years, limit revenue growth and allow sales-tax revenue to support homestead relief without increasing the existing sales-tax cap. Members questioned effects on renters, school funding, existing county tax rollbacks and local borrowing. The chair acknowledged uncertainty about some effects and offered to examine a county’s concerns further.
Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee took up six local measures and broader proposals on Augusta-Richmond County government, coroners and retiree health coverage, police departments and development permits, financially troubled cities, and property-owner compensation. Members approved SB 628, amended and advanced HB 646, HB 309 and HB 1166, and approved HB 295 after extensive testimony. Supporters of HB 295 sought relief for property owners harmed by local nonenforcement of laws. Opponents warned of litigation costs and harm to housing and homelessness services. An amendment barring class-action lawsuits failed, as did a motion to table that measure. The committee also approved several local measures, although the chair did not explicitly announce results for every local voice vote. The chair described this as the committee’s final meeting of the two-year legislative session.
House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved three bills for consideration by the Rules Committee. SB 572 would change procedures and burdens of proof for self-defense immunity claims. Witnesses disagreed about whether it would better protect defendants or complicate arrests and court proceedings. The committee narrowed SB 398 to language amending the existing peeping statute and added a knowledge requirement. The committee also approved a substitute for SB 61 addressing online impersonation, scams and certain violent-felony-related content, after removing provisions that a member said could conflict with federal protections for online platforms. The transcript does not establish a complete numerical vote tally for any bill.
Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered SR 890, which would create a study committee on market competition, and HB 980, which would create a Georgia-Ireland trade commission. Discussion of the study committee covered housing, health care, agriculture, small businesses, tax preferences and rural economic needs. The chair called voice votes on an amendment addressing meeting allowances and on the amended resolution, but did not explicitly announce the results. The trade commission discussion included testimony from Ireland’s Senate chair and a former Irish prime minister, along with questions about funding and overlap with existing economic development work. The chair held that bill for further clarification without a vote and said it could be revisited.
House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered a substitute for SB 260 that would restructure the Central State Hospital redevelopment authority. The sponsor and the authority's current chair supported a smaller board to speed property transactions. Several committee members, a local legislator and local officials raised concerns about reduced local control and limited time to review the substitute. Other witnesses disputed claims that the existing board was ineffective. The chair declined to accept a motion to delay consideration so affected parties could read the proposal. The committee approved the bill, 6 to 4.
Senate Education and Youth Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered three study committees and three education bills. It passed HB 1259 after lowering the proposed school-performance threshold from 70 to 65 and delaying implementation until 2027. Members also proposed limiting new enrollment, but that amendment did not receive a vote. The committee heard proposals to study paid student teaching, charter-school building funding and Rosenwald schools, updating the dates in the first two resolutions to 2026. It also considered a school emergency-preparedness and teacher-planning-time substitute to HB 629, and an education-program reporting substitute to HB 419. Members held show-of-hands votes on those five measures, but the transcript does not clearly announce their final outcomes.
House Banks & Banking Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee considered a substitute for SB 424, which the sponsor described as a voluntary system for using privately stored gold and silver to make payments. Members questioned the tax impact, effects on community banks, fraud protections, fees, privacy, price changes and access for people without traditional banking services. Several members urged further study. A securities official said the division could develop rules, investigate fraud and provide financial education. The committee approved an amendment allowing access to account information for lawful securities investigations, but the motion to approve the amended bill failed. No vote count was announced.
House Judiciary Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee resumed consideration of SB 463 and approved a substitute dealing with hotel guests and long-term stays. Members rejected five amendments addressing eviction records, notice and opportunities to resolve contract violations, law enforcement involvement, restoration of the Senate-passed text, and tenant status for long-term hotel residents. The chair confirmed that written testimony had been received. A member noted that people who returned to the meeting had no opportunity to testify. The substitute passed by a show of hands, with no vote count announced, and the committee adjourned.
House Higher Education Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The House Higher Education Committee considered SB 556, which would add advanced fine arts courses to the classes used to calculate HOPE Scholarship grade point averages. The chair explained a substitute that uses a general definition rather than naming specific course programs, allowing other qualifying programs to be included without another change in law. The committee approved the substitute by voice vote and sent the bill to the Rules Committee. No opposition was heard.
Senate Government Oversight Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee unanimously approved a substitute for HB 792. The chair said the substitute replaced the original bill with legislation previously approved by the Senate and added a section addressing harmful content on social media platforms. Discussion focused on games recreating school shootings and risks to children online. A visiting legislator described examples and urged action before the next legislative session. One committee member questioned whether the proposed language would adequately cover those games and whether prosecution would require an actual violent felony. No further amendment was offered before the vote. The committee then adjourned.
Senate Insurance and Labor Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee approved HB 1274, an insurance package addressing auto insurance profits, ambulance bills and life insurance information, with one opposing vote. It also approved a substitute for HB 1263 concerning cancer treatment facilities and state approval requirements, though no vote count was announced. Members raised concerns about receiving substitute bills too late to review them adequately. The committee then heard extensive testimony on HB 569, a substitute that would remove state workers’ compensation coverage for workers covered by the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. Supporters described lower employer costs and stronger federal benefits. Opponents warned of treatment delays and lost protections. The chair postponed action, saying more information and work were needed.
Senate Finance Committee, March 26, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee unanimously approved HB 248 after the chair said its language had been corrected, without another presentation on its substance. The committee also unanimously approved HB 186, presented as a data-center tax exemption measure without previously added utility provisions. Members discussed the cost of data-center tax benefits and whether to include another exemption provision scheduled to expire in 2028. No amendment was adopted before the vote. The chair then adjourned the meeting.