Georgia lawmakers are moving forward with several bills this session aimed at improving child welfare services, supporting foster children with autism and related disorders, and strengthening legal protections for victims of abuse.
Georgia lawmakers have approved House Bill 1000, a measure that would provide a one-time state income tax rebate for eligible taxpayers, and the bill is now headed to Governor Brian Kemp for his signature.
Under the proposal, taxpayers who filed timely Georgia income tax returns for both the 2024 and 2025 tax years would qualify for the rebate. The bill sets the rebate at $250 for single filers or married people filing separately, $375 for heads of household, and $500 for married couples filing jointly.
The rebate would be funded using part of the state’s budget surplus, which lawmakers say currently stands at around $14 billion.
If signed into law, the measure would mark another round of tax relief for Georgia residents, continuing a series of rebates issued by the state in recent years as lawmakers return surplus revenue to taxpayers.
A Georgia state senator has stepped down from office to focus on her campaign for lieutenant governor.
Democratic Sen. Nabilah Parkes, who represented part of Gwinnett County, announced her resignation in a public statement Friday. Parkes first launched a campaign for Georgia insurance and fire safety commissioner in January before shifting to the lieutenant governor’s race on March 5.
Parkes now joins state Sen. Josh McLaurin of Sandy Springs and Richard Wright in the Democratic field for lieutenant governor. In her resignation letter to Gov. Brian Kemp, Parkes sharply criticized the Georgia Legislature, calling it “a place where good ideas go to die and where extremists continue to attack our freedoms.” Georgia’s primary election is scheduled for May 19.
State Representative Eddie Lumsden of Armuchee says the Georgia House experienced one of the busiest weeks of the 2026 legislative session as lawmakers worked toward Crossover Day, the deadline for bills to pass out of their original chamber in order to remain eligible for final passage before the session ends. By the end of the week, the House had passed 97 bills and resolutions, sending many measures to the Georgia Senate for further consideration.
Voters in Chattooga County will head to the polls Tuesday to take part in two important special elections, one for Georgia State Senate District 53 and another for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. Both races were triggered by recent political changes and will determine who fills the remaining terms in those seats.
Several measures that could affect residents in Northwest Georgia are still alive in the Georgia General Assembly after lawmakers met last week’s Crossover Day deadline, one of the most important milestones of the legislative session. Crossover Day marks the point when most bills must pass either the House or Senate in order to continue moving forward this year, and a number of proposals tied to schools, taxes, public safety, and the courts made it through.
Georgia lawmakers worked down to the final hours on Crossover Day, one of the most important deadlines of the legislative session, as they rushed to move bills through the House and Senate before time ran out.
Georgia’s hospitals are getting ready for the money by treating it like a competitive, time-boxed grant opportunity rather than a bailout. The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), which applied for and will manage the funds, is setting up a grant process where eligible providers must apply and show their projects “cannot maintain the status quo,” with the dollars needing to be allocated by October 2026.
Georgia’s net tax collections slipped slightly in January, with the state reporting $3.03 billion in net tax revenue for the month — down $18.1 million, or 0.6%, compared to January of last year. State officials framed the dip as a modest month-to-month decline, not a major shift in overall revenue performance.