This week at the Capitol saw the advancement of more key legislation, in addition to recognition of Georgia Day, the 293rd anniversary of the state’s colonial founding. Here’s an update on what happened this week at the Georgia legislature.
We saw rapid movement on two bills introduced last Friday intended to cut Georgia’s income taxes. Senate Bills 476 and 477, both sponsored by Sen. Blake Tillery, advanced out of the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday and passed the Senate on Thursday.
Senate Bill 476, also known as the Income Tax Reduction Act of 2026, cuts Georgia’s income tax by effectively eliminating the first $50,000 of income for single filers and $100,000 for joint filers. It plans to offset revenue loss by sunsetting corporate tax credits by 2032. Senate Bill 477 phases down the personal income tax 3.99% by 2028.
In addition to the Senate’s effort, there is also House Bill 880, introduced last year by Rep. Shaw Blackmon. House Bill 880 also phases down the income tax, reducing it down to 3.99% and allows a percentage of undesignated surplus funds to be used for tax relief. After carrying over from 2025, the bill passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
In other tax policy news, House Bill 1116, sponsored by Rep. Shaw Blackmon, had its first hearing before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee this week. This bill would exempt homesteads from local property taxes by allowing local governments and school systems to levy sales taxes. Revenue growth from non-exempt properties, such as commercial, industrial and non-homestead residences, would be capped at no more than 3%. The bill also proposes changes to both property and sales tax law and to education finance formulas, including provisions for how tax digests are accepted if publication errors occur and how certain tax exemptions are treated when calculating school property tax digest figures for state funding.
On education, each chamber has now introduced a bill dubbed the “Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026.” In addition to Rep. Chris Erwin’s House Bill 1193 introduced last week, there is a Senate companion version: Senate Bill 459, sponsored by Sen. Billy Hickman. This bill likewise focuses on funding K-3 literacy coaches through the state’s education funding formula and updating early literacy expectations, including requiring kindergarten attendance before first grade. House Bill 1193 passed out of the House Education Committee on Thursday.
Two companion bills were introduced this week to create a Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority to help charter schools finance construction, renovation and facility rehabilitation by offering revolving loan funds and other public financing assistance. These are Senate Bill 498, sponsored by Sen. Clint Dixon and House Bill 1253, sponsored by Rep. Kasey Carpenter.
A couple of regulatory reform items from this week include the introduction of House Bill 1247, sponsored by Rep. Matt Reeves. This is also known as the Georgia Bureaucratic Deference Elimination Act and would end Chevron-style judicial deference at the state level by creating a new code section directing that courts and administrative hearing officers may not automatically defer to a state agency’s interpretation of Georgia laws, regulations or other official documents when making decisions.
Additionally, the move to amend the Administrative Procedure Act has now passed the House. House Bill 903 was introduced in 2025 by Rep. Alan Powell, and would require the APA to apply its oversight and procedural safeguards more broadly across the executive branch with the intention of increasing transparency and accountability in rulemaking across state government. It passed the House on Wednesday and has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
With a shorter week ahead and an approaching time crunch as Crossover Day draws near, there is sure to be plenty more action under the Gold Dome soon.