Political Ambition Meets Legislative Gravity: Georgia’s 2026 Session

Ronald Reagan reportedly once observed to his chief of staff James Baker, “I’d rather get 80% of what I want than go over the cliff with my flags flying.”

But with the business of the General Assembly likely* concluded until 2027, the 2026 legislative session may be defined by its missed opportunities – both in the final version of the bills passed and in those which didn’t make it across the finish line. 

With forty legislative days now behind us – and a state budget sent to the governor’s desk – we can begin to assess how things fared now that the state legislature has adjourned. 

Heading into the session, the state was extraordinarily well off from a fiscal perspective. The current fiscal year began with more than $14.6 billion in general fund reserves, $9.1 billion of which was undesignated. Combined with a slate of ambitious politicians, many of whom were seeking statewide office, the landscape seemed opportune to provide relief for Georgia taxpayers. 

However, despite the session beginning with talk of eliminating the state income tax in one chamber and eliminating homestead property taxes in the other, both efforts ultimately fell short of their ambitious proposals. 

The Homeownership Opportunity and Market Equalization (HOME) Act laid out a path to entirely eliminate property taxes on primary residences by 2032. After that approach failed to receive the votes needed for its constitutional amendment to pass out of the House, the effort shifted. In its place was a plan to cap the annual increase in revenues for local governments (through both property assessments and millage rates) to no more than 3% or the cost of inflation, along with a sales tax for targeted homestead property tax relief. 

Despite passing out of the House, that bill was voted down in the Senate. The resulting bill that passed both chambers in the waning hours will limit assessment increases – but not total revenues – and still retains the penny sales tax option to provide homestead property tax relief. 

While these adjustments offer a modest shield against skyrocketing assessments, they lack the structural permanence of meaningful reform, leaving taxpayers with a system that is slightly more predictable, yet no less burdensome if local governments continue to raise millage rates while many families continue to tighten their household budgets.

The push for income tax elimination met a similar fate. While lawmakers did pass a scheduled reduction of the income tax rate to 3.99%, it won’t be fully phased in until 2034 at the earliest. This felt more like table stakes than the promised overhaul, especially given how aggressively some of our neighbors have lowered their income tax rates in recent years. 

However, the standard deduction was raised significantly, $15,000 for single taxpayers and $30,000 for those filing jointly, with additional increases to come if certain triggers are met. 

Another aspect of this year’s income tax legislation included the creation of a Taxpayer Relief Fund, which raised the state’s “rainy day fund” and also ensured that future undesignated surpluses above that can be used for tax relief. 

Missed opportunities extended beyond the tax code, however. Significant policy debates regarding housing, regulatory reform and educational choice were also watered down during the legislative process.  

Legislation in both chambers aimed to reduce the cost of permitting delays by local governments when it comes to building homes since these are costs eventually borne by homebuyers. Despite the work of multiple committees to vet and “perfect” this legislation, a last-minute substitute included a glaring carveout for as many as 12 metro counties. Perhaps most worrisome is that many of these counties are precisely where homebuyers are in need of the enhanced affordability that would come from faster and more efficient homebuilding.

On the regulatory front, the passage of the Georgia Bureaucratic Deference Elimination Act ensures that Georgia’s courts will no longer automatically side with a state agency’s interpretation of a statute. Instead, judges must interpret the law independently. Coupled with a new framework for regulatory review, this bill should increase protection for citizens from increasing red tape. 

However, even this victory was tempered – while the bill curbs the power of unelected bureaucrats and increases legislative oversight, it does little to address the existing density of the state’s regulatory code that continues to stifle small businesses.

Legislation expanding the state’s student scholarship tax credit program, a vital tool for educational choice that has historically been oversubscribed, also passed. While initial proposals sought to meet this demand with an ambitious $225 million cap, the legislative process saw that figure steadily chipped away. By the time the bill crossed the finish line, the cap was raised to just $150 million from its current cap of $120 million. 

Combined with a $41 million cut for Promise Scholarships and the failure to pass the Charter School Financing Authority, which would have helped establish a financing mechanism for building, renovating and rehabilitating charter facilities, the 2026 session represents a setback for school choice programs. 

Ultimately, while the 2026 session delivered some progress, the hope to significantly address many of these issues may remain more than one legislative session away, given the turnover to come among statewide offices and within the General Assembly. 

*Within hours of adjourning Sine Die, speculation began that Gov. Kemp would summon legislators back for a special session to pass legislation needed to implement an elections bill passed in 2024. Additional chatter included whether there is a need to address the constitutionality of a “revenue bill” (the amended version of property taxes) originating in the Senate instead of the House.