Legislative Insider - Week 1
Session Week 1- Legislative Days 1-5
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On Monday, January 13th, 2025, the Georgia General Assembly met for the start of the 2026 Legislative Session. The General Assembly met every day this week completing the first five legislative days of the session. The House and Senate approved the entire 40-Day legislative calendar, setting March 6th as Crossover Day (Day 28) and April 2nd as Sine Die (Day 40). During the first week of session, the Senate held votes on a few bills, and we have seen a handful of bills introduced, some of which the GDA Government Affairs team wants to watch and see where they go. On Thursday, January 15th, Governor Kemp gave his 8th and final State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly. In his speech, he celebrated all his accomplishments over the last eight years including cash investments into the State's infrastructure, almost $10,000 in teacher pay raises, and policy wins like tort reform which passed in 2025. Governor Kemp's goals for 2026 look towards another tax rebate of almost $1billion, large investments in transportation on our major highways and rural bridges, the creation of the DREAM scholarship which will piggy-back off the HOPE scholarship to help students accomplish all their dreams. Next week, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will meet jointly to hear every State Agency present their AFY26 and FY27 budget requests. We look forward to hearing what comes from the Department of Community Health, Department of Public Health, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. Below are links to the bills that the GDA Government Affairs team is monitoring. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Janelle (janelle@gadental.org) or Jon (jon@gadental.org) if you have any questions about the legislation on this list. HR1008 State-wide water management plan; ratify amendments (House Second Readers, 01/14/2026) |