On Tuesday, January 20, 2026, my colleagues and I returned to the Georgia State Capitol for the second week of the legislative session, kicking off “budget week.” While we did not convene in the House Chamber, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees held joint hearings throughout the week where Governor Brian Kemp, state leaders and agency officials presented their budget recommendations for both the current and upcoming fiscal years. Each legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly’s sole constitutional obligation is to pass a balanced budget, which underscores the importance of our work this week. The hearings began with Gov.bKemp presenting his budget recommendations, which will ultimately be incorporated into two pieces of legislation-the Amended Fiscal Year 2026 (AFY 2026) budget, which appropriates spending for the remainder of the current fiscal year ending June 30 and uses a more accurate estimate of state revenue to account for any differences between the previous estimate and actual revenue obtained, and the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY 2027) budget, which establishes state spending for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, using a projected state revenue estimate.
Our joint budget hearings concluded Thursday afternoon, and on Friday, House Appropriations subcommittees quickly got to work, holding hearings to delve deeper into their respective budget areas, and additional subcommittee hearings are scheduled when we return to the Capitol. As they continue reviewing Gov. Kemp’s recommendations, each subcommittee will pass a portion of the budget out of their respective subcommittees. Once the subcommittees have finished their work, each portion of the budget will then be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee, ultimately culminating in balanced budget bills for AFY 2026 and FY 2027.
My colleagues and I will return to the State Capitol to continue our legislative business once weather conditions permit. You can check the House website to find any further updates to our session schedule due to inclement weather.
