This year, the Georgia House passed legislation that cut taxes, increased public safety and puts families first. Below is how we delivered for Georgians this session:

CUTTING TAXES FOR GEORGIANS

• Returned $1.1 billion to Georgia taxpayers by accelerating the income tax cut from 5.75% to 5.39% and ultimately below 5% - and matched the corporate tax rate for businesses across the state, saving Georgia businesses millions each year.
• Increased the child tax deduction by $1,000.
• Doubled the homestead exemption from $2,000 to $4,000 and put a referendum on the November ballot for voters to decide whether to cap the increase in property tax assessments at the rate of inflation.

INVESTING IN EDUCATION

• Passed the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act to empower parents to make decisions for children in failing school districts, by providing $6,500 per student to qualified families for education related expenses.
• Raised teacher pay $2,500, totaling $9,500 in increases over 5 years - making us the Southeast’s leader in teacher pay.
• Provided $45,000 in school security grants to every school in the state with a total appropriation of $109 million. This will become annual funding that schools can use for security upgrades, school resource officers and other safety investments.
• Required schools to teach students the risks of social media, prohibited social media use on school equipment, and required parental approval for children under 16 to use social media.

KEEPING COMMUNITIES SAFE

• Provided $50 million for $3,000 raises for state law enforcement officers – building on the raises the House advanced last year.
• Expanded the list of criminal offenses that require bail to make sure criminals show back up for court.
• Passed prosecutor oversight so that citizens have somewhere to turn when prosecutors aren’t enforcing the law.
• Created a definition for antisemitism to enhance criminal penalties for crimes motivated by anti-Jewish bias.
• Increased penalties for “swatting,” false reporting of criminal activity that leads to SWAT arriving at victims' homes, and toughened penalties for drive-by shootings and burning of a police vehicle.
• Passed measures to combat human trafficking and child abuse through data sharing and protected the confidentiality of victims.
• Provided protections for property owners by putting an end to squatters and penalizing false lease documentation.
• Ensured sheriffs report illegal aliens in jails to ICE and require compliance with ICE detainer requests and passed a resolution to support Gov. Kemp’s efforts to take state-level action, including sending additional Georgia National Guard to the border.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE

• Streamlined hospital regulations to make it easier to open hospitals and healthcare facilities in rural Georgia and allow for a new Morehouse School of Medicine teaching hospital - and funded a new UGA medical school and Georgia Southern dental school to focus on graduating more medical professionals.
• Made it easier to build drug recovery and rehab centers and expanded access to opioid antagonists - medications that block the effects of opioids in the system.
• House Republicans introduced a resolution expressing support for Georgia families’ access to IVF treatment.
• Expedited certain post-licensure procedures by the medical composite board to address the backlog and created a loan repayment program for certain mental health and substance abuse professionals.
• Invested over $150 million in Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities with a focus on mental health and passed legislation to protect mental health providers, allowing them to focus on their job instead of frivolous lawsuits.

IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL GEORGIANS

• Established a high demand career list to identify careers most critical to our workforce needs and required the Office of Student Achievement to report the effectiveness of employment, retention, and wage attainment of students in those priority programs - and the House invested millions of dollars through the Technical College System to prioritize these high demand career tracks.
• Created a pilot program for private nonprofit entities to provide instruction for students who are over 21 to obtain a HS diploma.
• Provided a 4% raise for state employees and increased paid parental leave for state employees and teachers from 3 to 6 weeks.
• Passed the Second Chance Act to reinstate drivers licenses for nonviolent offenders to ensure opportunity for employment.
• Allowed military spouses to use existing licenses in good standing from other states to obtain a Georgia license.
• Passed the Safe At Home Act to protect renters and require that rental property is fit for human habitation, ensure a max two month deposit, and establish a three-day grace period before landlords can begin eviction proceedings if tenants don’t pay rent.