Friends,
(Source: Fox 5 Atlanta, January 22, 2026)
I Hope everyone is staying warm and safe this wintery weekend! Please stay updated on the latest on the winter storm as it moves through North Georgia, and remember my office is always available if anyone needs assistance! (As government buildings will be closed over the weekend into Monday, email is the fastest way to reach us.)
We’re in Week 2 of the 2026 Legislative Session, colloquially known as “Budget Week,” during which time the Joint Appropriations Committee of the House and the Senate meet to start fleshing out the state’s priorities.
In this newsletter we’ll walk through some basics of the budget process, give some initial analysis of the FY 2027 Executive budget, and expand on some of Team Au’s priority bills and projects this session.
While it’s often more difficult to get substantive work done in the heat of an election year, there’s always good work possible if you know where to look.
Are you ready to dive in? Then let’s go.
THE BUDGET PROCESS
(Source: HB 68, FY 2026 Appropriations Bill)
Each year, two budget bills are passed through the General Assembly and then signed by the Governor. Amongst ourselves, we call these “The Little Budget” and “The Big Budget.”
The Little Budget, the first budget bill to be passed, is for the amended current fiscal year. In English, this adjusts the current fiscal year’s budget (which we already passed the previous year) based on unanticipated needs that arose after we passed that budget initially. These needs can include things like changes in school enrollment, global public health crises, or natural disasters, among others.
(Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
The other appropriations bill, or the Big Budget, is the budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY), which begins on July 1 and ends June 30 of the next calendar year. For the Big Budget, we are essentially starting from scratch, though working off of the previous year’s budget and guided by a framework set by the Governor’s Office.
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget summarizes the process here:
Phase One: All state agencies are required to submit their budget requests to the Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) in September of each year using guidelines issued by the Governor earlier in the year. These requests contain the funding needs of agencies, such as salaries of employees, operational costs, technologies, and rent for office space, among other things. Agencies are also required to submit strategic plans alongside their budget request. These plans detail how the agencies will use their funds to improve services, increase employee retention, and enhance overall efficiency.
Phase Two: At the beginning of the budget process, the Governor sets the revenue estimate, which projects how much revenue the state will accrue during that fiscal year, subsequently determining how much money the state can spend. Once the revenue estimate is set, OPB then carefully analyzes all agency budget requests to ensure that they further the state’s policy goals in a cost-effective manner.
Phase Three: After reviewing all agency budget requests, OPB analysts meet with the Governor and his staff to brief him on the requests and also offer preliminary recommendations based on their in-depth analyses. The Governor then uses this information to formulate his own formal recommendations for the General Assembly, which are published in the Governor’s Budget Report.
(Source: Georgia Policy and Budget Institute)
Phase Four: The General Assembly must have the Governor’s budget report within five days of convening in January. After receiving the report, the legislature reviews the Governor’s recommendations and develops an appropriations bill. The bill must begin in the House of Representatives and it specifies how much money will be appropriated to each agency at a program-level. Once the bill passes in the House, it is then transmitted to the Senate.
The Senate reviews the bill and adopts a substitute, which is then sent back to the House for acceptance or rejection. More often than not, the two chambers will not be able to agree on one version of the bill. As a result, a conference committee is convened, which is made up of members from both chambers. The conference committee eventually comes to a compromise on appropriations, and the newest version of the bill is sent to both chambers for a vote.
Phase Five: Once the same version of the bill has passed both the House and Senate, it is sent to the Governor, who has 40 days to sign it before it automatically becomes law. The Governor maintains the constitutional right to strike out portions of the bill with his line-item veto.
Phase Six: Once the bill becomes law, OPB works to ensure that each agency’s spending does not exceed the amount appropriated for each of its programs. OPB does this by reviewing and authorizing annual operating budgets, as well as monthly allotments, and projecting and analyzing agency expenditures.
Phase Seven: Once the fiscal year ends on June 30, the State Auditor is responsible for auditing the expenditures of each state agency. This includes all departments, colleges and universities, authorities, and school districts.
Last week Governor Kemp released his executive budget proposals for the Little Budget and the Big Budget, the starting point for the General Assembly’s budget process.
(Source: Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget)
Per analysis from the Georgia Policy and Budget Institute, the governor proposes a $38.5 billion spending plan for FY 2027, 2%, more than it is currently spending, while also freeing up $573 million in funding by shifting back to issuing bonds to pay for long-term capital projects.
For the current fiscal year, the governor recommends increasing spending from $37.8 billion to $42.3 billion, an increase of $4.5 billion. This includes releasing $3.3 billion from the state’s surplus reserves.
Governor Kemp also called on the legislature to enact legislation to issue a non-refundable tax rebate of $250 for single filers and $500 for married couples, which would reduce our rainy day funds by about $1 billion.
Several things I particularly liked in Governor Kemp’s executive budget include:
(Image source: University System of Georgia Foundation)
- $611 million added for a one-time $2,000 pay supplement for state employees, Regents employees and certified PreK-12 educators and administrative staff.
- $325 million added in initial funding for the state’s DREAMS Scholarship Program, which is intended to create a new system of need-based aid for higher education. The funds are split between $300 million for an endowment and $25 million in scholarship funds.
- $46.4 million added to fully fund SNAP administration and adjust the state’s share of administrative expenses from 50% to 75% in FY 2027, along with $18.2 million for efforts to reduce SNAP’s payment error rate ($6.2 million for upgrades to the Gateway online eligibility system in AFY 2026 and $12 million in FY 2027).
- $41.2 million added in AFY 2026 and $26.5 million in FY 2027 for foster care and child welfare.
- $38.5 million added to increase pupil transportation funding for public schools in FY 2027, an increase of 11%.
As we move through this process we always have to remember that a budget is a moral document, and a statement of the state’s priorities. There are opportunities we should be open to, and goals we can prioritize to improve the lives of the 11 million Georgians we collectively serve.
Please keep following our newsletter as we move through the session so we can keep you updated on how this budget develops before it is voted through and signed into law.
THE SURPRISE BILLING CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
Georgians are protected against surprise medical bills via legislation passed at the state and federal level in 2021 and 2022 respectively. However, there was one aspect of emergency care that was carved out of both bills: emergency ground ambulance transport.
Consider this scenario. You or a loved one start experiencing crushing chest pain radiating to your jaw and left arm. You worry, reasonably, that you may be having a heart attack, and call 911. You tell the 911 operator, “I think I may be having a heart attack, I need an ambulance to take me to the closest hospital.” An ambulance is dispatched, brings you to the ER, and you get the care you need.
(Photo credit: Mark Makela / The New York Times)
Weeks later, you get a $2500 bill from the ambulance company telling you that while the insurance company covered the cost of your hospital care, they did not cover the cost of the emergency ambulance ride because the ambulance company dispatched was “out of network.”
Now think back to that 911 call. What you tell the emergency dispatcher is, “I think I’m having a heart attack, I need an ambulance.”
What you do not say is, “I think I’m having a heart attack, my health insurance plan is Blue Cross, I need an in-network ambulance.”
Not only is an emergency not the time to go comparison shopping on which ambulance companies are in and out of network, in an emergency it’s never a specific ambulance company contracted with your insurance that is dispatched, but the closest ambulance equipped to treat you.
(Image source: U.S. PIRG Education Fund)
According to the Public Interest Research Group 22 states have protections from surprise ambulance bills, including quite a few peer southern states like Florida and Texas. This session my cosponsors and I have filed HB 961, which would aim to extend such protections to patients in Georgia. HB 961 prevents patients from being billed more than their in-network copay for emergency services.
While legislation at the federal level would be required to regulate private health insurance plans, state-level bills would protect patients enrolled in state-administered healthcare plans (such as the State Health Benefit Plan, in which more than 660,000 Georgians are enrolled, and Medicaid, which covers approximately 2.19 million patients.)
(Click here to watch full video)
I spoke this week with Liza Lucas from 11 Alive News about this bill, which has been assigned to the House Insurance Committee and which I hope will receive a hearing soon.
Please follow along with this newsletter for progress on this and all our priority bills this session, and if this issue is of interest to you please reach out to Insurance Committee Chair Rep. Eddie Lumsden and Health Insurance Subcommittee Chair Rep. Darlene Taylor to tell them that you would like this bill to be heard!
THE GEORGIA DIAGNOSIS
Available on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube
In case you missed it, Team Au has a podcast!
The Georgia Diagnosis tells the story of the people, the politics, and the policy behind our work at the Gold Dome and right here in House District 50. Over the past eight episodes we’ve had some great guests, fascinating conversations, and hopefully added some insight into the interface of patient care, public service, and community engagement at a time when these things are more important than ever.
Our most recent episode follows an event we held at the Capitol on the one year commemoration of the shooting at Apalachee High School with current and former students. Hear what they had to tell us.
(Listen to or watch Ep 08: Field Episode – Confronting Gun Violence in Georgia)
We’re wasting no time and are already in pre-production for Season 2! As part of our planning, I want to know who you would like to hear from, and what topic you’d like to hear us cover!
Whose stories do you want to hear, and what fascinating voices would you love to have included? If have ideas, please fill out this survey and help us shape Season 2 of The Georgia Diagnosis! And thank you for listening to and sharing our first season!
GEORGIA’S LEGISLATIVE AAPI CAUCUS
Georgia’s Legislative AAPI Caucus. (Not pictured: Rep Soo Hong)
With the recent election of Rep. Akbar Ali to succeed Shelly Hutchinson for Gwinnett County’s HD 106, Georgia’s bipartisan Legislative Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus is back up to 11 members, one of the largest AAPI Caucuses in the country!
Rep. Ali brings experience as a community organizer and entrepreneur, and at 21 years old is the youngest member ever elected to the Georgia legislature. Welcome, Akbar!
TEAM AU IN ACTION
Johns Creek’s MLK Day Celebration
It was moving to join friends here in Johns Creek for the annual Unity Breakfast celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. We watched Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, reflecting on how his message continues to resonate today, and the work that lies ahead for us all.
(Click here to watch an excerpt of speech)
The beloved community starts right here at home.
As we write the next, difficult chapter of our American story, I feel so lucky to be in a place like Johns Creek, with its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and the knowledge that a brighter future is one we build together.
Chinese Business Association of Atlanta
A pleasure as always joining my friends at the Chinese Business Association of Atlanta for their annual Lunar New Year banquet. It was a wonderful evening honoring the next generation of young leaders and celebrating all the ways our Chinese American community has contributed to this state. Bravo for another fabulous event!
Roswell Women Rising
Exciting speaking with Roswell Women Rising, a newer community organization of voters and activists determined to build the Georgia we want to see. I was joined by Heather Hallett of Georgia Majority for Gun Safety as we shared the progress of our gun safety bill slate and concrete actions to help move lawmakers at the Capitol and in district.
Learn more about Georgia Majority for Gun Safety and sign up for community action here!
We were also joined by Charlie Bailey, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. Charlie is committed to flipping state legislative seats, because a legislative majority is the only way we will be able to enact the policies and priorities our communities need to see. As HD 50 is the swing district in the heart of this swing state, I’m looking forward to working with him and all our dynamic candidates as we grow our footprint in North Fulton, Gwinnett, and South Forsyth!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Please join the Legislative Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus for our third annual Lunar New Year at the Capitol as we welcome the community to The People’s House and ring in the Year of the Horse!
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Georgia State Capitol, South Steps
Lion Dance starts 12PM
Buffet lunch to follow, open to all!
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It has never been more important to pay attention to the work of state legislatures. Thank you as ever for your support so that we can keep doing this most important work together.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to our office should you need any assistance, or if you have any concerns you’d like me to address on your behalf.
It is my honor to be your voice in the Georgia House of Representatives.
In service,
