2025 State Legislative Recap

Update 5/15/25: The Governor signed all of the bills related to young children that passed below into law. 

Friday, April 4th, ended earlier than expected for many legislators and lobbyists, who are used to the final day of the legislative session (called “Sine Die”) stretching into the wee hours of the morning. But it was a still a long day for members of the GEEARS Policy Team, who were busy following the fates of various bills that could affect Georgia’s young children and their families.  

The 2025 legislative session brought several key wins for kids in the Peach State, including the creation of a state child tax credit, ongoing expansion of home visiting, and a small but meaningful investment in the early intervention workforce. 

Despite these wins, we think the General Assembly left with some unfinished business we hope they’ll address next year, including the kind of significant and sustained child care funding we’ve seen from other Southern states. Read on to learn more about the bills and budget items that made it across the finish line—and those that did not. 

Legislative and Budgetary Updates: 

Note: the text color denotes the bill’s status (i.e., green for passage, red for stalled).  Italics indicate GEEARS’ commentary. To see all the bills that we tracked this legislative session, click here. This is the first year of a two-year legislative cycle, so any bills that did not pass this year can still be considered and passed in the 2026 session.  

A caveat: The Governor has 40 days after Sine Die to sign or veto these bills, including the budget, where he can make line-item vetoes. 

Early Childhood Education  
  • HB 136 introduces a tax credit package that: 1) establishes a $250 non-refundable child tax credit for children under age 6; 2) increases the state Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) from 30% to 50% of the federal credit; 3) provides tax benefits to employers who make direct payments to child care facilities to cover a portion of employees’ child care costs.  This tax credit package, which received bipartisan and bicameral support, is a direct outcome of the Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare. GEEARS looks forward to building on the success of this legislation and promoting the Committee’s other recommendations. GEEARS PRIORITY 
  • HB 175 cleans up language in the Georgia code referring to background checks for early care and learning and Head Start personnel. 
  • HB 307, amends the Georgia Literacy Act to include dyslexia, includes provisions to align instruction with the “science of reading” principles, and proposes tiered reading intervention plan for students who are significantly behind on reading or show signs of dyslexia. 
  • HB 371 increases the amount the state can allocate in capital outlay funding for schools to $375 million annually, previously capped at $300 million. The bill also sets requirements for newly built playgrounds at elementary schools. The new playground requirements will include equipment intended to be accessible for children with disabilities.   
  • HR 711: Creates a House Study Committee on student attendance in Pre-K through 12th grade  
  • SB 65 would decrease the mandatory school attendance age from first grade to Kindergarten. Status: Passed Senate Committee with amendments but did not receive a vote on the Senate floor.  
  • HR 396 proposes a constitutional amendment that, if passed by the legislature and voters, would establish a trust fund to finance and expand access to high-quality, affordable child care options for families statewide.  
  • SR 493 proposes a constitutional amendment that authorizes the General Assembly to create the Georgia’s Children First Trust Fund (and one-time funding of $3 billion) to provide financial assistance for child care services in the state. 
  • The budget included:  
    • $3.9 million for Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) Program to provide 500 additional child care scholarships for hard-working, low-income Georgians. GEEARS PRIORITY 
    • $1.5 million for CAPS to support increasing reimbursement rates for CAPS providers to the 60th percentile of market rate. GEEARS PRIORITY 
    • $14 million for year two of a four-year phase to reduce Pre- K classroom size from 22 to 20 students to improve instructional quality. In 2011, that number was raised to 22 students to cut costs during the recession.  This is part of the House Working Group on Early Childhood Education’s recommendations that were primarily implemented last year with an historic investment in the program.  
    • $50,000 for Reach Out and Read Georgia to provide children with books during well-visit appointments. 
Child and Family Health  
  • HB 89: Establishes the Regional Perinatal Center Advisory Committee and requires health care providers to share psychiatric records with the Maternal Mortality Review Committee. 
  • HB 352, the Georgia Gestational Diabetes Management Act, provides coverage of continuous glucose monitors for Medicaid patients with gestational diabetes.  
  • SB 276 requires third-party payers (such as private insurance companies and pharmacy benefits managers) who pay the health care costs for Medicaid beneficiaries to respond promptly to claims and inquiries from the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) and prohibits denials of payment based on a lack of prior authorization. This will especially help Babies Can’t Wait therapists who have indicated that prior authorizations requirements are a burden to providing care. 
  • HR 847 creates a House study committee evaluating funding for public health. GEEARS staff testified in support of this bill. GEEARS PRIORITY 
  • HB 291 provides a pathway to certification for community health workers, who help patients navigate the health care system.  
  • HB 332 convenes an advisory working group to review tools and protocols for screening children for trauma. 
  • HB 649 requires insurance coverage for maternal mental health screeners and care and outlines the cadence for maternal mental health screeners. 
  • SB 262 requires insurers to cover preventive health services and prohibits cost-sharing for those services. 
  • The budget included:  
    • $2.9 million to expand a home visiting pilot program to improve birth outcomes, reduce pre-term delivery, and decrease infant and maternal mortality in rural Georgia.  GEEARS PRIORITY 
    • $3.8 million in add-on payments for newborn deliveries in rural areas. 
    • $600,000 to increase the number of birthing facilities with verified maternal and neonatal levels of care. 
Family Economic Supports  
  • SB 148 allows school personnel to use up to five sick days for personal or professional leave and establishes a pilot for outdoor learning spaces at the Georgia Department of Education. 
  • HB 136 (described in more detail above) creates a state child tax credit for children under age 6 to help families offset the growing costs of raising a young child. GEEARS PRIORITY 
  • HB 500 increases the monthly eligibility limit, the monthly allotment, and the asset limit for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides income assistance for relative caregivers and very low-income working parents. GEEARS PRIORITY 
  • The budget included: 
    • $5.8 million for a $3,000 salary increase for public benefits eligibility caseworkers (Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, etc.) and a directive to the Georgia Department of Human Services to prepare a plan to address the backlog of public benefits applications. 
    • $2 million in one-time funding for the Georgia Housing Trust Fund to improve homelessness programs. 
Miscellaneous 
  • HB 686 (and the related HR 450) would authorize sports betting under the Georgia Lottery, which funds Georgia’s Pre-K and HOPE programs. The session saw other sports betting measures considered but also not advanced. 

Published:  April 15, 2025