This is a legislative update from State Representative Lehman Franklin.
Welcome to Under the Gold Dome, where I break down what’s happening during the 2025 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly! It is my goal to keep you informed as much as possible about how your tax dollars are being spent and how our state government is best serving you and our community. As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative in Atlanta.
If you need anything at all, have questions about a piece of legislation, or want to discuss issues that are important to you or your family, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
-Lehman
Week 9 Highlights:
- On Monday, March 10, my colleagues and I kicked off our 9th week of session!
- With Crossover Day now behind us, we began to consider and vote on legislation that was passed in the Senate.
- We also passed the House’s version of the FY2026 budget – H.B. 68. In doing so, we fulfilled our Constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget.
- This week, two of my bills – HB 165 and HB 78 – passed out of their respective Senate committees. Next week, I’ll be presenting HB 428, which protects access to IVF. Stay tuned for more updates on these important pieces of legislation!
>>> Go here to learn more about all the votes we took this week!
Digging Deeper
- Let’s talk more about the FY 2026 budget.
- First: The budget lays the foundation for the priorities that will drive Georgia’s growth and development over the next year, with significant investments in education and public safety.
- The budget is based on a revenue estimate of $37.7 billion – a 4.4% increase over FY2025.
- When it comes to education…
- Large portions of the budget go towards supporting a statewide literacy initiative for students in kindergarten through 5th grade.
- The budget also includes $25 million to cover the first-year costs of the statewide School and Student Safety Database – a new tool that would collect and investigate school-based threats.
- We also allocated $19.6 million for mental health support grants that will provide resources to students in and outside of school.
- Another $28 million was allocated for targeted support for economically disadvantaged students. In other words, we’re providing additional funds to districts with a high proportion of students who live in poverty.
- When it comes to public safety…
- The budget includes $1.6 million to the Council of Accountability Court Judges, which would allow an additional Georgians to receive treatment for mental health and drug addiction.
- We also allocated $45 million to hire more than 700 new correctional officers, which would improve the inmate-to-staff ratios throughout our state.
- This budget also sets aside $6 million to address homelessness in Georgia.
Coming Up:
It’s now up to the Senate to consider the House’s version of the FY2026 budget. We expect them to make some changes, which would lead to the appointment of a conference committee to reconcile any differences between the House and Senate versions.
We return to the Capitol on Tuesday, March 18. We have less than 10 legislative days remaining!
My capitol office is located at:
501-F Coverdell Legislative Office Bldg
Atlanta, GA 30334,
My office phone number is:
404-656-0178
My official email address is:
lehman.franklin@house.ga.gov.
