Jan. 23, 2026 – Issue 02

Would it be a budget week if there wasn’t some sort of dust up around inclement weather in January? While the threat of ice, sleet, and snow didn’t impact appropriations hearings this year, it has made its mark on the 2026 Session. Due to the state of emergency and possible freezing conditions across the state, House and Senate Leadership announced that on Monday, Jan. 26, members are not to report for session as no business will be conducted, other than gaveling in and out. Since the General Assembly is under an adjournment resolution that has the body reconvening on Monday, legally, they are in session.

The weather has also impacted the Cobb Chamber as we have made the difficult decision to postpone the 84th Annual Dinner, moving it to Saturday, Feb. 28. For additional information, please click here.

 

AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

Cobb Commissioners approved the preliminary 2028 SPLOST Project list during their Jan. 13 meeting. The list will serve as a guidepost for community open house meetings that are under way. 

The SPLOST Program has been integral to our ability to advance, enhance and fund critical capital and transportation projects for the past 30 years. The November ballot measure is a renewal of the existing penny sales tax and it will maintain our existing sales tax rate.

The Cobb Chamber has long supported SPLOSTs and E-SPLOSTs for their strong economic benefits. As advocates for the program, we’d value your input on the 2028 SPLOST Renewal via this quick survey. Your feedback will help shape the final project list voters will decide on in November.

For more information about the upcoming SPLOST Renewal, click here for the project list, schedule of community open house dates and much more.

UNDER THE GOLD DOME

Budget Week

The Governor’s AFY 2026 and FY 2027 budget proposals were released on Jan. 15. This week, the Joint House and Senate Appropriations Committee heard testimony from the Governor along with his agency heads who walked the committee through the recommendations for their programs followed by questions by the House and Senate appropriators.

The Amended FY26 Budget proposal recognizes State revenue growth of $852 million (2.25%) over the original FY26 spending plan’s projection and includes $3.3 billion from the State’s reserves. The Governor reminded appropriators that the reserves, aka the rainy-day fund, could fund state government for three months of essential services if a catastrophic event occurred.

After $1 billion in reserve spending for tax rebates, the largest tweak in the Amended FY26 Budget are allocations across state agencies to provide $2,000 salary adjustments to state employees as the Governor announced at Eggs & Issues and his state of the state address. The allocations add up to $611,761,227 and cover all full-time, benefit-eligible State and Board of Regents employees, formula-earned K-12 teachers, school administrators, custodians, nutrition workers, school nurses, and bus drivers. Also known as the “little budget,” funds in the AFY must be spent by June 30, 2026.

The Governor’s FY27 Budget proposal or what we refer to as the “big budget,” reflects modest State revenue growth of $730 million (2%) over the original FY26 spending plan’s projection, which represents new funds that can be applied to formula growth, increased utilization of services, and new administrative spending priorities. The state fiscal year starts on July 1, 2026. Administration priorities include:

• $5,290,549 to support Georgia’s mental health crisis system through mobile crisis response teams and the ‘988’ hotline.
• $2,096,412 in the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce for 105 new residency slots in primary care medicine.
• $264,055,000 for construction and renovation projects for K-12 schools.
• $199,653,168 to fund the state share of employer increases on certified educators who participate in SHBP.
• $27,553,425 (in the Georgia Student Finance Commission) for Dual Enrollment to meet the projected need.
• $2,500,000 (in the Georgia Student Finance Commission) to establish the Georgia Foster Care Scholarship.
• $1,300,000 for mental health support grants to reflect accurate counts of middle and high schools.
• $750,000 to expand the High Demand Equipment Grant, supporting K-12 vocational classrooms in high-need areas statewide.
• $58,010,381 in additional lottery funds to fully fund the HOPE scholarships and grants to meet projected needs.

Governor Kemp’s proposals included several Cobb County specific additions to the AFY 2026 budget and asks for the FY 2027 budget as shown below.

Cobb County Centric Projects Recommended by the Governor:

Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

• AFY 2026 – restore funds for the jail-based competency restoration program at Cobb County Jail - $243,750.
• FY 2027 – restore funds for the jail-based competency restoration program at Cobb County Jail - $250,000.

Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (Bonds)

• AFY 2026 - Peace Officer Standards and Training Council: Replace three vehicles, Austell, Cobb County.
• FY 2027 - Fund design, construction, and equipment for the renovations for Student Success and Construction Management program facilities, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Cobb County - $1,057,000 in 20-year bonds ($10M).

Georgia Department of Public Safety

• AFY 2026 - $582,527 for the new Metro Academy in Austell.
• FY 2027 - $831,134 for the new Metro Academy in Austell.

To review the Governor’s budget proposals, the 406-page document can be found here.

Leadership Cobb Government Day

On Wednesday, Jan. 21, Leadership Cobb 2026 traveled to the state Capitol for its Government Day. Program co-chairs former state Rep. Bert Reeves (LC 2010) and County Manager Dr. Jackie McMorris (LC 2015) packed the agenda with an overview of government in Georgia, a Cobb-centric lobbyist panel, lunch with members of the Cobb Legislative Delegation and an intimate conversation with Supreme Court Chief Justice Nels Peterson and Justice Charlie Bethel. After spending the morning at the Gold Dome and inside the Nathan Deal Judicial Center, the class finished the day at the Cobb Civic Center where their decade groups participated in a “shark tank” style exercise involving the SPLOST Renewal that is on the Nov. 2026 ballot.

A huge shout out to Governor’s Floor Leader Devan Seabaugh for all he did to help make the day successful for the class and major thanks to the following legislators who were able to step away from appropriations meetings to break bread with the class over lunch: Senators John Albers and Kay Kirkpatrick, and Representatives Solomon Adesanya, Terry Cummings, Joseph Gullett, Gabriel Sanchez, Mary Frances Williams, David Wilkerson. The class also had time with Representatives Devan Seabaugh, Soo Hong and Don Parsons while they visited the floor of the House of Representatives.

Relevant Legislation

Budget week at the Capitol generally means a lower number of new bills being dropped, but it does not mean that nothing has made its way into the hopper. As mentioned in the previous FTCS newsletter last week, a comprehensive list of legislation coinciding with our State Legislative Agenda can be found at our new Relevant Legislation tracker. Included on the Relevant Legislation tracker are the following bills that dropped this week. Because there were no Legislative Session days, the following pieces of legislation are scheduled to drop on Monday, Jan. 26, and therefore have not yet been assigned to a committee.

HB 1000 by Rep. Matthew Gambill
Legislation which provides for a one-time tax credit for individual taxpayers who filed income tax returns for the 2024 and 2025 taxable years. The one-time tax credit includes a $250 refund for single filers, $375 refund for heads of household, and a $500 refund for married couples filing jointly.
No committee assignment as of the date of this report

HB 1001 by Rep. Will Wade
Legislation which amends Georgia’s income tax law, reducing the individual income tax rate from 5.19% to 4.99% for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
No committee assignment as of the date of this report

HB 1005 by Rep. David Wilkerson
Legislation which establishes a city manager form of government for the City of Austell, GA, by amending the City’s charter. The City Manager will be the chief executive and administrative officer of the city.
No committee assignment as of the date of this report

HB 1009 by Rep. Scott Hilton
Legislation which requires local school systems and public schools in Georgia to establish policies and procedures for the use of personal electronic devices by students in grades nine through twelve, with the goal of creating a "distraction-free education" environment. These policies must prohibit students from accessing personal electronic devices during the "bell-to-bell" period.
No committee assignment as of the date of this report

HB 1012 by Rep. Ruwa Romman
Legislation which prohibits local governments from issuing permits, licenses, or certificates for the construction or development of new data centers between the bill's effective date and March 1, 2027.
No committee assignment as of the date of this report

FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL

Will there be another government shutdown?

As of Jan. 23, Congress is making progress toward fully funding the government for Fiscal Year 2026 and closer to averting a shutdown when the current continuing resolution expires on January 30. Lawmakers have already passed six of the 12 annual appropriations bills, with several bipartisan "minibus" packages advancing through both chambers (including those covering Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Financial Services-General Government, and National Security-State Department).

On Jan. 22, the House passed the final major package—totaling about $1.2 trillion and funding Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, Transportation-HUD, and Homeland Security with broad bipartisan support. This final package now heads to the Senate, where a bipartisan agreement is in place and quick action is expected the week of Jan. 26 to secure passage and President Trump's signature before the looming deadline.
Shutdown risk has significantly decreased, as both parties show motivation to avoid repeating last fall's record 43-day closure.

Congressional District 14 Qualifiers

In Nov. 2025, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announced her surprise resignation from office. Representing Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, which includes the City of Acworth and parts of the City of Kennesaw, her last day was Jan. 5, 2026. While the seat is vacant currently, a special election will be held March 10. Qualifying occurred and we now have 22 men and women vying for the seat. If no candidate takes a majority of the vote, which is likely with such a large field, a runoff will occur on April 7. However, that election is to fill the current term. Qualifying for the next Congress will occur March 2-6, so we will likely see some of the same names again.

Democrat:

• Shawn Harris
• Jim Davis
• Jonathan Hobbs

Republican:

Libertarian:

• Andrew Underwood

Independent

• Rob “Rush” Ruskowski

The Special Election to fill the 14th congressional seat for the remainder of the term will be held on March 10, 2026, with a run-off date set for April 7, 2026, if necessary. Almost immediately after, the 2026 General Election Primary will be held on May 19, 2026, with the General Election Primary Runoff being held on June 16, 2026. For more information on the above candidates, please visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s Qualifying Candidate Information Page.

Point of Personal Privilege

In the legislature, when a member wants to express his or her opinion publicly on an issue, they ask to take a point of personal privilege to speak from the floor on the matter. Here at FTCS, we would like to do the same from time to time. Always keep scrolling for our personal shoutouts.

First, we would like to congratulate former Braves Center-Fielder Andruw Jones on his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame this past Tuesday. After eight long years of waiting for the votes to work in his favor, the Atlanta Braves legend has finally been given the honor he deserves. Andruw’s career stats include 7,599 at-bats, 434 homeruns, and 1,289 RBIs. Go Braves!

We’d also like to say congratulations to Executive Director of the Georgia Transportation Alliance and former Council for Quality Growth Vice President of Policy & Government Affairs Joseph Santoro and his wife Kayla on welcoming their son, Callum Bates Santoro. Callum joined the world on Jan. 16!

If you have any questions about the Cobb Chamber Government Affairs Committee, the Cobb Chamber legislative priorities or advocacy in general, please reach out to Amanda Seals, Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Government Relations, or Coleman Loftin, Senior Manager, Government Affairs and Advocacy.