Sen. Ben Watson
Columnist
The Georgia General Assembly has completed 37 legislative days, leaving us with just three official legislative days to finish the business of the Assembly. The biggest item remaining for the Senate and the House, is the passage of the fiscal year 2025-26 budget, set to take effect July 1, 2025.
The Senate last week passed a $37.7 billion fiscal year 2026 spending plan that invests heavily in reforming prisons and improving education. The budget includes fully restoring funding for the Georgia Promise Scholarship to $141 million, which will positively affect thousands of students. We also increased funding for out-of- school care for statewide and community grantees from $10 million to $12.5 million as a priority to help access affordable childcare.
We included $1 million for six perinatal regional centers for high-risk infants, as well as training residents in complex care, and also fully funded wraparound services program for the Department of Children and Family Services.
The Senate budget includes $170 million in new spending to hire more correctional officers, give current staff a pay raise and upgrade prison system technology to crack down on the smuggling of contraband to inmates, including cellphones.
Like both the governor’s version of the budget and the House version, the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to fully fund the state’s per-pupil funding formula for elementary and secondary schools. Also approved is fully funding Georgia’s new private-school vouchers program at $140 million, thus allowing 21,000 students and their families to have options to pick other schools when the school they are currently attending falls in the bottom quartile of schools in the state.
The Georgia Senate passed House Bill 340 requiring K-8 schools to have a policy on cellphone use. H.B. 340 bans electronic devices from “bell to bell,” with some exceptions for students with learning disabilities or medical issues. Studies overwhelmingly show that limiting phone access significantly increases students’ focus, reduces distractions, and fosters a more effective learning environment. School systems can decide how they want to store the devices, according to the bill.
We also passed Senate Bill 79 to address the national fentanyl crisis. The Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act is designed to deter criminal drug networks from operating in our state. Fentanyl poses an ever-increasing danger to our citizens. By addressing the penalties for trafficking this drug, we can give our legal system more tools to help eradicate this danger to our communities. This legislation received final passage and awaits the governor’s signature.
Earlier in March, the Georgia Senate passed legislation to ban puberty blockers, which would affect children who want to change their gender. I introduced Senate Bill 30, which was adopted by the Senate. Puberty blockers are medicines that suppress natural hormones in children, postponing puberty. The House has passed their amended version of my legislation and now will be negotiated between the House and Senate before making its way to the Governor’s desk for signing.
I will keep you updated on legislation affecting our community as we progress through the session. Thank you for your continued interest in the work of our General Assembly.
As your public servant, feel free to visit me at the Capitol or to reach out by phone or email. I am in 325A Coverdell Legislative Office Building. My office number is (404) 656-7880 and my email is ben.watson@senate.ga.gov. I look forward to continuing to serve you.