Sen. Ben Watson
Guest Columnist
The 2026 General Assembly adjourned Sine Die at 1:25 a.m. Friday morning, meaning the 2026 legislative session is over.
All the bills passed by both the Senate and House during the legislative session now head to the Governor’s desk for the signature pen or veto pen. Most bills will be signed as the Governor’s staff have weighed in on many bills especially on the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year budget, as well as on many of the tax reduction bills we passed.
Some of the highlights of the fiscal year budget include that state retirees could get a bump in their pensions after the General Assembly agreed to add at least $65 million in state money to their pension fund. These retirees also would be eligible for annual cost of living increases, thus helping prevent their pensions being whittled away by inflation.
It is important to note that the Governor has line-item veto authority over the $38.5 billion budget, which can mean changes to the budget. I will have more to follow on the budget in my next article. For Chatham County, we have added a fourth state court judge to help reduce the backlog of cases piling up in their dockets.
Chatham County’s state court has a backlog of cases of up to nine months or more. This is unacceptable to the court system and the people waiting for adjudication of their cases. The additional judge will help cut the time for court cases to be adjudicated and will result in a drop in pending cases from nine months to just two months. The Governor, assuming he signs the legislation, will appoint the first judge with an election to be held a year and a half later.
In other legislation, in a response to the Trump administration’s decision last year to stop making new pennies, which will lead to their gradual disappearance from circulation, the General Assembly passed legislation that rounds in-person cash transactions to the nearest nickel. The legislation calls for Georgia businesses to round-down transactions that end in a 1, 2, 6, or 7. Prices that end in a 3, 4, 8, or 9 will be rounded up. Items with costs that end exactly in a 0 or 5 would stay the same.
The rounding requirement applies to in-person purchases made
The 2026 General Assembly adjourned Sine Die at 1:25 a.m. Friday morning, meaning the 2026 legislative session is over. All the bills passed by both the Senate and House during the legislative session now head to the Governor’s desk for the signature pen or veto pen. Most bills will be signed as the Governor’s staff have weighed in on many bills especially on the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year budget, as well as on many of the tax reduction bills we passed.
Some of the highlights of the fiscal year budget include that state retirees could get a bump in their pensions after the General Assembly agreed to add at least $65 million in state money to their pension fund. These retirees also would be eligible for annual cost of living increases, thus helping prevent their pensions being whittled away by inflation.
It is important to note that the Governor has line-item veto authority over the $38.5 billion budget, which can mean changes to the budget. I will have more to follow on the budget in my next article. For Chatham County, we have added a fourth state court judge to help reduce the backlog of cases piling up in their dockets. Chatham County’s state court has a backlog of cases of up to nine months or more. This is unacceptable to the court system and the people waiting for adjudication of their cases. The additional judge will help cut the time for court cases to be adjudicated and will result in a drop in pending cases from nine months to just two months. The Governor, assuming he signs the legislation, will appoint the first judge with an election to be held a year and a half later. In other legislation, in a response to the Trump administration’s decision last year to stop making new pennies, which will lead to their gradual disappearance from circulation, the General Assembly passed legislation that rounds in-person cash transactions to the nearest nickel.
The legislation calls for Georgia businesses to round-down transactions that end in a 1, 2, 6, or 7. Prices that end in a 3, 4, 8, or 9 will be rounded up. Items with costs that end exactly in a 0 or 5 would stay the same. The rounding requirement applies to in-person purchases made with cash. Transactions with credit cards will not need to be rounded.
A measure to limit out-of-state involvement of Georgia political campaigns passed this year’s legislative session. Senate Bill 423 makes it a felony punishable for up to a decade in prison for an intermediary to launder money from out-of- state donors and give it to a local campaign. The campaigns would have to return whatever portion of non-Georgia donations exceed their total local dollars raised, or the state would take the money. It will be the responsibility of candidate’s campaigns to source the dollars and ensure they come from people or companies that pay taxes in Georgia.
Thank you for your continued interest in the work of our General Assembly. In the following weeks, I will also point out some of the other important bills that this year’s General Assembly passed.
As your public servant, feel free to visit me at the Capitol or to reach out to me by phone or email. I am in 325A, Coverdell Legislative Office Building. My office phone number is (404) 656-7880, and my email is ben.watson@ senate.ga.gov. I look forward to continuing to serve you.