ATLANTA — Georgia state lawmakers will gather under the Gold Dome on Monday to begin the 2026 legislative session.
The opening of the general assembly means a flurry of new proposals and bills that could bring major impacts across Georgia.
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Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach reported live from the state capitol for Channel 2 Action News This Morning starting at 4:30 a.m. on what to expect this session.
Taxes will be a big issue with Republicans in control of both the Georgia House of Representatives and Georgia Senate wanting to cut them.
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns says while the state Senate focuses on cutting and eventually eliminating the state income tax, he wants to work on property taxes.
“Have gone up dramatically. And they’ve gone up to a point where I don’t believe you can expect most Georgians to reasonably afford to pay those property taxes on their homes,” Burns said.
While in the Senate, Democrats plan to fight getting rid of the state income tax, saying the revenue is needed to pay for things like healthcare, education and essential services.
One Democrat state senator thinks the state is already underfunding many agencies.
“We could talk all day about the needs that we have as a state for investing to service our citizens,” said State Sen. Nan Orrock. “This proposal does not address those.”
Lawmakers will begin debating proposals and bills in both chambers when the gavel is hit at 10 a.m.
Other things that didn’t make it through last year, like reforms to school zone cameras or legalizing gambling in Georgia, could also come back this session.
Channel 2’s Richard Elliot will be covering all the issues throughout the 40-day session with reports every day on Channel 2 Action News starting at 4:00 p.m.
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