Power Plays | 2026 Legislative Guide
As state lawmakers return to Atlanta, public policy advocates provide their take on the most critical issues, including tax and tort reform.
When Georgia’s 40-day 2026 legislative session started on January 12, it was clear that economic issues, ranging from tax policy to changes in federally funded nutrition programs, were at the top of most lawmakers’ minds. But a close second was likely the distractions of a session during an off-year election. Every major statewide office is up for grabs this year, including every member of the House and Senate. Leadership changes occurred from the outset in the Georgia Senate as some members retired and others ran for higher offices. The lieutenant governor, who presides over the Senate, is a candidate for governor. But legislators are at the Capitol to work, not campaign.
For insight into the issues they’re grappling with, we turned to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute and the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, two organizations that advocate for fiscal, education, healthcare and regulatory policy, among other topics. While they disagree on how to prioritize and address the pressing problems the state faces, both organizations are seeking long-term legislative solutions.
Relieving the Burden for All
Staci Fox, president and CEO of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. Photo credit: Contributed
“At the top of our list is this [personal] income tax fight; it’s been a campaign issue,” says Staci Fox, president and CEO of the GBPI, an organization advocating for equity and economic opportunity for all Georgians. “The concern is, how does it show up under the Dome?”
Since 2024, Georgia has had a flat tax rate that began at 5.49% and is on track to decrease by 0.10% each year until it reaches 4.99% in 2029.
Some Republicans, such as State Senator and lieutenant governor candidate Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia), have introduced a plan to eliminate personal income tax altogether by 2032, a proposal supported by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. Others, including House Speaker Jon Burns, prefer a different approach, such as eliminating property taxes for homeowners. But Burns has said he was willing to consider the Senate plan.
“Income tax is over half of the state’s revenue,” Fox says. “An elimination of the income tax would impact over half the state’s revenue and, without other revenue solutions, would require increasing the sales tax to at least 16%.”
Neighboring states that don’t collect income tax rely heavily on sales tax revenues. Fox says going to a zero-income tax while raising the sales tax wouldn’t relieve the tax burden on citizens at all.
“It just means we’re leaning into our regressive tax code and that those who have the least are burdened with, proportionally, the most,” she says. “This [idea] just puts that on steroids.”
To those offering the idea of making small tax cuts a little at a time, over time, Fox says, “Whether it’s death by a thousand cuts or one big slash, it’s still harm, and there’s not a plan for offsetting revenue. I know the argument is that more people would come to Georgia. More people will spend money in Georgia, but not to the tune of covering that cut, whether it’s a little or a lot, immediately. The harm to our economy would be immediate.”
Another priority Fox says must be addressed is the long-term implications of changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Previously the federal government paid 50% of the program’s administrative cost. In 2026, the figure drops by 25%.
In October, Georgia SNAP administrators said they would need $62 million in state funding just to maintain their staffing levels after the 2026 federal budget cuts to the program.
“If we don’t fund the administrative cost that’s being shifted, then it’s really going to start to unwind SNAP as a program,” Fox says.
Seeking a Competitive Edge
While he agrees that income tax reform will be top of mind for most legislators, Kyle Wingfield, president and CEO of the GPPF, a free-market public policy think tank, believes that – at a minimum – the personal income tax rate will go down “another couple clicks” from 5.19% to 4.99%.
Kyle Wingfield, president and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. Photo credit: Contributed
“The context for that is really important,” Wingfield says. “Most people understand that Florida has no income tax. Most people probably know that Tennessee also has no income tax. I don’t know how many people have been paying attention to states like North Carolina, which, a dozen years ago, had a substantially higher income tax rate than Georgia, and today has a substantially lower income tax rate than Georgia.”
With so many similarities between Georgia and its neighbors, any edge is important, he says.
“And [the tax rate] is a big one,” says Wingfield. “South Carolina debated a bill that would have flattened their income tax and brought it much lower than Georgia’s, so we live in a tough neighborhood.”
Another priority is maintaining momentum on the top issue of the 2025 legislative session: tort reform.
“We’re not nearly done,” Wingfield says. “That’s an important point for people to understand. There are many more ways the system needs to be brought back to level: product liability, medical malpractice, there’s a whole host of things. We would encourage lawmakers to continue taking a look at those ways where the system needs to be brought back to level.”
An issue that may gain traction, according to Wingfield, is the Red Tape Rollback Act, introduced last year as SB 28. The bill, which has the support of Lt. Gov. Jones, was framed as a state-level DOGE effort, meant to root out wasteful spending and bureaucratic red tape. The bill requires all state agencies to review all rules and regulations every four years and would allow legislators to request a “Small Business Impact Analysis” for pending legislation to determine its impact on job creation.
“We think it’s very important as an insurance policy for the state to put those guardrails in there, [and] make sure that we’re not leaving the door open for the same businesses that we’re trying to recruit and grow to become frustrated and overly burdened by excessive regulation,” says Wingfield. 
