Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley discusses key takeaways from GA legislative session
The 2026 Georgia General Assembly legislative session has ended with bills that restrict school zone cameras, create a merit-based scholarship for students and reduce property taxes — all sent to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.
The Ledger-Enquirer interviewed Georgia House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley (D-Columbus), who represents District 141, about some of the key pieces of legislation that will impact Columbus and the rest of the state.
Here are some of Hugley’s key takeaways from the 2026 legislative session.
Property taxes
Some property tax relief was included in Senate Bill 33, which limits annual property tax assessment increases.
The question of property taxes went through different iterations, Hugley said, including a failed constitutional amendment that would have revised procedures for financing counties, municipalities, consolidated governments and school systems, reducing homestead property taxes from 40% to 10% of the assessed value by 2032.
“The constitutional amendment was not successful because it was designed to take away authority from local governments and school districts,” she said. “It was going to require them to have additional fees and assessments in exchange for getting rid of property taxes on homes. This was a one-size-fits-all kind of project, and it had not been totally vetted because every situation is different.”
Columbus is different because the city already has a property tax freeze, she said, and the concern was how schools and local governments were going to make up the difference. Increasing sales tax would have made Columbus less competitive because people could easily shop across the Chattahoochee River in Alabama, Hugley said.
SB 33 is flawed because the Senate cannot initiate a tax bill, Hugley said, and this must start in the House.
The bill allows sales tax increases to offset homestead taxes, she said, which would shift taxation from homeowners to non-homeowners.
“This was a last-minute thing that was done on the very last night,” Hugley said. “It was not something that had been vetted. It is not something that has been well thought out. And so, our caucus rejected it because we think that, if we’re going to do a major shift in the way taxation is done on the local level, it should be done with full view in the open. It should be discussed.”
School zone cameras
House Bill 651 places restrictions on the use of automated traffic enforcement safety devices in school zones.
“In full transparency, I have gotten one of those tickets from the school zone cameras,” Hugley said. “But many people in the legislature felt that it was just a money maker for local governments or sheriffs, in particular.”
Everything needs to be done to support the safety of students, she said, but these measures must only be in effect when school is in session and children are there.
Warning signs with flashing yellow lights must be placed at least 500 feet before the speed limit reduction, and drivers must be more than 10 mph over the speed limit to receive a citation. The bill reduced penalties from $125 to $75 and removed late fees associated with the citation.
Rather than late fees, drivers won’t be able to renew their vehicle registration until the citation is paid.
“In some cases, those cameras were capturing people 24/7,” Hugley said. “That’s why you had that legislation.”
Property owners can sue local governments
House Bill 295 allows property owners to sue local governments for damages if they fail to enforce laws regarding local nuisance, such as illegal public camping, loitering, panhandling, public intoxication or public urination while trespassing on private property.
Property owners must have documented reasonable expenses incurred by a pattern of these laws not being enforced.
This bill is an example of “politics”, Hugley said. Last year, the legislature spent a lot of time on tort reform because they wanted to shield businesses from exposure, she said.
“Then we turn around and expose our local governments to a situation where anyone can bring a lawsuit against them if they feel the local government is not doing enough in the area of protecting against homelessness or if it is adversely affecting their property values,” Hugley said.
If citizens can sue local governments, she said, then the taxpayers will be paying for it.
Homelessness affects every city and state, Hugley said, and she believes, as a state, it would have been better to allocate more money from the budget to support homelessness initiatives rather than “create an adversarial arrangement between the local citizens and the local governments.”
Creation of the Georgia Music Office
House Bill 14 authorizes the Georgia Music Office and Music Ready Communities Act to create the Georgia Music Office.
The office would facilitate the growth of the state’s music industry through statewide support, promotion and cultivation of Georgia’s music heritage and musicians.
Hugley credited Columbus resident Arreasha “Z” Lawrence, chief music and entertainment officer of the Music and Entertainment Council, with talking to legislators about this idea.
“The music industry is an economic development engine,” Hugley said. “That’s what this office recognizes. Music can be economic development, and we need to promote and encourage local musicians.”
Georgia FY 2027 Budget key points for Columbus
The state budget for fiscal year 2027 is $38.5 billion, Hugley said, and will impact Muscogee County students.
Included in the budget is the DREAM Act, which creates a needs-based scholarship program for Georgia students.
“Georgia was among, maybe, three states that did not have a needs-based scholarship program,” Hugley said. “This is going to help students who are trying to continue their education have another option to help them finance it.”
Hugley’s only concern is that it needs to have more money from the state, she said, but it was important to get the program “on the books.”
There are also wins for Columbus State University and Columbus Technical College, Hugley said, with projects for the schools being funded.
“We also have a one-time salary supplement for all state employees,” she said. “That’s great for people in Columbus, as well.”
There is a $2.4 million increase in funds for mobile crisis response teams and mental health services, Hugley said, which will be important for Emory Healthcare.
Funds were also increased for the New Option Waiver Program, which helps people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities stay in their homes and receive services there, Hugley said.
The budget included a $12 million increase for pre-K program funding to reduce class sizes, she said. It also provided funding to address maternal health care and maternal mortality, Hugley said.
“We have a pretty good budget,” she said. “The budget is one of the things that we’re constitutionally mandated to do, and it’s one of the last things that we passed. It is one of the few things that people on both sides of the aisle agree on.”
Georgia Early Literacy Act
Another important bill that passed, Hugley said, was House Bill 1193, the Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026.
This bill promotes statewide literacy by funding school-based literacy coaches in all public schools with kindergarten through third-grade students.
“It’s designed to address the issue that 30% of our fourth-graders are not reading at a proficient level,” she said. “We know that the reading level of students at that age is critical to their future.”
This was a bipartisan issue that brought Democrats and Republicans together, Hugley said.
“We don’t want to be behind Mississippi in terms of reading proficiency,” she said. “And it’s something that all of us can look at, put our arms around and try to help our students achieve at a higher level.”
