Legislative Update 11/13/25
And They're Off!
GPhA's 2025 Legislative Primer
by Dawn A. Randolph, MPA
CEO, Georgia Pharmacy Association
Welcome to the first weekly Newsletter of the 2025-2026 Georgia General Assembly Legislative Session. We'll start with a look at key events this week:
Monday, January 13, is the first day of the Session.
Monday, January 13 -- 10:00am: The House and Senate Gavel in for Legislative Day One. Both the Speaker of the House, who presides over the House, and the Lt. Governor, who presides over the Senate, will strike the gavel convening their respective Chambers. Speaker of the House Jon Burns has famously broken a few gavels in prior years.
Wednesday, Jan 15 – 9:00am: Georgia Board of Pharmacy meeting at Mercer University. We have you covered with AIP VP Jonathan Marquess and Region 10 President and UGA Professor Jordan Khail both attending.
Thursday, Jan 16 - 11:00am: It is anticipated that Governor Brian Kemp will deliver his State of the State address highlighting his legislative priorities and budget recommendations. You can watch all the action in both chambers, the State of the State Adress and find the schedule of committee meetings (once they are announced) here.
Overview
Each Monday morning GPhA will send out a legislative update so you can follow what is happening under the Gold Dome. When and if we need your help, we will send out a State Action Alert asking you to contact your state representative and/or state senator. There will likely be issues needing our attention at the federal level as well, so in addition to weekly Georgia updates, we will send regular updates on the US Congress, along with Federal Action Alerts when needed. The most pressing activity will take place at the state level over the next three months. The Georgia Legislature runs 40 Legislative days. Legislative Days are when both the House and Senate convene for Floor Sessions. Committees will meet on both legislative days and non-legislative days. Session typically concludes or sine die (the official last day of the session) around the end of March. These updates and alerts are a benefit of GPhA membership and will serve as a primer to help you get ready for the activity ahead. There is a lot to read here, and we believe it is important information to help you be a better Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician and Pharmacy Owner. We expect great outcomes for Pharmacy this session!
Flow of the Session
This is the first year of the two-year biennium. Legislators are elected for two-year terms and the legislative session will span 2025-2026. It is anticipated that Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington), Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R-Jackson), and chamber leadership will set the session schedule during this first week, along with committee assignments. This has been a fairly recent change – most lobbyists and advocates can remember when this scheduling was done on a week-to-week basis. We applaud the leadership in both chambers for this thoughtful planning. This long-term planning is much better for our important work on advocacy.
The first week will likely be four legislative days: Monday – Thursday, January 13-16., since the following week brings many national activities: Inauguration Day in DC, the College National Football Championship Game here in Atlanta, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, all on January 20th.
The Budget and State of the State Address by the Governor is anticipated to be Thursday, January 16 at 11:00am. You can watch it live online on the House website by clicking on the camera icon. Budget Week is January 21-23. You can read the schedule here. The Governor will kick off budget week with a more focused presentation on his goals for the Amended FY25 (the “Little Budget”) and full FY26 budget (the “Big Budget”). Georgia’s State Economist, Dr. Robert “Bob” Buschman, was appointed by Governor Kemp in 2023, and will give his prognosis of the current economy as well as discuss the possible futures of the economy. The Health Department Commissioners will present on Thursday, January 23 from 8:00am -10:00am.
Legislative Website
The Georgia General Assembly has a very easy to navigate website. You can find your representative at My Voter Page and then go to the Legislative Website to find out more about your representative. Georgia has 180 House members and 56 Senators.
Ceremony
The first week of a new term really is about ceremony. On the first day, January 13th, all legislators are sworn in, and their family members and special guests usually attend. Each legislator has their spouse or other family members with them as they take the oath of office. Legislators have not received committee assignments yet and office assignments are still being juggled. Leadership positions in the Republican party did not change; however, there was a huge turnover of Democratic Leadership with few remaining in their past positions. You can find leaders of the House here and the Senate here.
The State Budget
Governor Kemp is cautious about current revenue. The federal funds sent to the states for COVID-19 have been almost completely expended. The Governor said his priority will be a balanced budget, maintaining the funding levels from fiscal year (FY) 24-25, and returning at least $1 billion in tax refunds to citizens from the reserves. Lt. Governor Burt Jones is a champion of a child tax credit. Speaker Jon Burns is a strong advocate for mental health. "The Rainy-Day Fund” or “Reserves” has a whopping $16 billion. The whole state budget is around $33 billion in state taxes and fees revenue. The Budget will be released after the Governor’s address to a joint session on Thursday.
The Assembly’s first priority will be to pass the Amended Budget; this is the adjusted funding for the last quarter of FY25 (April – June). Georgia’s fiscal year budget runs from July 1 to June 30. The House Appropriations Chair, Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin), will be leading the appropriations process. The budget begins on the House side and then moves to the Senate. Senate Appropriations Chair Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) leads the budget process for the Senate.
The Governor laid out his instructions to each state agency for budget planning last summer through the Georgia Office of Planning and Budget. The instructions account for growth in enrollment programs like Medicaid, education, aging and disability programs. You can read the memo and budget instructions to learn more about them. In summary, agencies were not allowed to add any programs or costs to their budgets unless they expected enrollment growth in the program or could offset those increases with cuts in other areas.
Pharmacy Legislative Priority
The GPhA Legislative Committee made their recommendation and the GPhA Board approved using our advocacy efforts to continue the fight for fair reimbursement and dispensing fees in the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP). Coming out of the 2024 session, SHBP is paying a $3 dispensing fee which expires at the end of this fiscal year on June 30, 2025. GPhA will be working throughout the legislative process to bring fair and equitable reimbursement to independent pharmacies so they can continue to serve their patients.
GPhA will also be monitoring state legislation for other issues to ensure the voice of pharmacy is present in all policy discussions. We expect those issues will be around PEP & PREP, pain management prescriptions and treatment, opioid treatment, and potential test and treat initiatives.
Session Issues Impacting the Healthcare Field
Litigation overhaul is a prime goal of Governor Kemp. The Governor wants to find an equitable outcome between the injured party and the party alleged to cause harm. Insurance premiums and coverage are a big concern for businesses of all sizes. The Governor held several roundtables last year to hear from all sides, and healthcare is a large part of this issue. This process is often called Tort Reform and will create large debates between plaintiff advocates (injured party) and defendants (alleged party which caused harm).
Medicaid expansion is a high priority of Democratic leadership. Governor Kemp wants to see his Pathways to Coverage program work through the Department of Community Affairs. Medicaid is constantly growing due to enrollment by those eligible based on current parameters of the program. While Medicaid expansion will not happen in the next two years, the Comprehensive Health Coverage Commission, which was established and met several times last year, recently issued its first report and there may be some legislation introduced from its recommendations. The focus of the report was on access, reimbursement rates and cost. GPhA will be monitoring any legislation coming out of these recommendations as they impact pharmacy benefits through the Medicaid program.
We will continue to keep you updated on the Legislative Session, and hope you enjoy this GPhA member-only benefit, one of the many reasons to belong to GPhA.
|
