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Senate panel OKs expanding Georgia Public Safety Memorial tuition grant to spouses and school employees
Summary
A Senate committee unanimously approved a bill to expand the Georgia Public Safety Memorial Grant to include spouses and to create a separate fund extending similar tuition benefits to teachers and other public school employees, and updated award amounts to $18,000 per year and $72,000 for four years.
A Georgia Senate committee voted unanimously to advance a bill that expands the Georgia Public Safety Memorial Grant to include spouses of covered public safety workers and establishes a separate fund to provide similar tuition benefits to teachers and other public school employees.
The measure, described at committee by Chairman Petrie, updates award amounts and broadens eligibility. "When this grant was first passed, we had a sum of $2,000," Chairman Petrie said; the draft before the committee updates the amounts to $18,000 per year and $72,000 for four years, he said. The program is managed by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC).
Why it matters: The grant program previously provided tuition-free education in the University System of Georgia or the Technical College System for children of public safety workers who were killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty. The committee-backed changes add spouses to eligibility and create a distinct fund, managed by GSFC, to extend comparable benefits to teachers and other public school employees killed or permanently disabled while performing job duties.
Details and debate: Chairman Petrie told the committee the bill traces to a prior biennial measure (House Bill 56) that stalled in the Senate last year, and said the current draft includes "a little bit improved" language and updated funding sums. Petrie said the new portion creates a separate fund for teachers and public school employees so the teacher benefit is not part of the original memorial-grant account. A fellow senator clarified that the teacher provision covers "anybody in that school setting," not only classroom teachers, and Petrie acknowledged the distinction.
Action taken: A senator moved that the bill do pass; Senator Payne seconded. The committee chair called for a voice vote; the clerk recorded the vote as unanimous. The bill will move to the next legislative step.
What wasn’t decided: The committee discussion did not specify the bill number in the current session or give an exact implementation date; the transcript indicates updated award caps but does not provide an appropriation source or an implementation timetable beyond the stated award maximums. No roll-call vote or member-by-member tally was recorded in the committee transcript excerpt.
Context: The Georgia Student Finance Commission administers several benefit and grant programs for residents and their families. Committee members noted the policy aims to help families left financially vulnerable when public safety workers or educators are killed or permanently disabled on the job.
Next steps: With the committee’s unanimous approval, the measure will proceed through the Senate process for further consideration and possible floor action.
