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Committee approves constitutional amendment to require General Assembly to appropriate certain legal settlements (HR 29)
Summary
The Appropriations Committee approved HR 29, a proposed constitutional amendment to require the General Assembly to appropriate certain legal judgments and settlements received by the state on or after specified dates.
Representative Kemp presented HR 29 to the Appropriations Committee, saying the resolution would clarify that the General Assembly must appropriate monies the state receives from legal judgments and certain settlements entered on or after specified dates.
Kemp told the committee the measure was prompted by county-level concerns about broadband and by other instances in which funds entered the state outside the regular appropriation process. "The 236 members of the General Assembly have the charge and responsibility to make sure that we appropriate the money for the state of Georgia," Kemp said.
The proposed amendment would require the General Assembly to appropriate funds derived from legal judgments awarded to the state on or after July 1, 2027, and settlements entered into by the state on or after that date. The committee substitute includes language that would make amounts in excess of $10,000,000 subject to continuous appropriation by the General Assembly, a threshold members discussed during the subcommittee review.
Committee members asked whether the change would delay emergency or federal disaster funds that must be distributed quickly; members and the presenter clarified that typical emergency disbursements (for example, FEMA disaster relief) follow existing formulae and would not be routed through the General Assembly in a way that obstructs urgent distribution. Representative Taylor and Representative Prince asked specifically about funds that flow directly to local governments or are tied to disaster response; the presenter said those systems were not the target of HR 29.
After discussion, the committee voted to approve the resolution; the transcript records the motion, seconds and that the motion carried, but does not give a numerical vote tally.
If advanced by the committee, the measure would proceed through the constitutional-amendment process (including floor votes and, if approved by the legislature, ratification mechanisms required for state constitutional changes).
