Georgia House disagrees with Senate substitute to FY2026 budget, sends bill to conference

The Georgia House on Wednesday disagreed to the Senate substitute for House Bill 68, the state fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill, moving the budget dispute to a conference process.

Representative Hatcher moved that the House "disagree to the senate substitute" to House Bill 68, the chamber record shows. Chairman Hatchett told members the action "allows us to start the process of the conference committee establishment on the budget," and encouraged members that the two chambers could reach a final version before the end of the week.

Why it matters: Disagreeing to a Senate substitute is the formal step that triggers a conference committee to reconcile competing budget language and funding levels. Chairmen and appropriations leaders from both chambers typically select conferees and negotiate final allocations and policy riders.

What happened on the floor: After the motion to disagree, the presiding officer asked if there were any questions and then announced the House had disagreed to the Senate substitute. The House did not record a roll-call tally for that specific motion in the transcript excerpt; the action as recorded is the formal disagreement and the intent to proceed to conference.

Context and next steps: Chairman Hatchett said many differences remain between the chambers and expressed hope members would reach a final budget before Friday night. The disagreement places the House and Senate on a timeline to name conferees and begin formal negotiations. No committee appointments or conferee names were announced in the transcript.

No new appropriations were enacted on the floor during the disagreement; the transcript records the disagreement as the procedural step that starts conference negotiations.