Georgia House passes package of bills on education, transparency, food labeling and judicial elections

The Georgia House completed a busy rules calendar on Feb. 11, voting to advance multiple bills spanning education, food labeling, campaign finance, administrative oversight and judicial elections.

Key floor outcomes

- HB 907 (Completion schools): Pro Tem Jan Jones summarized a package that clarifies notification to parents and teachers, allows registration at completion schools without returning to a home school, expands zone partnerships and requires school systems to provide leads of chronically absent students to completion schools. Members asked about privacy and implementation; the bill passed unanimously (yeas 170, nays 0).

- HB 57 (Step relationships): Representative Mike Cameron said HB 57 closes a loophole by adding step-grandparent and step-grandchild relationships to relevant code sections after a local prosecutorial gap; the House passed the measure (yeas 168, nays 0).

- HB 117 (Seafood country-of-origin labeling): Representative Petrie said the bill requires disclosure of country of origin for seafood menu items to provide consumer transparency and protect Georgia fishermen. Petrie referenced recent import concerns — including a reported cesium detection in a single sample and an asserted low FDA inspection rate of foreign shrimp shipments — as part of the rationale. Members asked about exemptions for state hospitals and the senate substitute (which exempts certain institutions at the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities’ request) was agreed to (yeas 159, nays 8).

- HB 383 (Georgia High School NIL Protection Act): Representative Brent Cox presented a measure to place guardrails on name-image-and-likeness deals for high-school athletes, including parental role, limits on school logos and educational resources. Sponsors said the bill protects students from open-ended contracts that could extend into collegiate or professional levels; it passed (yeas 171, nays 0).

- HB 903 (Administrative Procedures Act coverage): Chairman Alan Powell described HB 903 as restoring legislative oversight by making executive-branch agencies subject to the Georgia Administrative Procedures Act; Powell argued that the change helps the legislature understand how rules are interpreted and implemented. The House passed the bill (yeas 168, nays 3).

- HB 414 (Campaign finance/person definition): Representative Todd Jones summarized the senate substitute for HB 414 (revising the statutory definition of “person” for campaign finance), highlighting new due-process language for in- and out-of-state actors; the House agreed to the substitute (yeas 169, nays 0).

- HR 2 51 (Constitutional amendment: nonpartisan probate judges): Representative Kimberly New presented a resolution to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to require nonpartisan elections for probate judges statewide. Proponents cited parity, judicial independence and support from judicial councils and former governors; the House adopted the resolution (yeas 147, nays 20).

What members debated on the floor

Several bills prompted technical and policy questions rather than partisan confrontation. On HB 117 (seafood labeling), Representative Petrie invoked consumer-safety concerns and said the measure would increase transparency after import problems; he referenced an instance of cesium detection in an imported sample and said only a small share of imports are inspected. On HB 903, Chairman Powell framed the measure as a defense of legislative oversight, calling for greater transparency about rules and regulations implemented by executive agencies.

Procedural notes and next steps

All bills that passed the House will move to the Senate for consideration (or, in the case of HR 2 51, proceed as a constitutional amendment resolution to be placed on the ballot if later enacted through the constitutional amendment process). The House adjourned to reconvene Feb. 12, 2026.

Votes and provenance

- HB 907 (topicintro SEG 1612, topfinish SEG 1861) — Passed (yeas 170, nays 0) - HB 57 (topicintro SEG 1863, topfinish SEG 1912) — Passed (yeas 168, nays 0) - HB 117 (topicintro SEG 1916, topfinish SEG 2131) — Agreed to senate substitute (yeas 159, nays 8) - HB 383 (topicintro SEG 2135, topfinish SEG 2430) — Passed (yeas 171, nays 0) - HB 903 (topicintro SEG 2434, topfinish SEG 2765) — Passed (yeas 168, nays 3) - HB 414 (topicintro SEG 2768, topfinish SEG 2814) — Agreed to senate substitute (yeas 169, nays 0) - HR 2 51 (topicintro SEG 2816, topfinish SEG 3113) — Adopted (yeas 147, nays 20)

This roundup reflects only floor proceedings recorded in the House transcript of Feb. 11, 2026; implementation details, rulemaking, or follow-up reporting requirements were not specified on the floor for many items and are noted as "not specified" where applicable.