Senator Albers: Week Eleven Under the Gold Dome
Monday, March 30, 2026
With just one week left under the Gold Dome, we are not slowing down. We are fulfilling our responsibility to lower costs, protect your family and make sure Georgia continues to lead in responsible government.
Let’s be honest, what you’re seeing in Georgia stands in stark contrast to what’s happening in Washington and in many Democrat-led states. While others continue to spend recklessly, raise taxes and grow government, we’ve taken a different path rooted in discipline and respect for your hard-earned money.
That approach is on full display in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
This week, the Senate took up House Bill 974, a $38.5 billion budget that reflects both the strength of Georgia’s economy and our commitment to conservative financial stewardship. Unlike the federal government, which continues to rack up debt with no tangible plan to pay it back, Georgia is constitutionally required to balance its budget, and we do it the right way.
We are making targeted investments in education and our future workforce, including $70 million to place a literacy coach in every K-3 classroom. At the same time, we are expanding the Georgia PROMISE Scholarship to give families more options and greater control over their child’s education, because we trust parents, not bureaucracies, to make those decisions.
While some on the left continue to push one-size-fits-all education policies, we are empowering families with real choices and real opportunities. We’re also standing by the people who have dedicated their lives to public service. By contributing $100 million to the Employees’ Retirement System, we are ensuring that Georgia’s retirees can remain here, continue contributing to our communities and live with the dignity they’ve earned.
In our classrooms, Senate Republicans are choosing focus and safety over distraction. House Bill 1009 establishes a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in high schools. Parents and teachers alike have seen the impact of constant screen time, less engagement, more distraction and fewer real conversations. This legislation helps restore discipline in the classroom, improve academic outcomes and ensure students are attentive in emergency situations.
The issue of speed cameras and the fines associated with speeding violations has been a major debate, and this week, the Senate took decisive action. House Bill 651 passed out of the Senate this week to provide better oversight and accountability by preventing revenue-based policing with speed cameras or speed traps. HB 651 will make reduced-speed zones clearer to drivers and allow the Department of Public Safety to revoke speed-detection device permits if it finds evidence of misuse. While the safety of children in school zones and Georgia motorists is incredibly important, we also want to keep bad actors from profiting off these systems.
I’m also proud to report that Senate Bill 470, the Emergency & Public Safety Signal Protection Act, passed the Senate several weeks ago and is now on its way back from the House for final consideration. Signal jammers pose a real danger to the safety of all Georgians, and this bill would ban their manufacture, sale, and use to protect law enforcement and critical infrastructure.
Finally, it was my pleasure and great honor to present Senate Resolution 1000 and celebrate House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones’s decades of service to the great state of Georgia. Speaker Pro Tempore Jones has been a true friend and an even better legislator in the General Assembly, tirelessly advocating for education initiatives in Georgia. She also broke barriers as the first female Speaker of the House, and I’m confident her leadership will continue to inspire for generations to come.
As we approach our final legislative day, I encourage you to stay engaged and reach out with any questions or concerns. Your voice matters, and it continues to shape the work we do here under the Gold Dome.
Sen. John Albers serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Safety. He represents the 56th Senate District, which includes portions of Cherokee, Cobb and Fulton counties. He may be reached by phone at (404) 463-8055 or by email at [email protected].