HB 56: Education; grants to spouses of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and prison guards who are killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty; provide - Georgia

LC 61 0178S/hs → LC 61 0178S/hcs · 3 edits

MINOR

The primary change is the removal of the committee's explanatory text, replacing it with a formal header identifying the document as a 'Committee Substitute' for House Bill 56. This indicates the bill has been amended by the House Committee on Higher Education before advancing to the full house. No substantive policy changes regarding tuition grants, eligibility criteria, or funding amounts are present in this specific excerpt.

TECHNICAL

Removed the introductory paragraph stating that the House Committee on Higher Education offered a substitute bill.

Added a formal title block identifying the document as 'House Bill 56 (COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)' and listing the sponsoring representatives.

Updated page headers from 'H. B. 56 (SUB)' to 'H. B. 56' to reflect the bill's new status as a committee substitute.

LC 39 4603S/hs → LC 61 0178S/hs · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly expanded to include spouses of fallen or disabled public safety workers in addition to their children, and the list of eligible professions was broadened to include paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and highway emergency response operators. The legislation also added provisions for grants to children and spouses of public school employees and teachers killed by violence. Funding mechanisms were updated to allow for charitable contributions via state tax returns and driver's license fees starting in 2026, with grant amounts and caps increased to reflect these expanded benefits.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from covering only children of law enforcement, firefighters, and prison guards to include their spouses, as well as children and spouses of paramedics, EMTs, highway emergency response operators, and public school employees/teachers.

ELIGIBILITY

Added eligibility for spouses of law enforcement officers, firefighters, prison guards, paramedics, EMTs, highway emergency response operators, and public school employees/teachers who were killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.

Added eligibility for children and spouses of public school employees and teachers killed or permanently disabled by an act of violence in the line of duty.

FISCAL

Increased the maximum grant award amount from $8,000 to $72,000 and the per-year limit from $2,000 to $18,000.

Introduced new provisions for voluntary charitable contributions through state income tax returns and driver's license fees to fund the grants.

TIMELINE

Established a new start date of January 1, 2026, for charitable contributions via tax returns and driver's license fees.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the legislative findings and purpose to reflect the expanded scope of covered professions and the inclusion of spouses.

LC 39 4449/a → LC 39 4603S/hs · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended to update the grant amounts for eligible students, revise the definition of 'in the line of duty' to clarify coverage for law enforcement officers, and adjust eligibility criteria to include children of law enforcement officers. The changes also update the reference date for historical claims from 1980 to 2025.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include children of law enforcement officers as eligible recipients of grants, whereas the original text only mentioned spouses and children of firefighters and prison guards.

FISCAL

The maximum grant award amount was increased from $2,000 to $18,000 per academic year, with a lifetime cap raised from $8,000 to $72,000.

DEFINITION

New definitions were added for 'Academic year' and 'Eligible student' to clarify program terms.

ELIGIBILITY

The definition of 'In the line of duty' was revised to explicitly include law enforcement officers alongside firefighters and prison guards.

Eligibility criteria were updated to explicitly allow children of law enforcement officers to receive grants, in addition to their spouses.

TIMELINE

The cutoff date for claims related to accidents or events causing death or disability was changed from July 1, 1980, to July 1, 2025.

Education; grants to spouses of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and prison guards who are killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty; provide

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