2025 Legislative Session Recap

End of Session Report

Sine Die—the final day of Georgia’s 2025 legislative session—took place on Friday, April 4th, and we’re excited to share that our advocacy efforts around housing made a meaningful impact! Key housing Legislative outcomes were:

Defeated: HB 295

We successfully urged legislators to oppose HB 295, which would have opened cities up to private lawsuits for perceived failures to enforce public nuisance laws—such as public camping, loitering, and panhandling—as well as for implementing sanctuary city policies. This bill stalled in the House and did not cross over.

Defeated: Motel Lockout Legislation

We also opposed a series of bills proposing lockout provisions for individuals and families living in extended stay motels, regardless of the duration of their stay. One version even sought to criminalize failure to vacate with a trespassing charge. These proposals failed to advance to the finish line. While there’s a need for clarity around the residency rights of motel tenants, these bills lacked due process protections and failed to balance the rights of property owners with the realities of vulnerable families.

 

 

While not part of our VoterVoice campaigns, we’re encouraged by the passage of two significant housing bills:

Passed: HB 159

Raises the bond cap for the Georgia Dream homebuyer assistance program from $3 billion to $6 billion, potentially expanding access to homeownership for low- and moderate-income families.

Passed: HB 399

Aims to curb the impact of corporate ownership in the single-family rental market by requiring out-of-state landlords of single-family homes and duplexes to have a Georgia-based employee available to tenants (if the landlord’s broker is also out of state).

Both HB 159 and HB 399 have been sent to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for signature.

 

Through our VoterVoice platform, we advocated for funding to create a statewide emergency rental assistance program. This would fill the gap once the Georgia Rental Assistance Program sunsets in September 2025 or when remaining federal funds are exhausted. Assistance is currently administered by Atlanta Legal Aid and Georgia Legal Services Program via a lottery system.  Here are referral links to these programs:

We also advocated for a funding increase for the Georgia Housing Voucher Program, a successful supportive housing program for Georgians with severe and persistent mental illness cycling through jails, prisons, emergency rooms, and mental health institutions.  An increase of $1.7M is included in the FY 2026 budget, which is not adequate for the demand for this program.

This was the first year of the biennial legislative cycle, which means bills that didn’t pass remain active and will resume next session from the committee they were last in. This gives us an important window to connect with legislators in our local communities, share the impact of your service with St. Vincent de Paul Georgia, and build relationships that will strengthen our advocacy efforts next year.

Thank you for lending your voice and passion to our shared mission. Your advocacy makes a difference in the lives of our neighbors.