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GeorgiaHB 13792025-2026 Regular SessionHouse

Foreign Funding Transparency and Accountability Act; enact

Sponsored By: John Carson (Republican), Brent Cox (Republican), Tim Fleming (Republican), Houston Gaines (Republican), Esther Panitch (Democrat)

Signed by Governor

Higher EducationGeneral Bill

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.

Schools risk funding cuts for missing reports

Beginning July 1, 2026, the law authorizes state funding cuts for Georgia public institutions that fail to report qualifying funding. The Attorney General must notify the institution and give it 30 days to submit or correct its report. If it misses that deadline, the Attorney General notifies its governing board. The board may withhold $5,000 or three times the undisclosed reportable funding, whichever is greater, from allotted state funds. Withholding is optional and is not a charge to households.

Georgia schools must disclose certain foreign funding

The law creates foreign funding disclosure rules for Georgia public K–12 schools, state universities, and technical colleges. It generally takes effect July 1, 2026, and replaces the prior university reporting rule on January 1, 2027. Reports are due July 31, 2027, and each year afterward, covering the prior fiscal year. Schools must report funding totaling $10,000 or more from one foreign source of concern, counting related sources together. Funding includes gifts, grants, service payments, investments, wages, fees, and other money exchanges. Reports also cover money received by organizations controlled by or acting for the institution. Related sources include people or entities controlled by, acting for, or working with the foreign source. Covered sources include countries identified through federal adversary or religious-freedom designations, certain neighboring monarchies, and qualifying entities and individuals. The monarchy rule covers countries bordering a listed country whose sovereign wealth fund board includes the monarch or family. Covered entities include businesses organized in covered countries, designated terrorist or religious-freedom entities, and their covered members or subsidiaries. Covered individuals include officials, residents who are neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents, and people meeting specified criminal classifications. These definitions use federal references as they existed on January 1, 2026. Schools must report to the Georgia Attorney General and Department of Audits and Accounts, even when no qualifying funding arrives. Reports identify sources and owners, amounts, funding types, purposes, and whether payments were one-time or repeated. They include agreements, source influence over school decisions, and safeguards for academic freedom, research integrity, and cybersecurity. The department posts reports online after removing legally protected personal and security information; legislative education committee chairs also receive copies. Individual or family tuition and related-fee payments for university and technical college students are excluded.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsors

  • John Carson

    Republican • House

  • Brent Cox

    Republican • House

  • Tim Fleming

    Republican • House

  • Houston Gaines

    Republican • House

  • Esther Panitch

    Democrat • House

Cosponsors

  • Max Burns

    Republican • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 170 • No: 36

Senate vote • 3/18/2026

PASSAGE

Yes: 31 • No: 20 • Other: 2

House vote • 3/4/2026

PASSAGE

Yes: 139 • No: 16 • Other: 8

Actions Timeline

  1. Effective Date

    7/1/2026

  2. House Date Signed by Governor

    5/12/2026House

  3. Act 632

    5/12/2026

  4. House Sent to Governor

    4/6/2026House

  5. Senate Third Read

    3/18/2026Senate

  6. Senate Passed/Adopted

    3/18/2026Senate

  7. Senate Read Second Time

    3/16/2026Senate

  8. Senate Committee Favorably Reported

    3/12/2026Senate

  9. Senate Read and Referred

    3/6/2026Senate

  10. House Third Readers

    3/4/2026House

  11. House Passed/Adopted By Substitute

    3/4/2026House

  12. House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

    3/3/2026House

  13. House Second Readers

    2/20/2026House

  14. House First Readers

    2/19/2026House

  15. House Hopper

    2/18/2026House

Bill Text

  • HB 1379/AP* (v6)

    PDF

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