HB 146 - Paid Parental Leave for Eligible State and Local Education Employees - Georgia House Bill 146

Aug 27, 2026

Georgia House Bill 146 amends Article 1 of Chapter 20 of Title 45 (Official Code of Georgia Annotated) to create paid parental leave for eligible state and local board of education employees. Eligibility is tied to continuous employment, qualifying life events include birth, adoption placement, and foster care placement. The bill sets a 120-hour maximum per rolling 12-month period, allows use in increments under eight hours, specifies documentation and non-interference rules, and requires the State Accounting Office to update relevant systems to add a new paid benefit category.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

SECTION 1

Paid parental leave eligibility and qualifying life events

Leave limits, carryover, and cash value

Rules, documentation, software/platform updates

Hourly employee eligibility and anti-retaliation provisions

SECTION 2

21 HB 146/AP House Bill 146 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Gaines of the 117th, Cooper of the 43rd, Jones of the 47th, Wiedower of the 119th, Rich of the 97th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1 To amend Article 1 of Chapter 20 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, 2 relating to general provisions regarding personnel administration, so as to provide for paid 3 parental leave for eligible state employees and eligible local board of education employees; 4 to provide for definitions; to provide for eligibility; to provide for terms and conditions; to 5 provide for certain prohibitions; to provide for rules; to provide for related matters; to repeal 6 conflicting laws; and for other purposes. 7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: 8 SECTION 1. 9 Article 1 of Chapter 20 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to 10 general provisions regarding personnel administration, is amended by revising Code 11 Section 45-20-17, which was previously reserved, as follows: 12 "45-20-17. 13 (a) As used in this Code section, the term: 14 (1) 'Eligible employee' means: H. B. 146 -1- 21 HB 146/AP 15 (A) Any individual identified in subparagraph (A),(E),(F),(G), or (L) of paragraph (2) 16 of Code Section 45-18-1 whois classified as full-time by the applicable state employing 17 entity; or 18 (B) Any individual identified in paragraph (4) of Code Section 20-2-880 or 19 paragraph (3) of Code Section 20-2-910 who is classified as full-time by the applicable 20 local board of education. 21 (2) 'Employing entity' means: 22 (A) The executive, legislative, or judicial branch of state government; or 23 (B) A local board of education. 24 (3) 'Qualifying life event' means: 25 (A) The birth of a child of an eligible employee; 26 (B) The placement of a minor child for adoption with an eligible employee; or 27 (C) The placement of a minor child for foster care with an eligible employee. 28 (b) All eligible employees of an employing entity shall be eligible for paid parental leave 29 for qualifying life events after six continuous months of employment with the employing 30 entity regardless of whether the employee is eligible for paid or unpaid leave under federal 31 law. Such paid parental leave shall be equally available to all eligible employees. 32 (c) The maximum amount of paid parental leave that may be taken by an eligible 33 employee during a rolling 12 month period is 120 hours, regardless of the number of 34 qualifying life events that occur within such period. The rolling 12 month period shall be 35 measured backward from the date an eligible employee first uses parental leave. Such 36 leave maybe used as needed and maybe taken in increments of less than eight hours. Any 37 such leave that remains 12 months after the qualifying life event shall not carry over for 38 future use. 39 (d) Unused paid parental leave shall have no cash value at the time of the eligible 40 employee's separation from employment with the employing entity. H. B. 146 -2- 21 HB 146/AP 41 (e) Each employing entity shall promulgate rules for the administration of paid parental 42 leave under this Code section for eligible employees which are not in conflict with this 43 Code section; provided, however, that the State Personnel Board shall promulgate such 44 rules for any employing entity that is considered a department or agency as such terms are 45 synonymously defined in paragraph (6) of Code Section 45-20-2. At a minimum, such 46 rules of the employing entity shall address: 47 (1) Whether paid parental leave under this Code section shall run concurrently with any 48 leave provided under federal law; and 49 (2) The documentation, if any, that an eligible employee shall be required to provide to 50 establish the existence of a qualifying life event. 51 (f) To imple

FAQs

Who qualifies for paid parental leave under HB 146?

Eligible employees include full-time state employees and full-time local board of education employees identified under referenced code sections. Hourly employees qualify after working at least 700 hours in the six-month period before the requested leave date.

What events are considered qualifying life events?

Qualifying life events include the birth of a child, placement of a minor child for adoption, and placement of a minor child for foster care with an eligible employee.

How much paid parental leave can be taken and how is it managed over time?

The maximum is 120 hours within a rolling 12-month period. The leave may be used as needed in increments of less than eight hours, does not carry over after 12 months, and unused leave has no cash value at separation.

Aug 27, 2026

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