Georgia House passes paid parental leave bill for state workers, teachers; Senate vote next

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ATLANTA — We’re keeping an eye on bills passing through the Georgia legislature right now and one the House just passed caught our attention.

House Bill 146 gives three weeks paid parental leave to state employees and teachers, which is about 423,000 parents. This is for births, adoptions, or foster placement. The legislation includes language for fathers.

“A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 20 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding personnel administration, so as to provide for paid parental leave for eligible state employees and eligible local board of education employees; to provide for definitions; to provide for eligibility; to provide for terms and conditions; to provide for certain prohibitions; to provide for rules; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.”

TRENDING STORIES:

The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House 155 to 2 on Tuesday.

It now goes to the Georgia senate.

The bill was sponsored by six members, including Rep. Jan Jones.

Another sponsor of the bill, Houston Gaines, said he was proud of the bipartisan bill and hopes it “will make a big difference for young families across our state.”

Read the full bill here.