ATLANTA – The Georgia House of Representatives gave final passage Monday to legislation that would let state employees and teachers take up to three weeks of parental paid leave.
The House passed the bill 153-8 just days after the state Senate approved it unanimously. It now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.
House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, unveiled the bill last year as one of his top priorities for the 2020 General Assembly session. But it got sidetracked after lawmakers took a three-month break because of the coronavirus pandemic.
When the legislature returned to the Gold Dome last June, the Senate stripped paid parental leave from the bill and substituted a measure reducing lawmakers’ salaries. The House refused to support the change, and the bill died.
The legislation would apply to parents following the birth of a child of their own, an adopted child or a foster-care placement. Full-time employees would become eligible for paid parental leave after six months on the job.
About 246,000 state employees and teachers in Georgia would be eligible for paid parental leave.