Amendment 3: Georgia Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund
Statewide — all of Georgia
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Referred to the ballot by the General Assembly as House Resolution 1243 (2026). The House approved it; the Senate fell short of the required two-thirds majority on March 19 (31-18, along with HR 251, amid a Democratic protest over the lack of compromise between the parties; GPB) and then voted unanimously to put it on the ballot on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 (Capitol Beat).[2][3]
The question on the ballot
Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to dedicate certain existing revenues, including revenues reallocated by law, to a nonlapsing fund to be used exclusively for the expansion, maintenance, and operation of emergency 9-1-1 systems in this state?[1]
The amendment would authorize the General Assembly to create a Georgia Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund and, by law, dedicate certain existing revenues (including revenues reallocated by law) to it; the money in the nonlapsing fund could be used only to expand, maintain and operate the state's 9-1-1 systems. The Secretary of State's summary says it amends Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI of the Georgia Constitution by adding a new subparagraph (s). The AJC reported that the fund is meant to modernize 9-1-1 so callers can send text messages, pictures and videos, and that passage would not by itself change the 911 fee, which Capitol Beat reported would remain $1.50 a month; future laws would decide how the fund is managed and funded. No official fiscal estimate was retrieved.[1][2][4]
A YES vote means
Allows the General Assembly to create a dedicated, nonlapsing Georgia Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund, funded with existing revenues, to be used only for 9-1-1 systems.
A NO vote means
Leaves the Constitution unchanged: the General Assembly could not constitutionally dedicate revenues to a nonlapsing 9-1-1 fund.
The law today
Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI of the Georgia Constitution (which the amendment would add a subparagraph to) concerns appropriations, which must be for specific sums, per the Secretary of State's summary. Georgia's 911 fee is $1.50 per month (Capitol Beat); in 2025 the General Assembly passed House Bill 423 setting new 911 standards, and the state has been working toward a Next Generation 911 transition (GMA). The amendment itself creates no new fee; the GMA says the measure would not create a new 911 fee but would allow existing 911 fee revenue to be deposited into a dedicated fund.[5][2][6]
Arguments made for
- Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones (D-Augusta) said the fee could help improve emergency response times: "We hear many stories: They call 911, a person may not answer. It's not quite up to the quality level. This is what we're hoping to actually change."[2]
- Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta) said the fund could pay for technology letting first responders see more about an emergency: "It makes the first responders safer and gives them the ability to react to the situation and get to the people that need help."[2]
Arguments made against
- None found in public sources.
Research notes & limits
The Georgia Secretary of State's 2026 Constitutional Summaries booklet (sos.ga.gov) returned 403 to automated requests and was not loaded; the ballot question and the Secretary of State's summary are taken from WJXT News4JAX's Oct. 8, 2026 voter guide, which quotes them, and the three-amendment slate is confirmed by that guide and the AJC (Aug. 10, 2026). Georgia has no citizen initiative and publishes no voter-pamphlet arguments. Amendments pass with a simple majority of those voting on the question. No argument against was found in the sources reviewed; the Senate vote that passed the resolution was unanimous. Sponsor names and House vote counts are omitted because they could be confirmed only through Ballotpedia, which could not be loaded. News4JAX gives the resolution number as HR 1251; Capitol Beat and GPB give HR 1243, which this file follows. Enrichment: no organized opposition, campaign committee or official fiscal estimate was found; the Senate vote was unanimous. The Georgia Municipal Association's article is informational and is cited for background, not as an endorsement. The Secretary of State's own booklet URL returns 403 to automated requests, so the identical booklet hosted by Gordon County is cited.
Sources · 6
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.2026 Voter's Guide: Georgia Constitutional Amendments · WJXT News4JAX · 2026-10-08 News report
- 2.Georgia lawmakers put 911 upgrades on this year's ballot · Capitol Beat News Service · 2026-03-31 News report
- 3.Lawmakers Day 34: Senate OKs gas tax bill, House passes bill on trafficking at short · Georgia Public Broadcasting · 2026-03-20 News report
- 4.Here are state constitutional amendments Georgians will vote on in November · Atlanta Journal-Constitution · 2026-08-10 News report
- 5.Proposed Constitutional Amendments, General Election November 3, 2026 (Constitutional Summaries booklet; copy hosted by Gordon County) · Georgia Secretary of State / Attorney General / Legislative Counsel · 2026-09 Official record
- 6.Georgia Voters to Consider Dedicated Next Generation 911 Funding Amendment · Georgia Municipal Association · 2026-06-16 Candidate's own words