§ 19-6-50.Creation; responsibilities
Chapter 6. Alimony and Child Support · Article 2. Georgia Child Support Commission · Last amended 2005 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-6-50
Plain-English Summary
Georgia’s child support amounts come from a table, and this section creates the body that builds and revises it. The Georgia Child Support Commission exists to study and collect information on child support awards and to create and revise the child support obligation table. The legislature created it in 2005.
The commission’s job is a comprehensive review of the child support guidelines, economic conditions and everything else that bears on keeping the guidelines effective and efficient and on modifying support orders. The goal the statute names is to serve the best interest of Georgia’s children and to account for the changing dynamics of family life. The commission also decides whether the table needs adjustments, guided by the duties listed in § 19-6-53.
The commission recommends; the legislature decides. Nothing in the commission’s report authorizes or requires a change in the table without action by the General Assembly. That fits with § 19-6-15, which says the table is proposed by the commission and codified in the statute itself, and which gives the commission the job of issuing the child support worksheet and schedules. The neighboring sections fill in the details: § 19-6-51 covers membership, § 19-6-52 covers meetings and expenses, and § 19-6-53 lists the commission’s duties and powers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Georgia Child Support Commission?
It’s the state body created to study child support awards and to create and revise the child support obligation table that Georgia courts use. It reviews the child support guidelines, economic conditions and anything else relevant to keeping the guidelines effective and efficient, with the aim of serving the best interest of Georgia’s children and reflecting how family life changes over time.
Can the Child Support Commission change Georgia’s child support amounts on its own?
No. The commission studies the table and recommends changes, but this section says nothing in its report authorizes or requires a change in the child support obligation table without action by the General Assembly. Under § 19-6-15, the table is proposed by the commission and codified in the statute, so a new table takes a vote of the legislature.
Who makes the Georgia child support worksheet?
The Georgia Child Support Commission. Section 19-6-15 says the child support worksheet and schedules shall be promulgated by the commission, and § 19-6-53 gives it the duty to develop, publish and update the table, worksheets and schedules. The table itself, though, has to be codified by the General Assembly.
How often does Georgia review its child support table?
At least every four years. This section tells the commission to decide whether the child support obligation table needs adjusting, and § 19-6-53 makes it a duty to determine periodically, and at least every four years, whether the table produces appropriate presumptive awards. Any change the commission recommends still needs action by the General Assembly.
Does the Child Support Commission decide individual child support cases?
No. Its role is study, review and recommendation: collecting data on awards, reviewing the guidelines and proposing changes to the table. Nothing in Article 2 gives it power over a particular family’s case. The amount in an individual case is set by the court or jury applying the guidelines in § 19-6-15.
Amendment History
Laws 2005, Act 52, § 11, eff. April 22, 2005.