Last week, state lawmakers met for Legislative Days 32 through 35, leaving only five legislative days left in the 2022 Legislative Session. But a lot is going to happen in those last five days!

HB 476 – Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Act

We are absolutely thrilled to report that last Thursday, HB 476 – ACEC Georgia’s PELS Board legislation – was passed unanimously out of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee!

HB 476 would make the Professional Engineers & Land Surveyors (PELS) Board an independent agency, with its own separate budget, which would be entirely funded by a nominal increase in engineer and surveyor license renewal fees. The bill will also allow the PELS Board to hire its own dedicated executive director, support staff, legal counsel, and investigators. Those of you with licenses in other states know that this is how every other state in the South operates their respective PELS Boards.

This bill was introduced at ACEC Georgia’s request, is our #1 legislative priority and has also been a longstanding goal of Georgia’s engineers and land surveyors. The next step in the process is for the Senate Rules Committee to place it on the calendar for consideration by the entire Senate. Our readers may recall that HB 476 did not advance from the Rules Committee last year, which is why it was reconsidered by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee this past week. We are working closely with the Senate Rules Committee members and leadership to ensure that the bill gets on the calendar for Senate debate—be on the lookout for an update from us on this bill when that happens!

On Friday, SB 581 by Sen. Larry Walker (R-Perry) which revises the Georgia State Plane Coordinate System (and which was introduced on behalf of SAMSOG, in coordination with ACEC Georgia’s GPTQ Surveying & Mapping Subcommittee), passed the House by a vote of 142-0 and is now on the Governor’s desk, awaiting his signature.  

On Friday, the Senate voted on HB 911, the “big budget” for the full fiscal year 2023, that begins on July 1, 2022. The Senate amended the budget significantly from the version passed by the House, so a conference committee will be appointed sometime this week to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget and to develop one singular document that both chambers can vote on for final passage. Major budget items include:

• $2,000 raises for Georgia’s public-school teachers
• Increasing Medicaid coverage for low-income mothers to a full year following the birth of their children
• Overall, the amended FY 2022 and FY 2023 budgets include $950 million in raises for state agency and K-12 school system employees

The week ahead: The legislature will be meeting for Legislative Days 36 through 39 this week, with Sine Die scheduled for Tuesday, April 4th!

Other Legislation ACEC Georgia is following

Transportation

HB 934 – By Rob Leverett (R-Elberton) allows a Single County Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) to be collected for the full amount of time approved by the voters, rather than ending the collection once the estimated amount has been collected. ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS: Passed the House Ways & Means Committee; passed the House by a vote of 150-8 on March 11^th. Passed the Senate Finance Committee; pending in the Senate Rules committee.

HB 1039 – By Rep. Mack Jackson (D-Sandersville) would extend the income tax credit for expenditures on the maintenance of railroad track owned or leased by Class III railroads. ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS: Passed the House Ways & Means Committee; passed the House on March 8^th by a vote of 164-4; assigned to the Senate Finance Committee.

HB 1438 – By Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) is the annual GDOT house-keeping bill proposes to revise meeting notice provisions for the election of board members for the Department of Transportation as well as clarifies other provisions regarding public-private partnership negotiations and exempts some records from public disclosure requirements. ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS: Passed House Transportation Committee; passed the House by a vote of 157-2 on March 11^th; assigned to Senate Transportation Committee.   

HR 623 – By Rep. Carl Gilliard (D-Garden City) would create a House Study Committee on the Nancy Hanks Passenger Rail Line from Savannah to Atlanta. STATUS: Assigned to the House Transportation Committee.

SB 98 – By Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) is a Freight & Logistics bill that would allow SRTA to negotiate public/private partnership investments in infrastructure that would provide a “substantial public benefit.” ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS:  Passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee on March 3^rd. Passed the full Senate on March 8 on a 53-1 vote.  Referred to the House Rules Committee.

SB 558 – By Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) is the Senate version of the GDOT housekeeping bill (see HB 1438 above). ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS: Passed Senate Transportation Committee; passed the Senate by a vote of 53-0. Passed the House Transportation Committee; pending in the House Rules Committee.

SB 586 – By Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) proposes to allow counties to utilize design-build contracting methods for transportation related projects. STATUS: Passed the Senate Transportation Committee; passed the Senate by a vote of 37-16. Passed the House Transportation Committee; pending in the House Rules Committee.

SR 463 – By Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) would establish a joint study committee on the Electrification of Transportation. STATUS: Passed the Senate by a vote of 53-0. Passed the House Transportation Committee; pending in the House Rules Committee.

Industry & Professions

HB 389 – By Rep. Todd Jones (R-South Forsyth) proposes to change the classification of certain independent contractors. STATUS: Passed the House by a vote of 162-6; assigned to Senate Insurance and Labor Committee.

HB 884 – By Rep. Dave Belton (R-Buckhead) would expand existing law that created expedited licensure by endorsement for the spouses of military personnel relocating to Georgia. HB 884 would require a licensing board to issue a decision on a license within 30 days of receipt of whole and complete application, including documentation that shows that the licensee meets substantially similar requirements and is in good standing (which is current code). STATUS: Passed House Regulated Industries; passed the House floor by a vote of 164-0. Passed the Senate Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security Committee; pending in the House Rules Committee.

HB 961 – By Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) clarifies and reinstates a provision in the Tort Reform Act of 2005 that provides that a defendant in a lawsuit is only responsible for the percentage of fault attributable to their actions and not for the portions attributable to others (known as apportionment). ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS: Passed House Judiciary Committee; Passed the House by a vote of 168-0; Assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

HR 627 – By Rep. Bill Yearta (R-Sylvester) would create a House Study Committee on Bureaucratic Hindrances to Businesses. This study committee would focus primarily on the relationship between governmental entities that regulate, oversee, or otherwise engage with businesses in the state. It’s similar to Senator Bruce Thompson’s proposed study committee on professional licensure (see below), however, the scope seems to include local governance. STATUS: Passed the House Small Business Development Committee; currently in the House Rules Committee.

SB 45 – By Sen. Bruce Thompson (R-White) is aimed at speeding up occupational and professional licensure through licensure by endorsement for new residents of Georgia who have licenses in good standing in other states that have requirements that are “substantially similar” to license for which they are applying for in Georgia. STATUS: Passed out of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee. Passed the full Senate on February 16^th of last year by a vote of 37 to 15. Assigned to the House Regulated Industries Committee. This legislation is identical to HB 147 by Rep. Heath Clark, which was also assigned to the House Regulated Industries committee but has yet to receive a hearing.

SB 352 – By Sen. Bruce Thompson (R-White) would expand the licensure by endorsement regime in place for spouses of military personnel to the spouses of first responders and healthcare workers. The legislation states that the existing license from the other state must be substantially similar in scope to the Georgia license an applicant (said spouse of the professions listed in the bill) is applying for, that the licensee must be in good standing, and that the licensee must not have had any disciplinary actions taken against them. STATUS: Assigned the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee; passed the Senate by a vote of 50-0 on Feb 11^th. Assigned to the House Regulated Industries Committee.

SB 379 – By Sen. Brian Strickland (R-McDonough) increases access to apprenticeship programs. ACEC Georgia supports this innovative workforce solution to help expand the state’s skilled workforce. STATUS: Passed Senate Economic Development & Tourism; passed the Senate by a vote of 42-4 on March 8^th; assigned to the House Higher Education Committee.

SB 438 – By Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R- Marietta) revises contract retainage rules to bring Georgia in line with the 5% contract retainage practices of most other states. ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS: Passed out of the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee on Feb 10^th. Passed the Senate by a vote of 52-0 on Feb 15. Passed the House Judiciary Committee; pending in the House Rules Committee.

SB 581 – By Sen. Larry Walker (R-Perry) is a clean-up bill that revises the Georgia State Plane Coordinate System introduced on behalf of SAMSOG in coordination with GPTQ Surveying and Mapping subcommittee. ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS: Passed the Senate Science & Technology Committee; passed the Senate 50-1. Passed the House Science & Technology; Passed the House by a vote of 142-0. Now pending Governor’s action.

SR 376 – By Sen. Bruce Thompson (R-White) would create a Senate Study Committee on Occupational Licensing. Unlike Rep. Yearta’s proposed House Study Committee, the scope of this study committee is limited to the regulation of professional licenses. ACEC Georgia has a keen interest in any licensing reform that might benefit the business of engineering and, as such, will be monitoring this study committee’s progress. STATUS: Assigned to the Senate Rules Committee (must be heard and passed out of the “standing committee” before it can be considered by the full committee for consideration for floor debate).

Local Government

HB 302 – By Rep. Martin Momtahan (R-Dallas) involves regulatory fees charged by local governments on business, occupations, and professions. The bill would require local government regulatory fees to approximate the cost of the service provided and prohibit the use of regulatory fee revenue to fund the general operation of the government. ACEC Georgia supports the underlying premise of this bill, which is that regulatory fees should only be used to fund the purpose for which those fees are levied. STATUS: Passed the House on March 5, 2021 by a vote of 91 to 65. Passed the Senate Finance Committee; now pending in the Senate Rules Committee.

HB 328 – By Rep. Martin Momtahan (R-Dallas) would establish a one-time right of way permit fee and reduce annual right of way use fees for telephone companies that is paid as due compensation for municipalities. STATUS: Passed the House by a vote of 119-40 on March 5, 2021; Passed the Senate by a vote of 34-15 on March 29, 2021; House agreed to the Senate’s substitute version by a vote of 111-54 on March 3, 2022; Bill is now awaiting approval or veto by the Governor.

HB 1180 – By Rep. Sam Watson (R-Moultrie) proposes to revise the makeup of regional commission councils and proposes the creation of an executive committee to oversee the commission. STATUS: Passed the House Government Affairs Committee; passed the House by a vote of 172-0. Assigned to the Senate Committee on Government Oversight.

HB 1405 – By Rep. Shea Roberts (R- Atlanta) clarifies the process of appeals for zoning decisions and disputes through statute and “quasi-judicial” decisions. STATUS: Passed House Government Affairs Committee; passed the House by a vote of 160-1. Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; now pending in the Senate Rules Committee.

HB 1406 – By Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta) proposes to change zoning ordinances by local governments that revise single-family residential housing classifications. STATUS: Passed House Government Affairs committee; Passed the House by a vote of 110-51 on March 9^th. Passed the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee; now pending in the Senate Rules Committee.

HB 1461 – By Rep. Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia) proposes to amend state law related to objections to proposed annexations. STATUS: Passed House Government Affairs Committee; passed the House by a vote of 172-0. Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; now pending in the Senate Rules Committee.  

Water & Environmental

HR 579 – By Rep. Don Parsons (R-Marietta) would create a Georgia Commission on Sustainability and Economic Opportunity. This commission would be focused primarily on ensuring the business community is educated and incentivized to prioritize employee wellness and environmental responsibility. STATUS: Passed out of the House Small Business Development Committee but was recommitted (sent back) to the committee on February 3^rd) but is back in the House Rules Committee, pending further action.

Proposed Cities

HB 826 – By Rep. Ginny Ehrhart (R-Marietta) proposes the creation of the city of Lost Mountain in Cobb County. Voters located within the geographic area will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum before cityhood can become official. STATUS: Passed the House Government Affairs Committee; passed the House by a vote of 92-61; passed the Senate by a vote of 33 to 19; the Governor signed this legislation on February 22, 2022, setting up a referendum for city incorporation in May. 

HB 839 – By Rep. Erica Thomas (R-Austell) proposed the creation of the city of Mableton in Cobb County. If signed by the Governor, voters located within the geographic area will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum before cityhood can become official. This legislation missed the 90-day deadline for the May 24^th primary, so if the Governor signs the bill into law, then Cobb County will have to either call a special election or it will be on the November ballot. STATUS: Assigned to the House Government Affairs committee where it passed out of the Special Subcommittee on Cityhood on February 10^th; passed the Government Affairs committee February 17^th; passed the House by a vote of 134-2 on March 11^th. Passed the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee and passed the full Senate on March 25, 2022 by a vote of 55-0. Now pending Governor’s action.

HB 840 – By Rep. John Carson (R-Marietta) proposes the creation of the city of Vinings in Cobb County. Voters located within the geographic area will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum before cityhood can become official. STATUS: Passed the House Government Affairs Committee; passed the House by a vote of 99-56; passed the Senate by a vote of 33-19; the Governor signed this legislation on February 23, 2022, setting up a referendum for city incorporation in May.

HB 841 – By Rep. Matt Dollar (R-Marietta) proposes the creation of the city of East Cobb in Cobb County. Voters located within the geographic area will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum before cityhood can become official. STATUS: Passed the House Government Affairs Committee; passed the House 98-63. Passed the Senate State and Local Government Operations Committee, where it was amended; passed the Senate by a vote of 31 to 18; agreed to by the House on February 14 and signed by the Governor on February 15, setting up a referendum for city incorporation in May.

Legislation that failed to meet the Crossover Deadline (and is “dead” for this session):

Transportation

HB 100 – By Rep. Carl Gilliard (D-Garden City) would exempt public mass transit, campus transit, and public school system buses from paying Georgia’s motor fuel excise tax. This bill would undermine the premise underlying the Transportation Funding Act of 2015 (HB 170) – that all users of Georgia’s roads and bridges should contribute toward their upkeep. ACEC Georgia is opposed to this bill. STATUS: Assigned to the House Ways & Means Committee. 

HB 496 – By Rep. James Burchett (R-Waycross) is this session’s version of the perennial “truck weights bill” would allow trucks hauling forest products trucks to apply for an annual “forest product permit” that would allow them to exceed maximum truck weight limits. This is the House version of SB 118 Sen. Tyler Harper (R-Ocilla) (see below). STATUS: Assigned to the House Transportation Committee. The committee has held two hearings on this legislation; however, no motion was taken during the hearing on this legislation on March 10^th. Chairman Jasperse said they will revisit the topic in the future.

HB 1322 – By Rep. Allan Powell (R-Hartwell) aims to incentivize the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the state. The legislation has several parts, including legislative findings to “establish a framework designed to encourage private sector investment in the development of electric vehicle charging equipment”; requires an electric supplier to file a tariff with the commission setting the rates, terms, and conditions offered to private providers of EV charging equipment by September 1, 2022 that does not discriminate between EV charging providers and requires all rates to be uniform amongst providers; prohibits electric suppliers from recouping costs of EV charging equipment from ratepayers; encourages (but not mandates) that EMCs develop a tariff for private EV charging providers “that complies with the spirit of this chapter.” This legislation is the House version of SB 492 (see below). STATUS: Passed the House Energy, Utilities, & Telecommunications Committee; in House Rules Committee, but the sponsor stated that he will not formally ask for the bill to be heard/voted on by the full House chamber.

HR 203 – By Rep. Josh McLaurin (D-Atlanta) is a proposed amendment to the Georgia Constitution which would expand the current Constitutional dedication of all motor fuel excise taxes for “roads and bridges” and instead allow those funds to be used for all public transportation purposes, including “roads, bridges, rails, airports, buses, seaports, and all accompanying infrastructure and services.” While ACEC Georgia is opposed to the diversion of existing revenue that is constitutionally dedicated to funding roads and bridges, we are also supportive of the goal of finding additional funding mechanisms for the transportation purposes this proposal ultimately seeks to fund. STATUS: Assigned to the House Transportation Committee.

SB 118 – By Sen. Tyler Harper (R-Ocilla) this year’s version of the perennial “truck weights bill” would allow trucks hauling forest products trucks to apply for an annual “forest product permit” that would allow them to exceed maximum truck weight limits. This is the Senate version of HB 496 by Rep. James Burchett (R-Waycross). STATUS: Assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee.

SB 492 – By Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) is the Senate companion to House Bill 1322 regarding EV charging deployment, framework, and requirements on electricity suppliers. STATUS: Assigned to the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee.

Industry & Professions

HB 1389 – By Rep. Teri Anulewicz (D-Smyrna) proposes to shield whistleblowers (those who are victims or report victims of harassment) from employer retaliation when they report sexual or other types of workplace harassment. Currently, the bill is written incredibly broadly, and some legislators have raised concerns about the vagueness of this legislation as currently written.  ACEC Georgia is closely monitoring this legislation and while we support the intentions underlying this bill, we believe that the potential unintended consequences that could result from how significant new state law causes of action are created should be carefully considered. STATUS: Assigned to House Judiciary Committee.

SB 329 – By Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia) is the Senate version of HB 961 by Rep. Efstration, the only difference is that the Senate version would allow the current apportionment rules to continue to be applied in cases that are filed after the effective date of the bill (as long as the underlying matter itself occurred before the effective date), whereas the House bill would require the new apportionment rules to be used for all cases filed after the effective date of the bill, regardless of when the underlying matter occurred. ACEC Georgia supports this bill; however, HB 961 is the House companion (with slight differences) and met the Crossover deadline. STATUS: Assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee.

Local Government

HB 137 – By Rep. Mitchell Scoggins (R-Cartersville) would exempt compensation paid to an individual taxpayer for property that is condemned by the State of Georgia from ad valorem taxes. STATUS: The Public Finance & Policy subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee held a hearing on this legislation Feb 8^th but did not take a vote.

HB 844 – By Rep. Jason Ridley (R-Chatsworth) would prohibit local governments from restricting the long-term rental (over 12 months) of single-family detached dwellings on any property where such dwellings are authorized under the local zoning code or are not otherwise prohibited by the local land use plan. STATUS: Assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

HB 1093 – By Rep. Dale Washburn (R-Macon), similarly to HB 844 this bill prohibits local governments from banning long term rentals of residential homes and enforces such prohibition by denying the local government funding allocated through the Department of Community Affairs. STATUS: Assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

HB 1130 – By Rep. Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson) proposes to create “educational development impact fees” to pay for a share of the cost of additional educational facilities. Currently, only municipalities and counties are allowed to establish development impacts fees, this legislation would allow school systems to also impose impact development fees. This legislation, however, is enabling legislation that must be triggered by a constitutional amendment (see HR 666 below). STATUS: Assigned to House Government Affairs Committee.

HB 1181 – By Rep. Derrick Jackson (D-Tyrone) would prohibit the directors of development authorities to serve as the chairperson or chief executive officer of such development authorities. STATUS: Assigned to the House Government Affairs Committee.

HB 1439 – By Rep. Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) proposes changes to a municipality’s ability to object to a petition to de-annex territory from their city’s limits. STATUS: Assigned to House Government Affairs Committee.

HR 666 – By Rep. Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson) is the accompanying constitutional amendment to HB 1130 which would (if approved by Georgia voters) revise the constitution to allow local boards of education to impose development impact fees and use the proceeds to pay for the share of the cost of additional educational facilities. STATUS: Assigned to the House Government Affairs Committee.

SB 494 – By Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) is the Senate version of HB 1093 that prohibits local governments from banning residential property development for long term rental; however, the only difference is that the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is given more authority and direction in enforcing the legislation. DCA can revoke the “qualified local government” status but reinstate such status after a period of six months, provided there are no future violations of the ban. DCA is required to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of the bill. STATUS: Assigned to the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee.

SB 521 – By Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) would require any existing municipality to continue to provide services (i.e. police and fire departments) to any de-annexed portions of a city that is annexed to be part of a newly formed city throughout the transition period. STATUS: Assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Water & Environmental

SB 94 – By Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville) would allow habitable structures to be placed in the inundation zone below a Category II dam if an engineer of record were willing to certify that it would not create the possibility of loss of life. If a structure currently exists in the inundation zone of a Category II dam, the owner could hire an engineer of record to fortify the structure to prevent loss of life. Under either scenario there is an explicit prohibition on requiring the dam owner to fortify the Category II dam into a Category I dam. This year, Senator Ginn has filed SB 440 (see below) which similarly deals with dams. STATUS: Assigned to the Senate Natural Resources & Environment Committee. 

SB 440 – By Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville) proposes to increase the maximum water storage elevation of a dam from 100 acre-feet to 150 acre-feet. STATUS: Assigned to the Senate Natural Resources and the Environment Committee. The committee held a hearing on this bill on Feb 9^th but did not take a vote.

Proposed Cities

HB 854 – By Rep. Todd Jones (R-Cumming) proposes the creation of “Buckhead City” by de-annexing Buckhead from the City of Atlanta and making it its own separate city. STATUS: Assigned to the House Governmental Affairs Committee.

SB 324 – By Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) proposes the creation of “Buckhead City.” It has been assigned to the Senate Urban Affairs Committee, which consists of only Democratic Senators. STATUS: Assigned to Senate Urban Affairs Committee.