Last Monday on April 4^th state lawmakers adjourned— “Sine Die”—for the regular legislative session.

This session we say goodbye to 48 incumbents, including 37 Representatives, 10 Senators, and the Lt. Governor, who are not running for reelection. These departing incumbents include two incredibly influential lawmakers: the chairman of the powerful Senate Rules Committee, Senator Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga), who is retiring after 22 years of service; and the Dean of the House, Representative Calvin Symre (D-Columbus), who—after 47 years of service to the House of Representatives—has been nominated by President Biden to be the US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

As previously mentioned, HB 476 received unanimous passage from the Senate. The Governor has until May 14^th to sign this bill into law, which will make the Professional Engineers & Land Surveyors (PELS) Board an independent agency, with its own separate budget, and its own dedicated executive director, support staff, legal counsel, and investigators.

However, successful passage of HB 476 into law is just the first step in a two-step process to make the PELS Board independent. The second step is providing the funding for the Board to operate. During next year’s legislative session, the General Assembly will need to approve an appropriations request to legally allocate the funds needed to operate the Board (which will be generated by an increase in engineer and land surveyor renewal fees). Until those funds have been appropriated (sometime in the first half of 2023), there will be a transition period in which ACEC Georgia will be working with current PELS Board members and the staff of the Secretary of State’s Office to ensure the shift into an independent board goes as smoothly as possible. A key component of that process will include identifying best practices from the Georgia Real Estate Commission (the structure of which was the basis of HB 476) and other southeastern PELS boards that already operate independently.

In addition to our top three priorities receiving final passage from the General Assembly (HB 476; SB 581 – the surveying bill that updates the state’s plane coordinate system; and HB 961 – which clarifies that a defendant is only responsible for the percentage of damages attributable to them), other notable, successful legislation includes:

• HB 934 by Rep. 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. Senator Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas) sponsored this legislation in the Senate.
  • Passed the House by a vote of 146-5
  • Passed the Senate by a vote of 46-4
  • No action by the Governor yet
• HB 1013 by Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) is the mental health parity act, which will strengthen workforce development solutions to increase the number of mental healthcare professionals in the state, improve access to mental health services, and provide “parity” in treatment of mental health services (i.e. mental health illness and physical illness will receive comparable coverage and care). Sen. Brian Strickland (R-McDonough) sponsored this legislation in the Senate.
  • Passed the House by a vote of 169-3
  • Passed the Senate by a vote of 54-0
  • Governor Kemp signed this legislation into law on April 4^th
• HB 1302 by Rep. Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville) authorizes a one-time state income tax credit to single filers in the amount of $250 and joint filers in the amount of $500 for 2021 returns. Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett) sponsored this legislation in the Senate.
  • Passed the House by a vote of 148-18
  • Passed the Senate by a vote of 47-4
  • The Governor signed this legislation into law March 23^rd
• HB 1405 by Rep. Shea Roberts (D-Atlanta) clarifies the process of appeals for zoning decisions and disputes through statute and “quasi-judicial” decisions. Provisions from HB 1406 by Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta) relating to new notice requirements when local governments propose to rezone single family residential areas to multi-family residential areas were added to the legislation. Senator Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) sponsored this legislation in the Senate.
  • Passed the House by a vote of 130-25
  • Passed the Senate by a vote of 53-0
  • No action by the Governor yet
• HB 1437 by Rep Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) proposes to gradually reduce the income tax rate from 5.75% to 4.99% over the course of several years. The proposal would cut the rate to 5.49% in 2024, with another 0.1% reduction every year until 2029, when it reaches 4.99%. Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) sponsored this legislation in the Senate.
  • Passed the House by a vote of 115-52
  • Passed the Senate by a vote of 33-19
  • The Governor has publicly stated his support for this legislation
• SB 379 by Sen. Brian Strickland (R-McDonough) is a workforce development proposal aimed at increasing access and expanding upon apprenticeship programs. It allows the Technical College System of Georgia to enter contracts with employer sponsors for apprenticeship programs. Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta) sponsored this legislation in the House.
  • Passed the Senate by a vote of 42-4
  • Passed the House by a vote of 166-1
  • The Governor has publicly indicated that he will sign this legislation
• SB 586 by Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) proposes to allow counties to utilize design-build contracting methods for transportation related projects. Representative Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) sponsored this legislation in the House.
  • Passed the Senate by a vote of 37-16
  • Passed the House by a vote of 160-0
  • No action by the Governor yet
• SR 463 by Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) establishes a joint study committee (with both House and Senate members) on the Electrification of Transportation. We expect that the members of this study committee will be appointed sometime this summer.
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In addition to successful legislation being passed, a few notable bills did not pass:

• Neither SB 558 by Sen Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) nor HB 1438 by Rep Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs), the annual GDOT housekeeping bills, received final passage by the midnight deadline on Sine Die and are therefore not eligible for the Governor’s signature.

We will be sending out our final Capitol Update for the 2022 session after the Governor’s signing period has ended after May 14th. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact Christy or Sully with any questions and comments about this past legislative session or to get involved with our Government Affairs Council!

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. Passed the Senate Rules committee by substitute (which means that the bill was amended slightly); passed the Senate by a vote of 46-4. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

HB 1039 – By Rep. Mack Jackson (D-Sandersville) originally proposed to extend the income tax credit for expenditures on the maintenance of railroad track owned or leased by Class III railroads. However, the Senate Finance committee stripped the original content of this legislation and placed a rural healthcare provider tax credit on it, which would expand the existing physician’s income tax credit to cover all medical professionals who relocate and serve a rural county. STATUS: Passed the House Ways & Means Committee; passed the House on March 8^th by a vote of 164-4. Passed the Senate Finance Committee after being substituted for the expansion of the physician’s rural income tax credit. This substitute passed the Senate 55-0 but failed to receive an agree by the House. This bill did not pass.

HB 1438 – By Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) is the House version of the annual GDOT housekeeping bill (see SB 558 below) and 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. This bill was amended to include a separate provision that relates to corner duties and county medical examiner duties regarding major interstate highway deaths. ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS: Passed House Transportation Committee; passed the House by a vote of 157-2 on March 11^th. Passed the Senate Transportation Committee; pending in Senate Rules. This bill did not pass.

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. This resolution was not adopted.

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. This bill did not pass.

SB 558 – By Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) is the Senate version of the GDOT housekeeping bill (see HB 1438 above). This bill was amended in include a separate provision to increase the maximum length of a modular or sectional housing units being transported on state highways by 4 feet (for a total of 84 feet), including the hitch, and creates a $30 permit for the transport of modular or sectional housing units. ACEC Georgia supports this bill. STATUS: Passed Senate Transportation Committee; passed the Senate by a vote of 53-0. Passed the House Transportation committee; passed the House by a vote of 156-0, with changes from the Senate version. This bill did not pass.

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; passed the House by a vote of 160-0. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

SR 463 – By Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) would establish a joint study committee on the Electrification of Transportation. STATUS: Passed Senate Rules committee; passed the Senate by a vote of 53-0. Passed the House Transportation committee; passed the House by a vote of 167-0. Expect the members of the study committee to be appointed sometime this summer.

Industry & Professions

HB 389 – By Rep. Todd Jones (R-South Forsyth) proposes to change the classification of certain independent contractors. STATUS: Passed the House Industry and Labor committee; passed the House 162-6; passed the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee; passed the Senate 54-0. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

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). A Senate amendment changed this 30-day provision to a 90-day provision. STATUS: Passed House Regulated Industries; passed the House by a vote of 164-0. Passed the Senate Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security Committee; passed the Senate by a vote of 51-0. The 90-day amendment was agreed to by the House. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

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. Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; passed the Senate by a vote of 52-0. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

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. This resolution was not adopted.

SB 45 – By Sen. Bruce Thompson (R-White) is bill originally proposed to speed 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—those provisions were completely removed from the bill and replaced with some code clean up for some licensure boards (not PELS). STATUS: Passed out of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee. Passed the full Senate on February 16^th of last year by a vote of 37-15. Passed the House Regulated Industries Committee. This bill did not pass.

SB 352 – By Sen. Bruce Thompson (R-White) would expand the licensure by endorsement practice in place for spouses of military personnel to the spouses of first responders, healthcare workers, and law enforcement officers who move to the state. 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. Passed the House Regulated Industries Committee. This bill did not pass.

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 42-4 on March 8^th. Passed the House Higher Education Committee; passed the House 166-1. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

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; passed the House 151-0. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.  

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 142-0. This bill is now eligible for Governor’s signature.

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: Passed the standing 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 a floor vote). This resolution was not adopted.

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 (+20%) and prohibit the use of regulatory fee revenue to fund the general operation of the government. STATUS: Passed the House on March 5, 2021, 91 to 65. Passed the Senate Finance Committee; passed the Senate 35-19. Pending an agree vote in the House. This bill did not pass.

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. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

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 172-0. Assigned to Senate Committee on Government Oversight. This bill did not pass.

HB 1405 – By Rep. Shea Roberts (R- Atlanta) clarifies the process of appeals for zoning decisions and disputes through statute and “quasi-judicial” decisions. Provisions from HB 1406 were placed on this bill.  STATUS: Passed House Government Affairs; passed the House 160-1. Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. Passed Senate 53-0. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

HB 1406 – By Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta) proposes to change zoning ordinances by local governments that revise single-family residential housing classifications. This bill was added to HB 1405. 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. This bill (in this form) did not pass.

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 172-0. Passed the Senate Judiciary committee. Passed the Senate 53-0. This bill is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

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). This resolution was not adopted.

Proposed Cities

HB 826 – By Rep. Ginny Ehrhart (R-Marietta) proposes the creation of the city of Lost Mountain in Cobb County. If passed, 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 passed, 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 this legislation passes, 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; passed the Senate 55-0. Now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

HB 840 – By Rep. John Carson (R-Marietta) proposes the creation of the city of Vinings in Cobb County. If passed, 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. If passed, 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. This bill was signed by the Governor on February 15, setting up a referendum for city incorporation in May.