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2023 Capitol Update - SINE DIE

2023 Capitol Update - SINE DIE

April 3, 2023

A post-midnight adjournment early Thursday morning officially brought this year’s legislative session to a close. While in years past we have generally done our post session analysis by how many bills passed, this year it would be more apt to gauge the session by how many proposals failed. Late session shenanigans, disagreements, and what seemed to be miscommunication were a death knell to some proposals that fell victim to the Sine Die deadline.

One such proposal includes the moratorium legislation, House Bill 514 by Rep. Dale Washburn (R-Macon), which would prohibit local governments from imposing moratoriums on single and multi-family home construction for indefinite periods of time, limiting such bans to only 6 months at a time with the exception of what some called “just good reasons” (see HB 514 below for more). A floor amendment on HB 514 by Senator Mike Dugan (R-Carrollton) that added his SB 136 (also below), which would allow local governments to waive impact fees on workforce housing projects, resulted in a disagree on the House side. After some volleying between the chambers, a conference committee—a committee made up of 3 legislators from both chambers tasked with creating a compromise proposal—was appointed by the House and Senate, but a conference committee report was never agreed to and the bill “sine died.” (All legislation must pass both chambers identically, if it is amended in one chamber, the other chamber must agree, or it can go to conference committee through a formal process).


Senate Bill 26 by Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) proposed to codify teleconferencing abilities for workforce development boards, development authorities, and CIDs. The House amended the legislation to create a “Georgia Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Commission” which would aim “to support and expand the growth of the electric vehicle” industry. The legislation passed the House 155 to 1, but failed to get an agree in the Senate and is not eligible for the Governor’s consideration.


Senate Bill 74 by Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) seeks to revise advertisement and marketing standards by law firms. The House added the Apex doctrine, which would provide legal protections for executives and heads of businesses or organizations (including governmental entities) from being deposed in lawsuits where they do not have unique (or any) knowledge of the issue being litigated. This legislation passed the House by a vote of 158 to 5 and the Senate agreed to the addition of the Apex doctrine by a vote of 54 to 1. This legislation is now eligible for the Governor’s consideration. Despite some tort reform losses, this is certainly a win!


While a freight and logistics plan and billion-dollar funding proposal did not ultimately come to fruition this session, the truck weights proposal, HB 189 by Rep. Steven Meeks (R-Screven), has created an unlikely coalition of advocates for freight and logistics funding. The compromise legislation would codify a truck weight variance for agriculture and agricultural products of 10% (on state and local roads only) within 150 miles of the point of origin of the product and includes a sunset of two years. The passage of the truck weights bill has sparked an interest in infrastructure funding and investment by both advocates for truck weight increases and legislators who were previously indifferent on the subject.


And finally, our number one legislative initiative: the budget. The passage of a balanced budget is constitutionally required and this upcoming fiscal year beginning on July 1 saw across the board reductions in nearly all state programs. Despite some bad news for some state entities, the General Assembly was able to fully fund HOPE scholarships at 100% and give raises to public safety officials and public school staff who tend to be overlooked, such as custodians. However, in a late night address by the Governor to the Senate on Sine Die, the Governor expressed concerns over both “storm clouds on the horizon of our nation’s economic outlook” as well as “significant holes” in the budget which ultimately came as a result of low economic growth projections. He further stated that his office would be working with the House and Senate over the next several months to address these “holes”.  


Despite the ominous warnings of an economic downturn that threatened nearly all state funded entities, appropriators recommended $1,032,895 for the PELS Board, in addition to the $300,000 in the amended budget, which will allow the Board to begin operations and hire staff.


This will be our last Capitol Update until the Governor’s signing period has concluded. We hope you have found them insightful and enjoyable. Please reach out with any feedback, comments, or questions you may have!



LEGISLATION ACEC GEORGIA IS FOLLOWING 


BILLS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GOVERNOR’S CONSIDERATION

(Resolutions are not considered by the Governor, but they are included in this section

because they have been adopted)


Budget & Appropriations 

HB 18 by Representative Jon Burns (R-Newington): is the amended FY 2023 budget which modifies the state’s spending plan for the last 90 days of the current fiscal year ending on June 30th. It allocates $300,000 to the PELS Board for start-up costs.  

Status: Passed the House Appropriations Committee on February 1st. Passed the House by a vote of 170-1 on February 2nd. Passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 21st. Passed the Senate 54-1. A conference committee made up of three Senators and three Representatives created a report, that reconciled differences between the House and Senate versions of the amended budget. That report was adopted on March 6th by both chambers. The Governor has signed this legislation and allocation will begin April 1, 2023 or as soon as practical.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 19 by Representative Jon Burns (R-Newington): is the full FY 2024 budget. The Governor originally recommended $1,027,895 for the PELS Board for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The House version of the budget recommended $1,078,040 for the PELS Board. The Senate version recommends $1,007,895. This bill is now being considered by a conference committee made up of three Senators and three Representatives.  

Status: Passed the House Appropriations Committee on March 8th. Passed the House 167-1. Passed the Senate Appropriations Committee. Passed the Senate 51-1. The final recommendation for the PELS Board is $1,032,895. The budget has passed both chambers and is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


Industry & Professions 

HB 128 by Representative Soo Hong (R-Lawrenceville): would revise provisions relating to minority, women owned, and veteran owned businesses procuring or involved in the procurement of state contracts. The bill defines these types of qualified “classified” businesses and would expand the 10% tax deductions for payments to these small business subcontractors to all classified businesses. This proposal also aims to standardize and expedite the process of obtaining minority, women, or veteran owned business credentials by allowing the state to accept credentials from the federal government.

Status: Passed the House State Planning & Community Affairs Committee; passed the House 160-3. Passed the Senate Economic Development & Tourism Committee. Passed the Senate 44-1. This legislation is now eligible for the Governor’s consideration.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


HB 530 by Representative James Burchett (R-Waycross): is the House’s version of the Apex doctrine legislation. It aims to curtail the ability of a plaintiff to depose a c-suite executive who has no special or specific knowledge of the facts pertaining to a suit against his/her company.

Status: Passed the House Judiciary Committee. Passed the House 156 to 8. Passed the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee. This bill has made the final Senate Rules Calendar, but was never called by the Senate for a vote. Similar language which reformed the Apex doctrine was added to SB 74, which passed the Senate 54 to 1 in its final vote.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


SB 3 by Senator John Albers (R-Roswell): "Reducing Barriers to State Employment Act of 2023". This proposal would direct all state entities to regularly assess the relevant academic background and experience requirements needed for each position within their agency, reduce those requirements which are arduous and unnecessary, and reduce the number of positions for which four-year college degrees are required as a condition of employment.

Status: Passed the Senate Government Oversight Committee. Passed the Senate by a vote of 49 to 1. Passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee. Passed the House 168-0. Now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


SR 85 by Senator Larry Walker (R-Perry): would create a Senate study committee on occupational licenses. This study committee, during the session interim, would be tasked with reviewing occupational licenses and requirements for receiving these licenses.

Status: Passed the Senate Rules Committee. Passed the Senate. This study committee will soon be appointed and will meet over the interim.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SR 275 by Senator John Albers (R-Roswell) sponsored the Senate Study Committee on Expanding Georgia’s Workforce, which will examine current practices, pilot programs, private-public partnerships, and initiatives by industries across Georgia to increase workforce opportunities.

Status: Assigned to the Senate Rules Committee. Passed the Senate. This study committee will soon be appointed and will meet over the interim.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


Transportation 

HB 52 by Representative Brad Thomas (R-Woodstock): is last year’s annual GDOT housekeeping bill and proposes to revise meeting notice provisions for the election of board members for the Department of Transportation as well as clarify other provisions regarding public-private partnership negotiations and exempt some records from public disclosure requirements. This bill also includes a separate provision that relates to the duties of coroners and county medical examiners regarding major interstate highway deaths, as well as increase the modular home transportation square footage limit by 4 feet to align with neighboring states’ restrictions.

Status: Passed the House Transportation Committee on January 30th. The House voted in favor of this bill, by a vote of 167 to 0. Passed the Senate Transportation Committee. Passed the Senate with an amendment by a vote of 53 to 1 on Feb 22. This bill was agreed to by the House and is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


HB 189 by Representative Steven Meeks (R-Screven): this bill, after undergoing several (5) modifications, now proposes to add a 10% variance on top of the 80,000-pound truck weight limit and would only apply to trucks carrying agricultural products and other agricultural commodities, such as forestry outputs. The conference committee compromise sunsets this bill in two years, allows local law enforcement to enforce weight restrictions, includes fines for weight restriction violations, and trucks to utilize the variance only within 150 miles of the point of origin.

Status: Passed the House Transportation Committee on February 9th by a vote of 18 to 11. This bill was recommitted to the House Transportation Committee by the House Rules Committee chairman. It was amended in committee to create a 12.5% variance exemption for trucks carrying agricultural products only and received a do pass recommendation from the committee by a vote of 12-7. Amended again to reduce the variance to 10% for agricultural products only. Passed the House by a vote of 93-81. Passed the Senate Transportation Committee. The committee added forestry products, turf, and other agricultural commodities. Passed the full Senate chamber with a sunset and metro-area exemption on March 23 by a vote of 44 to 5. The compromise legislation was agreed to in the House by a vote of 95 to 75 and in the Senate by a vote of 37 to 16. This legislation is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation.


HB 288 by Representative Butch Parrish (R-Swainsboro): proposes to create an East Georgia Regional Airport Authority Act for the expansion of airport facilities in the City of Swainsboro and Emanuel County.

Status: Passed the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee. Passed the House by a vote of 162-2. Passed the Senate Transportation Committee. Passed the Senate 49-0. Now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SB 146 by Senator Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega): is a proposal that combines four of the recommendations from the Joint Study Committee on the Electrification of Transportation. These recommendations include: vesting oversight and inspection powers over electric vehicle charging stations in the Agriculture Commissioner to ensure uniformity and proper maintenance; allowing the existing motor fuel excise tax to be levied on electricity used to charge vehicles (by creating a kilowatt “gallonage equivalent”); allows the sale of electricity by the kilowatt hour. This is the Senate companion to HB 406 (above)

Status: Passed the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee; passed the Senate 55-1. Passed the House Technology & Infrastructure Innovation Committee. Passed the House 175-1. Senate agreed to the House substitute 51-4. Now eligible for consideration by the Governor.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


Local Government 

HB 160 by Representative Gerald Greene (R-Cuthbert): proposes to create a community improvement district in the city of Albany.

Status: Passed the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee. The House passed this bill by a vote of 166 to 0. This bill passed the Senate 54-0. It is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 193 by Representative Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia): proposes to raise the minimum dollar amount for bids for public works contracts which are required to go to a competitive bidding process from $100,000 to $250,000. This adjustment proposal is the result of inflation. The current $100,000 threshold was created in 2000 and has not been adjusted since its original passage.

Status: Passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee. Passed the House by a vote of 164-4. Passed the Senate Government Oversight Committee. Passed the Senate with an amendment extending this exemption to MARTA for local government contracts only by a vote of 47 to 4. House agreed to the substitute. Now eligible for the Governor’s consideration.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


HB 230 by Representative Mark Newton (R-Augusta): proposes to create a special purpose local option sales tax for a “coliseum capital outlay project”. The capital outlay project’s definition is narrowly tailored, with operation and ownership provisions limited to a consolidated government or one or more local authorities, among other very specific provisions. The SPLOST would be referendum led and would include 0.5% sales tax on applicable goods defined in the bill and a 0.5% sales tax on motor fuel when price per gallon is less than $3.00. The narrow definition indicates that this would very likely only affect Augusta-Richmond projects.

Status: Passed the House Ways & Means Committee; passed the House 165-7. Passed the Senate Finance Committee; passed the Senate 44 to 8.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 374 by Representative Brad Thomas (R-Woodstock): proposes to create a process by which residents and property owners can deannex out of a city (as long as they are within reasonable boundaries of the city’s limits) and become part of an unincorporated area of a county, without the need for legislative approval. This bill was amended in the Senate State & Local Government Operations committee to include language prohibiting a local government from banning only gas powdered leaf blowers (a local government would have to ban both battery powered and gas powered, if they place a ban on leaf blowers); this bill also includes a restriction on local governments from banning natural gas appliances.

Status: Passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee; passed the House 144-28. Passed the Senate State & Local Governmental Operations Committee. Passed by the Senate 32-20. The Senate changes were agreed to by the House. This legislation is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SR 147 by Senator Derek Mallow (D-Savannah): is the bipartisan proposal for a Senate Local Option Sales Tax Study Committee. If the Senate chooses to adopt this resolution, a group of Senate members would meet over the summer and fall to discuss any potential pitfalls in local option sales taxes or opportunities to increase the overall value to the residents.

Status: Passed the Senate Rules Committee; placed on the consent calendar (a consent calendar is a group of resolutions lumped together that can be voted on as a whole, rather than each resolution being voted on individually. This is usually how the Senate votes on study committee resolutions).

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation 


SR 214 by Senator Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville): originally proposed to create a Joint Study Committee on Local Options Sales Tax & Service Delivery Strategy; however, this resolution now relates to the election/appointment of the chair of the state elections board.

Status: Passed the Senate Rules Committee. Passed the Senate 54 to 1. Passed the House Ways & Means Committee. Recommitted to House Governmental Affairs and amended there. Senate agreed to the change.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation.



BILLS THAT ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE GOVERNOR’S CONSIDERATION


Industry & Professions 

HB 267 by Representative Tyler Paul Smith (R-Bremen): would allow an individual to pursue a civil action and seek injunctive relief if an employer, other than a governmental entity, fails to withhold taxes properly from wages paid to an employee.

Status: Passed the House Judiciary Committee; this bill did not make the Crossover deadline.

ACEC Georgia is reviewing this legislation


SB 157 by Senator Brian Strickland (R-McDonough): proposes several changes relating to the application process for occupational licenses in Georgia by individuals with criminal records. This bill clarifies what types of crimes would disqualify an individual from receiving a license, creates an appeals process for an individual who may have been denied a license based on their criminal record or other unknown or undisclosed reason, and creates a “preclearance” process for determining whether an individual's criminal record will disqualify them from obtaining a license before paying and completing required education and training for that license. This bill aims to decrease regulatory burdens and streamline burdensome and onerous licensing processes.

Status: Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. Passed the Senate by a vote of 55-0. Passed the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee. This bill was never considered by the House and cannot be considered by the Governor.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


SB 195 by Senator Larry Walker (R-Perry): the original proposal would create a licensure by endorsement process for out-of-state applicants who possess a valid license for a profession and who apply for a Georgia license for that profession; however, this has been narrowed down to only active-duty military and their spouses. The provisions require that license applicants have a valid license that is in good standing, have no complaints or pending complaints, have had the license for at least one year, do not have a disqualifying criminal record, pass any required examination on state-specific rules & regs, and pays all applicable fees. This bill would also create a shot clock of 30 days for a board to issue an expedited license by endorsement.

Status: Passed the Senate Veterans, Military, & Homeland Security Committee. This bill passed the Senate with a vote of 54-0. Passed the House Regulated Industries Committee. This legislation was stripped in the Rules Committee to strip it of all of its contents and a proposal to revise the shot clock on military spouses licensure review and applications from 90 days to 30 days was placed on the legislation. The bill passed the House 169 to 0; however, the Senate never agreed to the revision, and it is now considered dead.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SB 186 by Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming): would revise the premises liability law to limit the cause of action currently available for individuals injured by an unrelated third party on a landowner’s property. The bill would require a plaintiff to prove that the landowner compelled the third party’s action, had knowledge of a specific threat, or could have reasonably intervened in the situation that resulted in injuries to the plaintiff. This would also create a process for apportionment of damages between the third party and landowner. 

Status: Passed to the Senate Insurance & Labor Committee; this bill made the Senate Rules calendar but was never voted on by the Senate

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


SB 196 by Senator Ben Watson (R-Savannah): under current law, while it is illegal to not wear a seatbelt in the front seat of a vehicle, evidence of non-use is not admissible in court during a preceding regarding a vehicle accident. SB 196 would allow the admissibility of that evidence so that a defendant may present it when making their case in court. An amendment was added to exempt ride share services.

Status: Passed the Senate Transportation Committee. This bill failed on the floor of the Senate by a vote of 24 to 30.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


SB 200 by Senator Bill Cowsert (R-Athens): is what is known as the “Apex Doctrine”. It would create a process for which a c-suite or other high level executive within a corporation can petition a court to show that a requested deposition is unnecessary or burdensome. Under current law, if a company is the defendant in a suit, the plaintiff may request a deposition of top-level executives, even when they are not involved in any capacity.

Status: Passed the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee; this bill made the Senate Rules calendar but was not voted on by the Senate.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


Transportation 

HB 307 by Representative Alan Powell (R-Hartwell): deals with the regulation of electric vehicle charging broadly. It creates a framework which aims to allow for “competitively neutral policies” between electric suppliers (such as Georgia Power or EMCs) and non-providers to promote private sector investment. The proposal would require electric suppliers to create a separate subsidiary for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and provide the same rates, terms, and conditions of service for non-providers as the subsidiary receives. It would also prohibit electric providers from recovering costs for implementation and execution of EV charging from its ratepayers. The bill also allows for charging by the kilowatt hour (there are discrepancies as to whether kilowatt hour charging is allowed under current law) and endows the Public Service Commission with the authority to provide oversight of the industry and entities engaging in charging infrastructure.

Status: Assigned to the House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee. Did not make the Crossover Deadline

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 406 by Representative Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper): is a proposal that combines four of the recommendations from the Joint Study Committee on the Electrification of Transportation. These recommendations include: vesting oversight and inspection powers over electric vehicle charging stations in the Agriculture Commissioner to ensure uniformity and proper maintenance; allowing the existing motor fuel excise tax to be levied on electricity used to charge vehicles (by creating a kilowatt “gallonage equivalent”); allows the sale of electricity by the kilowatt hour. SB 146 by Senator Steve Gooch is the Senate companion bill.

Status: Passed out of the House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee. Passed the House, 161-0; passed the Senate Regulated Industries Committee. This bill is on the final Senate Rules Calendar.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 617 by Representative Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper): is a freight & logistics planning bill, which would create a state-wide freight and logistics implementation plan which would be overseen by the planning director within the Planning Division of the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Status: Passed out of the House Transportation Committee; did not make the Crossover Deadline.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


HR 140 by Representative Viola Davis (D-Stone Mountain): is an urging resolution asking MARTA to reaffirm its commitment to extending its rail system alongside Interstate 20 in south DeKalb County. Urging resolutions are nonbinding, but if passed, they do provide a powerful nudge towards specific state entities to conduct whatever the resolution encourages the entity to do.  

Status: Assigned to the House Transportation Committee. This resolution was introduced on February 8th, but has not yet received a hearing and will not be considered this session.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SB 165 by Senator Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell): is the Senate version of HB 189, the truck weights bill, which would codify a 12.5% variance on top of the current legal limit for heavy duty trucks at 80,000 pounds. This bill has not been amended to be limited to trucks used for agricultural products only.

Status: Did not pass the Senate Transportation Committee—this legislation is dead for the session

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SB 167 by Senator Randy Robertson (R-Cataula): is an EV bill and the Senate companion to Rep. Alan Powell’s HB 307 mentioned above.

Status: Assigned to the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee; however, it failed to meet the Crossover deadline. 

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SR 137 by Senator Randy Robertson (R-Cataula): urges EMCs and localities to develop competitively neutral tariffs for providing electricity for the use of charging vehicles. This legislation is no longer eligible for consideration this session.

Status: Assigned to the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


Water & Environmental 

HB 206 by Representative Steven Sainz (R-St. Marys): would create Commercial Property Assessed Conservation, Energy, and Resiliency Development Authorities and would allow some qualifying entities to pay for qualifying energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements through commercial property-assessed clean energy (C-PACE) financing options.

Status: Passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee; passed the House 134-38. Assigned to the Senate State & Local Governmental Operations Committee, which held a hearing on the bill on March 16th but no vote was taken. This legislation is no longer eligible for consideration this session.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 306 by Representative Tim Fleming (R-Covington): the original version of this legislation would have allowed energy cost savings measures, which include facility alterations, retrofitting, renovation, or new construction that reduces energy or water consumption or is designed to generate revenue, to be excluded from competitive bidding processes. The problematic provision regarding the exemption from competitive bid processes has been removed.

Status: Passed out of the House Governmental Affairs Committee by substitute (i.e, it was amended by the committee); passed the House 170-1. Passed the Senate Education & Youth Committee. Did not make the final Rules calendar and is no longer eligible for consideration this session.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


Local Government 

HB 146 by Representative Derek McCollum (R-Chestnut Mountain): proposes to expand the definition of “municipality” as it relates to water and sewer projects and costs tax (MOST) to include any municipality with a corporate boundary that extends into three or more counties.

Status: This bill received a hearing in the House Ways & Means Committee, but has not yet been considered for a vote. No longer eligible for consideration this session.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 220 by Representative Rob Leverett (R-Elberton): the original proposal would have allowed owners’ associations to pursue injunctive relief, without the need to first pursue or utilize other available or alternative remedies. This bill was amended to allow owners’ associations to pursue injunctive relief if a written notice is ignored for over 10 days.  

Status: Passed the House Judiciary Committee. Passed the House 144-22. Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. This bill was placed on the final Senate Rules Calendar, but was never considered for a vote.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation  


HB 461 by Representative Brad Thomas (R-Woodstock): would clarify that the proceeds of regulatory fees charges by local governments be used only to fund the regulatory activity the fee is imposed for and prohibit local governments from utilizing these fees as a profit generator or to be utilized for general expenses.

Status: Assigned to the House Ways & Means Committee. Did not receive a hearing; dead for the session.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 514 by Representative Dale Washburn (R-Macon): places a shot clock of 180 or fewer days on moratoriums on new housing construction by local governments to eliminate the ability for local governments to conduct indefinite moratoriums, previously the bill only dealt with single family home construction, this bill was amended in the Senate Economic Development Committee to include multi-family homes. This bill also creates exemptions to the shot clock for natural disasters, feasibility planning, or state of emergencies.

Status: Passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee; passed the House 127-43. Passed the Senate Economic Development & Tourism Committee with the multi-family home construction moratorium. Passed the Senate 42-12 with an amendment on waiving impact fees for workforce housing projects (SB 136). Due to the amendment, the bill was never agreed upon and is not eligible for the Governor’s consideration.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 516 by Representative Derek McCollum (R-Chestnut Mountain): is the annual GDOT housekeeping bill. Currently, GDOT is prohibited from negotiating any contract for the construction or maintenance of a public road involving the expenditure of $200,000 or more. The bill proposes to increase that limit to $500,000. The bill also revises various provisions of the public-private-partnerships including eliminating duplicative public comment processes.

Status: Passed out of the House Transportation Committee. Failed to make the Crossover Deadline.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


HB 517 by Representative Dale Washburn (R-Macon): proposes to prevent local governments from regulating various building design elements, such as the style of porches and the number of bedrooms in a housing unit. Proponents of this legislation say this would reduce the cost of regulation and therefore reduce the cost of building new homes. Opponents of the bill state this is an overreach on local control.

Status: Assigned to the House Government Affairs Committee; has not yet passed the committee. Did not make the Crossover Deadline.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SB 113 by Senator Randy Robertson (R-Cataula): is a proposal to allow for the transition of existing services in a municipality to another newly incorporated municipality and to allow a new city to purchase existing water or sewer systems from the existing city. This bill is complimentary to the City of Buckhead City proposal below. 

Status: Passed the Senate State & Local Governmental Operations Committee. Made it to the Senate Rules calendar, but the Senate “tabled” the bill (which means the vote was postponed and can be called off the table to be voted on by the Senate again, but it likely will not since the Buckhead City proposal failed).

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SB 114 by Senator Randy Robertson (R-Cataula): proposes to create the city of Buckhead City out of portions of Atlanta. If passed, the city would only be incorporated following a successful referendum.

Status: Passed the Senate State & Local Governmental Operations Committee. Failed on the floor of the Senate by a vote of 23-33 (needs 29 to pass). 

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SB 136 by Senator Mike Dugan (R-Carrollton): would allow local governments to waive impact fees for workforce housing projects.

Status: This bill has passed the Senate Economic Development & Tourism Committee. Passed the Senate 49-4. Passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SB 156 by Senator Randy Robertson (R-Cataula): would revise county special purpose local option sales taxes (SPLOST), for consolidated governments only, to allow the proceeds of the SPLOST to be utilized to establish a maintenance reserve fund for newly approved projects. However, a limit of 5% of the annual proceeds of the SPLOST may be deposited into the reserve fund.

Status: Assigned to the Senate Finance Committee; failed to make it out of committee in time. Dead for the session.

ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation


SB 161 by Senator John Kennedy (R-Macon): creates cyber security requirements and an external data privacy program for contractors doing work with local governments. The external data privacy program would include quarterly scans for each of its employees’ personally identifiable information, an annual privacy risk assessment, annual privacy training, among other provisions. We are currently reviewing this legislation.

Status: Assigned to the Senate Science & Technology Committee; did not make it out of committee in time. Is dead for the session.

ACEC Georgia is reviewing this legislation


SB 171 by Senator Max Burns (R-Sylvania): would provide lien rights for contactors who preform work for a development authority if the development authority does not pay for that work. Currently, there are no remedies for situations where development authorities do not pay their contactors, this bill aims to give contractors a remedy for unpaid payments.

Status: Passed the Senate Economic Development & Tourism Committee. This bill made the Senate Rules calendar for Crossover, but was never voted on by the Senate.

ACEC Georgia supports this legislation


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