2024 Capitol Update - Week 9
2024 Capitol Update - Week 9
March 11, 2024
The Georgia General Assembly met last week for legislative days 29 through 32. This past week was also qualifying week, where incumbents and candidates “qualified” (or formally signed up) to be on the ballot of their respective races. Fortunately, following this year’s qualifying week, it seems as though there is far less turnover this year than there was during the last election cycle, which experienced a turnover of 46 seats throughout the House and Senate. Roughly a dozen incumbents will be retiring or moving on after this legislative cycle, including the Minority Leader of the House, Dr. James Beverly (D-Macon) after 13 years of service to the state of Georgia.
Last week, the Senate Finance committee took up HB 946 by Representative Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville) which aims to increase TSPLOST availability and limit the ability for a singular or a small group of jurisdictions within an affected geographical area to hold up TSPLOST negotiations. This proposal would revise the current TSPLOST law to allow a county and the city(ies) within that county that make up 50% of the total county population to sign an intergovernmental agreement which would allow the proposed TSPLOST to be levied at 1%. This bill passed the House 173 to 1 and has passed the Senate Finance Committee. It’s currently pending in the Senate Rules Committee.
House Bill 1044 by Representative Victor Anderson passed out of the Senate Government Oversight Committee last week. The bill proposes to increase the dollar value of certain public works construction contracts exempt from bidding requirements from $100,000 to $250,000. This increase would affect all local governments and state agencies, except GDOT. This bill is now in the Senate Rules Committee.
A proposal to create a temporary moratorium on the sales tax exemption for the equipment used for high-technology data centers, HB 1192 by Representative John Carson (R-Marietta), which narrowly passed the House by a vote of 96 to 71, passed out of the Senate Finance Committee last Friday. If signed by the Governor, the bill would go into effect on July 1, 2024 and would allow any data center facility to apply for a certificate of sales tax exemption before that point. We are currently monitoring developments on this legislation and are working with our friends in the business community to improve this legislation to mitigate any potential negative effects it may have on economic development projects.
While the Crossover deadline is an incredibly important deadline for bills, it does not apply to all bills. The budget and local bills are exempt from the deadline. As such, the House passed the $36.1 billion fiscal year 2025 budget on Thursday of this past week. Highlights include:
Increasing GDOT’s capital programs funding by $41 million
Increasing GDOT’s Routine Maintenance Program by $35.8 million
Including an additional $3 million for the Georgia Infrastructure Bank (GTIB)
Fully funding the Quality Basic Education (QBE) funding formula for K-12 school systems, which establishes how much funding per student per program the state needs to invest on an annual basis, in the amount of $14.1 billion. The state has fully funded the formula for 6 out of the last 7 years
Fully funding an additional $2,500 in pay raises for teachers across the state
The budget is now being considered by the Senate Appropriations committee.
Further, two new local proposals were introduced this past week, HB 1414 & HB 1443. HB 1414 by Representative Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners) would create the Peachtree Corners Community Development Districts. This bill passed the House through the local calendar (local bills, unless contentious, are usually placed on a list of bills for bulk consideration called the local calendar) and is now pending in the Senate State & Local Governmental Operations Committee. House Bill 1443 by Representative Betsy Holland (D-Atlanta) would allow MARTA to enforce bus or transit only lanes and authorizes them to use monitoring devices to enforce civil monetary penalties for the illegal use or parking of vehicles in those lanes. If this bill were to pass, MARTA would use the first six months as a public education opportunity and would only enforce violations through warnings and not fines. This bill is currently in the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee.
Next week, lawmakers will meet for legislative days 33 through 35.
LEGISLATION ACEC GEORGIA IS FOLLOWING:
Industry & Professions
HB 880 by Representative Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins): proposes to allow military spouses with an existing occupational license in good standing from another state to bypass licensure board approval in order utilize their out-of-state license to work in Georgia. The committee substitute still allows military spouses to bypass the board if they have not received a decision from the board within 30 days and allows the board to revoke them exemption if the board finds that the individual is not in good standing or not qualified.
Status: Assigned to the House Regulated Industries Committee; passed the Regulatory subcommittee of House Regulated Industries; passed out of the House Regulated Industries Committee; passed the House 168 to 0. Passed the Senate Veterans, Military, & Homeland Security Committee.
ACEC Georgia opposes this legislation.
HB 982 by Representative Matt Gambill (R-Cartersville): would require the State Workforce Development Board to develop, approve, and annually publish a high-demand career list identifying careers that are experiencing the most critical workforce shortages.
Status: Assigned to the House Higher Education Committee; passed the House Higher Education Committee; passed the House 161 to 1. Passed out of the Senate Higher Education Committee.
ACEC Georgia supports this legislation.
HB 1190 by Representative J Collins (R-Villa Rica): would allow the division director of the Professional Licensing Board Division (PLBD) of the Secretary of State’s office to issue a license to an individual who has applied for licensure who has not received a response within 60 days from the board in which they applied. We don’t believe this legislation directly affects engineers or land surveyors, as the PELS Board is not under the PLBD’s jurisdiction, but we are monitoring.
Status: Passed the House Regulated Industries Committee; passed the House 167 to 0. This bill has been assigned to the Senate Regulated Industries Committee.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation.
HB 1199 by Representative Clary Pirkle (R-Ashburn): proposes to streamline and simplify the process for which the state auditor reports statistics on architectural and engineering firms. The legislation would change the frequency with which reports are required (from monthly to annually) and states that the report shall include the percentage of the total work done by each such firm for any state entity.
Status: Passed the Government Affairs Committee; passed the House 166 to 0. This bill has been assigned to the Senate Government Oversight Committee.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation.
HB 1371 by Representative James Burchett (R-Waycross): deals with premises liability. Currently, if individuals come onto a property, regardless of whether that property is personal, commercial, or public, and they are injured by a third party that the owner is not privy to, the injured individual can sue the property owner. This legislation would clarify that if an individual comes onto a property with intent to commit a felony, or is injured on a property in a high crime area, that individual cannot sue the property owner.
Status: Passed the House Judiciary Committee. Passed the House 168 to 0. Assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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 in 2023. Currently in the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.
ACEC Georgia supports this legislation
SB 374 by Senator Larry Walker (R-Perry): this bill comes at the request of the Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia (SAMSOG). The bill proposes to revise education requirements for land surveyors by reducing the number of years of experience needed by 1 year and would allow decoupling of the exam and experience so that new surveyors in training can take their professional examination after completing the required education requirements rather than after completing their experience after several years of being out of school.
Status: Passed the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities; passed the Senate unanimously. Assigned to the House Regulated Industries Committee.
ACEC Georgia supports this legislation
SB 426 by Senator Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia): aims to address “direct action”. The bill proposes limiting the number of ways in which an insurer can brought into a case involving a trucking accident. Currently, the state of Georgia allows a plaintiff to sue both a trucking company and their insurer, which has increased insurance premiums on businesses and consumers alike. The proposal would ban direct action except (1) when a trucking company enters/or is currently in bankruptcy or (2) when company officials are inaccessible after multiple attempts to serve them with the lawsuit.
Status: Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; passed the Senate 46 to 2. This bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.
ACEC Georgia supports this legislation
Transportation
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. It would also create a Georgia Freight 2050 Program to be administered by the Georgia Department of Transportation that is intended to provide a framework for future funding of freight & logistics infrastructure.
Status: Passed out of the House Transportation Committee on 2/1/2024. Passed the House 168 to 0. This bill has been assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee.
ACEC Georgia supports this legislation
HB 946 by Representative Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville): aims to increase TSPLOST availability. This proposal revises the current TSPLOST law to allow a county and the city(ies) within that county that make up 50% of the total county population to sign an intergovernmental agreement which would allow the proposed TSPLOST to be levied at 1%. Currently, if all of the cities within a county do not agree, the maximum amount that can be charged in a TSPLOST is 0.75 percent. Any cities that do not sign the agreement would be considered absent municipalities and will receive a share of the collected tax based on their proportionate share of the total municipal population within that county. Further, if all cities within the county sign the agreement, the tax may be levied up to six years, rather than five.
Status: Passed the Ways & Means committee; passed the House 173 to 1. Passed the Senate Finance Committee; currently in the Senate Rules Committee.
ACEC Georgia supports this bill
HB 1443 by Representative Betsy Holland (D-Atlanta) would allow MARTA to enforce bus or transit only lanes and authorizes them to use monitoring devices to enforce civil monetary penalties for the illegal use or parking of vehicles in those lanes.
Status: Assigned to the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation
SB 353 by Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming): is a combination of the last 3 years of GDOT annual housekeeping bills. The provisions include: updating GDOT board voting procedures (allowing for email notifications); a clean up of terms to all RFPs to allow for RFPVs, which would be a RFP with versions; a clean-up of terms for alternative contracting methods; conforms the length of modular housing units that can move on roadways with federal standards; allows a coroner to designate an individual in absentia to officially establish a death on Georgia’s roadways; and clarifies that open records or data cannot be used to determine personally identifiable information of individuals moving along Georgia’s roadways.
Status: Assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee. The committee passed the bill unanimously. This bill passed the Senate on Jan 29. This bill has passed the House Transportation Committee; passed the House 152 to 0 on 2/16. This bill has been signed by the Governor.
ACEC Georgia supports 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. Passed the Senate State & Local Governmental Operations Committee.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation
Local Government
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: Passed the House Ways & Means Committee; passed the House 163 to 0. Passed the Senate Finance committee; currently pending in Rules.
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). This bill is currently in a conference committee and is pending one more vote of approval in both chambers.
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 in 2023. This bill was voted out of the House Transportation Committee on 2/1. SB 353 by Senator Dolezal contains provisions found in this bill. Passed the House 167 to 2. Assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation
HB 1044 by Representative Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia): current state law requires all local governments to utilize a competitive selection process for any public works project estimated to be $100,000 or more. This proposal would raise the threshold for local governments and state agencies from $100,000 to $250,000. Last year, the Governor vetoed the bill because he wanted it to include state agencies. The new proposal addresses that concern; however, GDOT has requested to be removed from the bill.
Status: Passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee; passed the House 154 to 8. Passed the Senate Government Oversight committee.
ACEC Georgia supports this bill
HB 1407 by Representative John LaHood (R-Valdosta) deals with service delivery strategies. This proposal would require written analysis from cities and counties on the services to be provided in any given area, would establish service delivery strategy mapping standards throughout the state, and would require mandatory mediation for local governments who are unable to compromise. Those governments unable to compromise will risk losing their local government status.
Status: Passed the House Government Affairs Committee; passed the House 167 to 0. Assigned to the Senate State & Local Governmental Operations Committee.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring legislation
HB 1414 by Representative Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners): would create the Peachtree Corners Community Improvement Development Districts.
Status: Assigned to the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee. This bill passed the House through the local calendar (local bills are usually placed on a list of bills for bulk consideration called the local calendar) and is now pending in the Senate State & Local Governmental Operations Committee.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring 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—Dugan has resigned, but another Senator is rumored to be interested in picking this legislation up.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring this legislation
SB 171 by Senator Max Burns (R-Sylvania): originally proposed to provide lien rights for contactors who preform work for a development authority if the development authority does not pay for that work. However, all mentions of lien rights have been stripped from this legislation. It currently only deals with development authority directors or members and their training requirements.
Status: Passed the Senate Economic Development & Tourism Committee; passed the Senate 50 to 2. Passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring legislation
SB 333 Senator Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett): proposes to create the City of Mulberry. The city would be compromised of part of unincorporated Gwinnett County and would have a total population of 35,000. Proponents of the city state that there would not be property taxes, and that the proposal is about local control and comes as a response to crowded schools, traffic congestion, and apartment density. This bill would allow all individuals affected to vote to approve the city. SB 333 is the companion bill in the Senate.
Status: Passed the Senate 30 to 18. Passed the House 101 to 63. The Governor has signed this bill; a referendum will be held in November for voters in the affected area to approve the city’s charter.
ACEC Georgia is monitoring this bill