Week one of the 2025 legislative session has come and gone, but not without much anticipated and unanticipated fanfare.  

On Monday, legislators were sworn in and adopted the adjournment resolution for the full session, which sets the calendar for the 40-day legislative marathon. The all-important crossover deadline—the date for bills to pass their chamber of origin—this year will be Thursday, March 6th, while Sine Die will be Friday, April 4th.  

During the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Eggs & Issues event on Tuesday, the Governor announced that his budget will include $1 billion for infrastructure funding, including $530 million for the state’s freight & logistics network, $250 million in local grants for road construction, and $250 million for water & sewage improvements. He also teased a meaningful tort reform package that he stated is his “number one priority” this session, though he didn’t provide any specifics during the address.  

On Thursday, the Governor delivered his annual “State of the State” address to a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate. He continued teasing his tort reform package and went so far as to state that he would call a special session focused on tort reform if nothing meaningful is passed this session. The Governor also stated that he would speed up the income tax cuts by another two years and announced another $1 billion tax rebate for Georgian tax payers, due to the $16.5 billion surplus the state has enjoyed since he took office.   

Additionally, this past week both chambers announced committee assignments and chairmen for this biennial session. Most committees remained the same; however, some pertinent committees that ACEC Georgia follows did receive new chairmen. In the Senate, the State and Local Governmental Operations Committee (SLGO) will now be chaired by Senator Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett); while in the House, the Governmental Affairs Committee will be chaired by Representative Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia). These committees will likely be where our #1 legislative priority—Qualifications-Based Selection—will be assigned. We expect to see our House and Senate QBS bills filed before the end of the month. We are also working with our Senate sponsor on the decoupling bill that would eliminate the legal requirement for licensure testing to be subsequent to professional experience.  

As we reported last year, our proposed QBS legislation did not include land surveying as part of the list of professional service providers. This was at the request of the Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia (SAMSOG). However, as a result of a formal vote by the SAMSOG Board of Directors last week to take a neutral position on the legislation, we are happy to announce that local government surveying services will now be included in the list of professional services that would be procured by QBS (if they are over the existing dollar amount thresholds in Georgia’s current Mini-Brooks Act) if our legislation passes! 

In addition to these aforementioned initiatives, we will be working to support passage of Senate Bill 12 by Senator Frank Ginn. Over the interim, a Georgia Supreme Court decision turned Georgia’s open record act on its head. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled in MILLIRON v. ANTONAKAKIS that private contractors (such as consulting engineers) that do business with state of local governments are subject to Georgia’s Open Records Act. This allows anyone to request contract information directly from the contractor, rather than the agency for which the contractor is conducting work. SB 12 aims to redefine what is considered a public record to include only documents that are prepared, maintained, or received by a public agency and not in the possession of a private individual or entity, which would re-establish the open records standard that contractors have been operating under. We are strongly supportive of this initiative.  

This week is budget week. However, following the Governor’s state of emergency due to the impeding inclement winter weather the House & Senate Appropriations Committees will postpone their annual joint meeting to hear the Governor’s recommendations for various state agencies. They will resume their regularly scheduled meetings on Thursday.  

The General Assembly will return on Monday, January 27th for legislative day 27 and on Tuesday we will be hosting our annual Engineers Day at the Capitol! We hope to see you there!  

LEGISLATION ACEC GEORGIA IS FOLLOWING: 

Local Government  

SB 12 by Senator Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville): revises the Georgia Open Records Act by redefining what is considered a public record to include only documents that are prepared, maintained, or received by a public agency and not the possession of a person or group who has contracted with a public agency.  

Status: Assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee 

Position: SUPPORT  

Industry & Professions 

HB 34 by Representative Dale Washburn (R-Macon): would allow the professional licensing board division to utilize a continuing education tracking solution software that would monitor compliance of licensees with their respective continuing education requirements. Currently, this legislation does not affect the PELS Board.  

Status: Assigned to the House Regulated Industries Committee 

Position: Monitor 

Transportation  

HB 76 by Representative Stacey Evans (D-Atlanta): would require the Department of Transportation to host public hearings for local transportation projects of significant impact. 

Status: Assigned to House Transportation Committee  

Position: Monitor 

Water & Environmental  

Nothing yet!