Welcome to the last week of session!  

Last week, lawmakers met for legislative days 35 through 37 and will meet this week for the last 3 days of session and will adjourn Sine Die late Friday evening. The Senate has 30 bills and resolutions on the calendar for today, so we expect long days and nights this week! 

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Tort Reform 

Senate Bill 69, which deals with third party litigation financing transparency has been amended slightly in the Senate after passing the House by a vote of 98 to 69. The Senate amended it to clarify that none of the provisions of SB 68, the larger tort reform package, would affect any current, ongoing ligation. This legislation is now pending an agree in the House before it can be eligible for the Governor’s signature.  

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Qualifications-Based Selection  

Senate Bill 51 by Senator Ed Setzler is still pending in the House Rules Committee.  

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Licensure Legislation  

The PE exam and experience decoupling legislation, SB 125 by Senator Larry Walker is currently pending in the House Rules Committee.   

House Bill 579 passed the Senate 53-0 on Thursday. This legislation streamlines the state’s occupational licensing process and allows division directors to approve licenses. This legislation does not affect the PELS board, but it does affect all other licensed professions. This legislation is now eligible for the Governor’s signature.   

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Open Records Act Clarification 

SB 12 by Senator Ginn, which clarifies who is responsible for receiving and responding to requests under Georgia’s Open Records Act, has passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee with a slight clarifying amendment. The legislation is now pending in the House Rules Committee. Once it passes the House, it will need to go back to the Senate for an agree vote by the full Senate.  

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Please note: Because this Friday is Sine Die, we will not be sending out a Capitol Update next Monday. It will take a few days to sift through the potential Sine Die shenanigans and the sheer number of bills that pass this week.  

LEGISLATION ACEC GEORGIA IS FOLLOWING: 

Local Government  

HB 137 by Representative Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia): would increase the dollar threshold for public works contracts exempt from public bidding from $100,000 to $250,000 for local governments, most state agencies, and school boards.  

Status: Passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee; Passed the House 152 to 9; Passed the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee   

Position: SUPPORT 

HB 531 by Representative Matt Reeves (R-Duluth): proposes to extend the period for plaintiffs to provide notice (ante litem notice) for an intent to sue a city from six months to twelve months. The legislation also has a provision to limit the liability for cities at $3 million per person and $5 million per occurrence. 

Status: Passed the House Judiciary Committee; Passed the House 161 to 13; Assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee 

Position: Monitor 

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: Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; passed the Senate 49-0 on 2/21/25; Passed House Governmental Affairs; Currently in House Rules 

Position: SUPPORT  

SB 51 by Senator Ed Setzler (R-Acworth): this legislation would require qualifications-based selection for the procurement of A/E services for local government projects where the professional services cost is estimated to be $75,000 or more, or if the project cost is estimated to be $1 million or more. This is not a prohibition on cost being a factor, this simply shifts the consideration of cost to a second stage of negotiation after the firms have been ranked, rather than cost being an initial evaluation.  

Status: Passed the Senate State and Local Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously; passed the Senate 54 to 1; passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee; currently pending in House Rules  

Position: SUPPORT 

SB 70 by Senator Tonya Anderson (D-Lithonia): would authorize the creation of the Conyers Community Improvement District  

Status: Passed the Senate State and Local Governmental Affairs Committee; Passed the Senate 49-0; Passed the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee; Passed the House 172 to 0—now eligible for the Governor’s consideration   

Position: Monitor  

SB 151 by Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta): proposes the creation of a “Joint Development Authority of North Fulton Municipalities”. A committee of seven directors would be created with one representative each from Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell, and Sandy Springs, with a seventh member being appointed by the committee.  

Status: Passed out of the Senate State and Local Governmental Affairs Committee; passed the Senate 32 to 23. Assigned to the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee. 

Position: Monitor 

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: Passed the House Regulated Industries Committee; passed the House 171-2; passed the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee; pending in House Rules committee 

Position: Monitor 

HB 579 by Representative Matt Reeves (R-Duluth): is the omnibus licensing package that aims to fix numerous issues plaguing the Secretary of State’s licensing board division.  

Status: Passed the House Appropriations Committee; Passed the House 158 to 2; passed the Senate Regulated Industries committee; passed the Senate 53-0. Currently eligible for the Governor’s signature. 

Position: Monitor 

SB 28 by Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Forsyth County): this legislation aims to reduce red tape and reconfigure how the regulatory environment operates in Georgia by allowing the legislature to take a more active role in regulatory activities.  

Status: Passed the Senate Economic Development & Tourism Committee; passed the Senate 31 to 23. Passed the Senate Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee 

Position: Monitor 

SB 68 by Senator John Kennedy (R-Macon): this is part of the legislative tort reform package. It proposes to limit phantom damages, eliminates double recovery of attorney’s fees, allows admissibility of seat belt nonuse, and includes comprehensive premises liability.  

Status: Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; passed the Senate 33 to 21; Passed the House Rules Committee; Passed the House as amended, 91 to 82; Senate agreed; now eligible for the Governor’s signature  

Position: SUPPORT  

SB 69 by Senator John Kennedy (R-Macon): this is part of the legislative tort reform package. It proposes to regulate third party litigation financing and prohibits foreign third-party litigation financing.  

Status: Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; passed the Senate 52-0; passed the House Rules Committee special subcommittee on Lawsuit Reform; passed the House 98 to 69. Pending an agree in the House  

Position: SUPPORT  

SB 125 by Senator Larry Walker (R-Perry): decouples the exam and experience for professional engineers.  

Status: Passed the Senate Regulated Industries Committee; passed the Senate 56-0! Passed the House Regulated Industries Committee 

Position: SUPPORT  

SB 207 by Senator Brian Strickland (R-McDonough): would provide a preclearance process for the licensing of individuals with criminal records who apply for a professional license in the state. 

Status: Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; passed the Senate 55 to 0. Assigned to House Judiciary  

Position: SUPPORT  

Transportation  

HB 164 by Representative Steven Meeks (R-Screven): would remove the sunset date of July 1, 2025 on the increase of truck weight limits to 88,000 on state roads for trucks carrying agricultural and farm products.  

Status: Passed the House Transportation Committee; passed the House 164 to 9. Passed the Senate Transportation Committee 

Position: Monitor 

HB 224 by Representative Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville): would allow GDOT to authorize the construction or maintenance of any private road on a military base or installation so long as the funds for such roads are derived from the US DOD.  

Status: Passed the House Transportation Committee; passed the House 172 to 0. Passed the Senate Transportation 

Position: Monitor 

HB 575 by Representative Derrick McCollum (R-Gainesville): is the annual GDOT housekeeping bill. This legislation is primarily code clean up, however section 4 deals with right of way coordination between utilities. This would give the department the ability to move major utilities sooner, where it’s feasible, before a project is awarded.  

Status: Passed the House Transportation Committee; passed the House 165 to 1; Passed to the Senate Transportation Committee 

Position: Monitor 

BILLS THAT ARE DEAD FOR THE 2025 SESSION:  

Local Government  

HB 152 by Representative Matt Reeves (R-Duluth): would extend the existing Mini Brooks Act to local governments. This would require Qualifications-Based Selection for the procurement of A/E services for projects where professional services are estimated to be $75,000 or more or for any project with a total preliminary construction cost of $1 million. 

Status: Assigned to the House Governmental Affairs Committee 

Position: SUPPORT 

HB 168 by Representative Mitchell Horner (R-Ringgold): would revise the way in which SPLOST can be reinstated. Current law allows local governments to reimpose a SPLOST in the original way in which it was enacted, however this legislation would require that any reimposition of such SPLOST must also go through the general assembly as a local bill.  

Status: Assigned to the Ways & Means Committee 

Position: Reviewing  

HB 317 by Representative Ron Stephens (R-Savannah): would create a new option for local governments to help finance essential infrastructure needs called a “Workforce and Residential Infrastructure District (WRID). If approved by the local government, this would allow landowners within the district to self-impose taxes to fund these public infrastructure projects & improvements. A constitutional amendment would be required for the enactment of the legislation, HR 192 by Representative Ron Stephens (R-Savannah). 

Status: Assigned to the House Ways & Means Committee (was originally assigned to Governmental Affairs). The sponsor and advocates agree that this should be a 2 year bill, as it requires a constitutional amendment. This bill will come back next session.  

Position: SUPPORT  

Industry & Professions 

HB 107 by Representative Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins): would require all professional licensing boards in the state to adopt a process by which spouses of military members or transitioning service members may obtain a digitally verifiable license.  

Status: Passed the House Defense & Veterans Affairs 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: REVIEWING  

HB 387 by Representative Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs): would require a service delivery agreement to include a growth boundary agreement component. 

Status: Assigned to the House Governmental Affairs Committee 

Position: Monitor 

Water & Environmental 

HB 559 by Representative John Carson (R-Marietta): this legislation would revise the sunset date on the sales tax exemption for the equipment used in data centers from 2031 to 2026.  

Status: Assigned to the House Ways & Means Committee 

Position: Monitor  

SB 34 by Senator Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome): would prohibit an electrical utility provider from recovering the cost of servicing a data center from regular ratepayers.  

Status: Assigned to Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee 

Position: Monitor