2026 Capitol Update - Week 12
2026 Capitol Update - Week 12
March 30, 2026
The last week of session is upon us and your political insiders expect long days and long nights under the Gold Dome this week as lawmakers meet for the last two legislative days on Tuesday and Thursday.
Qualifications-Based Selection
We are SO close to getting our years long QBS effort passed, and we NEED your help to get it done. Contact your state legislator and urge them to support the bill and the Speaker’s Office to urge them to put this bill on the floor!
Please email or call (or both!) your legislator and the Speaker’s office with the following prompt (edited as you feel fit):
“SB 51 and HB 377 are identical bills that would require qualifications-based selection for the procurement of design services by local governments. The bill is critical for public safety, saves money, protects public assets, and extends existing decades long state law and applies it to local governments. Please support this bill and put it on the floor.”
To find your state representative, please use this link: https://www.legis.ga.gov/find-my-legislator and click on your representative to find their contact information. To contact the Speaker’s office please call (404) 656-5020 or email jon.burns@house.ga.gov
PELS Board Funding
The retained revenue clean up language vehicle, SB 411 by Senator Shawn Still (R-Gwinnett), has encountered some issues on the underlying bill. While we still have hope that we can get this across the finish line, we are actively looking for other options to place the language on.
Last week, the Senate released their version of the State Budget for FY 2027. The Senate recommended to half the budget recommendation of the House by reducing the House’s recommendation for additional funding for an investigator, an attorney, and a Human Resources fee for the Secretary of State’s office by eliminating the attorney position. This reduced the additional revenue for the PELS Board from $413,000 to $209,000. We are hopeful that the conference committee, a temporary committee made up of legislators from both chambers tasked with creating a consolidated bill that both chambers can vote on, will restore the House’s recommended funding level.
Permitting Reform
The Senate has placed their SB 447, which is the Senate’s version of permitting reform, on HB 309 by Rep. Rob Clifton (R-Evans). HB 309 is now a Republican Caucus priority and has been placed on the calendar for debate for Legislative Days 39 and 40. The bill contains various land disturbance permit process clean-ups, including placing a 14 day shot clock on any additional comment review period if the initial permit application was deemed incomplete or violates local, state, or federal law or code. It also includes a 5 day period for a local government to determine if a received application is complete, before the initial 45-day comment period begins.
Transportation
House Bill 538 is the new transit SPLOST moratorium bill. The bill would place a moratorium on transit SPLOST referendum for 8 years if a referendum failed. It also includes a provision that eliminates the ability for transit SPLOST dollars to go to free or reduced fares for public transit services. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 34 to 15. This legislation still needs an agree in the House and still poses major concerns for public transportation entities that offer reduced or free fare for disabled or elderly users.
This week, legislators will meet Tuesday for Legislative Day 39 and Thursday for Sine Die! A rumor has emerged that the House and Senate may need to have a special session if the chambers cannot agree on a cohesive budget, and if that is the case you will have a very tired Capitol advocacy team.
LEGISLATION ACEC GEORGIA IS FOLLOWING: 
 
Local Government  
HB 531 by Representative Matt Reeves (R-Duluth): proposes to extend the period for plaintiffs to provide notice (ante litem notice) of an intent to sue a city from six months to twelve months. The legislation also has a provision to limit the liability for cities to $3 million per person and $5 million per occurrence. Read more about the cities’ liability appeal here.
Status: Passed House Judiciary Committee; Passed the House 161-13; Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; Recommitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee
Position: Monitor 
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.  This language is also included in HB 377.
Status: Passed Senate State and Local Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously; passed the Senate 54-1; passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee; recommitted to the House Governmental Affairs Committee; passed the House Governmental Affairs committee again on 2/18; currently pending in Rules
Position: SUPPORT 
 
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 appointed by the committee.  
Status: Passed out of Senate State and Local Governmental Affairs Committee; passed the Senate 32-23. Passed the House Intragovernmental Coordination Committee. The House passed this with a substitute, however the substitute did not receive a final agree on the Senate side in 2025. With Senator Beach’s resignation to serve as US Treasurer, it is unclear what is happening to this measure.
Position: Monitor 
SB 437 by Senator Clint Dixon (R-Mulberry): would clarify that virtual inspections of dwellings are allowed by law, would reduce the timeframe for local governments to determine if an application is complete from 30 days to 15 days, and would streamline the private plan review and inspection process. This bill was amended to apply only to single family residences under 3 stories.
Status: Assigned to Senate State and Local Governmental Affairs Committee; passed SLGO on 2/9; passed the Senate 52-1; assigned to House Governmental Affairs Committee
Position: Monitor
SB 447 by Senator Clint Dixon (R-Mulberry): aims to tighten the timeframe for comments by a local government on a pending application and requires specific citation of the local, state, and federal law that the application violates. The proposal would require local issuing authorities to publish criteria for approval of permits, states that a completed application for any permit must be denied or approved within 45 days and that a comment period may only last 14 days. The bill also includes a five day window for the issuing authority to assess completeness before the initial shot clock begins.
Status: Assigned to Senate State and Local Governmental Affairs Committee; received a hearing on 2/9; passed SLGO; passed the Senate 46-4; passed the House Natural Resources & the Environment Committee; pending in House Rules Committee
Position: Support
 
Industry & Professions 
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 31-23. Passed Senate Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee; recommitted to Senate Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight Committee.
Position: Monitor 
 
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 55-0. Passed House Judiciary Committee; Passed the House 170-0; Senate agreed to the House version with a Senate floor amendment, so it needs an agree on the House side before it can pass. Still pending an agree.
Position: SUPPORT  
 
Transportation  
HB 1070 by Representative Leesa Hagan (R-Lyons): would increase the tax credit for Class III railroad maintenance expenditures from $3500 to $5000 and would move the sunset from December 30, 2026 to December 30, 2031.
Status: Passed House Ways & Means Committee; passed the House 167-2; passed the Senate Finance Committee; passed the Senate 44 to 3. This bill was amended in the Senate, so it is pending an agree.
Position: Monitor
HB 1277 by Representative Matt Barton (R-Calhoun): would raise the environmental evaluation threshold exemption from $100 million to $200 million for road and airport projects. The bill also creates a mechanism for inflation adjustments for the threshold, which would be capped at the CPI annual inflation rate. Additionally, the bill repeals the threshold that limits design-build projects to only 50% of the total number of construction projects in a fiscal year and creates a new guidelines for GDOT to sell remnant right-of-way property upon completion of a project.
Status: Passed House Transportation Committee; passed the House 149-16; passed the Senate Transportation Committee; the Senate tabled this legislation, but will likely take it up this week.
Position: Support
HB 583 by Rep. Lydia Glaize (D-Fairburn): initially offered free license plates to veterans, but now contains language from HB 1377 by Rep. Carson (R-Marietta) which would place an 8-year moratorium on transit SPLOST referendums and would limit the ability to use those proceeds for free or reduced fares on public transportation
Status: Passed the Senate Ethics Committee, where it was stripped of its original language; passed the Senate 34 to 15.
Position: Oppose
HR 1527 by Representative Lauren McDonald (R-Cumming): creates a study committee on utility relocation for highway and roadway projects.
Status: Assigned to Special Rules Committee
Position: Support
HR 1748 by Representative Rob Clifton (R-Evans): creates a study committee on Local Government Professional Contracting
Status: Assigned to Special Rules Committee
Position: Support
 
Water & the Environment 
HB 1063 by Representative Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs): would codify many of the provisions adopted by the PSC to prevent the recuperation of costs for data center construction on retail consumers.
Status: Assigned and passed out of Special Committee on Resource Management; passed the House 159-5; Assigned to the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee
Position: Monitor
SB 410 by Senator Matt Brass (R-Newnan): would prohibit electric utilities from recuperating the costs of data centers from residential and retail customers. It would also prohibit new certificates of exemption from sales and use tax from being issued upon the signature of the Governor.
Status: Passed Senate Finance Committee; passed Senate 32-21; awaiting committee assignment on the House side
Position: Under Consideration