Previous Legislative Session Information

2022 Legislative Session

Topics discussed included - not all of these passed into law.

• Local Government Regulatory Fees
• Call Before You Dig
• Independent Contractors
• Professional Employer Organizations
• Exempt Certain Contracts Procured by the State or Cooperative Purchasing Organizations
• Historic Preservation Tax Credits
• Expedited Licenses for Military Spouses
• Comparative Fault
• Injunctive Relief Against Employers Not Complying with Tax Withholding Requirements
• Sales & Use Tax
• Extends sales tax exemptions for the sale or lease of computer equipment to be incorporated into facilities of high-technology companies
• Revisions to Georgia's Income Tax Rates
• Protecting Georgia Businesses and Workers Act
• Apprenticeship Legislation
• Public Works Retainage
• Metals Theft

2021 Legislative Session

Topics discussed included - not all of these passed into law.

• One year extension of immunities from liability claims regarding COVID-10
• Local Government Regulatory Fees
• Call Before You Dig Law
• Independent Contractors/1099
• Professional Employer Organizations
• Exempt Certain Contracts Procured by the State or Cooperative Purchasing Organizations
• Tax credit review legislation
• Private Plan Review & Inspections
• Lien Law Clarification Bill
• Virtual shareholders meetings
• Electronic Signature on Surety
• Energy Savings Contracts

2020 Legislative Session

Topics discussed included - not all of these passed into law.

• Georgia Lien Law
• Fire Marshal Elevator Inspections/Private Plan Review & Inspections for all Construction Projects
• Construction Workforce Development Funding in the 2020 State Appropriations Budget
• Creating a new PE SE License for Structural Engineers in Georgia
• Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act
• Nonprofit Corporations; Directors and officers of electric membership corporations
• Clarify actions that may be brought pursuant to Code Section 9-3-51 regarding deficiencies in connection with improvements to realty
• Georgia Major Airport Authority Act
• Georgia Municipal and Local Government Infrastructure Finance Authority Act
• New requirements under the "Georgia Civil Practice Act" for settlement offers and arrangements
• Lawsuit reform
• Dedication to revenues derived from fees or taxes
• Sovereign immunity
• Hate crimes
• Dual enrollment
• Mass timber
• Home delivery of alcohol
• Military spouse licensure
• State board of workers' compensation
• Occupational tax

2019 Legislative Session

Topics discussed included - not all of these passed into law.

• Private Plan Review and Inspections
• Georgia DOA Procurement Registry
• Construction Workforce Development Funding in the 2020 State Appropriations Budget
• Georgia Business Court
• Disclosure requirements for those with arrangements to prepare or develop requirements for bids
• Worker's compensation; certain provisions; change
• Certificate of Need
• Georgia's Hope Act
• State Government - Limited Waiver of Sovereign Immunity
• Truth in Budgeting
• Georgia Major Airport Authority Act
• Changes to the statute of limitations regarding the burial of construction waste
• Proposed tax on sale or use of building and construction materials
• Building design elements in on- or two family dwellings

2018 Legislative Session

Topics discussed included - not all of these passed into law.

• Creating Opportunities Needed Now to Expand Credentialed Training(CONNECT Act)
• Public works projects must be advertised on Georgia's Procurement Registry
• Public works: Contractors cannot be disqualified simply because they lack previous experience with the construction delivery method
• Prevents local government from restricting use of wood products recognized by building and fire code
• Hands Free Communication in Vehicle
• Constitutional Amendment to create business court with statewide jurisdiction
• Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) as the new governing entity for all transit
• Senate Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport Operations and Authority Creation Study Committee
• Licensing Board Study Committee
• State Board of Workers Compensation
• Disclosure requirements for local government consultants  
• Fairness, Accountability, Simplification, and Transparency (FAST) Act
• Local Government Occupational Tax
• House Study Committee on Equitable Taxation under Business and Occupation Tax
• Changes the statute of limitations regarding the burial of construction waste
• ESPLOST Allows Funds to be used for M&O
• ESPLOST Constitutional Amendment
• Constitutional Amendment that provides for dedication of revenues derived from fees or other taxes to the public purpose for which such fees or other taxes were imposed
• Governor Deal’s Proposal to Move CTAE to TCSG
• Consolidation of Fire Safety Services in Georgia Act
• Georgia Major Airport Operations and Management Act

2017 Legislative Session

• Corporate Directors
• Spaceport in Camden County
• Sanctuary Campuses
• Tax Credits for Rural Downtown Development
• Allows Multiyear Registration for Corporations
• Insurance for City & County Firefighters
• On-Call Scheduling
• Sales & Use Tax Machinery Used to Mix or Transport Concrete is Exempt
• Georgia Campus Carry
• Failing Schools
• Low THC Oils (Medical Marijuana)
• HOPE Scholarship for Dual Enrollment
• Family Medical Leave
• Hearing Aids for Children

2016 Legislative Session

• Encouraged employers to provide work-based learning for students age 16 or older
• Blasting and excavating near utility facilities
• Architect/Engineer indemnification
• License boards
• Revisions to Georgia's garnishment laws
• Prohibit the State from entering into contracts unless such contract contains certification that the bidder/proposer does not presently conduct a boycott of Israel

2015 Legislative Session

• Workers' compensation exclusive remedy defense applies to all claims
• Transportation funding for roads
• Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure (P3)
• Atlanta Belt Line Urban Redevelopment
• Dual enrollment for high school students in post-secondary institutions
• Building Officials Association of Georgia Certification
• Metal theft
• Payroll card program
• Coastal Marshland Buffers

2014 Legislative Session

• Changes to guidelines for state and local fire marshals, inspectors, code officials
• Clarifications to the Georgia Utility Facility Protection Act (GUFPA) in regard to definitions of excavation, farming activities, milling and white lining
• Regulatory process for investing in wireless infrastructure
• Technical college student HOPE Grant eligibility
• Funding for planning and revitalization of downtown areas
• Limiting liability for purchasers of brownfields
• Establishing watershed protection standards
• Enhanced regulations for fire protection sprinkler and subcontractors
• Wood framing guidelines for public school construction
• Tax exemption for private interest on BOR property

2013 Legislative Session

• Georgia Lien Law
• Revisions to Public Works Law
• Clarifications on Workers' Compensation Guidelines
• Licensing for Returning Veterans
• Illegal Immigration Reform Enhancement
• Ethics Legislation
• State Labor Reforms

2012 Legislative Session

• Sales & Use Tax Withholding Requirements on Non-Resident Subcontractors
• Reciprocal Preference Legislation
• Comprehensive Tax Reform
• Metals Theft
• State Contract Awards for Heavy Equipment
• DOL - State Fire Marshal's Office Reorganization on Elevators, Escalators and Boilers
• Unemployment Benefits

2011 Legislative Session

• Helping Contractors Comply with New State Ethics Guidelines
• Utilities Participating in PACs
• Immigration Reform
• Water Infrastructure Expansion, partnering with private sector
• Lead Pain Renovations
• Insurance Certificates

2010 Legislative Session

• The Georgia Water Stewardship Act
• Amended FY 2010 Budget and Fiscal Year 2011 Budget
• Transportation - creating ability to hold T-SPLOST vote in regions across Georgia
• Ethics Reform - Georgia Transparency and Campaign Finance Act of 2010
• State Preferences to Georgia Businesses
• Prohibits code requirements for fire sprinklers in homes
• Employers buying into Georgia Insurers Insolvency Pool
• Contractors Eligibility for Licensure
• Utility Contractor License Law
• Lien Law
• Revisions to Georgia's Security/Immigration Compliance Act

2009 Legislative Session

• Illegal Immigrants/Local Government Grants and Benefits
• Advertising Transit Agencies; Asbestos Pipe Removal
• Local Governments; Homeowner tax relief grants
• Ad Volorem tax; change in definitions
• Income tax credit; purchase of one single-family residence
• Voluntary Environmental Remediation
• Motor Vehicles; place of return for tax purposes/tax exemption for heavy equipment
• Workers' Compensation Advisory Board Legislation
• Georgia Geographic Preference
• Metals Theft Legislation
• Mandated Stream Buffers not Application to Wet-Weather Ditches

2008 Legislative Session

• Water
• Transportation Funding
• Tax Reform
• Lien Law
• Contractor Licensing
• Tax Allocation District
• Large Forest Conservation Use Act of 2008
• Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction Act of 2008

2007 Legislative Session

• General Contractor Licensure Revisions
• Public Works Law Revisions
• NPDES Certification
• Construction Contracts/Indemnification
• Increased Penalty for Metal Thefts
• Infrastructure Development Districts
• Career Academies
• DOT State Contractors
• Subsequent Injury Trust Fun Modifications
• Utilities Relocation/Contractor delay Damages
• Highway Construction Contract Thresholds

2006 Legislative Session

• Private Architect/Engineer construction plan review
• Lien Law Revisions
• Contractor Sales & Use Tax Withholding Requirements
• Immigration Reform
• General Contractor Licensing
• Public/private initiatives (DOT Bond Requirements)
• Imminent Domain
• Revisions to the Right to Cure Law