Mirroring SB 2, this legislation authorizes Georgia's Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) to provide broadband services, either directly or indirectly through a contractual arrangement or through an affiliate.  EMCs are prohibited from cross-subsidizing broadband services through funds from their electric or gas accounts, and an annual audit will be conducted to ensure this prohibition.  Furthermore, EMC members in good standing can sue (in the superior court of the county where the EMC is headquartered) to also ensure no cross-subsidization. EMCs will not be able to disconnect, or threaten to disconnect, a customer from their electric or gas services for failure to pay their broadband bill.  EMCs will be eligible to apply for federal or state loans and grants to provide broadband service.  This proposal is part of the House Rural Development Council's recommendations to facilitate broadband deployment to rural areas of the state.  

Mirroring SB 66, this is the compromise Small Cell (5G) legislation.  By way of background, over the past two years, ACCG has opposed legislation which would have greatly preempted local government of the public's rights of way for the placement of small cell (5G) poles, antennas and equipment.  At the urging of the General Assembly, ACCG, GMA, Verizon and AT&T negotiated this reasonable compromise over the 2018 interim that has incorporated many safeguards which ACCG had called for in previous legislation.  

Key points of this ACCG compromise include: incentives for collocation in order to limit new poles; protections for historic districts and residential areas; the requirement that telcoms share build-out plans prior to deploying new facilities; a safe-harbor in case the current FCC order preempting state and local regulation of 5G deployment is overturned; the prohibition of speculative permit requests by third parties; and safeguards for local aesthetic and decorative pole conditions, among many others.  For a summary of the bill's key provisions, please click here. 

For a detailed, section-by-section summary of the bill, please click here.  

HB 242 establishes board certification of massage therapy educational programs, within and outside the state, which meet the standards for training and curriculum set by the rules of the Georgia Board of Massage Therapy. The bill allows the board to request on-site inspections of massage therapy businesses and requires these businesses to continuously maintain liability insurance coverage for bodily injuries and property damages. Further, massage therapy businesses must comply with appropriate advertising. The bill increases fines for non-compliance and unlawful acts.  A provision was added that allows local governments to run criminal background checks on owners and employees.  The massage therapists themselves will undergo a criminal background check through the secretary of state.

This legislation alters the process by which Georgia’s Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) determine the fees charged to communications service providers which place telecommunications equipment on EMC utility poles.  The fee/rate will be determined by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) after the PSC considers what is just, reasonable, nondiscriminatory and commercially reasonable.  The PSC will promulgate, by January 1, 2021, the rules explaining how the above factors will be determined.  Current PSC charges will remain in effect until the date of their natural or lawful determination.           

This legislation requires local governments which impose regulatory fees or requirements to establish and make available a list of such fees/requirements and all of the documentation required of an applicant.   The local government has five business days to notify the applicant whether an application is complete.  Once the application is complete, the city or county must inform the applicant whether the regulatory function can be completed within 30 days (that includes the 5 days above) for plan review, or within two business days for inspection of receiving a valid written request for inspection.  If the city or county determines they cannot provide said actions within the above time frames, the applicant may then retain, at its own expense, a private professional provider to perform the plan review or inspection (so long as they don't have a financial interest nor are affiliated in the project under review).  If that option is selected by the applicant, the local government regulatory fees will be reduced by 50 percent.  Even if the local government determines that they can perform the plan review or inspection within the above time frames, the applicant may nonetheless select a private professional to conduct the services, but will pay the city or county 100 percent of its "convenience" fees.  In addition, HB 493: 

• Allows local governments to pre-qualify companies that choose to handle permit reviews;
• Requires a local government finding a deficiency in a permit review to provide a written notice of the deficiency within 30 days to allow the private plan review professional to either correct the deficiency or dispute it;
• Requires a local government finding a deficiency in any inspection to provide a written notice of the deficiency within 2 days to allow the private plan review professional to either correct the deficiency or dispute it;
• Retains the ability of local governments to issue stop-work orders when problems arise; and 
• Keeps the granting of a certificate of occupancy with the local government.

Lastly, under the state's soil erosion and sedimentation (E&S) law, the bill now authorizes counties and cities to become local permit issuing authorities if they can demonstrate that they "contract" with qualified personnel to implement local E&S ordinances.  Current law requires the local government to "employ" said personnel. This allows another option from having to rely on the local soil and water conservation district to issue permits.            

This legislation prohibits biomass plants in Georgia from burning wood products treated with creosote or naphthenate compounds.

See article here for more details. 

This legislation was amended in Senate Rules Committee to include HB 67, which requires the Department of Revenue (DOR), on or before January 1, 2021, to develop and implement a state-wide, centralized online platform for retailers to apply for initial applications and renewals for local and state issued alcohol beverage licenses. DOR is charged with adopting the rules and regulations necessary to implement and administer the licenses.  

***ACCG's Policy Council voted to oppose this legislation only due to two very narrow, specific elements contained in the above section.  First, ACCG asked to extend the effective date from January 1, 2021 to July 1, 2021 in order to provide DOR and local governments more time to adequately develop the online licensing platform.  Secondly, ACCG asked that local alcohol licenses be issued prior to the state issuing its license using this platform.  Both requests were denied.

The legislation also authorizes the sell and delivery of packaged alcohol (beer, wine and liquor), under specific terms and conditions, to persons who establish accounts with the retailer.  Delivery drivers must undergo training, background checks and meet certain conditions and delivery addresses must be located within the local alcohol licensing jurisdiction of the retailer.  Local governments could prohibit, via ordinance, this delivery within their jurisdiction.         

Additionally, this bill alters the hours and process of approving Sunday package and on-premise (restaurant) alcohol sales (aka, the "brunch bill") of beer, wine and distilled spirits.  Cities and counties who have authorized these sales, via a referendum, may now allow sales starting at 11:00 a.m. via passage of an ordinance or resolution (current sales start at 12:30 noon, and local voters currently would have to pass a referendum in order to alter the times).  Cities and counties could also require a referendum to change this time if they would like.  Going forward, any county that newly-adopts Sunday sales - be they on-premise or package for beer, wine or liquor - must still have a referendum adopted, but the hours of said sales would be from 11:00 a.m. to midnight.   

Lastly, current law prohibits the sale of distilled spirits within 200 yards of schools and college campuses.  Under this bill, local governments may authorize the sale of packaged alcohol (for consumption off premise) within 200 yards of college campuses via the adoption of a less-restrictive ordinance; however, local governments cannot adopt more restrictive distances. The term "college" includes, but is not limited to, all buildings, campuses and grounds of a college.     

This legislation authorizes Georgia's Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) to provide broadband services, either directly or indirectly through a contractual arrangement or through an affiliate, within their respective jurisdictions in Georgia.  EMC's would not be able to "cross-subsidize" their broadband services through their electric or gas funds, nor would they be able to charge the costs of their broadband services to their electric or gas customers.  Those EMCs providing broadband would have a duty to provide access to their poles and rights of way to all communications service providers on rates, terms and conditions that are reasonable and nondiscriminatory.  Other communications service providers or EMC members can petition to enforce the above conditions with the Georgia Public Service Commission.  EMCs will also be eligible to apply for federal or state loans and grants to provide this service. EMCs already providing broadband services have until January 1, 2021 to comply with the provisions of this law.   

The language form HB 499 was attached to this bill, permitting broadband services (so long as additional poles or other ground-based structures are not employed) to be deployed in electrical easements provided this does not change the nature of the easement nor interfere with or impair any vested rights of the easement owner or occupier.  Broadband providers, or owners of electric easements, may install, maintain, lease, and operate broadband services in the easement without incurring liability or paying additional compensation to the owner of the property subject to the easement.  Owners of electric easements may assess fees and impose reasonable conditions on the use of facilities within the easement. 

Mirroring HB 184, this is the compromise Small Cell (5G) legislation.  By way of background, over the past two years, ACCG has opposed legislation which would have greatly preempted local government management of the public's rights of way for the placement of small cell (5G) poles, antennas and equipment.  At the urging of the General Assembly, ACCG, GMA, Verizon and AT&T negotiated this reasonable compromise over the 2018 interim that has incorporated many safeguards which ACCG had called for in previous legislation.  

Key points of this ACCG compromise include: incentives for collocation in order to limit new poles; protections for historic districts and residential areas; the requirement that telecoms share build-out plans prior to deploying new facilities; a safe-harbor in case the current FCC order preempting state and local regulation of 5G deployment is overturned; the prohibition of speculative permit requests by third parties; and safeguards for local aesthetic and decorative pole conditions, among many others.  For a summary of the bill's key provisions, please click here.  

For a detailed, section-by-section summary of the bill, please click here.