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House panel advances bill to streamline professional licensing (HB 579)
Summary
The Georgia House Appropriations Committee approved a committee substitute to HB 579, a package of changes from the Blue Ribbon Professional Licensing Committee intended to speed licensing decisions, allow concurrent application steps, and convert some licenses to registrations. The bill sets an effective date of July 1, 2026.
The Georgia House Appropriations Committee approved a committee substitute to House Bill 579 on a voice vote after Representative Reeves presented the measure as a broad effort to modernize the state's professional-licensing system.
Representative Reeves said the measure was the product of the Blue Ribbon Professional Licensing Committee and aimed to improve customer service and reduce burdens on applicants and boards. "The people of Georgia deserve excellent customer service," Reeves said during his presentation.
The bill makes several administrative changes: it allows applicants more flexibility to take required exams during or before application review; assigns application-approval duties to the professional-licensing division director and the Secretary of State's office in some instances; authorizes the division director to grant licenses, renewals, or reinstatements on behalf of boards under certain circumstances; and codifies expiration, renewal and penalty dates and a minimum late period for renewals. HB 579 also includes a provision enabling the governor to remove board members for inability or neglect to perform duties, incompetence, or dishonest conduct, and it implements revisions needed following the Georgia Supreme Court decision Raffensperger v. Jackson, as stated by the presenter.
The bill converts certain previously licensed occupations to registrations, including auctioneers, some geologists, and hearing-aid dealers and dispensers, and makes parallel alignment changes for counseling and related professions. Representative Reeves said the professional-licensing division manages 42 boards for 186 professions and cited data showing more than 550,000 active licenses at the start of the year.
Committee members asked clarifying questions during the discussion. Representative Weidauer and others praised the subcommittee's work and said the bill should reduce the constituent-service burdens on legislators and speed licensing for small businesses and professionals.
Representative Reeves said the bill sets an effective date of July 1, 2026, to allow for implementation steps during the current and next session. A motion to pass the committee substitute to HB 579 was made, seconded and carried by the committee on a voice vote; the committee did not record a numerical tally in the transcript.
The bill will move forward in the legislative process and may be amended in subsequent committee or floor debate.
