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Appropriations panel approves bill to streamline professional licensing
Summary
The House Appropriations Committee voted to pass House Bill 579, a 36-page measure from the Blue Ribbon Professional Licensing Committee that aims to simplify licensing processes, codify post‑court changes and change some licenses to registrations; the bill sets a July 1, 2026 effective date.
Representative Reeves, presenting House Bill 579 to the House Appropriations Committee, said the measure is intended to modernize the state’s professional licensing system and reduce burdens on applicants and license boards. "The people of Georgia deserve excellent customer service and 21st-century professional licensing," Reeves said.
The bill, which the committee approved on a voice vote, is the product of a Blue Ribbon Professional Licensing Committee appointed by legislative leaders. Reeves told the committee the panel held four meetings and heard more than 12 hours of testimony from about 30 members of the public, eight agencies and seven licensing boards.
Key provisions described by Reeves include allowing applicants more flexibility to take exams during or before the application process; adding application approval duties for the division director and the secretary of state’s office; authorizing the division director in some instances to grant licenses, renewals or reinstatements on behalf of boards; allowing the secretary of state to set expiration, renewal and penalty dates; and adding a removal standard for board members for inability, neglect, incompetence or dishonest conduct. Reeves also said the bill implements code changes required by a Georgia Supreme Court decision (Raffensperger v. Jackson).
The bill converts several categories from licensure to registration, including auctioneers, geologists and hearing-aid dealers and dispensers, and includes specific provisions addressing counselors, social workers and marriage-and-family therapists. Reeves said the professional licensing division currently oversees 42 boards and 186 professions and noted there were more than 550,000 active licenses at the start of the year; in 2024 the division had 95 employees, he said.
Committee members praised the work of the Blue Ribbon panel and asked a series of clarifying questions about implementation. Reeves said the bill was drafted as a 36-page substitute to keep the measure streamlined, and he urged the committee to approve it. A committee member moved to pass the substitute (LC 550559S); after a voice vote in which members said “aye,” the motion carried.
The measure sets an effective date of July 1, 2026, to allow time for implementation and any required follow-up in the current and next session. Reeves said staff and agency officials named during the presentation — including the governor’s staff and the secretary of state’s office — had supported or assisted with drafting and implementation planning.
The committee action was procedural approval in the appropriations committee; additional committee and floor steps remain before the bill would become law.
