HB613: HB613 Administrative Services, Department of; preferences in certain public works construction contracts to a contractor participating in a registered apprenticeship program; provide

The original title of HB 613 mentioned contractor preferences in public works construction contracts, but the substitute version described here instead reworks Georgia's High-Demand Apprenticeship Program, a state effort that awards funding tied to apprenticeships in high-demand careers. The bill rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-4-153 to change what the Office of Workforce Development must post on its website each year about the program, including totals for money awarded, contracts signed and completed, and participation by the Technical College System of Georgia. It adds new items: a public list of apprenticeship and employer sponsors that received a full contract award, and a public list of people who completed a registered apprenticeship program, though both sponsors and individuals may opt out of being listed. The bill also pushes back the date the whole program is set to expire, from July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2030.

• Requires the Office of Workforce Development to publish a new list naming apprenticeship and employer sponsors that received a complete contract award, unless the sponsor opts out.
• Requires publication of a new list naming individuals who completed a registered apprenticeship program, unless the individual opts out.
• Keeps existing annual reporting requirements on compensation amounts, contract totals, and participation by Technical College System of Georgia students.
• Extends the repeal date of the High-Demand Apprenticeship Program from July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2030, keeping the program active for three additional years.
• Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with these changes.

The Office of Workforce Development, which must compile and publish the new reports; apprenticeship program sponsors and employers who take part in the High-Demand Apprenticeship Program; individuals completing registered apprenticeships whose names could be listed publicly unless they opt out; and the Technical College System of Georgia.

Georgians would get more public visibility into which employers and individuals benefit from apprenticeship funding, while those named could choose to stay off the list. Extending the program's life to 2030 means the funding and reporting structure keeps operating for several more years instead of expiring in 2027.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-4-153 to add two new required public disclosures: a list of sponsors receiving full contract awards and a list of individuals completing the program, both with an opt-out option.
• Section 1 retains prior reporting duties, such as total compensation awarded and contract counts by eligible occupation.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-4-156 to move the program's automatic repeal date from July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2030.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting Georgia laws, a standard closing provision.

1. 2026-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
3. 2025-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
4. 2025-02-27House Second Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-26House First Readers (House)
6. 2025-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)Primary sponsor
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• William Werkheiser (R, HD-157)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)

• apprenticeship programs
• workforce development
• technical college system
• public records disclosure