HB653: HB653 Georgia Public Service Commission; rename as Georgia Public Utilities Commission

The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) is the state agency that regulates electric, gas, and telephone utilities. This bill would rename it the Georgia Public Utilities Commission starting January 1, 2027. The new commission would automatically take over all the old commission's rules, policies, administrative orders, contracts, and legal obligations, so nothing about its regulatory authority would change, only its name. The bill also updates references to the commission throughout dozens of sections of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, from election law to tax exemptions to utility regulation, so the new name appears consistently across state law. Current commissioners would keep serving out their terms under the new name. The whole Act only takes effect if Georgia voters approve a matching constitutional amendment renaming the commission at the November 2026 general election; if voters reject it, this Act is automatically repealed on January 1, 2027.

• Renames the Georgia Public Service Commission as the Georgia Public Utilities Commission effective January 1, 2027, changing the name only, not its powers.
• Transfers all existing rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and administrative orders from the old commission to the new one automatically.
• Preserves the rights, privileges, and duties of any party to a contract, lease, or agreement made with the old commission before the name change.
• Allows sitting commissioners to finish their current terms under the new commission name without a new election or appointment.
• Replaces the phrase 'Georgia Public Service Commission' (and related terms) with 'Georgia Public Utilities Commission' in 79 separate sections of Georgia law.
• Makes the entire Act contingent on voters approving a related change to the Georgia Constitution at the November 2026 general election; otherwise the Act is repealed.

The Georgia Public Service Commission and its current members, utility companies regulated by it (electric, gas, telephone, and telecommunications providers), state agencies and courts that reference the commission in statute, and Georgia voters, who must approve a constitutional amendment for the rename to take effect.

If voters approve the linked constitutional amendment, every reference to the state's utility regulator in Georgia law would change names, but its authority over utility rates, contracts, and rules would continue unchanged, meaning no practical difference for ratepayers or utilities beyond the new name on documents and offices.

• Section 1 renumbers two Code sections and swaps in the new commission name wherever it appears in Title 46 of the Georgia Code, covering utility regulation.
• Section 2 adds a new Code Section 46-2-1 stating the old commission becomes the new commission on January 1, 2027, and transfers all its rules, rights, and duties automatically.
• Section 2(b) protects existing contracts, leases, and agreements made with the old commission, substituting the new commission as the party going forward.
• Section 2(c) lets sitting commissioners finish their terms under the new name without needing reelection or reappointment.
• Section 3 lists 79 separate Code sections across multiple titles (from election law to tax law to utility law) where the commission's name is swapped for the new one.
• Section 4 makes the entire Act's effective date January 1, 2027, contingent on voter approval of a matching constitutional amendment in the November 2026 election, with automatic repeal if voters reject it.

1. 2025-02-28House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-27House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-26House Hopper (House)

• Jordan Ridley (R, HD-022)Primary sponsor
• Martin Momtahan (R, HD-017)
• Mitchell Horner (R, HD-003)
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)
• Saira Draper (D, HD-090)

• Public Service Commission
• utility regulation
• government renaming
• constitutional amendment
• state agency law