HB669: HB669 Quality Basic Education Act; award of low-wealth capital outlay grants to qualifying local school systems that award certain contracts for roofing improvements to suppliers that meet certain criteria; provide

Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act currently allows low-wealth local school systems to receive state capital outlay grants for certain building projects. This bill adds roofing improvements to that grant program, but only if the school system hires a supplier that has been approved by a cooperative purchasing organization and designated by the Department of Administrative Services as an authorized source of supply. The roofing work must also be listed in the school system's most recently approved local facilities plan. The bill also changes Georgia's public works bidding law (O.C.G.A. Title 36, Chapter 91). It removes roof improvements to existing structures from the definition of 'public works construction,' and it states that hiring one of these pre-approved suppliers automatically satisfies the usual notice and competitive bidding requirements for public contracts. The changes would take effect once signed by the Governor or allowed to become law without signature, and would apply to contracts entered into on or after that date.

• Adds a new grant category so qualifying low-wealth local school systems can receive state capital outlay funds for roof improvements on existing buildings.
• Limits that roofing grant to projects awarded to suppliers pre-approved by a cooperative purchasing organization and designated by the Department of Administrative Services.
• Requires the roofing project to already appear in the school system's approved local facilities plan to qualify for the grant.
• Removes roof improvements to existing structures from the legal definition of 'public works construction' under Georgia's bidding law, exempting them from that law's normal competitive process.
• States that awarding a roofing contract to one of these pre-approved suppliers automatically counts as meeting the notice and competitive bidding requirements for public contracts.
• Sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law, applying to contracts entered into afterward.

Low-wealth local school systems and their students, school district administrators who manage facilities budgets, roofing contractors and suppliers (especially those approved through state cooperative purchasing programs), and the Department of Administrative Services, which designates approved suppliers.

School districts facing roof repairs could tap state grant money they previously could not use for this purpose, but only by using suppliers from a specific pre-approved list, and those roofing contracts would skip the standard competitive bidding process that otherwise applies to public construction work in Georgia.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-262 to add a new subsection (g) letting eligible low-wealth school systems get capital outlay grants for roof improvements done through an approved cooperative purchasing supplier.
• Section 1 requires the roofing project to be included in the system's most recently approved local facilities plan to qualify.
• Section 2 revises the definition of 'public works construction' in O.C.G.A. § 36-91-2 to exclude roof improvements to existing structures, except for ancillary items placed on the roof.
• Section 3 adds a new subsection (i) to O.C.G.A. § 36-91-21 stating that awarding a roofing contract to a Department of Administrative Services-approved supplier satisfies notice and competitive bidding requirements.
• Section 4 sets the effective date as approval by the Governor or becoming law without approval, applying to contracts entered into on or after that date.

1. 2026-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2025-03-03House Second Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-28House First Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-27House Hopper (House)

• Steven Meeks (R, HD-178)Primary sponsor
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• John Corbett (R, HD-174)

• school funding
• public school facilities
• government contracting
• roofing and construction bidding
• education law