HB704: HB704 State government; auditor produce certain monthly and annual reports; replace requirement

Georgia law currently requires the state auditor to keep monthly statistics on architectural and engineering firms doing business with state agencies, and it bars any firm from getting more than 10 percent of such contracts over a rolling 36 month period (with special rules for the Department of Transportation). HB704 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 50-6-25 to replace the monthly statistics requirement with an annual report to the General Assembly, listing firms awarded contracts in the prior fiscal year, their contract amounts, and figures on contracts going to Georgia firms and firms in rural areas. It removes the separate monthly tracking rules for Department of Transportation contracts and the 10 percent contracting cap described in the old law. The annual statistics would become part of the state's existing Transparency in Government Act reporting (O.C.G.A. § 50-6-32) and must be posted by January 1 each year, starting January 1, 2027. The bill also updates cross-references in two related Code sections, O.C.G.A. §§ 42-2-14 and 50-22-7, so they still correctly point to the revised § 50-6-25.

• Replaces the state auditor's monthly statistics requirement on architectural and engineering firms with a single annual report to the General Assembly.
• Removes the prior detailed monthly tracking rules specific to Department of Transportation contracts, including the division of contracts by dollar value.
• Removes the rule that made a firm ineligible for new state contracts once it received more than 10 percent of such work over 36 months.
• Requires the annual statistics to include contract amounts, the count of contracts going to Georgia-based firms, and the count going to firms in rural areas.
• Folds the new annual statistics into the existing Transparency in Government Act reporting and sets a posting deadline of January 1 each year, beginning January 1, 2027.
• Updates cross-references in O.C.G.A. §§ 42-2-14 and 50-22-7 so they still point correctly to the revised § 50-6-25.

Architectural and engineering firms that contract with Georgia state agencies, the state auditor's office, the Department of Transportation, the General Assembly, and state agencies that must report on and comply with these procurement rules.

State agencies and contracting firms would see less frequent public reporting on who wins architectural and engineering work, shifting from monthly tracking to a yearly snapshot. Removing the 10 percent contracting cap could let individual firms take on a larger share of state architectural and engineering business than current law allows.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 50-6-25 so the state auditor produces annual, not monthly, statistics on architectural and engineering firms doing business with the state.
• Section 1 eliminates the separate paragraph requiring detailed monthly Department of Transportation contract reporting by dollar-value division.
• Section 1 removes the provision making a firm ineligible for new contracts after exceeding 10 percent of total awarded business over 36 months.
• Section 1 requires the annual report to include contract amounts, counts of contracts to Georgia firms, and counts of contracts to firms in rural areas, and folds it into Transparency in Government Act reporting with a January 1 posting deadline starting in 2027.
• Section 2 updates O.C.G.A. § 42-2-14, on the Governor's power to declare a state of emergency over prison overcrowding, to reference the revised § 50-6-25.
• Section 3 updates O.C.G.A. § 50-22-7, on exemptions from professional services procurement rules, to reference the revised § 50-6-25.
• Section 4 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2026-01-29House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
3. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
4. 2025-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
5. 2025-03-06House Second Readers (House)
6. 2025-03-04House First Readers (House)
7. 2025-03-03House Hopper (House)

• Mike Cheokas (R, HD-151)Primary sponsor
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• Matt Dubnik (R, HD-029)
• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
• Shaw Blackmon (R, HD-146)
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)

• state contracting
• architectural and engineering firms
• government transparency
• state auditor reports