Georgia CommonsHB 1078: Georgia Administrative Procedure Act; periodic review and automatic sunset of agency rules; provide
Last action February 2, 2026 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would require every state agency's rules to expire automatically every four years unless the agency reviews and formally renews them, starting with a 2027 review cycle.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Currently, Georgia agency rules generally stay in effect indefinitely once adopted. This bill adds a new section to the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-13-24) creating a mandatory four-year review and automatic sunset system for agency rules. The Office of Planning and Budget or another designee of the Governor must set up a review schedule by July 1, 2026, with the first reviews happening in 2027, and must notify agencies each December before their review year. During a review year, an agency must count its rules, tally the number of mandatory requirements and words of guidance, estimate compliance costs to businesses, identify the laws authorizing the rules, and evaluate whether the rules still work and are cost-justified. Agencies must publish this analysis, take public comment for at least 30 days, and hold two public hearings before July 1 of the review year. Rules that are not reviewed and continued or reissued by December 31 of the review year are automatically repealed, and agencies that cut their rules by 10 percent or more get their next review pushed back two years.
What the bill does
- Creates a new law requiring the Office of Planning and Budget (or a designee of the Governor) to schedule a review of every state agency's rules on a four-year rotating cycle, starting in 2027.
- Makes agency rules automatically expire on December 31 of their review year unless the agency formally continues or reissues them after review.
- Requires agencies to produce a detailed written report during their review year covering the number of rules, mandatory requirements, words of guidance, and estimated compliance costs to businesses.
- Requires agencies to solicit public comment for at least 30 days and hold at least two public hearings on their rules before continuing or reissuing them.
- Rewards agencies that cut their rules, requirements, and word count by 10 percent or more since their last review by delaying their next scheduled review by two years.
- Prohibits agencies from simply reissuing existing rules without a genuine review of their necessity, cost, and effectiveness, and bars any renewed rule from increasing regulatory burden or cost.
Who it affects
State agencies in Georgia that write and enforce administrative rules, the Office of Planning and Budget or another gubernatorial designee tasked with running the review process, businesses and members of the public affected by agency rules who would get new chances to comment, and anyone who relies on rules that could lapse if an agency misses a review deadline.
Why it matters
If an agency fails to complete its review, hold hearings, and formally continue or reissue a rule on schedule, that rule would automatically disappear. This creates a recurring deadline pressure on every Georgia agency and gives businesses and the public new, regular opportunities to weigh in on and potentially reduce existing regulations.
Key provisions
- Subsection (a) defines 'regulatory requirements' as mandates in agency rules signaled by words like 'shall,' 'must,' 'may not,' 'required,' and 'prohibited.'
- Subsection (b) requires the Office of Planning and Budget to publish a four-year review schedule for all agencies by July 1, 2026, with the first reviews in 2027.
- Subsection (c) makes agency rules scheduled for review automatically repealed on December 31 of the review year unless continued or reissued, and grants a two-year delay to agencies that cut rules, requirements, and word count by 10 percent or more.
- Subsection (d) requires each agency to report on the number of its rules and requirements, total words of guidance, aggregate compliance costs, and the statutes authorizing the rules, and to weigh whether benefits justify costs and whether less costly alternatives exist.
- Subsection (e) directs the Office of Planning and Budget to create standardized review forms by October 1, 2027, and sets a September 1 deadline for agencies to complete and publish their analysis online.
- Subsection (f) requires agencies to publish notice and accept public input for at least 30 days by March 1 of the review year, and to hold at least two public hearings by July 1 of the review year.
- Subsection (g) bars agencies from reissuing rules without genuinely reviewing their necessity, cost, and less burdensome alternatives.
- Subsection (h) requires that any continued or reissued rule maintain or reduce, and never increase, the regulatory burden and cost it previously imposed.
From the bill
“All rules of an agency that are scheduled for review under this Code section shall stand automatically repealed on December 31 of the review year unless the rules are continued or repromulgated pursuant to this Code section.”
“Any continuation or repromulgation of a rule shall reduce or maintain the current regulatory burden and costs of such rule and shall not increase such burden or costs.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
- Steve Tarvin (R, HD-002)
- Mitchell Horner (R, HD-003)
- Carter Barrett (R, HD-024)
- Alan Powell (R, HD-033)
- Holt Persinger (R, HD-119)
Topics
- administrative rules
- government regulation
- regulatory review
- state agencies
- public comment