---
title: HB 1078. Georgia Administrative Procedure Act; periodic review and automatic sunset of agency rules; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1078
cite_as: HB 1078, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1078
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1078.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1078/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72504
date: 2026-02-02
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1078.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1078
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-28
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Scott Hilton
- Steve Tarvin
- Mitchell Horner
- Carter Barrett
- Alan Powell
- Holt Persinger
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1078/2025
upstream_id: 2100375
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- administrative rules
- government regulation
- regulatory review
- state agencies
- public comment
---
# HB 1078. Georgia Administrative Procedure Act; periodic review and automatic sunset of agency rules; provide
## Text
House Bill 1078
By: Representatives Hilton of the 48th, Tarvin of the 2nd, Horner of the 3rd, Barrett of the 24th,
Powell of the 33rd, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 13 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions relative to the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act," so as
to provide for periodic review and automatic sunset of agency rules; to provide for notice to
agencies subject to review; to require that agencies review and report upon rules and
regulatory requirements in preparation for review; to provide for forms and reporting
procedures; to provide for public hearings; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 1 of Chapter 13 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions relative to the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act," is amended by
adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"50-13-24.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'regulatory requirements' means mandates within
agency rules including the following words and phrases: 'shall,' 'must,' 'may not,' 'required,'
and 'prohibited.'
(b) Not later than July 1, 2026, the Office of Planning and Budget or other designee of the
Governor shall establish and publish a schedule for the review of the rules of all agencies,
subject to the provisions of this chapter, on a four-year cycle, with the first of such reviews
occurring in the 2027 calendar year.
(c) The Office of Planning and Budget or other designee of the Governor shall notify in
December of the immediately preceding year each agency whose rules are subject to
review in a given calendar year of the upcoming review period. 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. An agency that has been through a review under this Code section
previously and, in the intervening years since such last review, has decreased the number
of its rules, regulatory requirements, and total number of words by 10 percent or more shall
have their following scheduled review postponed by two calendar years.
(d) In the year of review, each agency or agency designee shall undertake an analysis of
each of its rules and shall create a written report of the results of such analysis. Such
analysis:
(1) Shall include:
(A) The total number of rules of the agency;
(B) The total number of regulatory requirements within such rules;
(C) The total number of words of guidance;
(D) The aggregate compliance cost of such rules to the private sector; and
(E) The statute or statutes authorizing the creation of such rules, regulatory
requirements, and words of guidance; and
(2) Shall consider:
(A) Whether the benefits sought to be achieved by the rule are being realized and are
in compliance with current law;
(B) Whether such benefits justify the costs of implementing and complying with the
provisions of the rule; and
(C) Whether there are less restrictive and less costly alternatives to accomplish the
desired benefits or results.
(e) The Office of Planning and Budget or other designee of the Governor shall develop and
provide to each agency a standardized process and forms for such analysis and shall make
such process and forms available on the Office of Planning and Budget's website not later
than October 1, 2027. Such analysis shall be completed not later than September 1 of the
year of review. Such analysis shall be published, clearly identifiable, and accessible via
a link on the agency's website. Upon its completion, such analysis shall be submitted for
review to the Office of Planning and Budget or other designee of the Governor.
(f) As a part of the rules analysis process, each agency shall solicit public input on the
impact, cost, and effectiveness of its rules. The public shall be notified of the opportunity
to provide such input in a manner designed to obtain the widest possible public notification
of interested parties, as well as by mailing such notice to all persons who have requested
in writing that they be placed upon the mailing list maintained by the agency for advance
notice of its rule-making proceedings. The notice shall include a date by which public
input shall be submitted for consideration which shall be not less than 30 days after the date
the notice is published. Such notice shall be published not later than March 1 of the review
year. In addition, the agency shall conduct at least two public hearings to receive public
comment on its rules. Such public hearings shall be held in a manner designed to
maximize public input and shall be completed not later than July 1 of the review year.
(g) Agencies that desire to continue their rules in effect shall not simply repromulgate the
rules and regulations without critical review of the necessity, effectiveness, and cost of
such rules; without considering possible less onerous, less costly, and more effective
alternatives to such rules; and without determining whether such rules or regulations are
actually necessary.
(h) 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."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
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.
### Plain-language summary
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. ยง 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 it 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-28)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-02)
- Sponsors: Scott Hilton, Steve Tarvin, Mitchell Horner, Carter Barrett, Alan Powell, Holt Persinger
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72504
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1078.md?full=1