HB 1385: Fire protection and safety; improve government efficiency by updating provisions of office of the Safety Fire Commissioner

This bill rewrites parts of Georgia's fire safety law (Title 25) and buildings law (Title 8) that govern the Safety Fire Division inside the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. It creates a new deputy commissioner of safety fire position to help run the division alongside the state fire marshal, gives fire marshal personnel subpoena power in investigations, and creates a six-member appeals board plus the state fire marshal to review disputes over local building permit rulings tied to state fire safety standards. The bill also lets the Commissioner or a designee order immediate evacuations of buildings that pose an imminent life-safety hazard, requires coroners and medical examiners to immediately report fire or smoke deaths to the Safety Fire Division, sets criminal penalties for chapter violations at up to 12 months and a $1,000 fine per violation, raises the fine for not maintaining a smoke detector from $25 to $100 per detector, and raises the manufactured home reinspection fee from $15 to $150. It also gives probate courts jurisdiction to try Title 25 misdemeanors if a defendant waives a jury trial. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law.

• Creates a deputy commissioner of safety fire position, appointed by the Insurance Commissioner, to head the Safety Fire Division alongside the state fire marshal.
• Gives fire marshal investigative personnel the power to serve subpoenas for examinations, investigations, and trials related to their cases.
• Establishes a seven-member appeals board, chaired by the state fire marshal, to review local governments' final rulings on building permits tied to state fire safety standards.
• Authorizes the Commissioner or a designee to issue immediate evacuation orders for buildings posing an imminent life-safety hazard, effective until the hazard is fixed.
• Requires coroners and medical examiners to immediately report any fire- or smoke-related death to the Safety Fire Division and bars moving the body without authorization.
• Raises the fine for failing to maintain a smoke detector from $25 to $100 per detector and raises the manufactured home reinspection fee from $15 to $150.

The bill affects the state fire marshal's office and the Insurance Commissioner's Safety Fire Division, local governments handling building permits, licensed residential and commercial contractors, manufactured home manufacturers, coroners and medical examiners, property owners and occupants facing fire-code enforcement, and probate courts handling misdemeanor fire-safety cases.

Georgians dealing with building permit disputes would gain a formal appeals process, occupants of hazardous buildings could be evacuated faster under a new emergency order power, and property owners would face steeper fines for smoke detector and manufactured home violations. Fire deaths would trigger mandatory, immediate reporting to state officials.

• Section 1-1 through 1-3 create the deputy commissioner of safety fire position and adjust how the state fire marshal, deputy state fire marshal, and staff are appointed.
• Section 1-5 adds subpoena power for fire marshal investigative personnel handling examinations, investigations, and trials.
• Section 1-6 changes the appeals process for fire marshal rulings, replacing direct superior court appeal with a petition for judicial review under Georgia's administrative procedure law (Chapter 13 of Title 50).
• Section 1-7 establishes a seven-member appeals board (the state fire marshal plus six appointees) to review local building permit rulings involving state fire safety standards, with hearings required within five business days.
• Section 1-9 and 1-10 authorize immediate evacuation orders for buildings with imminent life-safety hazards, regardless of certificate of occupancy status.
• Section 1-13 requires coroners and medical examiners to immediately report fire- or smoke-related deaths and bars moving a body without fire marshal or Commissioner authorization.
• Section 1-14 sets criminal penalties of up to 12 months confinement or a $1,000 fine per violation and allows probate, state, or other courts to hear these misdemeanors.
• Section 1-15 raises the smoke detector maintenance fine from $25 to $100 per detector, and Section 2-1 raises the manufactured home reinspection fee from $15 to $150.

1. 2026-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-02-24House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-20House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-19House Hopper (House)

• Johnny Chastain (R, HD-007)Primary sponsor
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)
• Brent Cox (R, HD-028)
• Carter Barrett (R, HD-024)
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
• Matthew Gambill (R, HD-015)

• fire safety regulation
• building permits
• smoke detector fines
• fire marshal authority
• probate court jurisdiction