HB 1428: Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board; retain certain incidental funds generated by certain fees; authorize

Under current Georgia law, the Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board collects fees like examination, license, and license renewal fees, and all of that money goes into the state treasury to fund the board's operations. This bill amends O.C.G.A. § 43-15-6.1 to create a new category of incidental fees, covering things like license verifications, certificates, plaques, identification cards, and collection costs, that the board can charge separately from its main fees. The bill authorizes the board to retain these incidental fees rather than deposit them into the state treasury, relying on an existing state law (O.C.G.A. § 45-12-92.1) that governs how agencies can keep certain revenues. It also makes a small wording change clarifying that the fee-deposit rule applies specifically to fees collected under subsection (a) of the Code section. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not list a separate effective date beyond standard enactment.

• Adds a new subsection (c) to O.C.G.A. § 43-15-6.1 letting the board charge fees for license verifications, certificates, plaques, and identification cards.
• Allows the board to keep collection fees it charges to cover the cost of collecting fees required under the chapter, rather than depositing all of it into the state treasury.
• Authorizes the board to retain these incidental revenues under the process set out in O.C.G.A. § 45-12-92.1, a separate state law on agency fund retention.
• Narrows the existing rule requiring fees to be deposited into the state treasury so it applies specifically to fees collected under subsection (a), the main examination and licensing fees.

The Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board, which gains more control over incidental fee revenue, and the licensed professional engineers and land surveyors in Georgia who pay fees for license verifications, certificates, plaques, and identification cards.

The change affects how the board funds its administrative work: instead of all fee revenue passing through the state treasury, some incidental fees would stay with the board directly, which could affect how quickly the board can cover costs tied to services like license verification and fee collection.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 43-15-6.1 to clarify that the treasury deposit requirement applies to fees collected under subsection (a), the board's examination, license, and renewal fees.
• Section 1 adds subsection (c), authorizing the board to charge fees for license verifications, certificates, plaques, and identification cards.
• Subsection (c) lets the board retain collection fees to help cover the cost of collecting fees required under the chapter.
• Subsection (c) ties this retention authority to O.C.G.A. § 45-12-92.1, an existing statute governing how state agencies may retain certain incidental revenues.
• Section 2 repeals any laws that conflict with the bill.

1. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2026-02-26House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-25House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Lauren McDonald (R, HD-026)Primary sponsor
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• Brad Thomas (R, HD-021)
• Gabe Okoye (D, HD-102)
• Holt Persinger (R, HD-119)
• Victor Anderson (R, HD-010)

• professional licensing
• engineering regulation
• land surveyors
• state agency fees
• state treasury funds