---
title: HB 1428. Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board; retain certain incidental funds generated by certain fees; authorize
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1428
cite_as: HB 1428, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1428
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1428.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1428/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73531
date: 2026-03-03
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: 185
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1428.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1428
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-24
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
- Lauren McDonald
- Matt Reeves
- Brad Thomas
- Gabe Okoye
- Holt Persinger
- Victor Anderson
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1428/2025
upstream_id: 2123583
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- professional licensing
- engineering regulation
- land surveyors
- state agency fees
- state treasury funds
---
# HB 1428. Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board; retain certain incidental funds generated by certain fees; authorize
## Text
House Bill 1428
By: Representatives McDonald III of the 26th, Reeves of the 99th, Thomas of the 21st, Okoye
of the 102nd, Persinger of the 119th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 15 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
professional engineers and land surveyors, so as to authorize the Georgia Professional
Engineers and Land Surveyors Board to retain certain incidental funds generated by certain
fees; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 15 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professional
engineers and land surveyors, is amended by revising Code Section 43-15-6.1, relating to
fees and funding, as follows:
"43-15-6.1.
(a) To pay the expenses of the board's office and operations and the enforcement of this
chapter, the board by rule or regulation shall be authorized to charge an examination fee,
license fee, license renewal fee, or similar fee and may establish the amount of the fee to
be charged by rule or regulation. Fees shall be reasonable and shall be determined in such
a manner that the total amount of fees charged by the board shall approximate the total of
the direct and indirect costs for the operation of the board. Fees may be refunded for good
cause, as determined by the executive director.
(b) All fees collected pursuant to subsection (a) of this chapter Code section shall be
deposited by the board into the state treasury. Out of the funds thus arising shall be paid
the expenses contemplated in this chapter for the administration and enforcement of this
chapter. All expenditures authorized by the board shall be paid from the funds received
pursuant to this chapter. The expenses of the board must always be kept within the income
collected and deposited in accordance with this chapter subsection, and the expense thereof
shall not be supported or paid from any other state fund.
(c) In addition to the fees provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section, the board is
authorized to charge and collect fees to defray costs associated with providing license
verifications, certificates, plaques, and identification cards. The board is also authorized
to retain funds received as collection fees for use in defraying the cost of collection of fees
required under this chapter. The incidental revenues collected pursuant to this subsection
may be retained by the board pursuant to Code Section 45-12-92.1."
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.
House Bill 1428 would let the Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board keep certain small fees it collects, such as charges for license verifications and collection costs, instead of sending all of it to the state treasury.
### Plain-language summary
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.
### What it does
- 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-24)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-03-03)
- Sponsors: Lauren McDonald, Matt Reeves, Brad Thomas, Gabe Okoye, Holt Persinger, Victor Anderson
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73531
> The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1428.md?full=1