Georgia CommonsHouse · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 529: Georgia Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act; enact
Last action March 10, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred
House Bill 529 would rewrite Georgia's rules for contracts and online subscriptions that automatically renew, requiring sellers to offer consumers a way to opt out of auto-renewal and letting online subscribers cancel as easily as they signed up.
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 Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia already regulates automatic renewal clauses in service contracts (O.C.G.A. Title 13, Chapter 12) and online subscription renewals (the Georgia Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act in Title 10). This bill rewrites both. For service contracts, sellers who include an automatic renewal clause must now offer consumers the option to let the contract simply end instead of renewing, and that choice must be put in writing at the seller's expense. Contracts running 12 months or longer must still get advance notice of the renewal, and the threshold for needing extra written confirmation from the consumer drops from contracts renewing more than 24 months to those renewing more than one year. For online subscriptions, businesses must let customers cancel online at least as easily as they signed up, offering both a public cancellation webpage and a ready-made cancellation email. The bill also expands the list of businesses exempt from these rules, covering utilities regulated by state and federal agencies, insurance entities, and franchises run by local governments. The changes take effect December 31, 2025, and apply only to contracts made on or after that date.
What the bill does
- Requires sellers offering service contracts with an automatic renewal clause to also give consumers the option to let the contract end instead of renewing, memorialized in writing at the seller's cost.
- Lowers the threshold for requiring extra written consumer confirmation on long contracts, from renewals longer than 24 months to renewals longer than one year.
- Requires businesses that let consumers sign up for online automatic renewals or continuous service to also let them cancel online, through both a public cancellation link and a pre-formatted cancellation email.
- Expands the list of businesses exempt from both the service-contract and online-renewal rules, adding entities regulated by the Public Service Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the insurance commissioner, plus franchises of local governments.
- Clarifies that if the online-renewal law and the service-contract chapter conflict, the service-contract chapter (Title 13, Chapter 12) controls.
- Sets the effective date as December 31, 2025, applying only to contracts entered into on or after that date.
Who it affects
Businesses that sell subscriptions or service contracts with automatic renewal terms, including gyms, streaming services, and other online sellers; Georgia consumers who sign up for these services; and regulated industries such as utilities, insurers, and banks that are named as exemptions from the rules.
Why it matters
Georgians who sign up for subscriptions or long-term service contracts would gain a clearer, legally required way to stop automatic renewals, including an online cancellation option that matches how they signed up. Businesses would face new disclosure and cancellation-method requirements, enforced by the Attorney General rather than through private lawsuits.
Key provisions
- Section 1-1 rewrites O.C.G.A. Chapter 12 of Title 13 so sellers must offer consumers an option to end a service contract instead of auto-renewing it, memorialized in writing (new Code Section 13-12-2).
- Code Section 13-12-3 keeps the requirement that contracts of 12 months or more give 30-to-60-day advance notice of auto-renewal, and lowers the extra-confirmation threshold from renewals over 24 months to renewals over one year.
- Code Section 13-12-4 revises the list of exempt entities, including financial institutions, bank holding companies, electric suppliers, businesses regulated by the Public Service Commission or federal agencies, insurance entities, and local franchises.
- Section 2-1 rewrites Title 10's Georgia Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act, requiring online cancellation methods to include both a public website link and a formatted cancellation email under Code Section 10-1-439.8.
- New Code Section 10-1-439.14 states that if the online-renewal law conflicts with the service-contract chapter, the service-contract chapter controls.
- Code Section 10-1-439.13 keeps enforcement solely with the Attorney General and bars any private right of action for violations.
- Section 3-1 sets the effective date as December 31, 2025, applying only to contracts entered into on or after that date.
From the bill
“such goods, wares, merchandise, or products shall for all purposes be deemed an unconditional gift to the consumer, who may use or dispose of such goods, wares, merchandise, and products in any manner he or she sees fit without obligation to the business”
“There shall be no private right of action for a violation of this part, nor shall a violation of this part serve as the basis for a private right of action under any other provision of law.”
Discussed in meetings (1)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, March 25, 2026
From 0:33:40 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the substitute would let consumers who miss a cancellation deadline seek a prorated refund within 30 days when a service contract automatically renews for at least one year with a price increase of at least 50%. The sponsor said consumers can overlook emailed notices and become locked into costly renewals. Members asked how refunds would be calculated, whether affirmative consent would be preferable, and whether banks and utilities were covered. The sponsor illustrated a refund for unused months; the chair read existing exemptions covering financial institutions, electric utilities and certain other entities. A member worried consumers could avoid agreed terms simply by saying a notice was missed. Another questioned when companies must issue refunds; the sponsor acknowledged the proposal set no payment deadline. Georgia Watch and a House co-sponsor supported protections against difficult cancellations. A Motion Picture Association witness said member services were easy to cancel, opposed government dictating contract terms and said attorneys believed the bill could affect promotional offers. Members discussed consent requirements and broader eligibility, but adopted no amendment. The committee voted 3 to 2 to table the bill. The sponsor requested reconsideration at the next meeting; the chair offered further discussion without setting a date.
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
Show full history (10 actions)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Carter Barrett (R, HD-24)
- Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
- Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
- Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)
- Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
- Emory Dunahoo (R, HD-31)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2025
169 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 7 excused)
Topics
- automatic renewal contracts
- consumer protection
- online subscriptions
- cancellation rights
- Georgia consumer law