HB 691: Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency; create Georgia Resilience Office

Georgia currently has no single office dedicated to long term disaster resilience planning across state agencies. This bill adds a new article to Georgia's emergency management law (O.C.G.A. Title 38, Chapter 3) creating the Georgia Resilience Office within the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency. The office would be run by a 13 member board including state agency heads, legislators, and local government representatives, chaired by the director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency. The board would hire a chief resilience officer to run day to day operations and coordinate a statewide resilience plan addressing flooding, wildfire, drought, and other disaster risks. The first plan must be finished by December 31, 2026, and updated every two years. The office can accept outside funding, give research grants, and lead recovery efforts after declared disasters. The bill repeals conflicting laws.

• Establishes the Georgia Resilience Office as a unit inside the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, with a 13 member governing board.
• Requires the office to write a statewide resilience plan covering disaster risks like flooding, wildfire, drought and heat, due by December 31, 2026 and updated every two years.
• Creates the position of chief resilience officer, nominated by the board's chairperson, to hire staff and run the office's programs.
• Authorizes the office to accept federal and private funding, monitor federal disaster grants, and issue research grants to universities and local governments.
• Directs the office to lead long-term recovery planning after a declared state or federal disaster and to report to the General Assembly at least once a year.
• Sets board member terms at two years initially and four years afterward, with appointments required by December 1, 2025.

State agencies including the Departments of Community Affairs, Transportation, and Natural Resources, the State Forestry Commission, and the Department of Agriculture; county and municipal governments; state legislators appointed to the board; universities and researchers seeking resilience grants; and Georgians in areas affected by flooding, wildfire, drought, or other disasters.

Georgia would gain a centralized office responsible for planning ahead of disasters rather than only responding afterward, potentially shaping future state building codes, land use decisions, and funding priorities. Local governments and universities could gain new access to state coordinated grants and technical help for resilience projects.

• Section 1 adds new O.C.G.A. §§ 38-3-200 through 38-3-203 creating the 'Georgia Resilience Act' and the Georgia Resilience Office within the state's emergency management agency.
• §38-3-202(b) lists the office's duties, including developing a statewide resilience plan, coordinating disaster recovery, and providing technical assistance to local governments.
• §38-3-202(c) sets the 13 member board composition, including agency heads, two House members, two Senate members, and local government appointees.
• §38-3-202(d) sets initial two-year board terms starting by December 1, 2025, with four-year terms afterward.
• §38-3-203 creates the chief resilience officer position, nominated by the board chair, responsible for hiring staff, coordinating the resilience plan, and reporting annually to the General Assembly.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-03-04House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
3. 2025-03-03House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-28House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-28House Hopper (House)

• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)Primary sponsor
• Lynn Smith (R, HD-70)
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
• Kimberly New (R, HD-40)
• Josh Bonner (R, HD-73)

• disaster resilience
• emergency management
• state government agencies
• climate risk planning
• local government coordination