The House Committee on Governmental Affairs offers the following substitute to HB 812: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 2 of Title 8 and Chapter 7 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state building, plumbing, and electrical codes and control of soil erosion and sedimentation, respectively, so as to require that certain local governments establish and maintain publicly accessible websites posting real-time status updates relating to building permit applications; to provide for an optional records management system managed by a third party; to provide for construction; to revise regulatory requirements for building plans, permits, and applications; to allow for greater involvement of private professional providers in the review of plans, permits, and applications; to provide for automatic approval of approved inspection reports; to provide for required qualifications of private professional providers; to require that each local issuing authority publish a list of materials required for permit applications; to revise provisions regarding denial or nonacceptance of permits; to require local issuing authorities to provide rejected permit applicants with a written list of reasons for denial within specified time frames; 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 2 of Title 8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state building, plumbing, and electrical codes, is amended by revising paragraph (6) of subsection (c) of Code Section 8-2-25, relating to application of minimum standard codes, local adoption and requirements, and exemptions, as follows: "(6) The department shall maintain a file of all amendments to the state minimum standard codes adopted by the various municipalities and counties in the this state, which information shall be made available to the public upon request. The department may charge reasonable fees for copies of such information be published on the department's website and updated in real time to include the department's determinations relating to all proposed local amendments to the state minimum standard codes. An index of such amendments shall be included in each new edition of a state minimum standard code." SECTION 2. Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows: "8-2-25.1. (a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) 'Building permit' means any permit, approval, or authorization issued by a local government relating to the construction, alteration, expansion, demolition, or substantial renovation of a structure, including any permit for land-disturbing activity as such term is defined in Code Section 12-7-3. (2) 'Local government' means any county or municipal government of this state. (3) 'Real-time' means updated contemporaneously with, or within one business day of, any change in the status of a building permit. (4) 'Status' means the current stage of review or action on a building permit application. (b) Beginning January 1, 2027, each local government that issued more than 250 building permits in the preceding calendar year shall maintain a publicly accessible website for applications that provides real-time status information for all building permits for which an application has been submitted and not finally closed. Such website shall, at a minimum, display the following information for each building permit application: (1) Permit application number; (2) Date of application submission; (3) Property address or parcel identification number; (4) Type of permit requested; (5) Current status of the permit application, including, but not limited to: submitted, under review, incomplete, additional information required, approved, issued, suspended, denied, or closed; (6) Date of the most recent status update; (7) Any failures to meet deadlines for approval or denial established by state or local law; (8) The statutory basis for any denials; and (9) Identification of the reviewing department or office. (c) The permit application status information posted pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be: (1) Searchable by permit number, address, or parcel identification number; (2) Available to the public without charge, registration, or log in; and (3) Presented in a format that is continuously accessible and reasonably useable by the general public. (d) A local government may satisfy the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section by posting a direct link on its publicly accessible website to a records management system managed by a third party, provided such system complies with all requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section. (e) This Code section shall not be construed to alter substantive permitting standards, review timelines, or appeal rights otherwise provided by law, or to require the disclosure of information protected from public disclosure under state or federal law or personal identifying information of permit applicants beyond that which is otherwise publicly available under state law." SECTION 3. Said chapter is further amended by revising paragraphs (1), (3), (5), (12), (14), and (23) of subsection (g) of Code Section 8-2-26, relating to local enforcement, inspectors, and building permits, as follows: "(g)(1) As used in this subsection, the term: (A) 'Complete application' means a submitted plan, application, or request for inspection that contains all of the information and supporting documentation required by the county or municipality for it to make the determination as to whether the plan, application, or request is in compliance with regulatory requirements. (B) 'Private professional provider' means a: (i) Professional engineer who holds a certificate of registration issued under Chapter 15 of Title 43; (ii) Professional architect who holds a certificate of registration issued under Chapter 4 of Title 43; or (iii) Qualified inspector as such term is defined in Code Section 8-2-26.1 who is not an employee of or otherwise affiliated with or financially interested in the person, firm, or corporation engaged in the construction project to be reviewed or inspected. (C) 'Regulatory fee' means payments, whether designated as permit fees, application fees, or by another name, that are required by a local government as an exercise of its police power, its regulation of business, and as a part of or as an aid to regulation of construction related activities under this chapter. (D) 'Regulatory requirements' means the requirements determined by a county or municipality to be of federal, state, or local laws, codes, regulations, and ordinances which are necessary for approval of plans, permits, or applications under this chapter; provided, however, that, with respect to any application, such requirements shall include the state minimum standard codes most recently adopted by the Department of Community Affairs and any locally properly adopted local ordinances and amendments to such codes; applicable zoning ordinances and zoning conditions; design standards; and other state and local laws, regulations, and ordinances applicable to the application in question." "(3) No later than five business days after receipt of any application related to regulatory requirements, a local building official of a county or municipality shall notify each applicant as to whether the submitted documents meet the requirements of a complete application. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, time spent by a county or municipality determining whether an application is complete shall count toward the total 30 days for plan review or inspection. If a local building official determines that the application is not complete or is denied, the applicant shall be provided written notice identifying the items that are not complete or that form the basis for a denial, with citations in either instance to the specific regulatory requirements with which the application does not comply. The 30 day time period is tolled when the application is rejected as incomplete. If within 30 days after the county or municipality has provided notice that the application is incomplete the permit applicant submits revisions to address the identified deficiencies, the local building official shall have an additional five business days to review the application for completeness." "(5) Prior to filing any application related to regulatory requirements or at any time thereafter, The the applicant shall have the option of retaining, at its own expense, a private professional provider to provide the required plan review or inspection in accordance with the provisions of this Code section irrespective regardless of whether the county or municipality determines that the personnel employed or contracted by such county or municipality can provide regulatory action or inspection services within the time frames required under paragraph (4) of this subsection or whether the applicant has been notified of such determinations. If the applicant elects to utilize the services of a private professional provider, the regulatory fees associated with such regulatory action shall be reduced by 50 percent and such reduced amount shall be paid to the county or municipality in accordance with such jurisdiction's policies." "(12) The private professional provider shall be empowered to perform any plan review or inspection required by the governing authority of any county or municipality, including, but not limited to, erosion and sediment control plan review, inspections for footings, foundations, concrete slabs, framing, electrical, plumbing, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), or any and all other plan reviews or inspections necessary or required to determine compliance with all regulatory requirements and for the issuance of a permit for land-disturbing activity, as such term is defined in Code Section 12-7-3, building permit or certificate of occupancy by the governing authority of any county or municipality, provided that the plan review or inspection is within the scope of such private professional provider's area of competency; and provided, further, that a qualified inspector acting as a private professional provider shall only be empowered to perform a plan review or inspection within an area for which such qualified inspector has been issued a certification, license, or completion of training provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 8-2-26.1 or Code Section 12-7-19 for plan reviews or inspections under Chapter 7 of Title 12 to be performed by a private professional provider. Nothing in this Code section shall authorize any private professional provider to issue a certificate of occupancy. Only a local governing authority shall be authorized to issue a certificate of occupancy." "(14) Upon submission by the private professional provider of a copy of his or her an approved inspection report to the local governing authority, said local governing authority shall be required to accept the inspection of the private professional provider without the necessity of further inspection or approval by the inspectors or other personnel employed by the local governing authority unless said such inspection shall be deemed approved as a matter of law. governing authority has notified the private professional provider, within two The local governing authority shall have five business days after the submission of the inspection report, that it finds the report incomplete or the inspection inadequate and has provided the private professional provider to notify the private professional provider of any deficiencies in such inspection report with a written description of the such deficiencies and specific regulatory requirements that have not been adequately addressed. The private professional provider shall submit a corrected inspection report after receiving notice from the local governing authority of deficiencies in such inspection report, but in no event shall any deficiency in an inspection report or a correction to such report prevent the completion of work that has been approved by the private professional provider or otherwise delay the progress of the project related to the private professional provider's inspection." "(23) Nothing in this subsection shall apply to inspections exempted in Code Section 8-2-26.1. The process for plan reviews and inspections by a private professional provider set forth in this subsection shall also be available and applicable to plan reviews and inspections subject to Chapter 7 of Title 12 that are performed by a private professional provider." SECTION 4. Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (g) of Code Section 8-2-26.1, relating to qualified inspectors and inspection reports, as follows: "(g) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to apply to inspections for compliance with a state or local fire safety standard or erosion control standard." SECTION 5. Chapter 7 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to control of soil erosion and sedimentation, is amended by revising Code Section 12-7-9, relating to applications for permits, erosion and sediment control plans and data, and time for issuance or denial, as follows: "12-7-9. (a) Applications for permits shall be submitted in accordance with this chapter and the rules and regulations, ordinances, and resolutions adopted pursuant to this chapter. Such applications shall be accompanied by the applicant's erosion and sediment control plans and by such supportive data as will affirmatively demonstrate that the land-disturbing activity proposed will be carried out in such a manner that the minimum requirements set forth in Code Section 12-7-6 shall be met. All applications shall contain a certification stating that the plan preparer or the designee thereof his or her designee visited the site prior to creation of the plan or that such a visit was not required in accordance with rules and regulations established by the board. (b) Each local issuing authority shall publish on a website accessible to the public an objective list of materials and stylistic preferences required for the submission of a complete permit application. No permit shall be issued to any applicant unless the local issuing authority affirmatively determines that the plan embracing such activities meets the requirements of Code Section 12-7-6. All applicable fees shall be paid prior to issuance of the land disturbance permit by the local issuing authority. (c) Permits shall be issued or denied as soon as practicable after the application therefor has been filed with the local issuing authority, but in any event not later than 45 days thereafter after such filing. Within five days of the filing of any permit application, the local issuing authority shall determine whether the application is complete and accepted. If no such determination has been made within five days of the filing of any permit application, the application shall be deemed complete and accepted. A local issuing authority may only deem an application incomplete or deny an application when it fails to include the required materials or stylistic preferences published by a local authority pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section. In the event that an application has been denied or deemed incomplete and not accepted and the applicant thereafter resubmits the application in modified form to address deficiencies identified in the stated reasons for denial or nonacceptance pursuant to this subsection and subsection (a) of Code Section 12-7-11, then the local issuing authority shall cause the permit to be issued or denied as soon as practicable after such resubmission, but in any event not later than 14 days after such resubmission for applications that were denied and not later than five days after such resubmission for applications that were not accepted. (d) If a local issuing authority requires compliance with additional regulatory requirements by the applicant beyond erosion and sediment control, including, but not limited to, utility and storm-water management, that are subject to the approval of such local issuing authority, such local issuing authority shall comply with the review time frames imposed in subsection (c) of this Code section; provided, however, that time shall be tolled under such time frames from the date any local issuing authority submits materials to a state agency or agencies for mandatory review and approval until the local issuing authority receives the required information or approval from the reviewing state agency or agencies. (e) An applicant shall have the option of retaining, at its own expense, a private professional provider to perform the plan reviews and inspections required by this chapter utilizing the process set forth in subsection (g) of Code Section 8-2-26 for engaging a private professional provider to perform plan reviews and inspections; provided, however, that the provisions of paragraphs (2), (3), and (6) of subsection (g) of Code Section 8-2-26 shall not be applicable to such process. For purposes of plan reviews and inspections performed pursuant to this chapter, a private professional provider shall be subject to the requirements of Code Section 12-7-19 and shall be: (1) A design professional in the field of engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, forestry, geology, or land surveying who is licensed as required for practice in this state by the applicable provisions of Title 43 related to such profession; or (2) A person with a current certification as a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control." SECTION 6. Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 12-7-11, relating to statement of reasons for denial of permit required, conditions for approval, and suspension, revocation, or modification of permit, as follows: "12-7-11. (a) Within the time frames specified by Code Section 12-7-9, the local issuing authority shall issue or deny the permit. The local issuing authority, upon denial of a permit, shall state its reasons for the denial, setting forth specifically wherein where such application is found to be deficient. No local issuing authority shall deny or deem incomplete and not accept an application for any reason other than the failure to comply with required materials or stylistic preferences published by a local authority pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 12-7-9 or federal, state, or local law. Concurrently with denial or nonacceptance of an application, the local issuing authority shall provide the applicant with a written list identifying the items that are not complete or that form the basis for a denial, with citations to the specific regulatory requirements with which the application does not comply. Such local issuing authority shall not be required to provide the applicant with the reasons for such denial or nonacceptance for any portion of an application which is incomplete under subsection (b) or (c) of Code Section 12-7-7; provided, however, that the local issuing authority shall notify the applicant that the application is incomplete and shall include in such notification a written list of the omissions rendering the application incomplete. Should the applicant make material additions to a resubmitted application that are unrelated to the cited reasons for the denial or nonacceptance of the original application, the local issuing authority may also address such additions in reviewing the resubmitted application. Material additions to any resubmitted application that are unrelated to the cited reasons for the denial or nonacceptance of the original application shall be considered a new application for purposes related to the review time frames prescribed in subsection (c) of Code Section 12-7-9. Any land-disturbing activity permitted under this chapter shall be carried out in accordance with this chapter and the ordinance, resolution, or rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to this chapter. The local issuing authority shall specify on the permit the conditions under which the activity may be undertaken. (b) The permit may be suspended, revoked, or modified by the local issuing authority, as to all or any portion of the land affected by the plan, upon a finding that the holder or his or her successor in title is not in compliance with the approved erosion and sediment control plan or that the holder or his or her successor in title is in violation of this chapter or any ordinance, resolution, rule, or regulation adopted or promulgated pursuant to this chapter. A holder of a permit shall notify any successor in title to him or her as to all or any portion of the land affected by the approved plan of the conditions contained in the permit." SECTION 7. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.