--- title: SB 191. Employment Security; certain notice provisions relating to benefits and appeals; revise collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb191 cite_as: SB 191, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb191 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb191.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb191/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70405 date: 2025-05-14 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb190.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb192.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 1038 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb191.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 191 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-14 last_action: Effective Date 2026-01-01 sponsors: - Shawn Still - Clint Dixon - Drew Echols - Chuck Hufstetler - Larry Walker - Jutt Howard text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB191/2025 upstream_id: 1974346 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - unemployment benefits - employment security - appeals process - Georgia Department of Labor - administrative law --- # SB 191. Employment Security; certain notice provisions relating to benefits and appeals; revise ## Text 25 LC 46 1093 Senate Bill 191 By: Senators Still of the 48th, Dixon of the 45th, Echols of the 49th, Hufstetler of the 52nd and Walker III of the 20th AS PASSED A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 employment security, so as to revise certain notice provisions relating to benefits and2 appeals; to provide a definition; to provide for related matter s; to provide for an effective3 date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 Chapter 8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated , relating to employment7 security, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:8 "34-8-53.9 As used in this chapter, the term 'issue date' means the date o n which the department10 releases a determination or decision to an interested party by mail, hand delivery, or with11 the consent of the party, electronically. The issue date shall be printed on a determination12 or decision issued by the department. Through the promulgation of administrative rules,13 the Commissioner is authorized to waive, alter, extend, or set aside the time limit14 provisions of the law by which a determination or decision of t he department becomes15 S. B. 191 - 1 - 25 LC 46 1093 final; provided, however, that any such rule shall be consisten t with due process to all16 interested parties, and the purpose and policy of this chapter."17 SECTION 2.18 Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (c) of Code Section 34-8-192, relating19 to initial determination and redetermination of eligibility for , amount of, and duration of20 benefits, as follows:21 "(c) A determination shall be final unless a party entitled to notice applies for22 reconsideration of the determination or appeals the determination within 15 days after the23 notice was mailed to the party's last known address or otherwise delivered to the party issue24 date printed on the determination. Before a determination becomes final as provided in this25 Code section, the Commissioner may issue a redetermination if good cause is shown. Such26 redetermination is subject to further appeal by any party entitled to notice as provided in27 this chapter."28 SECTION 3.29 Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 34-8-220, relating30 to appointment of hearing officers to hear and decide appealed decisions, as follows:31 "(b) Unless an appeal is withdrawn, an administrative hearing officer, after affording the32 parties reasonable opportunity for fair hearing, shall affirm or modify the findings of fact33 and initial determination or shall make a decision after hearin g on issues referred by the34 Commissioner pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 34-8-192. The parties shall be35 duly notified of such decision, together with the reasons therefor, which shall be deemed36 to be the final decision of the Commissioner, unless within 15 days after the date of37 notification or mailing of such decision issue date printed on the decision further appeal is38 initiated pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 34-8-221."39 S. B. 191 - 2 - 25 LC 46 1093 SECTION 4.40 Said chapter is further amended by revising subsections (a) and ( b ) o f C o d e S e c t i o n41 34-8-221, relating to review of decision of hearing officer by board of review, as follows:42 "(a) The board of review may on its own motion affirm, modify, or set aside any decision43 of an administrative hearing officer on the basis of the eviden ce previously submitted in44 such case or direct the taking of additional evidence or may pe rmit any of the parties to45 such decision to initiate further appeals before the board of review. The board of review46 shall promptly notify the parties to any proceedings of its fin dings and decision. The47 decision of the board shall become final 15 days from the date the decision is mailed to the48 parties after the issue date printed on the decision.49 (b) The board of review may, in its discretion and on its own motion, reconsider its50 decision at any time within 15 days from the date the decision is mailed to the parties issue51 date printed on the decision . The board shall notify all concerned parties of its intent t o52 reconsider a final decision. Such notice shall stay the proces s of judicial review until a53 final decision is released by the board."54 SECTION 5.55 Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 34-8-223, relating 56 to procedure for judicial review of final decision of board of review, as follows:57 "(a) Any decision of the board of review, in the absence of a reconsideration as provided58 in subsection (b) of Code Section 34-8-221, shall become final 15 days after the date of59 notification or mailing issue date printed on the decision . Judicial review shall be60 permitted only after any party claiming to be aggrieved thereby has exhausted his or her61 administrative remedies as provided by this chapter. The Commissioner shall be deemed62 to be a party to any judicial action involving any such decision and shall be represented in63 any such judicial action by the Attorney General."64 S. B. 191 - 3 - 25 LC 46 1093 SECTION 6.65 This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2026.66 SECTION 7.67 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.68 S. B. 191 - 4 - ## 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. Senate Bill 191 changes how Georgia counts the deadline to appeal unemployment benefit decisions, switching from the date a notice was mailed to the 'issue date' printed on the decision itself. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's unemployment insurance system, run through the Department of Labor under Chapter 8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, gives workers and employers 15 days to appeal decisions about benefits. Under current law that 15-day clock generally starts from the date a notice was mailed or delivered. This bill changes the trigger to a new 'issue date,' defined as the date the department releases a determination or decision by mail, hand delivery, or electronically with the party's consent, and requires that date to be printed on the document itself. The bill applies this change consistently across the initial determination and redetermination process, hearing officer decisions, board of review decisions and reconsiderations, and judicial review deadlines. It also lets the Commissioner adopt administrative rules to adjust these time limits, as long as the rules stay consistent with due process. The changes would take effect January 1, 2026. ### What it does - Adds a new definition of 'issue date' to Georgia's unemployment insurance law, meaning the date the Department of Labor releases a determination or decision by mail, hand delivery, or electronic transmission. - Requires the issue date to be printed on every determination or decision the department issues. - Changes the 15-day deadline to request reconsideration or appeal an initial benefits determination so it runs from the printed issue date instead of the mailing date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-192). - Changes the 15-day deadline for appealing a hearing officer's decision to the board of review so it runs from the issue date rather than the notification or mailing date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-220). - Changes when board of review decisions become final and how long the board has to reconsider its own decisions, tying both to the issue date instead of the mailing date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-221). - Changes the deadline for seeking judicial review of a final board of review decision to run from the issue date printed on the decision (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-223). ### Who it affects Georgia workers who file for unemployment benefits, employers involved in benefit disputes, administrative hearing officers, the Department of Labor's board of review, and the courts that handle judicial review of unemployment decisions are all affected by this change in appeal deadlines. ### Why it matters Because appeal deadlines currently run from when a notice was mailed, delays in the mail could shrink the real time a worker or employer has to respond. Tying deadlines to a printed issue date gives people a fixed, visible date to calculate their 15 days to appeal. ### Key provisions - Section 1 creates new Code Section 34-8-53, defining 'issue date' and requiring it be printed on determinations and decisions, while letting the Commissioner adjust time limits by rule if consistent with due process. - Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-192(c) so an initial determination becomes final 15 days after the issue date printed on it, rather than 15 days after mailing. - Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-220(b) so a hearing officer's decision becomes final 15 days after the issue date printed on it unless further appeal is filed. - Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-221(a) and (b), tying finality of board of review decisions and the board's own reconsideration window to the printed issue date. - Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-223(a) so judicial review deadlines run from the issue date printed on the board's decision. - Section 6 sets the effective date as January 1, 2026. - Section 7 repeals conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-14) - Last action: Effective Date 2026-01-01 (2025-05-14) - Sponsors: Shawn Still, Clint Dixon, Drew Echols, Chuck Hufstetler, Larry Walker, Jutt Howard - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70405 > The history, votes, and amendments (1,038 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb191.md?full=1