Georgia CommonsSenate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 264: Emergency Management; creation of the Georgia Resilience Office under the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency; provide
Last action January 12, 2026 · Senate Recommitted
A Senate committee substitute for SB 264 would create the Georgia Resilience Office inside the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to coordinate statewide disaster recovery and resilience planning, run by a 14-member board and a new chief resilience officer.
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 currently has no single office dedicated to coordinating statewide planning for disasters, extreme weather, and long-term recovery. This bill, known as the Georgia Resilience Act, would add a new article to Georgia's emergency management law creating the Georgia Resilience Office within the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency. The office would develop and update a statewide resilience plan assessing flood, wildfire, drought, and heat risks, evaluate vulnerable infrastructure like hospitals and schools, and recommend policies to reduce disaster risk. A 14-member board, including state agency heads, legislators, and local government and utility representatives, would govern the office. A chief resilience officer, nominated by the board's chairperson, would run daily operations, hire staff, and report to the General Assembly at least once a year. The first statewide resilience plan would be due by December 31, 2026, and board appointments would begin by July 1, 2026.
What the bill does
- Creates the Georgia Resilience Office within the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to coordinate statewide disaster recovery and resilience efforts.
- Requires the office to develop a statewide resilience plan assessing disaster risks, infrastructure vulnerability, and data gaps, due by December 31, 2026 and revised every two years.
- Establishes a 14-member board of directors made up of state agency heads, legislators, local government representatives, and one electric utility industry representative.
- Creates the position of chief resilience officer, nominated by the board's chairperson, to run the office, hire staff, and report annually to the General Assembly.
- Authorizes the office to accept federal, private, and other outside funding and to issue grants to universities and local governments for resilience research.
Who it affects
State agencies such as the Department of Community Affairs, Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources, and State Forestry Commission; county and municipal governments; legislators appointed to the board; the electric utility industry; universities and researchers seeking resilience grants; and Georgia residents affected by floods, wildfires, drought, and extreme heat.
Why it matters
If enacted, Georgia would have a dedicated office and board planning ahead for floods, wildfires, drought, and heat, coordinating funding and infrastructure assessments across agencies. This could shape future state building codes, land use policy, and disaster funding decisions affecting hospitals, schools, and local governments statewide.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds Article 13 to Chapter 3 of Title 38, creating the Georgia Resilience Office as an entity within the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (O.C.G.A. § 38-3-202).
- Requires the office to complete a first statewide resilience plan by December 31, 2026, covering regional risk assessments, infrastructure vulnerability, and prioritized mitigation actions.
- Sets the 14-member board's composition, including agency directors, legislators, local government representatives, and one utility industry representative, with initial two-year terms starting by July 1, 2026.
- Establishes the chief resilience officer position (O.C.G.A. § 38-3-203), nominated by the board chairperson, responsible for hiring staff, coordinating plan updates, and reporting to the General Assembly annually.
- Allows the office to accept federal and private funding, monitor federal disaster recovery programs, and award grants to universities for resilience-related research.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“There is established the Georgia Resilience Office. The office shall be an entity within the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and attached to such agency for all operational purposes.”
“The first version of the resilience plan shall be completed by December 31, 2026”
“Control and management of the office shall be vested in a board of directors which shall consist of 14 members”
Status timeline
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Russ Goodman (R, SD-8)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-54)
- Kim Jackson (D, SD-41)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-6)
- Harold Jones II (D, SD-22)
- John F. Kennedy (R, SD-18)
- Billy Hickman (R, SD-4)
- Freddie Powell Sims (D, SD-12)
- Sam Watson (R, SD-11)
- Max Burns (R, SD-23)
- Derek Mallow (D, SD-2)
- Elena Parent (D, SD-44)
Topics
- emergency management
- disaster resilience
- climate resilience planning
- state government agencies
- infrastructure planning