SB 283: Certification of Motor Carriers; authority of the Department of Public Safety to establish reasonable rates, fares, and charges; repeal

Under current Georgia law, the Department of Public Safety can set the rates, fares, and charges that motor carriers are allowed to charge for moving household goods, similar to how it regulates passenger transportation companies. This bill would remove that authority for household goods movers. Section 1 repeals O.C.G.A. § 40-1-118, the code section that lets the department establish rates for household goods carriers, and marks it as reserved for future use. Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 40-1-119 to strip out references to household goods, so the rule against charging different rates than the department prescribes, and the ban on unjust discrimination, would apply only to passenger carriers going forward. Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. The bill does not state a specific future effective date beyond standard enactment.

• Repeals O.C.G.A. § 40-1-118 entirely, eliminating the Department of Public Safety's power to set rates, fares, and charges for household goods movers.
• Rewrites O.C.G.A. § 40-1-119 to remove household goods from the rule requiring carriers to charge only department-approved rates, applying that rule only to passenger carriers.
• Removes household goods from the unjust discrimination prohibition, leaving that protection in place only for passenger transportation customers.
• Keeps the department's authority over passenger carrier passes, reduced-rate occasions, and rate schedules unchanged.

Household goods moving companies (motor carriers that transport furniture and belongings) would no longer have their rates regulated by the state. The Department of Public Safety loses regulatory authority in this area, while passenger transportation carriers and their customers remain subject to existing rate rules.

Household goods movers would gain more freedom to set their own prices without state-approved rate schedules, which could change how moving costs are determined for Georgia consumers. Passenger transportation rate regulation and anti-discrimination protections would remain unaffected.

• Section 1 repeals Code Section 40-1-118 in its entirety and designates it as reserved, removing the department's rate-setting power over household goods carriers.
• Section 2 revises Code Section 40-1-119 by deleting references to household goods, limiting the rate-charging and anti-discrimination rules to passenger carriers only.
• Section 2 preserves the commissioner's authority to set passenger carrier passes, reduced rates for special occasions, and rate schedules.
• Section 3 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the Act.

1. 2025-02-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Rick Williams (R, SD-25)Primary sponsor
• Carden Summers (R, SD-13)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-24)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-8)

• motor carrier regulation
• moving companies
• transportation rates
• Department of Public Safety