---
title: SB 439. "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975"; regulation of referral agencies for assisted living communities and personal care homes; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb439
cite_as: SB 439, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb439
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb439.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb439/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72634
date: 2026-05-11
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1081
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb439.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 439
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-11
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
- Shawn Still
- Russ Goodman
- Max Burns
- Drew Echols
- John LaHood
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB439/2025
upstream_id: 2102315
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- assisted living
- personal care homes
- senior housing
- consumer protection
- referral agencies
---
# SB 439. "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975"; regulation of referral agencies for assisted living communities and personal care homes; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 439
By: Senators Still of the 48th, Goodman of the 8th, Burns of the 23rd and Echols of the 49th
AS PASSED
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," so as to provide for regulation of
referral agencies for assisted living communities and personal care homes; to provide for
disclosures to prospective residents and acknowledgments of receipt; to require verification
of licensing of assisted living communities and personal care homes by referral agencies; to
provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for
other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the
"Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," is amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"10-1-393.22.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Assisted living community' means a personal care home with a minimum of 25 beds
that is licensed as an assisted living community pursuant to Code Section 31-7-3.
(2) 'Authorized representative' means an individual who is directly involved in the search
for, is responsible for a resident entering into, or may become a party to an agreement for
a resident to move into an assisted living community or personal care home.
(3) 'Personal care home' means any dwelling, whether operated for profit or not, which
undertakes through its ownership or management to provide or arrange for the provision
of housing, food service, and one or more personal services for two or more adults who
are not related to the owner or administrator by blood or marriage. Such term shall not
include host homes, as such term is set forth in Code Section 37-1-20.
(4) 'Personal services' means individual assistance with or supervision of
self-administered medication and essential activities of daily living, including, but not
limited to, eating, bathing, grooming, dressing, and toileting. Personal services shall not
include medical, nursing, or health services; provided, however, that the department shall
be authorized to grant a waiver of this provision in the same manner as provided for in
Code Section 31-7-12.3 for the waiver of rules and regulations and in the same manner
and only to the same extent as granted on or before June 30, 2011.
(5) 'Referral agency' means an individual or entity that provides referrals to an assisted
living community or personal care home of a prospective resident for a fee that is
collected from the assisted living community or personal care home. Such term shall not
include:
(A) An assisted living community, personal care home, or its employees; or
(B) A resident or an authorized representative of a resident of an assisted living
community or personal care home, regardless of whether such resident or authorized
representative receives a discount or other remuneration from the assisted living
community or personal care home, for referring a prospective resident.
(6) 'Resident' means a living individual who is seeking, considering, or receiving housing
in an assisted living community or personal care home
(b) No later than the time that a referral agency makes a referral to an assisted living
community or personal care home, such referral agency shall conspicuously disclose in a
written, electronic, or verbal form to a prospective resident or his or her authorized
representative:
(1) A description of the referral agency's services;
(2) The existence of any relationship between the referral agency and the assisted living
community or personal care home, including common ownership or control of the
residence, or financial, business, management, contractual, or familial relationships
between the referral agency and the assisted living community or personal care home;
(3) That the referral agency receives a fee from the assisted living community or
personal care home for the referral;
(4) That the list of assisted living communities or personal care homes provided by the
referral agency may not include all options that meet the prospective resident's stated
preferences and needs; and
(5) That the prospective resident or his or her authorized representative may at any time
terminate all services provided by the referral agency, including the use of a prospective
resident's personal information, by providing a written or electronic notice of termination
to the referral agency.
(c) A referral agency shall obtain from a prospective resident or his or her authorized
representative a written, electronic, or verbal acknowledgment of receipt of the disclosure
required in subsection (b) of this Code section in a physical or electronic form, which shall
be retained by the referral agency. Such acknowledgment shall not create any contractual
or exclusive relationship between the referral agency and the resident or his or her
authorized representative and shall not prohibit a resident or his or her authorized
representative from independently entering into a contract with or for any other assisted
living community or personal care home.
(d) Referral agencies shall not charge or collect a fee from an assisted living community
or personal care home:
(1) Unless the written, electronic, or verbal acknowledgment of receipt of the disclosure
required by subsection (c) of this Code section is provided to the assisted living
community or personal care home and the prospective resident or his or her authorized
representative; or
(2) In the event that more than 24 months have elapsed between the date that the referral
was made and the date that the resident moved into the assisted living community or
personal care home; provided, however, that, if, after the initial 12 months from the date
the referral was made, the assisted living community or personal care home has
confirmed in writing that the prospective resident has not entered into an agreement to
move into an assisted living community or personal care home that he or she was referred
to, the referral agency shall resubmit a referral to the assisted living community or
personal care home. Such resubmitted referral shall reactivate such referral for the
remaining 12 months.
(e) A prospective resident or his or her authorized representative may at any time terminate
all services provided by the referral agency, including the use of a prospective resident's
personal information, by providing a written or electronic notice of termination to the
referral agency.
(f) Enforcement of this Code section shall only be by public enforcement by the Attorney
General pursuant to this part and shall not be enforceable through a private right of action
under Code Section 10-1-399."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## 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.
A Georgia Senate bill would require referral agencies that connect people with assisted living communities and personal care homes to disclose their fees and business relationships before making a referral, and to verify licensing.
### Plain-language summary
Referral agencies help families find assisted living communities and personal care homes, often getting paid a fee by the facility rather than the family. Georgia law did not previously regulate these referral services directly. This bill adds a new section to the state's Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. ยง 10-1-393.22) that sets rules for how referral agencies must operate.
Under the bill, a referral agency must clearly tell a prospective resident or their representative what services it offers, any financial or ownership ties it has to the facilities it recommends, that it is paid by the facility, that its list may not cover every option, and that the resident can cancel its services at any time. The agency must get an acknowledgment that this disclosure was received and keep a record of it. Referral agencies cannot collect a fee from a facility unless that acknowledgment was provided, and referrals expire after 24 months unless renewed. The Attorney General, not private lawsuits, enforces these rules.
### What it does
- Creates a new legal category called a referral agency, defined as a business paid by an assisted living community or personal care home to send them prospective residents.
- Requires referral agencies to disclose their services, financial ties to facilities, fee arrangements, and the limits of their referral lists before or when making a referral.
- Requires referral agencies to obtain and keep a written, electronic, or verbal acknowledgment that the prospective resident received the required disclosures.
- Bars referral agencies from collecting a fee from a facility unless the disclosure acknowledgment was provided, or if more than 24 months passed since the referral without a renewal.
- Gives prospective residents the right to cancel a referral agency's services at any time by written or electronic notice.
- Assigns enforcement solely to the Georgia Attorney General, specifically excluding private lawsuits under the Fair Business Practices Act's private right of action provision.
### Who it affects
Referral agencies that connect prospective residents with assisted living communities or personal care homes, the facilities themselves, prospective residents and their families or authorized representatives, and the Georgia Attorney General's office, which would enforce the new rules.
### Why it matters
Families searching for senior housing often rely on referral services without knowing those services are paid by the facilities they recommend. The bill would require agencies to reveal financial relationships and fees upfront, giving families clearer information before choosing a home for a loved one.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code Section 10-1-393.22, defining terms like 'referral agency,' 'assisted living community,' 'personal care home,' and 'resident.'
- Subsection (b) lists five specific disclosures a referral agency must make to a prospective resident, including fee arrangements and relationships with facilities.
- Subsection (c) requires the referral agency to obtain and retain an acknowledgment that the disclosures were received, but clarifies this creates no contractual obligation.
- Subsection (d) prohibits referral agencies from charging facilities a fee without a documented disclosure acknowledgment, and sets a 24-month expiration on referrals unless renewed.
- Subsection (e) lets a resident or representative terminate the referral agency's services at any time.
- Subsection (f) limits enforcement to the Attorney General and expressly blocks private lawsuits under Code Section 10-1-399.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: Shawn Still, Russ Goodman, Max Burns, Drew Echols, John LaHood
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72634
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,081 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb439.md?full=1