HB1277: HB1277 Conservation and natural resources; increase project cost threshold for public roads or airports requiring environmental evaluations

Currently, road or airport projects costing $100 million or less generally do not require a full environmental evaluation under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 12-16-9), unless historical or cultural sites could be harmed. This bill raises that threshold to $200 million and lets the state adjust it each year starting in 2027 based on inflation, using the federal Consumer Price Index. The bill also changes several reporting requirements for the Department of Transportation, including how it publishes benchmarks, fiscal year reports, and design-build and alternative contracting summaries, and it repeals a rule limiting biennial reporting on public-private partnerships. It raises the property value threshold for negotiated sales of surplus road property from $75,000 to $150,000, with similar future inflation adjustments. Finally, it updates electric vehicle definitions to match another Georgia code section and extends the effective date of certain electric vehicle charging regulations to January 1, 2028.

• Raises the project cost threshold below which public road or airport projects skip a full environmental evaluation from $100 million to $200 million.
• Allows the threshold to be adjusted annually for inflation starting July 1, 2027, based on the federal Consumer Price Index.
• Revises Department of Transportation reporting requirements, including benchmark reports, project status updates, and design-build and alternative contracting summaries, and requires more of them to be published online.
• Repeals a Georgia law limiting the Department of Transportation to awarding no more than 50 percent of construction contracts through design-build methods.
• Raises the value threshold for negotiated (non-bid) sales of surplus road property from $75,000 to $150,000, with future inflation adjustments allowed.
• Updates the legal definitions of 'electric vehicle' and 'electric vehicle charging station' to match definitions used elsewhere in Georgia law and delays certain EV charging regulations until January 1, 2028.

The Georgia Department of Transportation, counties, municipalities, and road-building authorities that manage large construction projects; real estate brokers and appraisers involved in surplus property sales; the Department of Agriculture, which regulates electric vehicle charging; and electric vehicle owners and charging station operators.

Fewer large road and airport projects, up to $200 million instead of $100 million, would go through a full environmental review, which could speed up construction but reduce scrutiny of some projects' environmental effects. Changes to reporting and property sale rules could also affect public oversight of transportation spending.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 12-16-9 to raise the environmental evaluation exemption threshold from $100 million to $200 million and adds annual inflation-based adjustments starting July 1, 2027.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 32-2-41.2 to replace the benchmark development requirement with an annual fiscal year report on transportation spending, due to the Governor and General Assembly by January 15 each year.
• Section 5 repeals O.C.G.A. § 32-2-79, removing the requirement for biennial reporting on projects suited for public-private partnerships.
• Section 7 revises O.C.G.A. § 32-2-81 to keep the 50 percent cap on design-build contracting but change the deadline and content for the department's annual design-build report, and requires it be made public.
• Section 9 raises the property value threshold in O.C.G.A. § 32-7-4 for negotiated sales of surplus road property from $75,000 to $150,000, with annual inflation adjustments allowed starting July 1, 2027.
• Section 10 revises definitions of 'electric vehicle' and 'electric vehicle charging station' in O.C.G.A. § 46-2-20.1 to match the definitions in O.C.G.A. § 10-1-220.
• Section 11 extends the effective date of Department of Agriculture regulatory authority and tax provisions for electric vehicle charging, from an earlier date to January 1, 2028.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 454
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-04-02House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2026-04-02Senate Taken from Table (Senate)

• Matt Barton (R, HD-005)Primary sponsor
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
• Joe Campbell (R, HD-171)
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Lauren McDonald (R, HD-026)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 25, 2026

   149 yea, 16 nay (5 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #563

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #835

3. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   51 yea, 1 nay (0 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #928

4. PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2026

   122 yea, 50 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #873

• environmental review
• transportation projects
• road construction
• surplus property sales
• electric vehicles