SB553: SB553 Professions and Businesses; repeal Chapter 14, relating to electrical contractors, plumbers, conditioned air contractors, low voltage contractors, and utility contractors and enact a new Chapter 14

Georgia currently regulates electrical contractors, plumbers, HVAC (conditioned air) contractors, low voltage contractors, and utility contractors under Chapter 14 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. This bill repeals that entire chapter and replaces it with a new one. It recreates the State Construction Industry Licensing Board with 27 members split into five divisions, one for each trade, plus two consumer-representative seats, all appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate for four-year terms. The new chapter spells out detailed license classes (such as Electrical Contractor Class I and II, Master Plumber Class I and II, Conditioned Air Contractor Class I and II, four tiers of Low Voltage Contractor, and Utility Contractor, Manager, and Foreman), the exams, experience hours, coursework, and background checks needed for each, continuing education and renewal rules, reciprocity with other states, an expedited path for military veterans, and penalties including fines up to $10,000 per violation and misdemeanor charges. It also adds a small clarification to Georgia's transitioning-military-member licensing law and updates a small-business definition used in a tax code section on subcontractor payments.

• Repeals the existing Chapter 14 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated and replaces it with a new chapter covering electrical, plumbing, HVAC, low voltage, and utility contracting licensing.
• Recreates the State Construction Industry Licensing Board with 27 members across five trade divisions plus two public consumer-interest members, all appointed by the Governor.
• Establishes new detailed license and certificate classes for each trade (for example Electrical Contractor Class I/II, Master Plumber Class I/II, four types of Low Voltage Contractor) with specific exam scores, hours of experience, and coursework requirements.
• Allows the board to impose civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation and makes practicing without a license a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail.
• Creates an expedited licensing path for current or former military members whose training matches a covered trade, and adds a reciprocity process for contractors licensed in other states.
• Updates a definition in Georgia's tax code (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-38) describing what counts as a 'small business' for subcontractor tax reporting purposes, replacing a cross-reference with a tiered definition based on employee count and revenue.

Electrical contractors, plumbers, HVAC (conditioned air) contractors, low voltage/security and telecommunications installers, and utility contractors in Georgia; the newly reconstituted State Construction Industry Licensing Board and its staff; county and municipal inspection authorities; military veterans seeking expedited licenses; and businesses that hire subcontractors in these trades.

Tradespeople in these five fields would face a rebuilt licensing system with new classifications, exam standards, and experience requirements, which could change who qualifies for a license and how quickly. Homeowners and businesses that hire these contractors would be affected by new enforcement tools, including civil penalties up to $10,000 and misdemeanor charges for unlicensed work.

• Code Section 43-14-1 states the chapter's purpose: protecting the public from faulty, inadequate, or unsafe electrical, plumbing, low voltage, utility, or HVAC installations.
• Code Section 43-14-3 creates the 27-member State Construction Industry Licensing Board, divided into five trade divisions plus two consumer-interest members, all serving four-year terms under the Secretary of State's office.
• Code Section 43-14-5 gives the board power to set rules, grant reciprocity with other states, and assess civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation after notice and a hearing.
• Code Sections 43-14-8 through 43-14-14 set out licensing requirements, exam scores (minimum 70), and years of full-time experience for each trade and license class, including background checks and proof of lawful presence in the U.S.
• Code Section 43-14-17 makes unlicensed practice a misdemeanor, with fines up to $1,000 or up to six months in jail, and lets the board issue cease-and-desist orders with fines up to $1,500 (or $5,000 for utility contracting) per violation.
• Code Section 43-14-19 lists exemptions from licensing, including homeowners working on their own homes, farm and ranch work away from dwellings, and certain utility and government employees.
• Code Section 43-14-21 creates an expedited licensing process for current or former military members whose training matches specific trade requirements, if they apply within two years of discharge.
• Section 3 revises the small-business definition in O.C.G.A. § 48-7-38 (subcontractor tax reporting) to use tiered employee and revenue thresholds instead of a cross-reference to another code section.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 472
3. 2026-05-11Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-03-27Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2026-03-19House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
7. 2026-03-19House Third Readers (House)
8. 2026-03-18House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)Primary sponsor
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Steven McNeel (R, SD-018)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Devan Seabaugh (R, HD-034)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

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

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #642

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 19, 2026

   168 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #724

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   46 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 5 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #864

• contractor licensing
• electrical contractors
• plumbing regulations
• HVAC licensing
• construction industry board