SB 213: "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975" commercial cheating services that target students and examinees seeking a professional license as an unlawful, unfair, and deceptive trade practice; ban

Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act of 1975 (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393) lists specific business practices that count as unfair or deceptive. This bill adds a new category: commercial cheating services. It creates a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.20, making it illegal for anyone to provide, for money or other compensation, a substantially completed piece of work such as an essay, thesis, report, or exam answer to a student or professional license examinee, when that work could reasonably count as an assessment task for credit. The ban covers students in Georgia public and private schools, home study programs, University System and Technical College System institutions, and anyone taking an exam for a professional license. Violations are treated as an unfair or deceptive trade practice, but only the Attorney General can enforce it; there is no private right of action. The bill exempts tutoring, research help, general information, and AI tools that respond to prompts without producing full finished assignments.

• Adds a new unfair or deceptive practice category to the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393) covering commercial cheating services.
• Creates O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.20, making it illegal to sell or otherwise provide substantially completed assignments, essays, theses, or exam answers to students or license examinees.
• Limits enforcement of this new ban to the Attorney General only, blocking private lawsuits under the state's usual consumer protection remedy provision (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399).
• Exempts tutoring, research assistance, general information, and AI tools or software that answer prompts without producing a finished assessment task.
• Specifies that disclaimers or contract language cannot shield a cheating service provider from liability.

Students in Georgia public and private schools and home study programs, students at University System of Georgia and Technical College System institutions, people taking exams for professional licenses, and companies or individuals who sell completed assignments or exam answers for money.

Companies that sell completed essays, projects, or exam answers to students or license candidates would face state legal action for the first time under this specific ban, while ordinary tutoring and AI writing assistance tools remain legal as long as they do not produce finished assignments.

• Section 1 adds a new paragraph (36) to O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393(b) making failure to comply with the new cheating-service ban an unfair or deceptive practice.
• Section 2 creates O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.20, defining key terms like 'assessment task,' 'assignor,' 'student or examinee,' and 'work product.'
• Section 2(b) makes it unlawful to provide, for commercial purpose, a substantially completed work product that could count as an assessment task.
• Section 2(c) bars use of disclaimers or contracts to escape liability under the new law.
• Section 2(d) limits enforcement solely to the Attorney General, excluding private lawsuits.
• Section 2(e) exempts tutoring, research help, general information, and certain AI or software tools from the ban.
• Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399 to carve out an exception for the new law within the state's general consumer protection enforcement provisions.

1. 2025-05-14Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-14Act 300
3. 2025-05-14Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senado)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senado)
5. 2025-03-31House Passed/Adopted (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2025-03-31House Third Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
7. 2025-03-20House Committee Favorably Reported (Cámara de Representantes)
8. 2025-03-11House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)

• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)Patrocinador principal
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Charles Martin (R, HD-049)

1. AprobadaVotación: Senado6 de marzo de 2025

   53 a favor, 1 en contra (2 sin votar, 0 ausentes)

   Passage As Amended: Senate Vote #200

2. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes31 de marzo de 2025

   155 a favor, 7 en contra (5 sin votar, 13 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #373

• academic cheating
• consumer protection law
• professional licensing
• education policy
• artificial intelligence in schools