Comité State and Local Governmental Operations del Senado, 18 de febrero de 2026

Transcripción

84 turnos. Seleccione un tiempo para reproducir ese momento del video.

1. 0:15:49

   For this late meeting. I did try to get an earlier meeting, but, uh, was unsuccessful. Just so you know, I was fighting for us. But no, thank you. Uh, call the, uh, state... Senate state and local government, uh, committee to order. Uh, Senator Setzler, would you lead us off in a prayer?

2. 0:16:05

   Yes, monsieur. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord God, you're the giver of all good things. We just praise you and thank you for all that you've given us. Pray that you give us wisdom, deliberation, fairness, and that in all that we do, we will glorify you, that we humble ourselves before you. Lord God, I pray that you bless everybody here, that we would serve you not just in, in the things we do in this capital, but it-- that have an impact on the lives of those around the state of Georgia, to your glory. We pray this in your holy name. Amen.

3. 0:16:40

   We've got one bill on the agenda, SB 447. We've had quite a bit of, uh, debate in the last committee meeting. Also, uh, you know, worked very closely with several senators, ACCG, GMA, and others. Uh, appreciate all the work that's gone into the changes that have been made to the bill. Uh, just wanted to remind everybody, you know, the purpose of the bill, uh, you know, is to ensure timely decisions on permits, uh, increase transparency in the permitting process, and also protect the rights of permit applicants.

4. 0:17:19

   And we do have a housing shortage in the state. Uh, it's reported that ninety-four of the hundred and fifty-nine counties are reporting a housing shor- Ugh, I can't talk. A housing shortage currently. And then also, um, it's also been reported that, you know, twenty-six point nine percent of housing costs, uh, you know, comes, uh, you know, from delays and then, you know, also, uh, impact fees and things like that from municipalities. But time is a big deal, uh, to developers and to builders.

5. 0:17:51

   Uh, there's substantial investment, you know, that's made when you're buying the dirt and you're doing the vertical work. Uh, and time and interest is, is not your friend. So timely permitting process will definitely help, uh, you know, with our housing affordability issue that we're facing, uh, in the country and in the state of Georgia.

6. 0:18:13

   And just to remind everybody, you know, kind of the, the crux of the initial bill that hasn't changed, uh, you know, it would set up clear criteria and requirements for loc-local issuing authorities, uh, on terms and criteria for building a per-uh, and permit approvals. And I need to go first. Uh, it also, uh, requires that on the initial submittal, that there's a forty-five day, uh, kind of shot clock when the, uh, the municipality would have to turn around the permit.

7. 0:18:47

   And then also on, uh, resubmittals or if a application's denied, uh, once it's resubmitted, uh, there would be a fourteen-day, uh, shot clock, uh, on there as well. And then kinda going into some of the changes that were made initially, uh, working with GMA and ACCG and the Riverkeepers, uh, there were concerns about, uh, the reference to zoning and land use in the bill. Uh, there are some zonings, like a PRD or, or others that have flexibility within the zoning.

8. 0:19:21

   So once the zoning's set and it's going through the permitting process, you know, lot sizes, things of that nature could change, um, which could be substantial, um, in changing that. So they, they'd requested that that'd been taken out. So that's been taken out of the bill. Uh, the next change came in with, uh, incomplete applications and dealing with the time period of the shot clock starting. Um, also, if an applicant makes, you know, a material or a massive or a substantive change to the plan, um, that the shot clock would not start at that point either.

9. 0:20:03

   Also, uh, another change working with our partners, uh, concerned about, uh, in the bill, it had, you know, if the, the plans are denied, that it had to reference certain state law. Um, and locals were concerned about having to hire attorneys and have attorney's fees and things of that nature. Um, so we changed it, uh, to all they gotta do is point to significant information or documentation supporting each reason. So we made that change as well. Also that w-was added into, uh, section three had to do with the website for the issuing authority, and that would begin on January first, twenty twenty-seven, and local governments must provide pu-publicly accessible online system showing real-time or within one business day status updates on permits.

10. 0:21:00

    Um, tracking, uh, tracking system must display key permit details like application number, uh, submission date, property identifier, permit type, and current status, and last update.

11. 0:21:26

    And then two of the newest changes, uh, working with, uh, Senator Setzler and concerns from GMA and ACCG in the last meeting, uh, dealing with, uh, state agencies. I know, uh, and I also had heard from the city of Savannah with concerns when they submit The LDPs, they submit them to the state, and they didn't wanna be liable having the shot clock started while they're waiting on the state. So we did, uh, make that change where the shot clock would not, uh, would not start, you know, while they're waiting on that outside review from a state agency.

12. 0:22:07

    It has to be from a state agency. Uh, but the applicants must be told, uh, which items are required for that outside review and details on that as well. And the next concerning, uh, point from some of the local, uh, and also working with GMA and ACCG, uh, was concerns with, uh, like, if a, a municipality doesn't respond, that the application would be deemed approved. And working with Senator Setzler, uh, we made a change there that if, uh, the local issuing authority, uh, doesn't respond within a timely manner, uh, that the application fees would be refunded.

13. 0:22:53

    Uh, any liability from attorney's damages or attorney's fees or damages, uh, would also potentially be liable to the municipality, and it would waive sovereign immunity to the extent necessary to allow those claims. And that's the final change on the bill.

14. 0:23:19

    Any comments or questions from the committee? Senator Setzler.

15. 0:23:23

    Hey, Mr. Chairman, um, appreciate the chair's indulgence of some recommended changes. I know there were some concerns we heard, and, um, I think the idea of things that are outside of cities and counties' control, i.e., s- not just Savannah, but also small municipalities and pr- probably some counties go to a state agency for, for the, uh, the, uh, lands disturbance permit, the, the soil and water standards review, um, that-- I think that was an important move you made.

16. 0:23:54

    I think also, you know, what was before us, Mr. Chairman, was that if the shot clock runs out on the previous version, someone automatically gets the permit. And I didn't think that was appropriate because you, you have public safety in question. You s-submit a permit, and then just because the local government agency is maybe not on their game, maybe someone's out for, you know, sick leave or whatever, when that 14-day clock ran out for a resubmission, automatically get a permit. I just didn't think that was good public policy. I think it exposes the public.

17. 0:24:25

    What we have now is a th- And again, it's, it's a circumstance where the, the city or county could just issue the permit on the shot clock date. But in practice, and I appreciate what the chair has offered, is that if you c-cross the shot clock date, the city or county has an option. They can either issue the permit, or they can say, "Hey, listen, if there's really not, it's really not hurting the, the applicant, and there's a one or two day little mess here to back and forth that's..." They probably couldn't demonstrate damages.

18. 0:24:56

    It gives a little flexibility. But if you've got a circumstance where the city or county has just not done their job to review this, and it's affecting thousands of dollars of cost to the person that the applicant, in some cases, you have liquidated damages that are involved in some of these things, and there's, there's a lot of this that the city or county needs to understand. They can't just sit around and take their time and let legal exposure hit some private entity. They needed to, they need, there, there need to at least be the ability to, to say, "Wait a minute.

19. 0:25:28

    It's the, the county or the city, by missing their obligations to meet deadlines, take on some legal exposure." That's, so it cracks the door for that. I think what it does is it softens this requirement of you shall issue a permit, 'cause they can issue the permit on the deadline date if they want to. But if there is some back and forth, and there's a recognition of some, some work between the applicant and the city or county, it allows there to be some softness in that, that timeline. But if they are just clearly at fault, there's, there's, there's some, some exposure.

20. 0:25:58

    I think that bal- I appreciate the chair's indulgence with the bill to offer that balance. So I just appreciate working with s- on that. I know there's some other folks that have done some other things, but it did, even though there's clearly a, there's clearly a s- a stick here, it softens that a little bit. It allows cities and counties to work with folks, to work through some things, uh, with a little bit more flexibility. So appreciate the chair's indulgence.

21. 0:26:22

    Thank you.

22. 0:26:39

    Senator Ginn.

23. 0:26:40

    Uh, Mr. Chairman, at the appropriate time, I'll move due pass on the bill at hand. Second.

24. 0:26:47

    That would be the appropriate time. We're working off, uh, LC 47409S.

25. 0:26:55

    49S.

26. 0:26:56

    Yeah, 49S. Thank you.

27. 0:26:58

    On the relevance, Mr. Chairman.

28. 0:27:00

    We've got a motion due pass and a second. Uh, any comments, questions?

29. 0:27:07

    I, I guess we were not prepared to hear any testimony today. I just wanted to know how the county felt about what you guys kind of worked out. I guess they probably input it, but I want to know how the county or governmental entity felt about, how the county or governmental entity felt about, um, you know, paying attorney's fees or whatever fees, or as an alternative, and, and was there an alternative to this alternative?

30. 0:27:37

    Although I know there's a motion, just as a preliminary inquiry, had, had that been addressed as an alternative?

31. 0:27:49

    Or has the county or municipality expressed-

32. 0:27:52

    Yeah, we've worked with, well, we've worked with GMA and ACCG.

33. 0:27:55

    Okay. I'll just let it go.

34. 0:27:57

    Okay.

35. 0:27:57

    Thank you.

36. 0:27:59

    Senator Howard.

37. 0:28:00

    All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I'm just reading through some of the updates in real time. It seems like we made a lot of, um, corrections, and it's been a good collaboration with the variety of groups. Uh, but just for my clarity and for the public's clarity, can we walk through the timeline of this substitute as we see it now, like its availability to committee members and the public from what it looked like last week to what we're reading now?

38. 0:28:26

    Yeah, that's, that's what I went through, uh-

39. 0:28:29

    Yeah

40. 0:28:29

    ... when I was going through the bill.

41. 0:28:29

    'Cause this is-

42. 0:28:30

    But yeah, there was only two, two changes from, from last week.

43. 0:28:34

    Yeah.

44. 0:28:34

    Uh, the, the initial changes, you know, we'd, we'd worked with GMA and ACCG even before the first-

45. 0:28:40

    Mm-hmm

46. 0:28:40

    ... hearing. Um, and it made those, well, it was three or four or five changes initially.

47. 0:28:46

    Mm-hmm.

48. 0:28:46

    And then it was two changes that we had made, um, since the last meeting.

49. 0:28:51

    Okay.

50. 0:28:51

    And that had to do with, um, dealing with, uh, a state agency where they're having to go and, and get their LDP approved outside by state agency where the shot clock wouldn't start. And then the other thing that changed, uh, dealing with, um, if a, the local municipality or issuing municipality doesn't respond, instead of the plans being deemed approved or being approved and maybe having an issue with a partially approved plan or a bad plan, um, you know, we wanted some teeth in there-

51. 0:29:27

    Yeah

52. 0:29:27

    ... to hold the municipality accountable, uh, you know, to that time period. So working with Senator Setzler on that change.

53. 0:29:33

    If, if I may, um, definitely appreciate all that in the ex- explanation. Was this substitute available before we started the meeting, or is this... 'Cause I, I know I was just trying to get the latest information, but I wanna, I wanna keep up with the bill that we're reading. So the one that we're reading now, that one, this is like, just became available just now. Am I on the same... Am I understanding that correctly?

54. 0:29:56

    Yeah, it was, it was later in the day today-

55. 0:29:58

    Okay

56. 0:29:59

    ... uh, with, uh, working with ledge council.

57. 0:30:01

    Oh, okay. 'Cause I, I know this meeting got pushed and there was a lot of changes. I was eager to see it in black and white. I love what you're saying about the change and it, and it sounds good. I, I, I do have some concern just trying to reread it through, uh, for the first time, um, you know, just getting here for the start of the meeting and trying to read it in real time. It... So I just wanted to share that publicly, that I'm having a hard time supporting the bill even though I love the changes.

58. 0:30:32

    But it takes me a little more time to go through everything and-

59. 0:30:35

    Okay. Understood.

60. 0:30:36

    All right. Thank you.

61. 0:30:37

    Noted.

62. 0:30:40

    Senator Ginn.

63. 0:30:41

    I just wanna make sure the fine senator knows that he can always trust his colleagues.

64. 0:30:49

    He's new, but he needs to know he can always trust his colleagues. So the, uh... You got a motion and a second, Mr. Chairman.

65. 0:31:00

    Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that. I, I... Just to my, to my colleague, uh, represents, uh, part of Cobb County with me. Um, just briefly, I mean, I just... The substance of the changes are repeated a couple times in the bill. They're kind of repeated throughout. On line 41, to, to the gentle- if I can alert attention to the gentleman, I mean, I think

66. 0:31:23

    if a, if a, if a permit application is submitted, the government has 45 days to review or, or re- reject it. Okay? So that, that, that's, that stays the same. Um, that's, that's pa- that's lines 40 through 44. Um, and that there's also a duty, as you see this, for the government to state the reasons in which it's denied. They can't just say denied. They say, they say denied, and they've got to enumerate the reasons in which it's denied. And that enumeration's really important to the design professionals who are submitting this 'cause they gotta know, like, why they failed.

67. 0:31:57

    Like, here, here's, here's... The teacher can't just put a, put a 65 on your test paper. She has to kind of mark things for, as, as it were, uh, by, by analogy. And then when the resubmission happens, this is at lines 45 and 46, um, there's 14 days to review a resubmission with all the changes that have been requested. Now, it, it does add, I think as the chair said, what are s- what are some little provisos in that 14 days?

68. 0:32:27

    There's some, some exceptions to that. If in the resubmission, if you add stuff, if you, if you put, bring in new content, new design features that weren't contemplated in that original application, so they're kind of like new, you then go back to the very beginning. Your, your 45-day shot clock starts again 'cause you've in- you put in materially new content. If it's small stuff, it's still subject. But if it's new, materially new, that goes, that starts the 45-day clock again. But that resubmission's a 14-day process. If that's not either reviewed and accepted or rejected again, which is the sole discretion of the permitting authority, they, they revie- re- review and reject it.

69. 0:33:04

    If they reject it again, you go back, you work on it as long as it takes to work on it, and you resubmit a third, or submit a third time. Second resubmission. And there's 14 days for them to review and come back to you. So it does require the government to get back to you in 14 days. They can't just sort of set it on the side burner. Um, but it does have these off-ramps that if you put, bring new stuff in, um, you can... Your, your 45 days starts over. I do think that's, I think that's fair, and I think the chair did that to, in, in the spirit of fairness.

70. 0:33:34

    But that's the kind of the, this window. If the government doesn't meet their deadlines, what it said before was, if they don't get back to you in 45 days, you have an automatic permit. You're almost hoping they don't get back to you in 45 days 'cause you get an automatic permit. Or if you s- resubmit, if they don't get back to you in 14 days, it was an automatic permit. This says they can give you auto- they can give you a permit in 14 days. If they don't, and they think they need to work some things out, they're taking on legal liability by doing that because they understand the applicants has legal and financial overhang in, in what they're doing, and exposure.

71. 0:34:09

    So it just makes, makes the, the government share that exposure if they're, if they're not meeting their duties. That's really all it does. So that, that was the softening piece, but that's kind of the, that's the mechanical step-by-step process. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for, for sharing. I just, I know we share a county, and there's, there's a lot of attention to this.

72. 0:34:24

    Yeah, no, and thank you for breaking that down, and thank you for working with me on this, uh, yesterday for about an hour and a half. Thank you for your work. Uh, we've got a motion do pass and a second on LC 47 4049S. All in favor, raise your hand. All opposed. Passes five-two.

73. 0:34:48

    You seconded the motion and then you didn't vote for it.

74. 0:34:50

    Yeah. Well-

75. 0:34:51

    I seconded it. Did I second it?

76. 0:34:53

    Uh, I did.

77. 0:34:54

    Yeah. Senator Setzler seconded.

78. 0:34:56

    But did, did you vote second?

79. 0:34:58

    He did.

80. 0:34:58

    Okay.

81. 0:35:01

    Yeah.

82. 0:35:01

    Motion adjourned.

83. 0:35:03

    We are adjourned. Thank you all.

84. 0:35:07

    Thanks.