AGC Georgia is the trusted voice of Georgia’s commercial construction industry. Through strong relationships with elected and appointed state officials, agency leaders, and policymakers, we ensure the perspectives and priorities of our members are front and center in key decisions affecting our industry. At the national level, AGC of America amplifies this voice by representing over 27,000 member firms across 88 chapters through experienced, respected advocacy professionals working on Capitol Hill.
During each Georgia General Assembly session, AGC Georgia is on the front lines—reviewing legislation, shaping regulatory policy, and addressing issues that impact how our members do business every day. But we’re not just playing defense. We actively pursue opportunities to improve Georgia’s construction climate, whether by supporting workforce development funding, clarifying procurement laws, or promoting sensible business regulations.
Our efforts form a powerful advocacy engine delivering results that strengthen the industry. To get involved, contact Mark Woodall, Senior Director of Governmental Affairs or Will Graddick, Associate Director of Governmental Affairs.
Information from Most Recent Legislative Session
2025 Legislative Session
Key highlights from the most recent session of the Georgia General Assembly are included below. To review a printable 2025 Post Session Report, please click here.
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Amended Fiscal Year 2025 Budget
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2026 Budget
Includes $1M in funding for K-12 construction workforce development initiatives.
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Public Works Threshold
HB 137 was signed into law and increased the benchmark for when a job must be publicly advertised and competitively bid from $100K to $250K.
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Contractor Licensing
SB 125 was signed into law and allowed and now allows a firm 90 days to install a new license holder should the previous holder pass away.
HB 579 and HB 635 were also signed into law as means for comprehensive revisions to Georgia's professional licensure processes. -
Top State for Talent Act
HB 192 was signed into law and seeks to improve Georgia's education tracks between secondary and postsecondary pathways. It focuses on additional funding for CTAE programs and dual enrollment courses.
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Tort Reform
SB 68 and SB 69 were signed into law representing Governor Kemp's Tort Reform Package. AGC Georgia was heavily involved with two coalitions that pushed for the passage of Tort Reform. A special thanks to all of our members, especially our Board of Directors for their leadership in approving significant financial support to the lobbying efforts by the coalitions.
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Public Records Requests
SB 12 was signed into law to address public records requests involving private entities performing projects for public entities/agencies.
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High Demand Apprenticeship Program Update
SB 180 was signed into law to build upon previous High Demand Apprenticeship Program legislation. It opens the door for registered apprenticeship sponsors, such as trade associations that have registered apprenticeship programs, to apply directly for the allotted apprenticeship funding.
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Protections for individual hiring contractors following natural disasters
SB 201 was signed into law to implement increased protection for homeowners entering into contracts with contractors following a natural disaster.
Legislative Successes
Thanks to the year-round efforts of Chapter staff and the dedication of AGC Georgia’s Legislative Committee, we achieve tangible legislative success on behalf of Georgia’s construction industry. Many times, this means blocking harmful bills and policies before they gain traction. In other cases, it involves advocating for and securing the passage of beneficial legislation, ensuring positive outcomes for AGC Georgia members and the state’s commercial construction industry.
State Legislative Initiatives & Victories
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Georgia Contractor Licensure – AGC Georgia was approached by policy makers and told that general contractors should pursue a statewide license to promote efficiency. AGC Georgia, in collaboration with Homebuilders Association of Georgia, worked to ensure only one statewide license would be required as opposed to a license for every city and county a contractor worked in.
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Public Works Threshold - In 2025, AGC Georgia introduced a significant change to Georgia’s public works law. The threshold at which a job must be publicly advertised and competitively bid was raised from $100,000 to $250,000. Since this threshold had not been changed in over 20 years, this was a necessary change to account for inflation and to promote efficiency.
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Public Agencies Tax Payment - AGC Georgia ensured a change in the law that provided guardrails regarding the tax liability for materials purchased by a public owner that were later installed by the contractor. Prior to this, contractors would often receive these materials and be asked to install them without any knowledge of the true cost of the resulting tax liability.
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Essential During Pandemic - AGC Georgia played a critical role in keeping construction sites operational during the pandemic. By securing an “essential” designation from the Governor, the association ensured that jobsites could remain open. Additionally, AGC Georgia’s prior success in passing legislation allowing private inspections helped keep projects moving while public services were limited.
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Tort Reform - AGC Georgia’s leadership collaborated with key stakeholders and policymakers to help pass comprehensive tort reform legislation. These changes benefit all businesses and are expected to reduce insurance costs for construction firms. The association invested $115,000 to support this critical effort.
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Dept. of Administrative Services (DOAS) Procurement Registry - Successfully advocated for a requiring all public projects exceeding the public works cost threshold be listed on the DOAS procurement registry. This move promotes greater transparency and fairness in the bidding process.
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Also, supported legislation ensuring DOAS publishes both state and local contracts in their construction procurement registry. This improved efficiency immensely.
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Energy Savings Contracts - Advocated for energy savings contracts to be competitively awarded, reinforcing the importance of transparency in public procurement. While Georgia’s code includes caveats that allow for exceptions, the association maintains that all public works contracts should be publicly advertised and competitively bid, except in true emergency situations requiring immediate action.
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Public Works Delivery Mechanisms - Collaborated with policymakers to introduce the availability of alternative delivery mechanisms in public works jobs such as design build and construction management risk.
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Gordian - AGC Georgia opposed efforts by Gordian to expand their alternative public works bidding process in the state. Under Georgia law, all non-emergency public works projects over $250,000 must be publicly advertised and competitively bid. The association firmly maintains that allowing local governments to select contractors from Gordian’s pre-determined lists does not meet the standards of a fair and open bidding process.
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Pay when Paid Fight - Introduced legislation changing the predominant payment system between general contractors and subcontractors from “pay if paid” to “pay when paid.”
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AGC Georgia stopped subsequent legislation that would have resulted in the elimination of pay when paid.
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Retainage - To promote a level playing field, AGC Georgia successfully introduced legislation to revise the retainage structure on public works projects. The change replaced the 10% retainage held until 50% project completion with a consistent 5% retainage applied throughout the life of the project.
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State Construction Manual - AGC Georgia staff and member represenatives were invited by the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (GSFIC) and the Board of Regents to participate in the development of the state’s official construction manual. The association’s input played a key role in shaping the final version, which continues to serve as a standard reference across Georgia.
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Georgia Contractor Licensure – AGC Georgia was approached by policy makers and told that general contractors should pursue a statewide license to promote efficiency. AGC Georgia, in collaboration with Homebuilders Association of Georgia, worked to ensure only one statewide license would be required as opposed to a license for every city and county a contractor worked in.
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Public Works Threshold - In 2025, AGC Georgia introduced a significant change to Georgia’s public works law. The threshold at which a job must be publicly advertised and competitively bid was raised from $100,000 to $250,000. Since this threshold had not been changed in over 20 years, this was a necessary change to account for inflation and to promote efficiency.
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Public Agencies Tax Payment - AGC Georgia ensured a change in the law that provided guardrails regarding the tax liability for materials purchased by a public owner that were later installed by the contractor. Prior to this, contractors would often receive these materials and be asked to install them without any knowledge of the true cost of the resulting tax liability.
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AGC Georgia was actively engaged with the GSFIC Advisory Committee during its operation and, as of 2025, is advocating for its reactivation to continue fostering collaboration and industry input on state construction practices.
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Illegal Alien Workers – Stopped legislation that would have held general contractors liable for a subcontractor’s illegal alien workers.
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Ratio Requirements - AGC Georgia helped stop legislation that would have implemented ratio requirements for electrical journeymen and apprentices.
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Qualifications-Based Market Access - Introduced and championed legislation to eliminate restrictive requirements that unfairly barred contractors from bidding on certain public projects based solely on narrow past experience. Previously, contractors could be excluded from consideration—for example, from building a chemistry lab on a college campus—simply because they hadn’t constructed that exact type of facility, even if they had completed more complex projects. This legislative change corrected that imbalance, allowing qualified contractors to compete in markets they were fully capable of serving.
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Health Care Plan Ruling - AGC Georgia successfully opposed legislation that would have made employers offering health care plans jointly liable with physicians for medical malpractice resulting from medical decisions.
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Liens - AGC supported legislation that allowed parties to file or perfect liens when an owner defaults in payment when a pay when paid contract exists between parties.
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E-SPLOST - Supported legislation implementing E-SPLOST which is used for the construction of public-school systems. Following the implementation of E-SPLOST, leadership supported legislation requiring all qualified contractors to have the opportunity to compete for school construction projects. This process was a pre-cursor to what is now known as Georgia’s public works law.
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Inmate Labor - AGC Georgia fought the use of inmate labor programs which resulted in the program being scaled back to inmates only being able to provide construction services on jail facilities.
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Government Maintenance Departments - Opposed legislation seeking to allow local government maintenance departments to provide construction services in the private sector.
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AC Unit Purchasing Rules - Stopped legislation to require anyone purchasing AC units to be a licensed HVAC contractor.
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AIA Practice Act - Successfully secured clarification that general contractors may offer design-build services, provided all design work is subcontracted to properly licensed architects or engineers.
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NPDES Permit - Supported legislation preventing local issuing authorities from enacting regulations more stringent than state law. AGC Georgia also fought against hyper-regulatory NPDES policies that were stalling efficiency on construction sites and resulting in unfeasible tracking costs for contractors. (Ex: Water sampling for every rain event at a job site.)
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Introduction of Electronic Signature - Advocated for legislation allowing electronic signatures to be a legally accepted form of signature in the construction industry.
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Lien Law Improvement - AGC Georgia championed legislation to address a critical flaw in Georgia’s lien law. After an AGC member lost $1 million due to a court ruling requiring materials to be physically installed on a jobsite to qualify for a lien, the new legislation clarified that any materials or equipment delivered to the jobsite specifically for that project are eligible to be included in the lien’s value.
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Protecting Contractor Privacy - AGC Georgia successfully blocked legislation that would have required general contractors to disclose subcontractors at the time of bidding.
Regulatory Connections & Liaisons with Industry Stakeholder Groups
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Secretary of State’s Contractor Licensing Board
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State Construction Manual
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Board of Regents and GSFIC Facilities Advisory Boards
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Corps of Engineers
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Collaboration with ACEC and AIA on mutual interests impacting the built environment
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Public Owner Groups representing both State and Local Government
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Real Estate Trade Group - collection of respected lobbyist representing business interest including commercial construction
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Georgia Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee Members
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Call Before You Dig Committee
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Service on Industry Advisory Boards with construction programs at Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State
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State Codes Advisory Board
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Georgia's state Department of Administrative Services
Lawsuits & Amicus Briefs
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AGC of America & AGC Georgia filed many Amicus Briefs on behalf of Georgia contractors on the issue commercial general liability insurance coverage with successful results.
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Successfully challenged the City of Statesboro and the Georgia Municipal Association prohibiting them from using Reverse Auction Bidding to secure local government construction contracts.
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Successfully challenged Georgia EPD over NPDES Permit requirements which ultimately resulted in reasonable monitoring requirements. During these discussions, proposed requirements would have required monitoring after every ½ inch rain event.
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Successfully challenged Gwinnett County over a local ordinance on immigration that would have required contractors to violate federal employment law to comply with their local ordinance.
Legislative & Political Action Committees
Legislative Committee
David Carl
Gay Construction Company
Atlanta
Jacqueline Chandler
Brasfield & Gorrie
Birmingham
Trey Clegg
Brasfield & Gorrie
Birmingham
Mark Cobb
Cobb Law Group
Thomasville
Wes Cobb
Jerry L. Johnson & Associates, Inc.
Morrow
Jim Cooper
Cooper & Company General Contractors, Inc.
Cumming
Dave Cyr
Parrish Construction Group, Inc.
Perry
Brian Daniel
Carroll Daniel
Gainesville
Michael Dawson
Yates, LLC
Atlanta
John Derucki
Derucki Construction Company
Roswell
Greg Dorsey
CompTrust AGC MCIC
Kennesaw
Mike Dunham
AGC Georgia
Atlanta
Keith Dunn
Prime Contractors, Inc.
Powder Springs
Zach Fields
AGC Georgia
Atlanta
Ben Garrett
RaLin Construction
Carrollton
John Giannini
Turner Construction Company
Atlanta
Will Graddick
AGC Georgia
Atlanta
Chip Greene
Greene and Associates, Inc.
Macon
Randy Hall
Batson-Cook Company
Atlanta
Mitch Headley
Headley Construction Corporation
Newnan
George Jones
L. E. Schwartz & Son, Inc.
Macon
Lyndy Jones
JCI Contractors
Moultrie
Gregg Joy
Smith Currie Oles LLP
Atlanta
Jane Marie Kinsey
McKnight Construction Co., Inc.
Augusta
Linda Klein
Baker Donelson
Atlanta
Scott Lawrence
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
Atlanta
Mike Macon
Balfour Beatty Construction
Atlanta
Eddie Mock
PRO Building Systems, Inc.
Atlanta
Sean Moxley
Garbutt Construction Company
Dublin
Brian Nichols
Travelers-Bond
Alpharetta
Calvin Pate
Harrison Contracting Company, Inc.
Villa Rica
Jacob Patton
All-State Electrical Contractors
Macon
Casey Pollard
R. K. Redding Construction, Inc.
Bremen
Mahsa Poorak
Southern Electric Company, LLC
Alpharetta
Doug Rieder
Sterling Seacrest Pritchard
Atlanta
Gabe Schlappi
Liberty Mutual Surety
Suwanee
Greg Simmons
Holbrook Waterproofing Co. of Georgia, Inc.
Decatur
Dallas Smith
Piedmont Construction Group, LLC
Macon
Brian Steed
Gilbane Building Co.
Atlanta
Doug Tabeling
Carroll Daniel
Gainesville
Jodi Taylor
Brasfield & Gorrie
Atlanta
Scott Thompson
Piedmont Construction Group, LLC
Macon
Sean Tidwell
Yates, LLC
Atlanta
Katie Tinsley
McKenney’s, Inc.
Atlanta
Drew Watson
Bowen & Watson, Inc.
Toccoa
Greg West
American Global
Atlanta
Matt West
West Construction Company
Savannah
Mark Whitney
Gay Construction Company
Atlanta
Mark Williams
Cork-Howard Construction Company
Marietta
Mark Woodall
AGC Georgia
Atlanta
Robert Yarbrough
USI Insurance Services
Atlanta
AGC Georgia Political Action Committee
Wes Cobb
Jerry L. Johnson & Associates, Inc.
Morrow
Greg Dorsey
CompTrust AGC MCIC
Kennesaw
Darrin Kines
Duffey Southeast, Inc.
Cedartown
Jacob Patton
All-State Electrical Contractors
Macon
Casey Pollard
R. K. Redding Construction, Inc.
Bremen
Mark Woodall
AGC Georgia
Atlanta
Political Action Committees
AGC Georgia supports pro-construction, pro-business candidates through our Political Action Committee (PAC).
During each election cycle, as well as in off years, individuals at member firms voluntarily contribute monies to the PAC for distribution to qualified legislative candidates seeking election to the Georgia General Assembly and statewide offices. AGC Georgia’s nine-member Board of Trustees determines which candidates receive contributions to their campaigns.
A tremendous amount of effort goes into this process, including getting acquainted with new candidates and helping educate them about issues impacting the construction industry.
In addition, AGC Georgia partners with AGC of America to gain member support for their nonpartisan PAC. Eligible employees of member firms can voluntarily provide financial contributions to support candidates running for national elected office.
Regardless of party affiliation, these candidates must demonstrate an understanding of the construction industry and the specific needs, interests and concerns of AGC member firms and their employees. The AGC of America’s PAC is one of the most recognized and well-respected in Washington, DC. It consistently ranks among the top trade association PACs in the nation.
AGC of America’s PAC is governed by a board of trustees working to represent the needs of all 88 chapters. AGC Georgia member, Dan Baker, CEO of Duffey Southeast in Cedartown, is Georgia’s delegate to the federal PAC and Dave Cyr, CEO of Parrish Construction Group is a member of the national PAC’s Board of Trustees, representing Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico.
Visit AGC of America to learn more about their advocacy work.
For more information about AGC Georgia’s PAC,
Please contact our Governmental Affairs Team: Mark Woodall, Senior Director and Will Graddick, Associate Director