ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp and his allies in the General Assembly say they’re determined to prevent foreign adversaries from doing business with state agencies.
Toward that end, Kemp signed legislation Friday requiring the Georgia Technology Authority to establish and maintain a list of companies and products produced and/or sold by citizens or governments the U.S. Commerce Department has designated as foreign adversaries. State agencies will use the list to govern purchasing decisions.
House Bill 113 was part of Kemp’s legislative agenda for this year. It cleared the Georgia Senate unanimously and passed the state House of Representatives with only a smattering of “no” votes.
“We will keep our state government free from interference,” Kemp vowed Friday during a bill signing ceremony at the Georgia Capitol.
The governor also signed a series of other bills aimed at reforming the process the state uses to license businesses in Georgia.
Under House Bill 579, the director of the Professional Licensing Board Division will have the authority to approve applications for new and renewed business licenses, bypassing lengthy board reviews of qualified applicants.
“This reform is about getting government out of the way,” said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whose office oversees business licensing. “By modernizing outdated regulations, we’re unlocking doors for qualified Georgians to contribute to our economy without sacrificing public safety or standards.”
Other bills aimed at streamlining state government Kemp signed on Friday include:
- Senate Bill 96, which gets rid of state agency boards that either have become inactive or perform duplicative roles.
- House Bill 148, which creates two additional pathways for obtaining a certified public accountant’s license.
- House Bill 322, allowing the Georgia Board of Dentistry to license applicants already licensed in another state, country, or territory.
- House Bill 630, streamlining the process for licensing used car and used car parts dealers.
- House Bill 635, easing the three pathways to license residential and commercial general contractors.
- Senate Bill 125, which decouples the pathway to licensing professional engineers and land surveyors.
More comprehensive legislation known as the “red tape rollback” introduced into the state Senate on behalf of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones didn’t make it through the General Assembly this year. Senate Bill 28 would have required the state to produce an analysis of any proposed rule that could cost the public or local governments at least $1 million to comply with during its first five years and prohibited state agencies from implementing such rules without legislative approval.