VUJA DE: OPPORTUNITY IN CRISIS

By Mark Woodall, AGC Georgia’s Director of Governmental Affairs

Since 1996, I’ve had the pleasure of traveling the state to meet with members and provide a behind-the-scenes report on the year’s legislative session. In many ways, the 2020 Session was like no other in history.

We all know what Déjà vu is –you’ve experienced something before. However, no one has ever experienced the likes of the 2020 Session and that’s why it’s been coined the Vuja De Session.

AGC Georgia was on its way to having another respectable year under the Gold Dome when COVID-19 shut everything down on March 13, including the General Assembly. On June 15, Governor Kemp asked legislators to return to pass the only constitutionally required legislation each year, a balanced budget. In the interim, Georgia was dealing with a patchwork of local ordinances and laws regarding business and government shutdowns.

In 2019, we initiated and passed changes to our Private Plan Review and Inspection Law, but the 2019 legislative changes did not address projects exempt from using private providers. As local governments began sending their building department staff home in mid-March, AGC Georgia sought assistance from Governor Kemp to address the problem.

Even with construction being broadly recognized as an essential industry by the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) guidelines, some municipalities were sending building officials home due to the pandemic. This meant construction inspections were not being provided.

After AGC Georgia’s initial request for assistance, Governor Kemp issued two Executive Orders on this topic which were critical to keeping construction moving forward in Georgia.

1. Immediate Use of Private Providers for Plan Review & Inspectors without the wait time recognized in the law

2. Allowed use of Private Plan Review & Inspections on projects that at the time were not eligible under the law

During the shutdown, the use of the Private Plan Review and Inspections for ALL projects was wildly successful on projects such as hospitals, airports and high rises. The dye had been cast; the construction industry wanted this option to become permanent law.

A small group including ACEC Georgia, AGC Georgia, BOMA Georgia, Georgia Apartment Association, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and Norfolk Southern led the charge when the General Assembly reconvened by identifying legislative vehicles that could be amended to include language making Governor Kemp’s Executive Order law moving forward. We also reached out to friends in local government, Georgia Municipal Association and Association County Commissioners of Georgia, to let them know what was being considered.

The best fit for our intended needs was Senate Bill 377. This legislation was introduced by the Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal’s offices to amend guidelines for elevator inspections. When we explained our need to the agency leadership and to the bill’s sponsors, Senator Burt Jones and Representative Eddie Lumsden, they offered their support to amending the bill to include our private provider language to SB 377.

With the original bill already passing the full Senate, it was to be heard in the House Insurance Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Lumsden. During his presentation, he offered the amendment and it passed out of committee. With his great explanation before House colleagues, SB 377 passed that body, as well. Any legislation amended by one body after being approved by the other has to bounce back to the original body for an agree. The Senate approved the amended bill and Governor Kemp signed it into law on June 30, 2020 with Act 406.

The moral of the story: There truly is opportunity in crisis. You just need to look for it.

To read the full version of SB 377, please visit: https://bit.ly/3eKObrL. ■