# Georgia SB 439: "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975"; regulation of referral agencies for assisted living communities and personal care homes; provide

Georgia SB 439, "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975"; regulation of referral agencies for assisted living communities and personal care homes; provide, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Max Burns (Republican), Drew Echols (Republican), Russ Goodman (Republican) and 1 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB439-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia SB 439
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975"; regulation of referral agencies for assisted living communities and personal care homes; provide
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-29
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Max Burns (Republican), Drew Echols (Republican), Russ Goodman (Republican), Shawn Still (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Health, Health and Human Services, General Bill
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (221 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Care home seekers gain referral protections: benefit, low. Georgia referral agencies paid by assisted living communities or personal care homes must explain their services before making referrals. They must disclose referral fees, ties to the residence, possible gaps in their lists, and the right to end services. Residents or their representatives must ack…
- Care home referral fees face limits: benefit, low. Referral agencies cannot collect fees unless the residence and prospective resident or representative receive the required disclosure acknowledgment. They also cannot collect fees when more than 24 months pass between referral and move-in. After 12 months, an assisted living community can confirm i…
- State enforces referrals; private claims barred: mixed, low. The Georgia Attorney General enforces the care-home referral rules under the Fair Business Practices Act. Affected people cannot enforce these requirements through the private right of action under Code Section 10-1-399.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Max Burns (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Drew Echols (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Russ Goodman (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Shawn Still (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: John LaHood (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-19 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 168 | 0 | 7 |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 53 | 0 | 3 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-11: Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- 2026-05-11: Act 510
- 2026-04-10: Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-03-19: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-18: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-03-10: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-03-09: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-03-06: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-01-29: Senate Hopper (Senate)

## Bill text

- SB 439/AP* (v9): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/246806)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [SB 439/AP* (v9) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/246806)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
- [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills)
- [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB439-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).