# Georgia SB 447: Control of Soil Erosion and Sedimentation; denial or nonacceptance of permits; revise provisions

Georgia SB 447, Control of Soil Erosion and Sedimentation; denial or nonacceptance of permits; revise provisions, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Bill Cowsert (Republican), Jason T. Dickerson (Republican) and 11 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB447-2025-2026
- 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 447
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Control of Soil Erosion and Sedimentation; denial or nonacceptance of permits; revise provisions
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-02-02
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Bill Cowsert (Republican), Jason T. Dickerson (Republican), Clint Dixon (Republican), Drew Echols (Republican), Frank Ginn (Republican), Russ Goodman (Republican), Chuck Payne (Republican), Shawn Still (Republican), Carden Summers (Republican), Larry Walker (Republican), Ben Watson (Republican), Sam Watson (Republican), Rick Williams (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Natural Resources & Environment, Rules, General Bill
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 3 (192 yes, 78 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 5

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Clearer deadlines and reasons for permits: benefit, low. Local authorities must explain land-disturbance permit criteria clearly and check completeness and outside-review needs within five days. Without notice of missing information within five days, the application is treated as complete. Authorities generally must issue or deny permits within 45 days a…
- Permit applicants get refunds and enforcement: benefit, low. Local authorities must refund all application fees collected when they miss an applicable deadline to issue or deny a permit. The refund equals the fees collected for that application, not a fixed payment. An affected applicant can also ask superior court for an order requiring the authority to fol…
- Private inspections protect approved building work: benefit, low. An approved inspection report from a private professional provider is treated as approved once submitted to the local authority. The authority has two business days to flag an incomplete report or inadequate inspection in writing. Its notice must identify specific problems and requirements not met.…
- Residents get searchable building permit updates: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2028, local governments issuing more than 250 building permits in the prior calendar year must post every submitted application’s status online. Updates must appear immediately or within one business day, and public access must be free, searchable, and require no registration o…
- Airport exception limits permit deadline protections: cost, low. Permit review deadlines do not automatically apply in counties meeting the law’s airport and land conditions. The airport must be owned or operated by the county or a local authority. It must border at least 9,000 acres currently or formerly owned by a municipality with no incorporated territory in…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Bill Cowsert (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Jason T. Dickerson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Clint Dixon (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Drew Echols (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Frank Ginn (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Russ Goodman (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Chuck Payne (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Shawn Still (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Carden Summers (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Larry Walker (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Ben Watson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Sam Watson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Rick Williams (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Victor Anderson (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-03 | Senate | AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTE | pass | 51 | 2 | 2 |
| 2026-03-31 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 95 | 72 | 8 |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 46 | 4 | 4 |

## Actions (18)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-11: Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- 2026-05-11: Act 513
- 2026-04-10: Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- 2026-04-02: Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-03-31: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- 2026-03-19: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- 2026-03-06: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-03-04: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-03-03: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Senate Hopper (Senate)

## Bill text

- SB 447/AP* (v13): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249199)

## 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 447/AP* (v13) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/249199)

## 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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB447-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).