March 15 marked a critical day for Georgia’s 2022 legislative session. Known as Crossover Day, it is the deadline for a bill to pass out of its legislative chamber, either the House or Senate.

Bills that fail to do so are no longer under consideration for the session. 

The bills we are watching most closely reflect our state and local policy priorities to improve the quality and safety of homes for families, to create protections for tenants and to increase resources for housing in communities across Georgia.

We are excited that our advocacy to strengthen the state’s standards to prevent childhood lead exposure has passed Georgia’s House of Representatives. House Bill 1355 updated several provisions to Georgia’s lead prevention laws by reducing the blood levels in children under 6 that would trigger intervention. The bill also updates the Department of Health’s remediation measures for exposure found in rental housing, schools and daycare centers. 

House Bill 1355 will need to pass the Georgia Senate by Tuesday, April 5. We are also advocating for companion legislation to appropriate $1.8 million for Georgia’s Department of Public Health to implement the updates. There is substantial momentum among legislators around these changes that we hope continues to lead this bill toward full adoption. 

We continue to monitor our other priority bills including House Bill 408, which would establish a statewide seven-day notice requirement prior to filing an eviction for failure to pay. Enacting a notice requirement would bring Georgia in line with 40 other states with similar laws that curb unnecessary fees to both landlords and tenants. 

We are in opposition to House Bill 1393, which would prohibit judicial orders that temporarily suspend eviction proceedings in times of judicial emergencies. In March 2020, the chief judge of the Georgia Supreme Court did implement such a suspension on eviction proceedings, among other non-emergency matters, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

These measures helped to keep vulnerable families in place across the state in absence of a statewide eviction moratorium, and before a federal moratorium was issued. This bill has not passed through the House Judiciary Committee and, to date, has not been scheduled for a hearing.

We will continue to monitor other bills that impact housing and economic development throughout the duration of session. For more information on pending legislative items and to keep up with the session, visit the Georgia Legislative Navigator.