ATLANTA — On May 12, 2026, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill 1247, known as the Georgia Bureaucratic Deference Elimination Act, into law. The law restricts judicial deference by prohibiting Georgia state courts from deferring to agency interpretations when interpreting the state’s Constitution, statutes, or published rules.
HB 1247 lowers the legislative vote threshold required to disapprove a proposed agency rule from two-thirds to a simple majority and eliminates the governor’s ability to veto such disapproval resolutions. The bill also mandates that state agencies submit economic impact analyses of proposed rules to the legislature and, beginning in 2028, file comprehensive reviews of their existing rules every five years with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget.
Rules issued to meet federal mandates, those describing an agency’s general operations or public interaction procedures, and rules of practice are exempt from HB 1247’s economic analysis and reporting requirements. Certain state agencies are also exempt from these provisions, though the law does not specify which ones.
HB 1247 originated as the judicial deference elimination measure but was later amended by the Senate to incorporate provisions from the Red Tape Rollback Act, which altered agency economic analysis requirements. The House added further amendments, including exemptions for specific agencies’ rules, before final passage.
The bill passed the House initially on March 4, 2026, by a 98–63 vote, with one Democrat joining Republicans in support. After Senate amendments, it passed the upper chamber on March 25 by a 48–2 margin, with 18 Democrats voting yes. The final House vote on April 2 was 98–70, followed by Senate concurrence on April 3 by a 34–18 vote.
“I would have preferred the change from a two-thirds vote to a majority vote requirement to occur via constitutional amendment rather than statute,” Kemp said in a signing statement.