GA HB579

Division director of professional licensing boards gains authority to review and grant applications for license issuance, renewal, or reinstatement on behalf of licensing boards when applicants meet all statutory qualifications; applications that cannot be clearly approved must be forwarded to the relevant board for decision.

Professional licensing board meetings may now be held at the board's office site or other approved locations, removing the previous requirement that meetings be held in the capitol.

Governor's authority to remove licensing board members for inability, neglect, incompetence, or dishonest conduct is streamlined by eliminating the prior requirement for notice and a hearing before removal.

Professional licensing boards' rulemaking power is explicitly limited to regulations designed to protect public health, safety, and welfare regarding the specific profession or trade they regulate.

Separate standards committees for the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists are repealed, with the Act taking effect July 1, 2026.