Georgia Eliminates Deference to Agency Regulations, Interpretation of Laws

The Georgia Governor signed a law that includes: 1) providing that when interpreting the state’s Constitution, statutes, or published rules, a court, or an officer hearing an administrative action, shall not defer to a state agency’s determination or interpretation of such authorities, whether such determination or interpretation is written or unwritten; 2) eliminating the judicial standard of deference accorded to administrative rules in a provision relating to trials in proceeds before tax courts; 3) eliminating a provision concerning the judicial standard of deference accorded to administrative rules in appeals to the superior court or the tax court concerning taxpayer disputes ...