Georgia Commissioner Proposes New Rules on Lithium Batteries, Mobile Homes

The Georgia Office of insurance commissioner will hold a hearing March 20 on new rules regarding fire safety, including the storage of lithium-ion batteries, as well as new permitting rules for mobile homes.

The first set of rules would bring a number of changes to Georgia’s fire code. Among other revisions, the regulations would allow local governments to require permits for the storage of more than 15 cubic feet of lithium-ion batteries and would require a fire safety plan. Rechargeable lithium batteries, widely used in smart phones, electric vehicles and other devices, have been known to create fire hazards in certain circumstances.

The proposed rules can be seen here.

Other rules would update mobile and manufactured home permitting and certification requirements. If the insurance commissioner’s office issues a notice of violation, “A Manufacturer, Retailer, Retail Broker, or Installer issued a notification of any violation by the Commissioner or Safety Fire Division shall rectify such violation and provide documentation of the modification or correction to the Manufactured Housing Section of the Safety Fire Division within thirty (30) days of delivery of such notification,” the proposed rule reads.

The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. in the commissioner’s hearing room in Atlanta, the commissioner’s office said in a bulletin. Written comments can be sent to: Jeremy Betts, Office of Commissioner of Insurance, 708 West Tower, Floyd Building, Two Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30334.

All comments must be received by the Administrative Procedure Division by 4:30 P.M. on March 13.

Photo: A lithium battery manufacturing factory in Hwaseong, South Korea, caught fire in 2024. (Hong Ki-wonj/Yonhap via AP)

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Georgia