Georgia's prohibited-technology standard, read for an AI buyer

SS-22-002 binds executive-branch state entities; counties and school boards are not named

SS-22-002, "Concerned Goods and Prohibited Software and Services", is a Georgia Technology Authority standard. The page we read shows an effective date of 1 December 2022 and a revision date of 29 January 2026. It rests on state code citations, which the page lists (O.C.G.A. 50-25-4 and 50-5-84.1). The official PDF we downloaded the same day carries an older revision date (30 June 2025), so the web version is the one to trust for the current list. The page says GTA can restrict or prohibit any technology it judges a risk. Where a listed technology is already deployed on state-owned, controlled or leased systems, the state entity must remove it.

It defines "state entity" as the agencies, boards, authorities and commissions of the executive branch of Georgia state government. It defines "state agency" more narrowly and says it excludes the judicial and legislative branches, the Georgia Department of Defense, departments headed by elected constitutional officers and the University System of Georgia.

Counties, cities and school boards are not named in those definitions. Whether a county or a school board follows the standard by choice, by contract or by its own policy is a question for its counsel (a guess). Ask before you assume either way. A state contract with a local government can still carry the same requirement by reference. We are not lawyers, and this is a summary of a public page, not legal advice.

Alibaba is on the prohibited list and DeepSeek on the concerned list, as of 13 October 2026

The standard has two lists. We show only the entries that matter for an AI buyer.

OpenAI, Google, Meta and Mistral were not on the lists when we read them. That is what the page said, on that date. A list can change, and the revision date on the page is the thing to check. The open-weight model Staffbox proposes for public buyers who cannot use Qwen is OpenAI's gpt-oss-20b, which scored 39 of 40 on Fieldstone IT, 40 of 40 on Peachtree Cabinet Works and 15 of 15 on a messy set, on a Dell with an RTX 3090. Speed on Apple hardware is not measured yet, and the model needs a 32 GB Mac. Both companies in those tests are fictional, and a machine did the grading. On a new trade it had never seen, an electrical distributor (14 Oct, Dell test box), the default Qwen3 8B setup scored 30 of 40 and 2 of 15 on messy requests, with 8 wrong prices in 55, because per-foot units, price levels and trade shorthand are not handled yet; that is why we score your own list first (the electrical result).

The only exemption route covers video services, so do not plan an AI model around it

The standard describes a one-year exemption path under policy SM-11-007, requested from GTA, for law-enforcement investigations and other legitimate business use of services on state-issued devices. It limits investigative exemptions to services used to create, view and share video content. Nothing in it reads as a route for a language model, so a box that depends on a listed model needs a different model, not a waiver.

Six questions settle whether a local AI box clears the lists

Put these to any vendor, ourselves included, before a purchase order goes out.

1. Ask which model makes the weights. Check the maker against list II.
2. Ask where the model was built and who is accountable for it. Check list I.
3. Ask for the hardware maker and compare it to the hardware list.
4. Ask whether any cloud model is configured. (Ours is off unless the customer adds its own key in writing.)
5. Read the revision date on the standard on the day you sign.
6. Put the model name in the contract, so a later swap needs your approval.

The buying paths and the dollar threshold are on the government page.

Selling to the state starts with a Team Georgia Marketplace registration

GTA's supplier page, read 13 October 2026, says a supplier registers in Team Georgia Marketplace (TGM). A company that has never done business with the state registers as a sourcing bidder; one that has registers as a supplier. Registration needs a tax ID, company addresses and a contact email, plus a National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) code that categorises what you sell. After that, email notices match your NIGP code, and open solicitations appear in the Georgia Procurement Registry. University System of Georgia bids run through Jaggaer Sourcing Director, and an account there is created when you first respond to an event.

Staffbox holds no cooperative contract and is not on a state contract (see the government page). We have not stated any registration in TGM.

Sources

• How we measured: two fictional companies (Fieldstone IT, Peachtree Cabinet Works), graded by code, Qwen3 8B on a 16 GB Mac mini M4 (Dell RTX 3090 for the 30 Sep runs), 30 Sep to 6 Oct 2026. No customer has run Staffbox yet.
• GTA: Concerned Goods and Prohibited Vendors and Services (SS-22-002), effective 1 Dec 2022, revised 29 Jan 2026, read 13 Oct 2026.
• Official PDF of SS-22-002, downloaded 13 Oct 2026. The PDF shows revision date 30 Jun 2025, older than the web page, so use the web page for the current list.
• GTA: How do I become a GTA supplier?, read 13 Oct 2026.
• Staffbox government page for thresholds and paths.