HB685: HB685 Bartow County Community Improvement Districts Act; enact

Georgia law allows counties to set up community improvement districts (CIDs), special districts that let commercial property owners tax themselves to pay for infrastructure like roads, sidewalks, parks, water and sewer systems. This bill creates the legal framework for one or more such districts in Bartow County, inside the county's unincorporated area, inside any of its cities, or spanning both. A district can only start once the county or city government (or both, if the district crosses lines) approves it, and property owners representing a majority of parcels and at least 75 percent of assessed value consent. Each district is run by a board of at least seven members, some appointed by local governments and the rest elected by property owners, who can levy taxes, fees and assessments (capped at 5 mills) only on commercial and industrial real property, not homes, farms or forestland. The bill also lets boards borrow money and issue bonds backed by the district, and sets out how districts can grow, dissolve or be reactivated.

• Creates the legal authority for one or more community improvement districts (CIDs) to be formed in Bartow County or its municipalities.
• Requires both local government approval and written consent from a majority of affected property owners (including 75 percent by property value) before a district can be activated.
• Sets up a seven-plus member governing board with a mix of government-appointed and property owner-elected members to run each district.
• Caps district taxes, fees and assessments at 5 mills and limits them to nonresidential, non-farm, non-forestry real property.
• Authorizes district boards to issue bonds and other debt backed by the district's own taxing power, exempt from state securities law review.
• Establishes procedures for expanding district boundaries, dissolving a district, and reactivating a dissolved district.

Owners of commercial, industrial and other nonresidential real property within any future Bartow County CID, who would pay the new taxes and elect board members; Bartow County and its municipal governments, which must approve district creation; and the Bartow County Tax Commissioner and Board of Tax Assessors, who certify consent and property values.

If a district is created, affected commercial property owners could see a new line-item tax of up to 5 mills funding local infrastructure like roads, water systems and parks, while homeowners, farmers and foresters are exempt. The district's bonds would not obligate the state or county taxpayers generally.

• Section 2 limits district purposes to specific services: road construction, parks, storm water and sewage systems, water development, and terminal or parking facilities.
• Section 4 requires both local government resolutions and property owner consent (majority by count and 75 percent by value) before a district can be activated.
• Section 5 sets board composition at a minimum of seven members, with county and municipal appointees plus owner-elected members serving staggered four-year terms.
• Section 6 caps taxes, fees and assessments at 5 mills of assessed value and excludes residential, agricultural, forestry, and tax-exempt property.
• Section 8 allows districts to incur debt outside normal constitutional debt limits, backed by the district's own taxing power rather than the state or county.
• Section 13 exempts district bonds from Georgia's securities regulation law and states no referendum is required for board actions.
• Section 14 lays out detailed conditions for dissolving a district, including a required vote every six years and repayment of outstanding debts before dissolution takes effect.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-05-13
2. 2025-05-13Act 160
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2025-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2025-03-27Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
8. 2025-03-11Senate Read and Referred (Senate)

• Matthew Gambill (R, HD-015)Primary sponsor
• Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-014)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 10, 2025

   165 yea, 0 nay (8 not voting, 7 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #270

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2025

   52 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 4 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #291

• community improvement districts
• Bartow County government
• local property taxes
• special tax districts
• infrastructure funding