HB786: HB786 Dodge County Building and Public Facilities Authority Act; enact

Dodge County currently has no dedicated public authority for financing government buildings. This bill creates the Dodge County Building and Public Facilities Authority as a public corporation of the State of Georgia. The authority would be run by five members elected by the Dodge County Board of Commissioners, with no more than two of them able to sit on the county commission at the same time. The authority can acquire land, build and equip facilities, lease them to Dodge County or other local governments, and charge rent to cover costs and pay off bonds. It can issue revenue bonds, which are backed only by the authority's own rents and revenues, not by county or state tax dollars. The authority's property and bond income are exempt from state taxation, and its property cannot be seized to pay debts. If the authority is ever dissolved after paying off its bonds, its property goes to Dodge County.

• Creates the Dodge County Building and Public Facilities Authority as a public corporation of the State of Georgia to build and operate government facilities.
• Sets up a five member governing board elected by the Dodge County Board of Commissioners, with three year terms for members who are not commissioners.
• Authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds to pay for construction, explicitly stating these bonds do not create debt for Dodge County or the state.
• Lets the authority lease facilities to Dodge County or other local governments and charge rent to cover operating costs and bond payments.
• Exempts the authority's property, activities, and bond income from state taxation, though not from sales and use tax on its purchases.
• Grants the authority the same immunity from lawsuits over torts and negligence that the State of Georgia has.

Dodge County government and its Board of Commissioners, other municipalities and political subdivisions within Dodge County, bondholders who purchase the authority's revenue bonds, and residents who use public buildings the authority finances or operates.

Dodge County would gain a new financing tool to build facilities like government offices without raising county debt or pledging tax dollars, since the bonds are repaid only from rent and project revenue. This shifts financial risk to bond purchasers and facility users rather than taxpayers directly.

• Section 2 establishes the authority as a distinct public corporation, not a state agency, with its legal base in Dodge County.
• Section 3 sets membership at five people elected by the county commission, limits commissioners to two seats, and sets three year terms with a quorum of two.
• Section 5 lists the authority's powers, including acquiring property, signing leases, issuing bonds, and exercising police powers over its projects.
• Section 6 states revenue bonds are not a debt or pledge of the state's or county's credit and cannot be enforced against county or state property.
• Section 12 allows the authority to set rents and fees on its projects sufficient to cover operating costs, bond payments, and reserves.
• Section 14 exempts the authority's property and income from state and local taxation, except for sales and use tax on its purchases.
• Section 20 requires that if the authority is dissolved after paying off its bonds, its remaining property goes to Dodge County.
• Section 21 makes the Act severable, so if one part is found unconstitutional the rest stays in effect.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-05-13
2. 2025-05-13Act 227
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-04-02Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-03-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-03-27House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Danny Mathis (R, HD-133)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 27, 2025

   164 yea, 0 nay (12 not voting, 4 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #317

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   51 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #381

• local government authorities
• public facilities financing
• revenue bonds
• Dodge County
• county government