HB849: HB849 Randolph County Airport Authority Act; enact

In 2006 the Georgia General Assembly created the Lower Chattahoochee Regional Airport Authority to operate as a public corporation, and that law was amended in 2010 and 2012. HB849 amends that Act again, this time simply to change the authority's name to the Randolph County Airport Authority. The bill rewrites several sections of the original Act to swap in the new name, including the short title, the section creating the body as a political subdivision of the state, and the definition of 'Authority.' It also spells out that the newly named authority is the legal successor to the old one, automatically taking on all its assets, interests, obligations, debts, and liabilities. A section on bond validation procedures is updated to reference the new name as well. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not state a delayed effective date.

• Renames the Lower Chattahoochee Regional Airport Authority as the Randolph County Airport Authority throughout the governing Act.
• Confirms the renamed authority remains a political subdivision and public corporation of the State of Georgia with the power to sue, be sued, and contract.
• Declares the Randolph County Airport Authority the legal successor to the old authority, automatically transferring all its assets, debts, and obligations.
• Updates the Act's bond validation section (referencing O.C.G.A. Title 36, Chapter 82) to use the new authority name in any future bond validation proceedings.
• Repeals any prior laws that conflict with these changes.

The Randolph County Airport Authority itself, local governments and other entities that have contracted with the authority, and anyone involved in future bond financing or legal proceedings involving the authority's airport operations in the region.

Renaming the authority clarifies that it now operates under and for Randolph County rather than a broader regional identity, while ensuring existing contracts, debts, and legal obligations carry over without interruption under the new name.

• Section 1 revises the Act's short title to the 'Randolph County Airport Authority Act.'
• Section 2 revises Section 3(a) to create the body as the 'Randolph County Airport Authority,' a political subdivision and public corporation with perpetual existence.
• Section 3 updates the definition of 'Authority' in Section 4(a)(2) to mean the Randolph County Airport Authority.
• Section 4 revises Section 6 to make the Randolph County Airport Authority the legal successor to the Lower Chattahoochee Regional Airport Authority, assuming all its assets and liabilities.
• Section 5 revises Section 21's bond validation language to reference the Randolph County Airport Authority in future bond validation lawsuits.
• Section 6 repeals any laws in conflict with the Act.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-05-13
2. 2025-05-13Act 241
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-09House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-04-04Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-03-31Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-03-31House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)Primary sponsor
• Mike Cheokas (R, HD-151)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2025

   165 yea, 0 nay (10 not voting, 5 absent)

   Local Calendar Without Hbs 851 & 852: House Vote #342

2. PassedSenate voteApril 4, 2025

   51 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #446

• airport authority
• Randolph County
• local government
• public corporations