---
title: HB 1039. Georgia Equitable Economic Development Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1039
cite_as: HB 1039, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1039
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1039.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1039/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72369
date: 2026-01-29
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1039.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1039
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-27
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Viola Davis
- Sandra Scott
- Kim Schofield
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1039/2025
upstream_id: 2095152
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- economic development
- OneGeorgia Authority
- small business funding
- county funding equity
- legislative oversight commissions
---
# HB 1039. Georgia Equitable Economic Development Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 1039
By: Representatives Davis of the 87th, Scott of the 76th, and Schofield of the 63rd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 34 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
OneGeorgia Authority, so as to create the Georgia Corrective Investment and Pilot
Expansion Fund and the Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on Georgia United
Investment; to provide for state investment in impoverished communities across this state;
to provide for criteria and limitations for disbursements from such fund; to create the Small
Business Access and Resiliency Program; to provide for annual accounting; to provide for
annual reporting; to provide for members and purpose of the commission; to provide for
meetings and hearings; to provide for definitions; to provide for a short title; to provide for
legislative findings; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Equitable Economic Development
Act."
SECTION 2.
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) The OneGeorgia Authority was originally created to support economic development
in areas of need, but it has disproportionately excluded densely populated urban and
suburban counties;
(2) Over the past 20 years, an estimated 26 billion dollars in economic support has been
withheld from counties, impacting over 30 percent of Georgia's population;
(3) Many of these counties suffer from systemic underinvestment, resulting in medical,
food, and banking deserts;
(4) Small businesses are the backbone of Georgia's economy but have often been
overlooked in OneGeorgia funding allocations;
(5) A corrective funding strategy is essential to eliminate structural inequities; and
(6) A comprehensive, data-driven eligibility formula that serves to alleviate rural and
urban distress is essential to such a strategy.
SECTION 3.
Chapter 34 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia annotated, relating to OneGeorgia
Authority, is amended by adding new Code sections to read as follows:
"50-34-21.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'fund' means the Georgia Corrective Investment
and Pilot Expansion Fund.
(b)(1) The state treasurer shall establish a separate trust fund in the state treasury that
shall be known as the Georgia Corrective Investment and Pilot Expansion Fund. Such
fund shall consist of annual appropriations by the General Assembly to the fund; public
or private grants, gifts, donations, or contributions dedicated to the fund for the economic
development of impoverished communities; and moneys acquired from any other source,
including local, state, or federal program funds dedicated to the fund for such economic
development.
(2) The state treasurer shall invest the money held in the fund in the same manner in
which state funds are invested as authorized by the State Depository Board pursuant to
Article 3 of Chapter 17 of this title. Interest earned by the money held in the fund shall
be accounted for separately and shall be credited to the fund to be disbursed as other
moneys in the fund.
(c)(1) The authority shall establish an eligibility framework for disbursements to counties
from the fund based upon the following criteria:
(A) Median household income below the state average;
(B) Unemployment rate above the state average;
(C) Poverty rate exceeding 20 percent;
(D) Infrastructure or service gaps certified by local or state agencies;
(E) Documented history of economic dislocation or underinvestment; and
(F) High concentration of minority owned or women owned businesses.
(2) Any county meeting four or more of the criteria as provided in paragraph (1) of this
subsection shall be deemed eligible to receive money from the fund, regardless of such
county's designation as rural or nonrural.
(d) The authority shall create a Small Business Access and Resiliency Program to provide
loans, grants, and technical assistance to small businesses, as such term is defined in Code
Section 50-5-121, located in counties eligible to receive money from the fund.
(e) The authority shall prepare an accounting of the funds expended pursuant to this Code
section during the most recently completed fiscal year to be provided to the Office of
Planning and Budget, the House Budget and Research Office, and the Senate Budget and
Evaluation Office by January 1 of each year.
(f) The authority shall publish an annual report documenting the number of county
applications, awards, and disbursements; project categories and demographic service areas;
and job creation and housing development metrics.
50-34-22.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'commission' means the Joint Legislative
Oversight Commission on Georgia United Investment.
(b) There is established the Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on Georgia United
Investment, which is created to monitor the administration of the Georgia Corrective
Investment and Pilot Expansion Fund. The commission shall consist of 14 members as
follows:
(1) The chairperson of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners or his or her
representative;
(2) The chairperson of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners or his or her
representative;
(3) The chief executive officer of DeKalb County or his or her representative;
(4) The chairperson of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners or his or her
representative;
(5) The president of the Fayette County Development Authority or his or her
representative;
(6) The chairperson of the Fulton County Development Authority or his or her
representative;
(7) The chairperson of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners or his or her
representative;
(8) The chairperson of the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners or his or her
representative;
(9) Two members to be appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(10) Two members to be appointed by the President of the Senate;
(11) Two members to be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.
(c) The chairperson of the commission shall be elected by majority vote of a quorum of
the commission.
(d) As to members of the commission appointed under paragraphs (9), (10), and (11) of
subsection (b) of this Code section, such members shall be appointed for terms of four
years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. All such appointments shall
be made no later than 90 days following the effective date of this Code section. A vacancy
in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original
position was filled.
(e) Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed
for expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties, within the limit of money
appropriated to the fund or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.
(f) The commission shall conduct meetings and hold hearings at such places and at such
times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively
its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this Code
section. The commission shall meet upon the call of the chairperson. A majority of the
members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business
of the commission."
SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 1039 would create a new state fund and a legislative oversight commission aimed at directing OneGeorgia Authority economic development money toward counties that have historically been left out of that funding, including many urban and suburban areas.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's OneGeorgia Authority currently distributes economic development money largely to designated rural counties. This bill, called the Georgia Equitable Economic Development Act, finds that this approach has excluded many densely populated urban and suburban counties from support over the past 20 years, contributing to underinvestment and "medical, food, and banking deserts."
The bill creates the Georgia Corrective Investment and Pilot Expansion Fund, a new trust fund funded by state appropriations, grants, and other sources, to be invested by the state treasurer. Counties become eligible for money from the fund if they meet at least four of six listed criteria, such as high poverty rates or unemployment above the state average, regardless of whether they are classified as rural. The bill also creates a Small Business Access and Resiliency Program offering loans, grants, and technical assistance to small businesses in eligible counties, requires annual accounting and public reporting, and establishes a 14-member Joint Legislative Oversight Commission to monitor the fund's administration.
### What it does
- Creates the Georgia Corrective Investment and Pilot Expansion Fund as a state trust fund to direct economic development money to underserved counties.
- Sets a six-factor eligibility test for counties (income, unemployment, poverty rate, infrastructure gaps, history of underinvestment, and minority or women owned business concentration) requiring at least four factors to qualify.
- Removes the rural-only limitation by making eligibility open to any county meeting the criteria, regardless of rural or nonrural designation.
- Creates the Small Business Access and Resiliency Program to give loans, grants, and technical assistance to small businesses in eligible counties.
- Requires the OneGeorgia Authority to submit annual financial accountings to state budget offices and publish annual public reports on awards and outcomes.
- Establishes a 14-member Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on Georgia United Investment, including local officials from eight named counties plus legislative appointees, to oversee the fund.
### Who it affects
County governments, especially in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Rockdale counties named in the oversight commission; small businesses in eligible counties; the OneGeorgia Authority; the state treasurer's office; and legislative leaders who appoint commission members.
### Why it matters
If enacted, counties that have not previously qualified for OneGeorgia Authority support, including many urban and suburban areas, could become eligible for state funded loans, grants, and technical assistance, while a new legislative commission would gain ongoing oversight power over how that money is spent.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 gives the bill the short title 'Georgia Equitable Economic Development Act.'
- Section 2 states legislative findings, including an estimate that $26 billion in economic support has been withheld from certain counties over 20 years.
- New Code Section 50-34-21(b) creates the Georgia Corrective Investment and Pilot Expansion Fund in the state treasury, funded by appropriations, grants, and other sources, invested by the state treasurer.
- New Code Section 50-34-21(c) sets the six eligibility criteria for counties and requires meeting at least four to qualify for fund disbursements.
- New Code Section 50-34-21(d) creates the Small Business Access and Resiliency Program for loans, grants, and technical assistance to small businesses in eligible counties.
- New Code Section 50-34-21(e) and (f) require an annual accounting to state budget offices by January 1 each year and an annual public report on applications, awards, and outcomes.
- New Code Section 50-34-22 establishes the 14-member Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on Georgia United Investment, with local officials from eight counties and six legislative appointees serving four-year terms.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-29)
- Sponsors: Viola Davis, Sandra Scott, Kim Schofield
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72369
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1039.md?full=1