---
title: HB 1047. Revenue and taxation; water and sewer projects and costs tax; revise definition of the term "municipality"
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1047
cite_as: HB 1047, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1047
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1047.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1047/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72384
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/hb1047.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1047
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:
- Dale Washburn
- Robert Dickey
- Kasey Carpenter
- Brian Prince
- Spencer Frye
- Rick Jasperse
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1047/2025
upstream_id: 2095302
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- water and sewer taxes
- municipal government
- local government finance
- infrastructure funding
---
# HB 1047. Revenue and taxation; water and sewer projects and costs tax; revise definition of the term "municipality"
## Text
House Bill 1047
By: Representatives Washburn of the 144th, Dickey of the 134th, Carpenter of the 4th, Prince
of the 132nd, Frye of the 122nd, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 4 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to water and sewer projects and costs tax, so as to revise the definition of the term
"municipality"; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 4 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
water and sewer projects and costs tax, is amended in Code Section 48-8-200, relating to
definitions, by revising paragraph (3) as follows:
"(3) 'Municipality' means:
(A) A municipality in which the average waste-water flow of such municipality is not
less than 85 million gallons per day; or
(B) A municipality that operates a waste-water system that interconnects with the
waste-water system of a municipality that has an average waste-water flow that is not
less than 85 million gallons per day any qualified municipality as such term is defined
in Code Section 48-8-110 and any consolidated government created by the
consolidation of a county and one or more municipalities in this state."
SECTION 2.
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.
A Georgia House bill would change which cities and towns qualify as a 'municipality' for purposes of a special water and sewer projects tax, replacing a wastewater-flow threshold with a reference to a broader legal definition.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law allows certain municipalities to levy a special tax to pay for water and sewer projects and costs (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-200). Currently, only a municipality with an average wastewater flow of at least 85 million gallons per day, or one that connects its sewer system to such a municipality, counts as a 'municipality' eligible under this law.
This bill would remove that wastewater-flow test entirely. Instead, it would define 'municipality' as any 'qualified municipality' as that term is already defined elsewhere in Georgia tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-110), plus any consolidated government formed by merging a county with one or more cities. The bill does not set an effective date beyond the standard process, and it repeals any conflicting laws.
### What it does
- Removes the current 85-million-gallon-per-day wastewater flow requirement used to decide which municipalities can use the water and sewer projects tax.
- Redefines 'municipality' under this tax law to mean any 'qualified municipality' as defined in a separate section of Georgia tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-110).
- Adds consolidated governments, meaning a merged county and city government, to the list of entities that count as a municipality under this tax provision.
- Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new definition.
### Who it affects
Georgia municipalities that levy or want to levy the water and sewer projects and costs tax, especially smaller or mid-sized cities that could not meet the old 85-million-gallon wastewater threshold, and consolidated city-county governments that would now explicitly qualify.
### Why it matters
By dropping the wastewater volume test, more Georgia cities and consolidated governments could become eligible to impose this special tax to fund water and sewer infrastructure, potentially expanding which local governments can raise revenue this way for pipes, treatment plants, and related projects.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-8-200(3) to strike the old definition based on wastewater flow of at least 85 million gallons per day.
- Section 1 replaces it with a definition tying eligibility to 'qualified municipality' status under O.C.G.A. § 48-8-110.
- Section 1 also adds any consolidated government formed by merging a county and one or more municipalities to the eligible category.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard provision with no substantive effect beyond this bill's changes.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-29)
- Sponsors: Dale Washburn, Robert Dickey, Kasey Carpenter, Brian Prince, Spencer Frye, Rick Jasperse
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72384
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1047.md?full=1