Georgia CommonsHB 1133: Georgia Environmental Finance Authority; finance and perform certain duties in connection with projects related to facilitating solar installations on closed landfills; authorize
Last action March 31, 2026 · Senate Tabled
House Bill 1133 would let the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority help finance and manage solar panel installations built on closed landfills across the state, adding new legal definitions and liability protections for the work.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia's Environmental Finance Authority currently helps finance water, sewer, solid waste, natural gas, and land conservation projects for local governments. This bill adds a new category: solar installations built on closed landfills. It amends Code Section 50-23-4 to define 'closed landfill,' 'landfill,' and 'solar installation,' and adds solar-on-landfill projects to the list of 'environmental facilities' and 'environmental services' the authority can finance. The bill also amends Code Section 50-23-12 so authority members, officers, and employees are not personally liable for problems arising from facilitating solar installations on closed landfills, matching protections already given for other authority-backed projects. It makes conforming edits to related definitions in Code Section 36-91-100 (government bidding rules) and Code Section 48-8-200 (water and sewer project cost tax). The changes would take effect July 1, 2027, but only if the General Assembly appropriates funding for them.
What the bill does
- Adds solar installations on closed landfills to the list of 'environmental facilities' and 'environmental services' the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority can finance and manage.
- Creates new legal definitions for 'closed landfill,' 'landfill,' and 'solar installation' inside the authority's governing law (O.C.G.A. § 50-23-4).
- Shields authority members, officers, and employees from personal legal liability connected to facilitating solar installations on closed landfills.
- Makes conforming updates to related definitions in the government bidding law (O.C.G.A. § 36-91-100) and the water and sewer projects tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-200).
- Delays the entire law's effect until July 1, 2027, and conditions it on the General Assembly actually appropriating funds for it.
Who it affects
The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority and its staff, local governments and counties that own closed landfills, solar energy developers and installers, and, indirectly, communities near former landfill sites that could see new solar projects on that land.
Why it matters
By letting a state financing authority help pay for and manage solar projects on old landfills, the bill could open a new funding path for turning unused, closed landfill land into renewable energy sites, while also protecting the authority's staff from personal lawsuits tied to that work.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds 'closed landfill,' 'landfill,' and 'solar installation' definitions and lists solar installations on closed landfills as a new type of 'environmental facility' and 'environmental service' under O.C.G.A. § 50-23-4.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 50-23-12 to protect authority members, officers, and employees from personal liability arising from facilitating solar installations on closed landfills.
- Section 3 updates the 'project' definition in the government works bidding law (O.C.G.A. § 36-91-100) to match renumbered cross-references in the authority's code section.
- Section 4 updates the 'cost of project' cross-reference in the water and sewer projects tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-200) to match the renumbered definitions.
- Section 5 makes the entire Act effective July 1, 2027, contingent on the General Assembly appropriating funds for it.
- Section 6 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“'Closed landfill' means a landfill that has been closed pursuant to a procedure approved by the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources which provided for the cessation of waste receipt at a solid waste disposal site and for the securing of the site in preparation for postclosure.”
“For the purpose of facilitating solar installations on closed landfills, including, but not limited to, solar modules and panels, inverters, support structures and racking, electrical wiring and cables, transformers, telecommunications and monitoring equipment, access roads, meteorological stations, security fencing, and energy storage facilities.”
“This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2027, and shall be subject to appropriation by the General Assembly.”
Status timeline
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
Show full history (12 actions)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
- John Corbett (R, HD-174)
- Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
- Lynn Smith (R, HD-070)
- Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
Votes
- House voteMarch 4, 2026
160 yea, 2 nay (5 not voting, 10 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 27, 2026
26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)
Topics
- renewable energy
- landfills
- solar power
- state financing authority
- environmental law