--- title: HB 1186. Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority; repeal Act collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1186 cite_as: HB 1186, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1186 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1186.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1186/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72828 date: 2026-05-11 status: passed 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1185.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1187.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 886 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1186.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1186 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-05-11 last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 sponsors: - Ron Stephens - Carl Gilliard - Bill Hitchens - Anne Westbrook - Edna Jackson text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1186/2025 upstream_id: 2108066 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local government - tourism authority - Garden City Georgia - government reorganization --- # HB 1186. Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority; repeal Act ## Text House Bill 1186 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Stephens of the 164th, Gilliard of the 162nd, Hitchens of the 161st, Westbrook of the 163rd, and Jackson of the 165th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To repeal an Act creating the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority, approved May 17, 2004 (Ga. L. 2004, p. 3983); to provide for the assets and liabilities thereof; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. An Act creating the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority, approved May 17, 2004 (Ga. L. 2004, p. 3983), is hereby repealed in its entirety. SECTION 2. Any and all assets of the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority shall devolve automatically and without further action to Garden City, Georgia, subject to any restrictions provided by law. The City Council of Garden City, Georgia, is authorized to execute any deeds or instruments of conveyance required to place title of such assets into the name of Garden City and is authorized to do so in the name of the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority. The obligations of the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority shall be transferred to and assumed by Garden City, Georgia, by such instruments as may be required to maintain the same. The City Council of Garden City, Georgia, is authorized to execute any such instruments required to transfer such obligations into the name of Garden City and is authorized to do so in the name of the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority. SECTION 3. 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 1186 abolishes the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority and transfers all of its assets and debts to the city government of Garden City, Georgia. ### Plain-language summary In 2004 the Georgia General Assembly created a special local authority, the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority, to handle tourism and visitor promotion for Garden City. This bill repeals that 2004 law entirely, eliminating the authority as a separate legal entity. Instead of leaving the authority's property and debts in limbo, the bill automatically moves all of its assets and obligations to Garden City, Georgia itself. The Garden City Council is given authority to sign deeds and other documents needed to formally move titles and debts into the city's name, and it may do so either as the city or in the authority's former name if needed to complete the transfer. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Repeals in full the 2004 state law that created the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority, ending its existence as a separate legal body. - Automatically transfers all assets owned by the authority to Garden City, Georgia, without requiring further legal action, subject to any existing legal restrictions. - Transfers all debts and obligations of the authority to Garden City, Georgia, requiring the city to assume responsibility for them. - Authorizes the Garden City Council to sign deeds and other transfer documents, either in the city's name or the former authority's name, to complete the handover. - Repeals any other state laws that conflict with this Act. ### Who it affects Garden City, Georgia and its city council, which will take over the former authority's property and debts; the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority itself, which ceases to exist; and any parties holding contracts, deeds, or obligations tied to the authority. ### Why it matters Local tourism promotion in Garden City will no longer be run by a separate state-chartered authority; instead the city government directly owns the related property and owes any related debts. This changes who is legally responsible for managing and financing those assets going forward. ### Key provisions - Section 1 repeals in its entirety the 2004 Act (Ga. L. 2004, p. 3983) that created the Garden City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Authority. - Section 2 transfers the authority's assets to Garden City automatically and authorizes the city council to execute deeds or conveyance documents to finalize title transfer. - Section 2 also transfers the authority's obligations (debts) to Garden City and lets the city council sign instruments needed to assume them, including in the authority's former name. - Section 3 repeals any other laws that conflict with this Act. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-05-11) - Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 (2026-05-11) - Sponsors: Ron Stephens, Carl Gilliard, Bill Hitchens, Anne Westbrook, Edna Jackson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72828 > The history, votes, and amendments (886 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1186.md?full=1