--- title: HB 1384. Local government; require municipalities to remit a portion of revenue generated through certain franchise agreements to the county in which they are located collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1384 cite_as: HB 1384, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1384 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1384.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1384/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73421 date: 2026-02-24 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1383.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1385.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1384.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1384 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-02-19 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Mitchell Scoggins - Chuck Efstration - James Burchett - Trey Kelley - Charles Cannon - Victor Anderson text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1384/2025 upstream_id: 2120639 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local government funding - franchise fees - county revenue - electric utilities - municipal law --- # HB 1384. Local government; require municipalities to remit a portion of revenue generated through certain franchise agreements to the county in which they are located ## Text House Bill 1384 By: Representatives Scoggins of the 14th, Efstration of the 104th, Burchett of the 176th, Kelley of the 16th, Cannon of the 172nd, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 36-34-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to powers relating to administration of government generally, so as to require municipalities to remit a portion of revenue generated through certain franchise agreements to the county in which they are located; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Code Section 36-34-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to powers relating to administration of government generally, is amended by revising paragraph (7) as follows: "(7)(A) The power to grant franchises to or make contracts with railroads, street railways, or urban transportation companies, electric light or power companies, gas companies, steam-heat companies, telephone companies, water companies, and other public utilities for the use and occupancy of the streets of the city, for the purpose of rendering utility services, upon such conditions and for such time as the governing authority of the municipal corporation may deem wise and subject to the Constitution and the general laws of this state. (B) The amount of fees collected from customers of public utilities or companies as a result of franchise agreements or contracts authorized by this paragraph shall be itemized on bills or invoices transmitted to customers for utility services. The requirements of this subparagraph shall not apply to fees that are included in the system-wide charges or base rates of a public utility or company subject to a franchise agreement or contract. (C) Each municipality shall remit 25 percent of the total revenue generated from franchise agreements or contracts with electric light or power companies authorized by this paragraph to the county in which such municipality is located. For municipalities located in more than one county, the total amount remitted to the counties shall be divided pro rata based on each county's population according to the most recent United States decennial census with each county's population including only the unincorporated population of the county." 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. House Bill 1384 would require Georgia cities to send counties 25 percent of the revenue they collect from electric utility franchise agreements, splitting payments among counties for cities that span more than one county line. ### Plain-language summary Georgia cities can grant franchises to public utilities, like electric companies, to use city streets, and collect fees in return. Under current law, cities keep that revenue. This bill amends Georgia's local government code (O.C.G.A. § 36-34-2) so that municipalities must remit 25 percent of the total revenue they collect from franchise agreements or contracts with electric light or power companies to the county where the municipality sits. For a municipality that spans more than one county, the 25 percent share would be divided among those counties based on each county's population, counting only the unincorporated population (people living outside any city) according to the most recent U.S. Census. The bill keeps existing rules requiring franchise fees to be itemized on customer utility bills. It repeals any conflicting laws but does not include a specific effective date beyond standard enactment. ### What it does - Requires every Georgia municipality to remit 25 percent of total revenue from electric light or power company franchise agreements to its home county. - Directs that for municipalities located in more than one county, the 25 percent payment be split among the counties based on population. - Specifies that the population split uses only each county's unincorporated population from the latest U.S. decennial census. - Leaves in place the existing requirement that franchise fees charged to customers be itemized on utility bills or invoices. ### Who it affects City governments that collect franchise fees from electric utilities, county governments that would newly receive a share of that revenue, and residents of unincorporated areas whose population counts determine how payments are divided among multiple counties. ### Why it matters Cities would lose a quarter of their electric franchise fee revenue to county governments, shifting money that currently funds municipal budgets. Counties, especially those with large unincorporated populations, would gain a new, ongoing revenue stream tied to utility franchise activity within their borders. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends paragraph (7) of O.C.G.A. § 36-34-2, which governs municipal power to grant utility franchises within city streets. - Adds new subparagraph (C) requiring municipalities to remit 25 percent of total revenue from electric light or power company franchise agreements to the county they are located in. - For municipalities spanning multiple counties, the remitted amount is divided pro rata using each county's unincorporated population from the most recent census. - Section 2 repeals any laws that conflict with the new requirement. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-02-19) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-24) - Sponsors: Mitchell Scoggins, Chuck Efstration, James Burchett, Trey Kelley, Charles Cannon, Victor Anderson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73421 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1384.md?full=1