---
title: HB 1473. Local government; prohibit elected officials of a county, municipal corporation, or any county-municipal consolidated government from entering into nondisclosure agreements with private entities relating to economic development
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1473
cite_as: HB 1473, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1473
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1473.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1473/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73737
date: 2026-03-04
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/hb1473.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1473
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-26
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Tyler Smith
- Jason Ridley
- Lehman Franklin
- Mitchell Scoggins
- Mike Cheokas
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1473/2025
upstream_id: 2125951
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- local government
- economic development
- open government
- transparency
- zoning and land use
---
# HB 1473. Local government; prohibit elected officials of a county, municipal corporation, or any county-municipal consolidated government from entering into nondisclosure agreements with private entities relating to economic development
## Text
House Bill 1473
By: Representatives Smith of the 18th, Ridley of the 6th, Franklin of the 160th, Scoggins of the
14th, and Cheokas of the 151st
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government,
so as to prohibit elected officials of a county, municipal corporation, or any county-municipal
consolidated government from entering into nondisclosure agreements with private entities
relating to economic development; to provide for governing authorities to require the
completion of an independent impact analysis before an official vote or action can be taken;
to provide for requirements of such independent impact analysis; to provide for definitions;
to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government, is amended
by enacting a new chapter to read as follows:
"CHAPTER 93
36-93-1.
As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) 'Elected official' means any elected official of a county, municipal corporation, or any
county-municipal consolidated government.
(2) 'Governing authority' means the official or group of officials responsible for
governance of a county, municipal corporation, or any county-municipal consolidated
government.
(3) 'Private entity' means any natural person, corporation, general partnership, limited
liability company, limited partnership, joint venture, business trust, public benefit
corporation, nonprofit entity, or other business entity.
36-93-2.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no agreement or contract entered into
on or after July 1, 2026, by any elected official with a private entity for the intended
purpose of economic development, including, but not limited to, land use, annexation,
rezoning, tax incentives, public infrastructure allocation, or utility commitment, shall
contain any provision, clause, or language that provides that the agreement or contract or
any of its terms are confidential or that the parties to such agreement or contract are
prohibited from disclosing, discussing, describing, or commenting upon the terms of such
agreement or contract.
36-93-3.
(a) Prior to any vote or formal action taken by a governing authority involving land use,
annexation, rezoning, tax incentives, public infrastructure allocation, utility commitment,
or other forms of discretionary approval for an economic development project, the
governing authority shall require the completion of an independent impact analysis.
(b) Such independent impact analysis shall, at a minimum, contain:
(1) An analysis of the water demand and supply;
(2) A traffic impact study;
(3) An estimate on the impact on the electrical grid;
(4) An analysis of sewage or waste-water capacity and discharge; and
(5) An independent fiscal impact analysis.
(c) An independent impact analysis required pursuant to this Code section shall be
conducted by a qualified third party retained and selected by the governing authority;
provided, however, that all costs associated with such independent impact analysis shall
be borne by the private entity applicant.
(d) An independent impact analysis shall be completed and finalized prior to scheduling
a public hearing and made publicly available no later than 14 days before any official vote
or action by the governing authority."
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.
HB1473 would bar county and city elected officials in Georgia from signing confidentiality agreements with private companies on economic development deals, and would require an independent impact study before local governments approve such projects.
### Plain-language summary
Local governments in Georgia sometimes negotiate economic development deals, such as tax incentives, rezoning, or utility commitments, with private companies, and those deals have sometimes included confidentiality or nondisclosure terms. HB1473 would add a new chapter to Georgia's local government code (Title 36) that bans elected officials of counties, cities, and consolidated city-county governments from entering into any agreement with a private entity, on or after July 1, 2026, that keeps the deal's terms secret.
The bill also requires governing authorities to get an independent impact analysis before voting on or approving projects involving land use, annexation, rezoning, tax incentives, infrastructure, or utility commitments. That analysis must cover water demand, traffic, electrical grid impact, sewage capacity, and fiscal impact, must be paid for by the private company seeking the deal, and must be made public at least 14 days before any vote.
### What it does
- Prohibits county, municipal, and consolidated government elected officials from signing agreements with private entities that contain confidentiality or nondisclosure terms about economic development deals made on or after July 1, 2026.
- Requires local governing authorities to obtain an independent impact analysis before voting on land use, annexation, rezoning, tax incentive, infrastructure, or utility decisions tied to economic development projects.
- Specifies the impact analysis must include a water demand and supply analysis, a traffic study, an electrical grid impact estimate, a sewage or wastewater capacity analysis, and a fiscal impact analysis.
- Requires the private company seeking the deal to pay all costs of the independent impact analysis, rather than the local government.
- Requires the completed analysis to be made publicly available at least 14 days before any official vote or action.
### Who it affects
County commissioners, city council members, and officials of consolidated city-county governments who negotiate economic development deals; private companies and other entities seeking tax incentives, rezoning, or infrastructure commitments from local governments; and residents who would gain access to public impact studies before local votes.
### Why it matters
Residents would be able to see the terms of local economic development deals and the projected effects on water, traffic, electricity, and sewage before officials vote, rather than learning about them after the fact or not at all if a nondisclosure clause had been used to keep terms secret.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 creates new Chapter 93 in Title 36 of the Georgia Code, defining 'elected official,' 'governing authority,' and 'private entity' for the new rules (36-93-1).
- Bars confidentiality or nondisclosure clauses in economic development agreements between elected officials and private entities entered on or after July 1, 2026 (36-93-2).
- Requires an independent impact analysis before any vote on land use, annexation, rezoning, tax incentives, infrastructure, or utility decisions tied to an economic development project (36-93-3(a)).
- Lists five required components of the impact analysis: water, traffic, electrical grid, sewage/wastewater, and fiscal impact (36-93-3(b)).
- Requires the private entity applicant, not the government, to pay for the impact analysis, which must be conducted by a qualified third party chosen by the governing authority (36-93-3(c)).
- Requires the analysis to be finalized before scheduling a public hearing and made public at least 14 days before any official vote (36-93-3(d)).
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-26)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-03-04)
- Sponsors: Tyler Smith, Jason Ridley, Lehman Franklin, Mitchell Scoggins, Mike Cheokas
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73737
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1473.md?full=1