HB 1600: City of McDonough Public Facilities Authority Act; enact

This bill sets up a new local authority for the City of McDonough called the City of McDonough Public Facilities Authority. The authority would be a separate public corporation, not part of city or state government directly, run by seven members appointed by the McDonough city council. Its job would be to acquire, build, equip, and operate facilities the city uses for its governmental and administrative functions, and in some cases facilities for the county school district or county, as long as they sit within city limits. To pay for projects, the authority could issue revenue bonds backed only by rents, fees, and earnings from the facilities themselves, not by city or state tax dollars or credit. The bill spells out how those bonds get validated in Henry County Superior Court, how bondholders' interests are protected, and how leftover authority property would go to the city if the authority is ever dissolved. The authority's bonds and property would be exempt from most state taxes.

• Creates the City of McDonough Public Facilities Authority as a separate public corporation to build and run facilities for the city's government functions.
• Sets up a seven-member board appointed by the McDonough city council, with three-year staggered terms and rules for filling vacancies.
• Authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds backed only by project rents, fees, and earnings, explicitly stating no city or state debt or tax pledge is created.
• Grants the authority broad powers to buy, lease, sell, and mortgage property, sign contracts, and charge rent to tenants using its facilities.
• Exempts the authority's bonds, income, and most property from state taxation and shields the authority's property from being seized to satisfy legal judgments.
• Gives the authority the same immunity from tort and negligence lawsuits that a Georgia county has, while still allowing it to be sued over contracts.

The City of McDonough government, which gains a new financing tool for buildings and facilities; the seven appointed authority board members; bondholders who buy the authority's revenue bonds; the Henry County school district and county government, which could use authority facilities if located within city limits; and Henry County Superior Court, which handles related legal actions.

McDonough would gain a new way to finance government buildings, like offices or public facilities, by selling bonds repaid through rents and fees rather than raising taxes. Because the bonds do not pledge city or state credit, taxpayers would not directly guarantee repayment, but the arrangement shifts financing decisions to an appointed board rather than elected officials alone.

• Section 2 creates the authority as a distinct public corporation with its main office in the City of McDonough, exempt from the state's Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission Act.
• Section 3 sets membership at seven people appointed by the city council, with a minimum age of 21, two years' city residency, no felony convictions, and a four-member quorum.
• Section 5 lists the authority's powers, including buying and selling property, signing leases and contracts, and issuing revenue bonds under Georgia's Revenue Bond Law.
• Section 6 states that revenue bonds do not create city or state debt and cannot be enforced against city or state property.
• Section 9 sets Henry County Superior Court as the exclusive venue for lawsuits against the authority and for bond validation actions.
• Section 14 exempts the authority from most property taxes and assessments but not from sales and use tax on its purchases.
• Section 15 gives the authority the same tort immunity as a Georgia county while allowing contract-based lawsuits.
• Section 20 requires that if the authority is dissolved after paying off its bonds, its remaining property goes to the City of McDonough.

1. 2026-03-27House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2026-03-27House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
3. 2026-03-25House Second Readers (House)
4. 2026-03-23House First Readers (House)
5. 2026-03-23House Hopper (House)

• Mary Ann Santos (D, HD-117)Primary sponsor

• local government authorities
• municipal bonds
• McDonough Georgia
• public facilities financing
• Henry County