--- title: HB 224. Highways, bridges, and ferries; construction or maintenance of roads upon military bases or installations paid for by the United States Department of Defense or other entities; authorize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb224 cite_as: HB 224, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb224 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb224.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb224/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69777 date: 2025-05-13 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hb223.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb225.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 1029 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb224.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 224 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-13 last_action: Effective Date 2025-07-01 sponsors: - Josh Bonner - Shaw Blackmon - Bill Hitchens - Vance Smith - Steven Sainz - Al Williams - Chuck Payne text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB224/2025 upstream_id: 1952914 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - road construction - military bases - Department of Transportation - state and federal agreements --- # HB 224. Highways, bridges, and ferries; construction or maintenance of roads upon military bases or installations paid for by the United States Department of Defense or other entities; authorize ## Text 25 LC 39 4419/AP House Bill 224 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Bonner of the 73rd, Blackmon of the 146th, Hitchens of the 161st, Smith of the 138th, Sainz of the 180th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 1 of Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 general provisions relative to highways, bridges, and ferries, so as to authorize the2 construction or maintenance of roads upon military bases or installations by the Department3 of Transportation when done so through agreement with and when paid for by the United4 States Department of Defense or other federal entity; to provide for related matters; to repeal5 conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Chapter 1 of Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated , relating to general9 provisions relative to highways, bridges, and ferries, is amend ed by revising Code10 Section 32-1-8, relating to construction and maintenance of private roads, as follows:11 "32-1-8.12 (a) Except as otherwise provided for in subsection (b) of this Code section, it It shall be13 unlawful for any official, officer, or employee of the departme nt, the State Road and14 Tollway Authority, the Georgia Highway Authority, or any simila r authority or of any15 county or municipality to authorize the construction or maintenance of any private road.16 H. B. 224 - 1 - 25 LC 39 4419/AP (b) When acting pursuant to agreement with the United States Department of Defense or17 other federal entity, the department shall be authorized to construct or maintain a private18 road upon a military base or military installation, provided that funds expended for such19 purpose shall be solely derived from the United States Departme nt of Defense or other20 federal entity acting on behalf of such department."21 SECTION 2.22 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.23 H. B. 224 - 2 - ## 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 224 lets the Georgia Department of Transportation build or maintain roads on military bases when the work is done under an agreement with, and fully paid for by, the U.S. Department of Defense or another federal entity. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law currently makes it illegal for state or local officials, including the Department of Transportation, the State Road and Tollway Authority, the Georgia Highway Authority, or any county or municipality, to build or maintain private roads. Roads on military bases count as private roads under this rule, which has blocked the state from helping construct or maintain roads on military installations even when the federal government wanted that help. This bill creates a specific exception. It amends O.C.G.A. § 32-1-8 so that the Department of Transportation can construct or maintain a private road on a military base or installation, but only when it is acting under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense or another federal entity, and only when the money for the work comes entirely from that federal department or entity. The general ban on building private roads otherwise stays in place for all the listed state and local authorities. ### What it does - Creates a new exception letting the Department of Transportation build or maintain roads on military bases or installations. - Limits that exception to situations where the work is done under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense or another federal entity. - Requires that funding for such road work come solely from the U.S. Department of Defense or the other federal entity, not from state money. - Keeps the existing ban on constructing or maintaining private roads in place for the State Road and Tollway Authority, the Georgia Highway Authority, counties, and municipalities. - Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new exception. ### Who it affects The Georgia Department of Transportation, which gains new authority to work on military base roads, and the U.S. Department of Defense or other federal entities that fund such projects. Military installations in Georgia and the communities around them may benefit from improved road access. ### Why it matters Roads on military bases in Georgia could be built or repaired by the state's transportation agency when the federal government pays for it, potentially speeding up projects that were previously blocked by the state's ban on building private roads, without using state tax dollars. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 32-1-8 by adding subsection (b), which authorizes the Department of Transportation to construct or maintain a private road on a military base or installation. - This authority applies only when the department acts pursuant to an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense or another federal entity. - Funds used for the road work must be solely derived from the U.S. Department of Defense or the other federal entity, not state funds. - The existing prohibition in subsection (a) on officials authorizing construction or maintenance of private roads remains in force except as provided in the new subsection (b). - Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the Act. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-07-01 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Josh Bonner, Shaw Blackmon, Bill Hitchens, Vance Smith, Steven Sainz, Al Williams, Chuck Payne - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69777 > The history, votes, and amendments (1,029 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb224.md?full=1