HB 381: Lower Chattahoochee Regional Transportation Authority; add Clay, Marion, and Webster counties

The Lower Chattahoochee Regional Transportation Authority was created in 2012 to handle transportation projects for a group of counties in southwest Georgia. This bill amends that original law to formally add Clay, Marion, and Webster counties to the authority, alongside the existing member counties of Harris, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart, and the Unified Government of Cusseta-Chattahoochee. The bill rewrites the section on board membership so that each of the eight listed counties and governments appoints two members, for a 15-member board including one member chosen by the other fourteen. It also updates the sections on bond financing, legal immunity, and effects on other local governments so that these newly added counties are covered by the same protections and limits that already applied to the original members. The changes take effect once signed into law.

• Adds Clay, Marion, and Webster counties as full member jurisdictions of the Lower Chattahoochee Regional Transportation Authority.
• Expands the authority's board so each of the eight member counties or governments appoints two members, keeping the total at 15 members.
• Extends the rule that authority revenue bonds are not a debt or credit pledge of any member county to include the three new counties.
• Extends the authority's tort immunity protections, matching those of county governments, to cover actions involving the newly added counties.
• Clarifies that adding these counties does not remove their existing power to independently own, operate, or finance transportation projects under Georgia's Revenue Bond Law.

Residents and governing bodies of Clay, Marion, and Webster counties, who gain representation on the regional transportation authority; the existing member counties of Harris, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart, and the Cusseta-Chattahoochee unified government; and any municipalities within these counties involved in transportation projects.

By joining the authority, Clay, Marion, and Webster counties gain a formal role in regional transportation planning and bond financing decisions, while also becoming subject to the same legal protections and financial limits as the other member counties, without taking on new tax obligations.

• Section 1 revises subsection (b) of Section 2 of the original Act to add Clay, Marion, and Webster counties to the list of jurisdictions each appointing two authority members, keeping the board at 15 members.
• Section 2 updates Section 13 so revenue bonds issued by the authority are not considered debt or a credit pledge of any of the eight listed counties, including the three newly added ones.
• Section 3 updates Section 25 to extend the authority's tort and negligence immunity, matching that of county governments, to include the three new counties.
• Section 4 updates Section 27 to clarify that the added counties and their municipalities retain their own authority to own, operate, and finance projects under Georgia's Revenue Bond Law (O.C.G.A. Title 36, Chapter 82).
• Section 5 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date
2. 2025-05-13Act 139
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-18Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-02-24Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-02-21House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)Primary sponsor
• Mike Cheokas (R, HD-151)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 21, 2025

   170 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 3 excused)

   Local Calendar: House Vote #58

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 18, 2025

   51 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 3 excused)

   LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #235

• regional transportation authority
• local government
• southwest Georgia counties
• transportation funding