Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 396: Acworth, City of; adopt by reference a certain map
Last action May 13, 2025 · Effective Date
House Bill 396 updates the City of Acworth's charter to officially adopt a new map dated December 19, 2024 as the legal record of the city's boundaries as of January 1, 2025.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia city charters typically require an official map or description showing a city's exact boundaries, kept on file with the city clerk. This bill amends the City of Acworth's charter, originally adopted in 1989 and previously updated in 2024, to formally adopt a specific updated map as that official record. The bill revises Section 1.11(a) of Acworth's charter to designate the 'Official Map or Description of the Corporate Limits of the City of Acworth, Georgia,' dated December 19, 2024 and prepared by the city clerk, as the legally recognized map of the city's boundaries. It states that the corporate boundaries as of January 1, 2025 are reflected on this map, and that the map can still be changed later through local law or general state law. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws.
What the bill does
- Amends the City of Acworth's charter to adopt a specific map dated December 19, 2024 as the city's official boundary map.
- States that the city's corporate boundaries as of January 1, 2025 are the ones shown on this newly adopted map.
- Confirms that certified copies of the map from the city clerk count as legal evidence of the city's boundaries in court.
- Preserves the ability to change the boundaries later through local law or general state law procedures.
- Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this update.
Who it affects
This bill mainly affects the City of Acworth's government and city clerk, who maintain the official boundary records, as well as residents, property owners, and courts that may need to reference the city's legal boundaries for zoning, taxation, or annexation disputes.
Why it matters
Having an accurate, legally adopted map ensures there is no ambiguity about which properties and residents fall within Acworth's city limits, which affects things like which local taxes and services apply and how annexation or boundary disputes are resolved in court.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises subsection (a) of Section 1.11 of Acworth's charter to name the December 19, 2024 map as the official corporate limits map.
- Section 1 specifies that the city's boundaries as of January 1, 2025 are reflected on this newly adopted map.
- Section 1 keeps existing rules allowing boundary changes through local law or general state law procedures.
- Section 2 repeals any prior laws that conflict with this update.
From the bill
“The 'Official Map or Description of the Corporate Limits of the City of Acworth, Georgia,' dated December 19, 2024, prepared by the City Clerk of the City of Acworth, is adopted as the official map of the corporate limits of the City of Acworth, Georgia”
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 140
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Lisa Campbell (D, HD-35)
- Jordan Ridley (R, HD-22)
- Ginny Ehrhart (R, HD-36)
- Devan Seabaugh (R, HD-34)
- Mekyah McQueen (D, HD-61)
- Mary Frances Williams (D, HD-37)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 21, 2025
170 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 3 excused)
- Senate voteFebruary 27, 2025
48 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 3 excused)
Topics
- city boundaries
- Acworth
- municipal charter
- local government