--- title: HB 462. Toombs County; Redevelopment Powers Law; provide for a referendum collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb462 cite_as: HB 462, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb462 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb462.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb462/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70349 date: 2025-05-14 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/hb461.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb463.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 883 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb462.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 462 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-14 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 sponsors: - Leesa Hagan text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB462/2025 upstream_id: 1970314 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Toombs County - redevelopment powers - tax allocation districts - local referendum - county government --- # HB 462. Toombs County; Redevelopment Powers Law; provide for a referendum ## Text 25 LC 61 0070/AP House Bill 462 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Hagan of the 156th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize Toombs County to exercise all redevelopment and other powers provided for1 under Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) of the Georgia Constitution and Chapter 442 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A., the "Redevelopment Powers Law," as amended; to provide for3 a referendum; to provide for effective dates; to provide for au tomatic repeal under certain4 circumstances; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 Toombs County shall be and is authorized to exercise all redevelopment and other powers8 provided for under Chapter 44 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A., the "Redevelopment Powers9 Law," as amended. The intention of this Act is to authorize Toombs County to undertake and10 carry out community redevelopment, to create tax allocation districts, to issue tax allocation11 bonds, and to incur other obligations within the meaning of and as fully permitted under the12 provisions of Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) of the C onstitution of the State of13 Georgia of 1983, as amended, and to authorize Toombs County to exercise redevelopment14 powers as fully as the "Redevelopment Powers Law" may now or hereafter permit and not15 to limit any redevelopment powers permitted under the "Redevelopment Powers Law."16 H. B. 462 - 1 - 25 LC 61 0070/AP SECTION 2.17 The election superintendent of Toombs County shall call and con duct an election, as18 provided in this section, for the purpose of s ubmitting this Ac t to the electors of Toombs19 County for approval or rejection. The election superintendent shall conduct that election on20 the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 2025, and shall issue the call and conduct21 that election as provided by general law. The election superintendent shall cause the date and22 purpose of the election to be published once at least 90 days immediately preceding the date23 thereof and once a week for two weeks immediately preceding the date thereof in the official24 organ of Toombs County. The ballot shall have written or printed thereon the words:25 "( ) YES26 ( ) NO27 28 Shall the Act be approved which authorizes Toombs County to exercise all redevelopment powers allowed under the 'Redevelopment Powers Law,' as it may be amended from time to time?" All persons desiring to vote for approval of the Act shall vote "Yes," and all persons desiring29 to vote for rejection of the Act shall vote "No." If more than one-half of the votes cast on30 such question are for approval of the Act, then Section 1 of th is Act shall become of full31 force and effect immediately. If this Act is not so approved o r if the election is not32 conducted as provided in this section, Section 1 of this Act shall not become effective and33 this Act shall be automatically repealed on the first day of Ja nuary immediately following34 such election date. The expense of such election shall be borne by Toombs County. It shall35 be the election superintendent's duty to certify the result thereof to the Secretary of State.36 SECTION 3.37 Except as otherwise provided in Section 2 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon38 its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.39 SECTION 4.40 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.41 H. B. 462 - 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 462 would let Toombs County use Georgia's Redevelopment Powers Law, including creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds, but only if county voters approve it in a November 2025 referendum. ### Plain-language summary Under the Georgia Constitution and the Redevelopment Powers Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 44 of Title 36), local governments can be authorized to pursue community redevelopment projects by creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds, a financing tool that uses future increases in property tax revenue from a designated area to pay for improvements there. This bill would authorize Toombs County to use all of those powers. The authorization would not take effect automatically. The bill requires the Toombs County election superintendent to hold a referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025, asking voters to approve or reject the measure. The election must be publicized in the county's official legal organ in advance. If a majority vote yes, the redevelopment authorization becomes law immediately. If voters reject it, or if the election is not properly held, the authorization never takes effect and the whole Act is automatically repealed the following January 1. ### What it does - Authorizes Toombs County to exercise the full range of powers under Georgia's Redevelopment Powers Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 44 of Title 36), including creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds. - Requires the Toombs County election superintendent to call and hold a referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025. - Requires public notice of the election date and purpose in the county's official legal organ, once at least 90 days before the vote and weekly for the two weeks before it. - Makes the redevelopment authorization effective immediately if a majority of voters approve it, and automatically repeals the whole Act on the following January 1 if voters reject it or the election is not properly held. - Assigns the cost of the election to Toombs County and requires the election superintendent to certify results to the Secretary of State. ### Who it affects Toombs County government and its election superintendent, county voters who will decide the referendum, and any developers, property owners, or taxing entities that could later be involved in redevelopment projects or tax allocation districts created under this authority. ### Why it matters If voters approve it, Toombs County would gain a financing tool used elsewhere in Georgia to fund redevelopment projects, such as blight removal or infrastructure, by borrowing against future property tax gains in designated districts, without needing further state approval for each project. ### Key provisions - Section 1 authorizes Toombs County to exercise all powers under the Redevelopment Powers Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 44 of Title 36), including creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds. - Section 2 requires a countywide referendum in November 2025, sets public notice requirements, and specifies that Section 1 takes effect only if a majority of voters approve it. - Section 2 also provides that if voters reject the measure or the election is not properly conducted, the entire Act is automatically repealed on the following January 1. - Section 3 sets the general effective date as upon the Governor's approval or the Act becoming law without signature, except as limited by Section 2. - Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-14) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 (2025-05-14) - Sponsors: Leesa Hagan - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70349 > The history, votes, and amendments (883 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb462.md?full=1