HB 536: Public Facilities Authority of the City of Fairburn Act; enact

This bill sets up a new government entity, the Public Facilities Authority of the City of Fairburn, as an instrumentality of the state with its own legal identity. The authority is meant to finance and build public projects inside Fairburn, such as utility systems, emergency and public safety facilities, parks, schools-related buildings, city hall facilities, and courthouses or libraries, and then lease, sell, or operate them for the city, other public bodies, or private parties. The authority's board would be the same people who sit on the board of the existing Development Authority of the City of Fairburn, serving matching terms. The authority can issue revenue bonds and other debt to pay project costs, but that debt is repaid only from project revenues, not from city or county tax dollars, and the authority cannot levy taxes or use eminent domain. Its property and bonds are exempt from most state taxes, and it has the same lawsuit immunity as the city. The law takes effect once the Governor signs it or it becomes law without a signature.

• Establishes the Public Facilities Authority of the City of Fairburn as a separate public corporation with power to sue, hold property, and run public projects.
• Lets the authority issue revenue bonds and other debt to pay for projects, repayable only from project revenue, not from city or county taxes.
• Automatically seats the members of the existing Development Authority of the City of Fairburn as the new authority's board, serving matching terms.
• Exempts the authority's bonds, property, and activities from state taxation and ad valorem (property) taxes, though not from sales and use tax on its purchases.
• Bars the authority from imposing taxes or using eminent domain (the power to seize private property for public use).
• Requires that if the authority is ever dissolved, its remaining property and funds go to one or more other public bodies chosen by the authority.

The City of Fairburn and Fulton County governments, members of the existing Development Authority of the City of Fairburn who will also serve on this new authority, bondholders and lenders who finance authority projects, and any private companies or public agencies that lease, buy, or partner on Fairburn public facilities.

Fairburn gains a dedicated financing tool that can borrow money for projects like utilities, emergency services, parks, and government buildings without pledging city or county tax revenue or voter approval, potentially speeding up construction of local public facilities while shielding taxpayers from direct liability for the debt.

• Section 3 creates the authority as a public corporation and state instrumentality separate from any other existing entity.
• Section 4 grants broad powers including buying, leasing, and selling property, borrowing money, issuing bonds, and contracting without standard public bidding requirements.
• Section 5 makes membership on the authority automatic for whoever sits on the Development Authority of the City of Fairburn's board, with matching terms and no separate compensation.
• Section 6 authorizes revenue bond issuance under Georgia's Revenue Bond Law and allows bonds to be sold without interest rate caps or securities regulation.
• Section 7 states that authority bonds are not a debt or pledge of credit of any other public body and cannot be enforced against other public property.
• Sections 16 and 17 exempt the authority's bonds, property, and income from state and ad valorem taxes as an essential governmental function.
• Section 22 bars the authority from taxing anyone or exercising eminent domain.
• Section 26 makes the Act effective once signed by the Governor or allowed to become law without a signature.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date
2. 2025-05-13Act 147
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-13Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-13Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-03-06Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-03-04House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-68)Primary sponsor
• Lydia Glaize (D, HD-67)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2025

   172 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 2 excused)

   Local Calendar: House Vote #148

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 13, 2025

   48 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 4 excused)

   LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #229

• local government authority
• municipal bonds
• Fairburn city government
• public infrastructure financing
• Fulton County