HB 685: Bartow County Community Improvement Districts Act; enact

Georgia law lets counties create community improvement districts (CIDs), special areas where commercial property owners agree to be taxed extra to pay for local improvements like roads, parks, sewers, water systems, and parking. This bill sets up the legal framework for one or more such districts in Bartow County and its municipalities. A district only forms after both the local government and a majority of affected property owners (representing at least 75 percent of the property's value) agree in writing. Each district is run by a board with some members appointed by local governments and others elected by property owners, and the board can tax nonresidential property up to 5 mills, borrow money, and issue bonds without normal state securities oversight. Residential, agricultural, and forestry land is exempt from these taxes. The bill also lays out how districts can grow, dissolve, and handle debt, and takes effect once signed into law.

• Creates a legal structure allowing one or more community improvement districts (special taxing zones) to form within Bartow County and its municipalities.
• Requires both local government approval and written consent from a majority of affected property owners (by count and by value) before a district can start operating.
• Lets district boards levy taxes, fees, or assessments of up to 5 mills on nonresidential real property, while exempting homes, farms, and forestry land.
• Allows districts to borrow money and issue general obligation bonds backed by the district's own taxing power, without Bartow County or the state being on the hook.
• Exempts district bond and note sales from Georgia's securities regulation law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 5 of Title 10) and from public referendum requirements.
• Sets out procedures for expanding district boundaries, cooperating with local governments, and dissolving a district if property owners vote to end it.

Commercial and other nonresidential property owners in Bartow County and its municipalities who could be taxed by a new district; Bartow County and municipal governments, which must approve districts and collect the taxes; and the district boards themselves, made up of appointed and elected members.

If districts are formed, businesses and other nonresidential property owners in those areas would pay extra property taxes (up to 5 mills) that fund local upgrades like roads, sewers, and parks, giving property owners a direct role in deciding and financing improvements near their land.

• Section 2 limits district activities to specific public purposes such as roads, parks, stormwater and sewer systems, water systems, and parking facilities.
• Section 4 requires both a local government resolution and written consent from property owners representing a majority and at least 75 percent of assessed value before a district activates.
• Section 5 sets up a seven-plus member board with appointed and elected members serving staggered two- and four-year terms, subject to recall by petition.
• Section 6 caps district taxes, fees, and assessments at 5 mills on nonresidential real property and excludes homes, farmland, and forestry land.
• Section 8 allows districts to incur debt backed by their own taxing power without following normal state constitutional debt limits.
• Section 11 lets bonds mature over as long as 40 years with no state usury interest rate cap applying.
• Section 13 exempts district bond and note offerings from Georgia's securities law and from public referendum or notice requirements beyond what the Act itself specifies.
• Section 14 lays out how a district can be dissolved, including a required property owner vote every six years and repayment of debts before dissolution takes effect.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date
2. 2025-05-13Act 160
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2025-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2025-03-27Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
8. 2025-03-11Senate Read and Referred (Senate)

• Matthew Gambill (R, HD-15)Primary sponsor
• Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-14)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 10, 2025

   165 yea, 0 nay (8 not voting, 7 excused)

   Local Calendar: House Vote #270

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2025

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

   LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #291

• community improvement districts
• Bartow County government
• local property taxes
• municipal bonds
• local infrastructure funding