--- title: HB 709. Demorest, City of; Redevelopment Powers Law; provide for a referendum collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb709 cite_as: HB 709, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb709 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb709.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb709/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71091 date: 2025-05-13 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/hb708.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb710.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 885 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb709.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 709 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-13 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 sponsors: - Victor Anderson - Chris Erwin text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB709/2025 upstream_id: 1990335 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local government - redevelopment powers - tax allocation districts - Demorest referendum - Habersham County --- # HB 709. Demorest, City of; Redevelopment Powers Law; provide for a referendum ## Text 25 LC 47 3372/AP House Bill 709 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Anderson of the 10th and Erwin of the 32nd A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the City of Demorest, Georgia, to exercise all redevelopment and other powers1 provided for under Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) of the Georgia Constitution and2 Chapter 44 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A., the "Redevelopment Powers Law," as amended; to3 provide for a referendum; to provide for effective dates; to pr ovide for automatic repeal4 under certain circumstances; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 The City of Demorest, Georgia, shall be and is authorized to exercise all redevelopment and8 other powers provided for under Chapter 44 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A., the "Redevelopment9 Powers Law," as amended. The intention of this Act is to authorize the City of Demorest to10 undertake and carry out community redevelopment, to create tax allocation districts, to issue11 tax allocation bonds, and to incur other obligations within the meaning of and as fully12 permitted under the provisions of Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) of the Constitution13 of the State of Georgia of 1983, as amended, and to authorize t he City of Dem orest to14 exercise redevelopment powers as fully as the "Redevelopment Powers Law" may now or15 H. B. 709 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3372/AP hereafter permit and not to limit any redevelopment powers perm itted under the16 "Redevelopment Powers Law."17 SECTION 2.18 The election superintendent of the City of Demorest shall call and conduct an election, as19 provided in this section, for the purpose of submitting this Act to the electors of the City of20 Demorest for approval or rejection. The election superintendent shall conduct that election21 on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2025, and shall issue the call22 and conduct that election as provided by general law. The elec tion superintendent shall23 cause the date and purpose of the election to be published once at least 90 days immediately24 preceding the date thereof and once a week for two weeks immediately preceding the date25 thereof in the official organ of Habersham County, Georgia. The ballot shall have written26 or printed thereon the words:27 "( ) YES28 ( ) NO29 30 Shall the Act be approved which authorizes the City of Demorest, Georgia, to exercise all redevelopment powers allowed under the 'Redevel opment 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 desiring31 to vote for rejection of the Act shall vote "No." If more than one-half of the votes cast on32 such question are for approval of the Act, then Section 1 of th is Act shall become of full33 force and effect immediately. If this Act is not so approved o r if the election is not34 conducted as provided in this section, Section 1 of this Act shall not become effective and35 this Act shall be automatically repealed on the first day of Ja nuary immediately following36 such election date. The expense of such election shall be borne by the City of Demorest. It37 shall be the election superintendent's duty to certify the resu lt thereof to the Secretary of38 State.39 H. B. 709 - 2 - 25 LC 47 3372/AP SECTION 3.40 Except as otherwise provided in Section 2 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon41 its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.42 SECTION 4.43 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.44 H. B. 709 - 3 - ## 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 709 would let the City of Demorest use Georgia's Redevelopment Powers Law, including creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds, if city voters approve it in a November 2025 referendum. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law allows cities to use special redevelopment tools, including creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds, under Chapter 44 of Title 36 of Georgia's code (the 'Redevelopment Powers Law') and Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) of the state constitution. This bill would authorize the City of Demorest to use all of those powers. The authorization would not take effect automatically. The bill requires Demorest's election superintendent to hold a referendum on the November 2025 general election date, asking city voters to approve or reject the measure. If more than half of the votes cast favor approval, the redevelopment authority becomes effective immediately. If voters reject it, or if the election is not held as required, the authorization never takes effect and the whole Act is automatically repealed on the following January 1. The city must pay for the election, and results must be certified to the Secretary of State. ### What it does - Authorizes the City of Demorest to exercise all 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 a citywide referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025 to approve or reject the authorization. - Requires public notice of the election to be published in Habersham County's official legal organ 90 days before the vote and weekly for two weeks before it. - Makes the redevelopment authority take effect immediately only if more than half of the votes cast favor approval. - Automatically repeals the entire Act on the following January 1 if voters reject it or the election is not properly held. - Sets the city's obligation to pay election costs and requires certification of results to the Georgia Secretary of State. ### Who it affects Residents and registered voters of the City of Demorest, the city's election superintendent and government, Habersham County's official legal newspaper, and any future property owners or developers within areas the city might designate as tax allocation districts. ### Why it matters If approved by voters, Demorest could use tax allocation bonds and other redevelopment financing tools to fund development projects, similar to tools other Georgia cities already use. If voters reject the measure or the election does not happen as required, the city gains no new powers and the law is automatically undone. ### Key provisions - Section 1 authorizes the City of Demorest to exercise all powers under the Redevelopment Powers Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 44, Title 36), including creating tax allocation districts and issuing bonds. - Section 2 requires a referendum on the November 2025 general election date, with detailed publication and ballot-wording requirements, and provides that the Act only takes effect if a majority of votes cast favor approval. - Section 2 also provides for automatic repeal of the entire Act on the following January 1 if the referendum fails or is not held. - Section 3 sets the general effective date as the date of the Governor's approval or the date the bill becomes law without approval, except for the referendum-dependent Section 1. - Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Victor Anderson, Chris Erwin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71091 > The history, votes, and amendments (885 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb709.md?full=1