--- title: HB 735. Lyons, City of; Redevelopment Powers Law; provide for a referendum collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb735 cite_as: HB 735, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb735 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb735.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb735/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71188 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/hb734.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb736.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb735.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 735 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/HB735/2025 upstream_id: 1994187 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - redevelopment powers - tax allocation districts - City of Lyons - local referendum - Toombs County --- # HB 735. Lyons, City of; Redevelopment Powers Law; provide for a referendum ## Text 25 LC 62 0125/AP House Bill 735 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Hagan of the 156th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the City of Lyons, Georgia, to exercise all redeve lopment 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 Lyons, Georgia, shall be and is authorized to exerc ise 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 autho rize the City of Lyons 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 the City of Lyons to exercise14 redevelopment powers as fully as the "Redevelopment Powers Law" may now or hereafter15 H. B. 735 - 1 - 25 LC 62 0125/AP permit and not to limit any redevelopment powers permitted unde r the "Redevelopment16 Powers Law."17 SECTION 2.18 The election superintendent of the City of Lyons 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 Lyons for approval or rejection. The election superintendent shall conduct that election on21 the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 2025, and shall issue the call and conduct22 that election as provided by general law. The election superintendent shall cause the date and23 purpose of the election to be published once at least 90 days immediately preceding the date24 thereof and once a week for two weeks immediately preceding the date thereof in the official25 organ of Toombs County, Georgia. The ballot shall have written or printed thereon the26 words:27 "( ) YES28 29 ( ) NO30 Shall the Act be approved which authorizes the City of Lyons, Georgia, to exercise all redevelopment powers allowed under the 'Redevelopm ent 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 Lyons. It shall37 be the election superintendent's duty to certify the result thereof to the Secretary of State.38 H. B. 735 - 2 - 25 LC 62 0125/AP SECTION 3.39 Except as otherwise provided in Section 2 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon40 its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.41 SECTION 4.42 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.43 H. B. 735 - 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 735 would let the City of Lyons 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 Under Georgia's constitution and the Redevelopment Powers Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 44 of Title 36), local governments can only use redevelopment tools like tax allocation districts and tax allocation bonds if the General Assembly grants them that authority. This bill would grant that authority to the City of Lyons, letting it undertake community redevelopment projects and finance them by capturing future property tax growth in designated districts. The authority would not take effect automatically. The bill requires the Lyons election superintendent to hold a referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025, asking voters to approve or reject the redevelopment powers. If a majority vote yes, the powers take effect immediately. If voters reject it or the election is not held as required, the whole Act is automatically repealed on the following January 1. The city must pay the cost of the election. ### What it does - Authorizes the City of Lyons to use all redevelopment 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 asking voters to approve or reject the new redevelopment powers. - Requires the election superintendent to publish notice of the election in Toombs County's official legal newspaper on a set schedule before the vote. - Makes the redevelopment authority effective immediately if a majority of voters approve it, and automatically repeals the entire Act on the following January 1 if voters reject it or the election is not properly held. - Places the cost of conducting the referendum on the City of Lyons and requires the election superintendent to certify results to the Georgia Secretary of State. ### Who it affects The change directly affects the City of Lyons city government, its election superintendent, and registered voters within the city, who will decide the outcome at the ballot box. It also indirectly affects Toombs County, since notice of the election must run in the county's official legal newspaper. ### Why it matters If approved, Lyons could pursue redevelopment projects funded by tax allocation districts and bonds, tools many Georgia cities use to spur development without raising general tax rates. Whether the city gains these financing options depends entirely on how Lyons voters vote in November 2025. ### Key provisions - Section 1 authorizes the City of Lyons to exercise the full scope of redevelopment powers under the Redevelopment Powers Law, including creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds. - Section 2 requires a referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025, specifies the exact ballot language, and sets notice publication requirements in Toombs County's official organ. - Section 2 states that Section 1 takes effect immediately if a majority approve it, but the entire Act is automatically repealed the following January 1 if voters reject it or the election is not held as required. - Section 3 sets the general effective date as the date of the Governor's approval or the date the bill becomes law without signature, except where Section 2 controls. - Section 4 repeals any conflicting state 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/71188 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb735.md?full=1