Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 753: Better Georgia Without Blight Act; enact
Last action April 4, 2025 · House Withdrawn, Recommitted
House Bill 753 would create the Better Georgia Without Blight Fund, a state program to give local governments loans, grants, and technical help to fix up blighted properties, if lawmakers later fund it.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia local governments currently handle blighted properties largely on their own, often at high cost in code enforcement, public safety, and social services. This bill would add a new article to Georgia law creating the Better Georgia Without Blight Fund inside the Department of Community Affairs. The fund would offer financing, such as loans, loan guarantees, and matching grants, plus technical assistance to cities, counties, and consolidated governments working to rehabilitate blighted properties. The Department of Community Affairs would set eligibility criteria for applicants and properties, including a public inspection, written notice to the property owner, at least one stakeholder meeting, documentation of revenue loss, and evidence of local commitment to rehabilitation. The commissioner would run the fund and report annually to the Governor and General Assembly starting July 1, 2026. The whole article would automatically expire on June 30, 2031 unless renewed. Importantly, the law only takes effect if the General Assembly separately appropriates money for it.
What the bill does
- Creates the Better Georgia Without Blight Fund within the Department of Community Affairs to finance blighted property rehabilitation through loans, loan guarantees, and matching grants.
- Directs the department to set eligibility criteria for applicants and properties, including inspections, owner notice, and a stakeholder meeting.
- Authorizes the department to seek and use outside grants or funding from any government or other source for the fund's purposes.
- Requires the commissioner to submit a public annual report on the program's implementation starting July 1, 2026.
- Automatically repeals the entire new article on June 30, 2031 unless the General Assembly extends it.
- Makes the whole Act effective only if the legislature specifically appropriates money for it in a future budget bill.
Who it affects
Local, municipal, county, and consolidated governments seeking help rehabilitating blighted properties; owners of properties identified as blighted; the Department of Community Affairs and its commissioner, who would run the fund; and residents of communities with blighted properties.
Why it matters
If funded, cities and counties could get state loans, grants, and guidance to fix up blighted properties instead of shouldering the cost alone, potentially reducing code enforcement and public safety burdens. But because the law only activates once the legislature appropriates money, its real-world impact depends entirely on a future budget decision.
Key provisions
- Section 3 adds new Code Section 50-8-400 defining 'blighted property' by reference to O.C.G.A. § 22-1-1 and naming the commissioner and department.
- Section 3 (O.C.G.A. § 50-8-401) establishes the fund and names the commissioner of community affairs as its director.
- Section 3 (O.C.G.A. § 50-8-402) requires the department to set eligibility criteria, including property inspections, owner notice, stakeholder meetings, and proof of local commitment.
- Section 3 (O.C.G.A. § 50-8-404) requires an annual public report to the Governor and General Assembly beginning July 1, 2026.
- Section 3 (O.C.G.A. § 50-8-405) automatically repeals the new article on June 30, 2031 unless the General Assembly extends it.
- Section 4 makes the entire Act contingent on the General Assembly specifically appropriating funding for it in a future appropriations Act.
From the bill
“The Better Georgia Without Blight Fund is established within the department for the purpose of assisting local, municipal, county, or consolidated governments with financing, including loans, loan guarantees, and matching grants, and technical assistance to encourage the rehabilitation of blighted properties.”
“This article shall be automatically repealed on June 30, 2031, unless continued in effect by the General Assembly prior to such date.”
“This Act shall become effective only if funds are specifically appropriated for the purposes of this Act in an appropriations Act enacted by the General Assembly.”
Discussed in meetings (1)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House State Planning & Community Affairs Committee, February 19, 2026
From 0:27:09 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute for HB 753 creating the Better Georgia Without Blight Fund. The sponsor estimated Georgia had 582,000 blighted properties, about 15% of parcels, and argued that rehabilitation and redevelopment could restore property values and local revenue. The sponsor said DCA could use existing funds and grants without a new state appropriation. The substitute would require rehabilitation applicants to obtain support letters from local community organizations or associations, which the sponsor said would help prevent displacement and ensure neighborhood support. Dates also changed from 2026 to 2027. Members asked whether owners could be forced to surrender property. The sponsor said the bill would provide funding and technical assistance, not new condemnation powers, and would leave local ordinances in place. A member with real estate experience described local property-acquisition processes as separate from this bill. The chair questioned funding, and another member asked whether administering a new fund would require more staff. DCA’s external affairs representative said the department already operated related programs but had not fully assessed staffing demands. The representative also deferred questions about a Macon-Bibb program and local blight-policy requirements for further review. No vote was taken. The chair requested that a small group of members meet with DCA to resolve outstanding questions.
Status timeline
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Bryce Berry (D, HD-56)
- Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
- Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)
- Phil Olaleye (D, HD-59)
- Tremaine Teddy Reese (D, HD-140)
Topics
- blighted properties
- community development
- local government funding
- property rehabilitation
- Department of Community Affairs