--- title: HB 834. Cedartown, City of; Redevelopment Powers Law; provide for a referendum collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb834 cite_as: HB 834, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb834 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb834.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb834/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71635 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/hb833.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb835.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 919 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb834.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 834 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: - Trey Kelley text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB834/2025 upstream_id: 2014736 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local government powers - redevelopment - tax allocation districts - referendum - Cedartown --- # HB 834. Cedartown, City of; Redevelopment Powers Law; provide for a referendum ## Text 25 LC 44 2853/AP House Bill 834 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Kelley of the 16th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the City of Cedartown, 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 Cedartown, 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 Cedartown10 to undertake and carry out community redevelopment, to create t ax allocation districts, to11 issue 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 Cedartown to14 exercise redevelopment powers as fully as the "Redevelopment Powers Law" may now or15 H. B. 834 - 1 - 25 LC 44 2853/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 Cedartown 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 Cedartown 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 Polk County, Georgia. The ballot shall have written or printed26 thereon the words:27 "( ) YES28 ( ) NO29 30 Shall the Act be approved which authorizes the City of Cedartown, 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 Cedartown.37 It shall be the election superintendent's duty to certify the result thereof to the Secretary of38 State.39 H. B. 834 - 2 - 25 LC 44 2853/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. 834 - 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 834 would let the City of Cedartown use Georgia's Redevelopment Powers Law, including creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds, but only if voters approve it in a November 2025 referendum. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's Redevelopment Powers Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 44 of Title 36) lets cities and counties fund redevelopment projects by creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds, but a local government can only use those powers if the General Assembly authorizes it and voters agree. This bill grants that authorization to the City of Cedartown in Polk County. The authorization does not take effect automatically. The bill requires the city's election superintendent to hold a referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025, asking voters to approve or reject the city's use of these redevelopment powers. If more than half of the votes cast are in favor, the authorization becomes effective immediately. If voters reject it, or the election is not held as described, the authorization never takes effect and the whole Act automatically repeals on the following January 1. The city must pay the cost of the election. ### What it does - Authorizes the City of Cedartown to use all powers under Georgia's Redevelopment Powers Law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 44, Title 36), including creating tax allocation districts and issuing tax allocation bonds. - Requires a public referendum in Cedartown on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025 before the authorization can take effect. - Sets rules for publicizing the election, including notice in the county's official legal organ 90 days before and weekly for two weeks before the vote. - Makes the redevelopment authorization effective immediately only if more than half of 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. - Assigns the cost of holding the referendum to the City of Cedartown. ### Who it affects Residents and registered voters of the City of Cedartown, who will decide the outcome in a referendum; city officials and the election superintendent, who must organize and certify the vote; and property owners or developers within any future tax allocation districts the city might create. ### Why it matters If voters approve, Cedartown could use tax allocation bonds and special redevelopment districts to fund projects like blight removal or infrastructure improvements, tools currently unavailable to the city. If voters reject the measure, the city gains no new powers and the law disappears from the books. ### Key provisions - Section 1 authorizes Cedartown to exercise all powers under the Redevelopment Powers Law, including community redevelopment, tax allocation districts, and tax allocation bonds, as permitted by Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VII(b) of the Georgia Constitution. - Section 2 requires a referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025, sets public notice requirements in Polk County's official legal organ, and specifies the exact ballot question wording. - Section 2 also states that approval by more than half of votes cast makes Section 1 effective immediately, while rejection or a failed election triggers automatic repeal of the entire Act on the following January 1. - Section 3 sets the Act's general effective date as upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without approval, except where Section 2 governs. - Section 4 repeals all conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-14) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 (2025-05-14) - Sponsors: Trey Kelley - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71635 > The history, votes, and amendments (919 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb834.md?full=1