HB 849: Randolph County Airport Authority Act; enact

In 2006 the Georgia General Assembly created the Lower Chattahoochee Regional Airport Authority to operate an airport, and later amended that law in 2010 and 2012. House Bill 849 amends that same original Act again, this time to change the authority's name to the Randolph County Airport Authority. It updates the short title, the section creating the body, and the definition of 'Authority' throughout the law to reflect the new name. The bill also makes clear that the newly named Randolph County Airport Authority is the legal successor to the old Lower Chattahoochee Regional Airport Authority, automatically taking on all of its assets, interests, obligations, debts, and liabilities. It updates the bond validation section so that any future bonds issued by the authority reference the new name. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not list a delayed effective date, so it would take effect upon the Governor's signature under standard practice.

• Renames the Lower Chattahoochee Regional Airport Authority to the Randolph County Airport Authority in the law's short title and creating section.
• Declares the renamed authority remains a political subdivision and public corporation of Georgia with the power to sue, be sued, and contract.
• Makes the Randolph County Airport Authority the legal successor to the old authority, automatically transferring all its assets, debts, and obligations.
• Updates the definition of 'Authority' and the bond validation procedure to reflect the new name throughout the law.
• Repeals any other state laws that conflict with these changes.

The change directly affects the airport authority itself, Randolph County government and residents, and anyone who has contracted with or holds bonds issued by the former Lower Chattahoochee Regional Airport Authority, since those obligations now transfer to the renamed entity.

For a small local authority, a name change mostly affects paperwork, contracts, and legal filings, but the bill also legally confirms that all existing debts, assets, and agreements carry over intact, so bondholders and contract partners are not left in limbo during the transition.

• Section 1 revises the Act's short title to the 'Randolph County Airport Authority Act.'
• Section 2 revises Section 3 to formally establish the 'Randolph County Airport Authority' as a body corporate and political subdivision of Georgia.
• Section 3 updates the definition of 'Authority' in Section 4 to mean the newly named Randolph County Airport Authority.
• Section 4 revises Section 6 to make the Randolph County Airport Authority the successor to the old authority, assuming all its assets, debts, and liabilities by operation of law.
• Section 5 revises the bond validation procedure in Section 21 to reference the Randolph County Airport Authority and Georgia's Revenue Bond Law (O.C.G.A. Title 36, Chapter 82, Article 3).
• Section 6 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date
2. 2025-05-13Act 241
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-09House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-04-04Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-03-31Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-03-31House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)Primary sponsor
• Mike Cheokas (R, HD-151)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2025

   165 yea, 0 nay (10 not voting, 5 excused)

   Local Calendar Without HBs 851 & 852: House Vote #342

2. PassedSenate voteApril 4, 2025

   51 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 1 excused)

   LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #446

• airport authority
• Randolph County
• local government
• Georgia airports