--- title: HB 856. Brooks County Development Authority; appointment of members; revise provisions collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb856 cite_as: HB 856, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb856 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb856.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb856/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71658 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/hb855.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb857.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 919 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb856.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 856 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: - John LaHood text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB856/2025 upstream_id: 2014738 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local government - Brooks County - development authority - county appointments --- # HB 856. Brooks County Development Authority; appointment of members; revise provisions ## Text 25 LC 47 3611/AP House Bill 856 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative LaHood of the 175th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act relating to the Brooks County Development Authority, approved March 9,1 1967 (Ga. L. 1967, p. 2097), so as to revise provisions related to the appointment of members2 of the authority; to repeal outdated districting and initial te rm provisions; to provide for3 related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 An Act relating to the Brooks County Development Authority, approved March 9, 1967 (Ga.7 L. 1967, p. 2097), is amended by repealing and reserving Section 2.8 SECTION 2.9 Said Act is further amended by revising Section 3 as follows:10 "SECTION 3.11 The governing authority of Brooks County shall appoint seven members to the authority12 by selecting outstanding citizens of Brooks County. Two member s shall be residents of13 Brooks County residing within the corporate limits of the City of Quitman, and the14 H. B. 856 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3611/AP remaining five members shall be residents residing anywhere wit hin the geographic15 boundaries of Brooks County. Members shall serve terms of office of four years and until16 their successors are duly appointed and qualified."17 SECTION 3.18 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.19 H. B. 856 - 2 - ## 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 856 changes how members are appointed to the Brooks County Development Authority, setting new residency rules and a four-year term length while dropping outdated district and initial-term rules. ### Plain-language summary The Brooks County Development Authority was created by a 1967 state law that set out how its members are chosen. This bill amends that original 1967 Act to update the appointment process. It repeals Section 2 of the original law, which contained outdated districting rules, leaving that section reserved but empty. It also rewrites Section 3 so that Brooks County's governing authority appoints seven members to the authority. Two of those members must live within the City of Quitman's corporate limits, and the other five can live anywhere in Brooks County. All seven members serve four-year terms and continue serving until a successor is appointed and qualified. The bill also repeals any other laws that conflict with these changes. ### What it does - Repeals Section 2 of the 1967 Brooks County Development Authority Act, removing outdated districting and initial term provisions. - Rewrites Section 3 to require the Brooks County governing authority to appoint seven members to the development authority. - Requires two of the seven members to reside within the City of Quitman's corporate limits and five to reside anywhere in Brooks County. - Sets each member's term of office at four years, with members continuing to serve until a successor is appointed and qualified. - Repeals any other state laws that conflict with these new provisions. ### Who it affects Residents of Brooks County and the City of Quitman who might serve on the Brooks County Development Authority, and the Brooks County governing authority, which is responsible for making the appointments under the revised rules. ### Why it matters The change determines who can sit on the local economic development board and how appointments are structured, replacing old districting rules with a simpler residency split between Quitman and the rest of the county, which affects local representation on development decisions. ### Key provisions - Section 1 repeals and reserves Section 2 of the original 1967 Act, eliminating outdated districting and initial term language. - Section 2 revises Section 3 of the original Act to set the authority's membership at seven, with two members from within Quitman and five from elsewhere in Brooks County. - Section 2 also sets a uniform four-year term of office for all members, continuing until successors are appointed and qualified. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: John LaHood - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71658 > The history, votes, and amendments (919 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb856.md?full=1