---
title: HB 956. Solid Waste Trust Fund; authorize use of funds for implementation of provisions of a solid waste management program
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb956
cite_as: HB 956, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb956
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb956.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb956/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72181
date: 2026-05-06
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 948
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb956.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 956
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-06
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
- John Corbett
- Lynn Smith
- Charles Cannon
- Russ Goodman
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB956/2025
upstream_id: 2073938
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- solid waste management
- environmental regulation
- state trust funds
- landfill oversight
---
# HB 956. Solid Waste Trust Fund; authorize use of funds for implementation of provisions of a solid waste management program
## Text
House Bill 956 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Corbett of the 174th, Smith of the 70th, and Cannon of the 172nd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 12-8-27.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
Solid Waste Trust Fund, so as to authorize use of funds for implementation of the provisions
of a solid waste management program in this state; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 12-8-27.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to Solid Waste
Trust Fund, is amended by revising subsection (c) as follows:
"(c) All of the money appropriated to the Solid Waste Trust Fund pursuant to
subsection (b) of this Code section shall be dedicated for use only for the following
purposes:
(1) To take whatever emergency action is necessary or appropriate to assure that the
public health or safety is not threatened whenever there is a release or substantial threat
of a release of contaminants from a disposal facility;
(2) To take preventive or corrective actions where the release of contaminants presents
an actual or potential threat to human health or the environment and where the owner or
operator has not been identified or is unable or unwilling to perform corrective action,
including but not limited to closure and postclosure care of a disposal facility and
provisions for providing alternative water supplies;
(3) To take such actions as may be necessary to monitor and provide postclosure care of
any disposal facility, including preventive and corrective actions, without regard to the
identity or solvency of the owner thereof, commencing five years after the date of
completing closure;
(4) To take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of a scrap tire
management program in this state, particularly as may be related to the cleanup of scrap
tire disposal piles and facilities, regulation of tire carriers and other handlers, and
disbursement of grants and loans to cities, counties, and other persons as may be
necessary to implement fully the provisions of this part; and
(5) To fulfill any purpose provided in subsection (c) of Code Section 12-8-37.1; and
(6) To take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of a solid
waste management program in this state, particularly regarding permitting, monitoring,
regulation or guidance development, inspections, and enforcement."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## 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 956 would let Georgia's Solid Waste Trust Fund pay for running the state's solid waste management program, including permitting, inspections, and enforcement, not just tire and contamination cleanup.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's Solid Waste Trust Fund (O.C.G.A. § 12-8-27.1) currently can only be spent on specific things: emergency cleanup of contaminant releases from disposal facilities, corrective action when an owner can't or won't act, long-term monitoring of closed facilities, the state's scrap tire management program, and purposes tied to another code section on tire fees.
This bill adds a new allowed use. It lets the fund pay for actions needed to carry out Georgia's solid waste management program generally, specifically permitting, monitoring, developing regulations or guidance, inspections, and enforcement. The change is made by amending subsection (c) of the existing law to add this new sixth category alongside the existing ones. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a special effective date beyond the standard process for a signed act.
### What it does
- Adds a new authorized use for the Solid Waste Trust Fund: implementing Georgia's solid waste management program, not just scrap tires or emergency contamination response.
- Specifically allows fund money to pay for permitting, monitoring, regulation or guidance development, inspections, and enforcement tied to solid waste management.
- Keeps all of the fund's existing allowed uses in place, including emergency response to contaminant releases and the scrap tire program.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.
### Who it affects
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division, which administers the Solid Waste Trust Fund and the state's solid waste program, along with landfill and disposal facility owners and operators, tire carriers and handlers, and local governments that receive grants or loans from the fund.
### Why it matters
State regulators would gain a clearer, dedicated funding source to cover the everyday work of overseeing solid waste in Georgia, such as issuing permits and conducting inspections, rather than relying only on funds earmarked for emergencies or tire cleanup.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises subsection (c) of O.C.G.A. § 12-8-27.1 to add a sixth authorized use of the Solid Waste Trust Fund.
- The new paragraph (6) allows spending on actions necessary to implement a solid waste management program, including permitting, monitoring, regulation or guidance development, inspections, and enforcement.
- The existing four purposes, emergency response, corrective action, postclosure monitoring, and the scrap tire program, remain unchanged and dedicated fund uses.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause with no substantive effect beyond this bill's own change.
## Status
- Status: Passed (2026-05-06)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-06)
- Sponsors: John Corbett, Lynn Smith, Charles Cannon, Russ Goodman
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72181
> The history, votes, and amendments (948 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb956.md?full=1