Georgia CommonsSenate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 252: Real and Personal Property; conveyance of municipal property interests to independent school systems; provide
Last action July 1, 2025 · Effective Date
Senate Bill 252 lets large Georgia cities lease, grant easements over, or sell park and recreational land to an independent school system in the city, as long as the city replaces any land it sells with equal or better park land.
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 Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 36-37-6.1) lets large cities, those with more than 300,000 residents under the 1960 census or any later census, sell, lease, or grant easements over park and recreational property under certain conditions, but it does not specifically address transfers to school systems. This bill adds a new provision allowing those municipalities to lease, grant easements over, or convey (transfer ownership of) such recreational property to an independent school system operating within the city, if both the city government and the school board agree it serves their interests and the school system uses it for educational purposes. If the city conveys (sells or transfers) the property outright, it must replace it with other property of equal or greater acreage and of similar or greater benefit to residents. Multiple conveyances can be offset against each other, but the total effect cannot reduce the city's overall park acreage.
What the bill does
- Adds authority for qualifying large municipalities to lease, grant easements over, or convey park and recreational property directly to an independent school system operating in the city.
- Requires that any conveyed property be replaced by the municipality with land of equal or greater acreage and substantially equivalent or greater benefit to residents.
- Allows multiple property conveyances between the city and school system to be credited against each other when calculating required replacement land.
- Sets a rule that the cumulative effect of these conveyances cannot cause a net loss of the municipality's total park acreage.
- Applies only to municipalities with populations over 300,000 under the 1960 census or a later census, keeping the existing population threshold from current law.
Who it affects
Large Georgia cities meeting the population threshold (currently Atlanta), their independent school systems, city residents who use municipal parks and recreational facilities, and school boards seeking land for educational purposes.
Why it matters
This change could let cities like Atlanta transfer park or recreational land to their school systems for uses such as new school buildings, while requiring the city to make up for any lost park space elsewhere, affecting how much park land residents ultimately have access to.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 36-37-6.1 by adding a new paragraph (b)(3) permitting leases, easements, or conveyances of recreational property to an independent school system in the municipality.
- The conveyance requires mutual agreement between the municipality's governing authority and the school system's board that it serves both jurisdictions' interests and supports educational use.
- If property is conveyed outright, the municipality must replace it with land of equal or greater acreage and similar or greater benefit to residents, considering the city's needs and uses.
- Multiple conveyances can be credited against each other's replacement requirements, but the overall effect cannot cause a net loss of park acreage citywide.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“all such municipalities shall have authority to lease out, grant easements over, or convey any property described in subsection (b) of this Code section to an independent school system operating in such municipality for a valuable consideration”
“the governing authority of such municipality shall subsequently replace such property with one or more properties which are determined by such governing authority to be, in the aggregate, of equal or greater acreage and of substantially equivalent or greater benefit”
“The cumulative impact of such conveyances shall not result in a net loss of park acreage owned by such municipality.”
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 295
- Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
Show full history (18 actions)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Sonya Halpern (D, SD-39)
- Nan Orrock (D, SD-36)
- Josh McLaurin (D, SD-14)
- Jason Esteves (D, SD-35)
- Russ Goodman (R, SD-8)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
- Betsy Holland (D, HD-54)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 6, 2025
56 yea, 0 nay
- House voteMarch 20, 2025
169 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 8 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 27, 2025
52 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 3 excused)
Topics
- public parks
- school property
- municipal land
- Atlanta city government
- school facilities