--- title: SB 331. City of Winder and the County of Barrow; creating and establishing a joint airport authority; repeal collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb331 cite_as: SB 331, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb331 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb331.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb331/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71308 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/sb330.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb332.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 1223 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb331.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 331 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-14 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 sponsors: - Clint Dixon - Frank Ginn - Chuck Efstration text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB331/2025 upstream_id: 2000316 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - airport governance - Barrow County - local government reorganization - Winder Georgia --- # SB 331. City of Winder and the County of Barrow; creating and establishing a joint airport authority; repeal ## Text 25 LC 62 0197S Senate Bill 331 By: Senators Dixon of the 45th and Ginn of the 47th AS PASSED A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To repeal an Act creating and establishing a joint airport authority for the City of Winder and1 the County of Barrow, approved March 25, 1958 (Ga. L. 1958, p. 3087), as amended,2 particularly by an Act approved March 28, 1986 (Ga. L. 1986, p. 5518), and an Act approved3 March 16, 1989 (Ga. L. 1989, p. 3764); to provide for a legislative purpose; to provide for4 the assets and liabilities thereof; to provide for related matt ers; to provide for an effective5 date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 An Act creating and establishing a joint airport authority for the City of Winder and the9 County of Barrow, approved March 25, 1958 (Ga. L. 1958, p. 3087 ), as amended,10 particularly by an Act approved March 28, 1986 (Ga. L. 1986, p. 5518), and an Act approved11 March 16, 1989 (Ga. L. 1989, p. 3764), is hereby repealed in its entirety.12 S. B. 331 - 1 - 25 LC 62 0197S SECTION 2.13 The purpose of this Act is to transfer all assets, obligations, and responsibilities of the14 Barrow County Airport Authority to Barrow County, Georgia, to e nhance efficiency,15 streamline governance, and ensure the continued operation and management of the airport.16 SECTION 3.17 All assets, including but not limited to real property, persona l property, funds, accounts,18 credits, contractual rights, leases, agreements, permits, licenses, and any other assets of any19 kind, of the Barrow County Airport Authority shall be transferred to Barrow County on the20 effective date of this Act. Barrow County shall assume all obligations of the Barrow County21 Airport Authority, including but not limited to all outstanding debts, liabilities, and22 contractual obligations of the Barrow County Airport Authority, on the effective date of this23 Act.24 SECTION 4.25 All existing leases, contracts, and agreements entered into by the Barrow County Airport26 Authority shall remain in full force and effect and be administered by Barrow County.27 SECTION 5.28 The Barrow County Airport Authority shall be dissolved upon the completion of the transfer29 of assets and obligations to Barrow County.30 SECTION 6.31 All references to the Barrow County Airport Authority in any enactment, including but not32 limited to references in state or local laws, ordinances, resolutions, and regulations, shall be33 deemed to refer to Barrow County. Barrow County shall be the l egal successor to the34 Barrow County Airport Authority.35 S. B. 331 - 2 - 25 LC 62 0197S SECTION 7.36 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law37 without such approval.38 SECTION 8.39 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.40 S. B. 331 - 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. A Georgia Senate bill abolishes the joint airport authority that has run the Winder-Barrow airport since 1958 and transfers all of its property, contracts, and debts to Barrow County government. ### Plain-language summary Since 1958, the City of Winder and Barrow County have jointly run their local airport through a special joint airport authority created by state law. This bill repeals that original 1958 law and its later amendments, ending the authority entirely. In its place, the bill transfers every asset the authority owns, including real estate, personal property, funds, contracts, leases, permits, and licenses, to Barrow County. Barrow County also takes on all of the authority's debts and other obligations. Existing leases and contracts stay in effect but are now administered by the county. Once the transfer is finished, the authority is formally dissolved, and Barrow County becomes its legal successor for all purposes, including in any other laws or local rules that mention the authority. The law takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law. ### What it does - Repeals in full the 1958 law (and its 1986 and 1989 amendments) that created the joint Winder-Barrow County Airport Authority. - Transfers all of the authority's assets, including real property, funds, contracts, leases, permits, and licenses, to Barrow County on the effective date. - Requires Barrow County to assume all of the authority's outstanding debts, liabilities, and contractual obligations. - Keeps existing leases and contracts in force but shifts their administration to Barrow County government. - Dissolves the Barrow County Airport Authority once the asset and obligation transfer is complete. - Makes Barrow County the legal successor to the authority in any other law, ordinance, resolution, or regulation that refers to it. ### Who it affects The City of Winder, Barrow County government and its officials, the Barrow County Airport Authority and its board members, and any businesses, tenants, or contractors with existing leases, permits, or agreements tied to the airport. ### Why it matters Control of the local airport moves from a separate joint authority to Barrow County government directly, meaning county commissioners rather than an appointed authority board will oversee its finances, contracts, and debts going forward, changing who is accountable for airport operations. ### Key provisions - Section 1 repeals the 1958 Act (Ga. L. 1958, p. 3087) and its 1986 and 1989 amendments that created the joint airport authority. - Section 2 states the purpose: transferring the authority's assets and duties to Barrow County to streamline governance of the airport. - Section 3 transfers all of the authority's assets and requires Barrow County to assume all of its debts and obligations on the effective date. - Section 4 keeps existing leases, contracts, and agreements in effect, now administered by Barrow County. - Section 5 dissolves the Barrow County Airport Authority once the transfer is complete. - Section 6 makes Barrow County the legal successor to the authority for all references in other laws or regulations. - Section 7 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval or the date the bill otherwise becomes law. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-14) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 (2025-05-14) - Sponsors: Clint Dixon, Frank Ginn, Chuck Efstration - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71308 > The history, votes, and amendments (1,223 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb331.md?full=1