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Senate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 435: Georgia Development Authority; rename as the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority

Last action July 1, 2026 · Effective Date

A Georgia Senate bill renames the Georgia Development Authority as the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority and updates the name throughout state law wherever the old title appears.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

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

This bill changes the official name of the Georgia Development Authority to the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority. It does not create a new agency or change what the authority does; it simply updates the name used in Georgia's laws. Section 1 lists thirteen specific sections of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, covering topics like the Emerging Crops Fund Act, mortgage lender exemptions, retirement system membership for employees, and the authority's purpose and powers, and directs that the old name be swapped for the new one everywhere it appears in those sections. Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision. The bill is described as already passed as of the header, meaning the name change would become part of Georgia law.

What the bill does

  • Renames the Georgia Development Authority as the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority throughout the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
  • Updates the authority's name in 13 specific Code sections covering topics such as the Emerging Crops Fund, mortgage lender rules, employee retirement provisions, and the authority's core powers.
  • Makes only conforming name changes; it does not alter the authority's structure, funding, powers, or duties.
  • Repeals any other laws that conflict with the renaming, a routine closing clause common to Georgia bills.

Who it affects

The Georgia Development Authority itself and its employees, whose retirement and employment references change names; agricultural borrowers who use its loan programs; mortgage lenders referenced in the exemption statute; and any state agency or law that currently refers to the authority by its old name.

Why it matters

Because the change is limited to the authority's name across Georgia law, day-to-day operations, loan programs, and employee benefits should continue unaffected. The main practical effect is that anyone referencing the authority in legal documents, contracts, or state filings will need to use its new name, the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 replaces 'Georgia Development Authority' with 'Georgia Agricultural Development Authority' in 13 named Code sections, including those governing the Emerging Crops Fund Act (O.C.G.A. §§ 2-8A-3, 2-8A-5 through 2-8A-7).
  • Section 1 also updates references in laws on mortgage lender exemptions (O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1001), employee retirement (O.C.G.A. §§ 45-18-7.1, 47-2-318), and the authority's creation, purpose, and powers (O.C.G.A. §§ 50-10-1, 50-10-3 through 50-10-5).
  • Section 1 updates references in state financing definitions (O.C.G.A. § 50-17-21) and legislative intent language regarding the authority's rights, duties, and assets (O.C.G.A. § 50-23-2).
  • Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard provision ensuring the renaming takes full legal effect.

From the bill

“The Official Code of Georgia Annotated, is amended by replacing "Georgia Development Authority" with "Georgia Agricultural Development Authority" wherever the former term appears”

This is the bill's core operative instruction to rename the authority throughout Georgia law.

Discussed in meetings (13)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

  1. Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, February 4, 2026

    From 0:17:08 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair, presenting as the bill’s sponsor, said the bill would rename the Georgia Development Authority as the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority at the authority’s request. The sponsor said the state lending institution serves farmers, but county commissioners and mayors had been calling about borrowing money because its current name did not identify its agricultural purpose. The sponsor said restoring the earlier name would reduce that confusion. The committee approved the bill unanimously without further discussion.

  2. Senate Rules Committee, February 6, 2026

    From 0:05:42 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described a name change for the Georgia Development Authority and said the authority's executive staff had requested the bill. The sponsor began explaining that the authority previously had an agricultural name, but the chair ended the presentation before further details were given. No vote was shown.

  3. Senate Rules Committee, February 9, 2026

    From 0:15:29 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described the bill as a name change adding agriculture to the Georgia Development Authority's name. The sponsor said the agency had originally been called the Georgia Livestock Development Authority and characterized the change as correcting a legislative mistake from 66 years earlier. Members did not ask substantive questions. Later, a member selected the bill for the next day's calendar, and the committee unanimously approved placing it on that calendar.

  4. Senate floor session, February 10, 2026 (legislative day 16)

    From 2:26:14 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would rename the Georgia Development Authority as the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority. The sponsor explained that the current name led mayors and county commissioners to seek infrastructure loans from an authority intended for farmers, while the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority served local governments. Other senators expressed support for agriculture during brief exchanges. The Senate passed the bill, 47 to 0.

  5. House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee, March 11, 2026

    From 0:35:24 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would rename the Georgia Development Authority as the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority. The sponsor described the authority’s origins in administering agricultural funds returned to Georgia by the federal government. According to the sponsor, agriculture was removed from the authority’s name in 1960 when lawmakers sought to allow community infrastructure lending, even though another entity already served that purpose. The sponsor said the current name leads mayors and county commissioners to contact the authority seeking infrastructure loans, and the authority requested the change to clarify its role. No substantive questions or amendments were offered. The committee approved the bill by voice vote with no opposition heard and sent it to House Rules. The chair agreed to carry it in the House.

  6. House Rules Committee, March 16, 2026

    From 0:38:29 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said SB 435 would rename the Georgia Development Authority as the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority. The presenter described it as a department proposal intended to reduce confusion with the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. No questions were asked. The committee later placed the bill on the floor calendar without objection.

  7. House floor session, March 16, 2026 (legislative day 32)

    From 1:26:03 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2642

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said SB 435 would rename the Georgia Development Authority as the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority. The presenter described it as a departmental request intended to reduce confusion about the authority's mission and that of another organization. There were no questions, and the House passed the bill 154-0.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-07-01Effective Date
  2. 2026-05-06Act 432
  3. 2026-05-06Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
  4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
  5. 2026-03-16House Passed/Adopted (House)
  6. 2026-03-16House Third Readers (House)
  7. 2026-03-12House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
  8. 2026-02-12House Second Readers (House)
Show full history (15 actions)
  1. 2026-02-11House First Readers (House)
  2. 2026-02-10Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
  3. 2026-02-10Senate Third Read (Senate)
  4. 2026-02-06Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
  5. 2026-02-05Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
  6. 2026-01-29Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  7. 2026-01-28Senate Hopper (Senate)

Sponsors

  • Russ Goodman (R, SD-8)Primary sponsor
  • Sam Watson (R, SD-11)
  • Lee Anderson (R, SD-24)
  • Freddie Powell Sims (D, SD-12)
  • Carden Summers (R, SD-13)
  • Bo Hatchett (R, SD-50)
  • Drew Echols (R, SD-49)
  • Mike Hodges (R, SD-3)
  • Matt Brass (R, SD-6)
  • Steve Gooch (R, SD-51)
  • Frank Ginn (R, SD-47)
  • Timothy Bearden (R, SD-30)
  • Max Burns (R, SD-23)
  • Nikki Merritt (D, SD-9)
  • Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-21)
  • Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-31)
  • Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
  • Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)
  • Tonya Anderson (D, SD-43)
  • Josh McLaurin (D, SD-14)
  • Sonya Halpern (D, SD-39)
  • RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-38)
  • John Albers (R, SD-56)
  • Gail Davenport (D, SD-17)
  • Chuck Payne (R, SD-54)
  • Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)
  • Ed Harbison (D, SD-15)
  • Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-5)
  • Nabilah Parkes (D, SD-7)
  • Steven Meeks (R, HD-178)

Votes

  1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 10, 2026

    47 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 5 excused)

    PASSAGE: Senate Vote #534

  2. PassedHouse voteMarch 16, 2026

    154 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 15 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #705

Topics

  • agriculture policy
  • state agencies
  • Georgia Development Authority
  • agricultural lending
  • government renaming

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SB435: Georgia Development Authority; rename as the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority | Georgia Commons