--- title: SB 496. Annexation of Territory; certain annexations are contingent upon approval of the county in which the subject property is located; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb496 cite_as: SB 496, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb496 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb496.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb496/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73128 date: 2026-02-12 status: introduced 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb495.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb497.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 95 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb496.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 496 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-02-11 last_action: Senate Read and Referred sponsors: - Matt Brass - Bo Hatchett - Timothy Bearden - Jason Anavitarte - Lee Anderson text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB496/2025 upstream_id: 2114671 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - annexation - local government - city and county relations - land use --- # SB 496. Annexation of Territory; certain annexations are contingent upon approval of the county in which the subject property is located; provide ## Text Senate Bill 496 By: Senators Brass of the 6th, Hatchett of the 50th, Bearden of the 30th, Anavitarte of the 31st and Anderson of the 24th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 36 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions for annexation of territory, so as to provide that certain annexations are contingent upon approval of the county in which the subject property is located; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 36 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions for annexation of territory, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows: "36-36-12. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, any proposed annexation pursuant to Article 2, 3, or 4 of this chapter is contingent upon the adoption of a resolution by the governing authority of the county in which such property is located consenting to such annexation." 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. A Georgia Senate bill would require a city seeking to annex land into its limits to first get the county government's approval, adding a new step to the state's annexation process. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, cities can annex property into their boundaries through several methods laid out in Chapter 36 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, without needing sign-off from the county where the land sits. This bill would add a new requirement: any annexation done under Article 2, 3, or 4 of that chapter could only move forward if the county's governing authority (typically the county commission) passes a resolution agreeing to it. The bill adds this rule as a new Code section, 36-36-12, and states it applies notwithstanding any other provision of the annexation chapter. It does not change the existing annexation methods themselves, only adds county consent as a precondition. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not list a specific effective date beyond standard enactment. ### What it does - Adds a new requirement that annexations under Article 2, 3, or 4 of Georgia's annexation chapter (O.C.G.A. Title 36, Chapter 36) need county approval first. - Requires the county's governing authority to pass a formal resolution consenting to the annexation before it can proceed. - Overrides any conflicting language elsewhere in the annexation chapter by stating the new rule applies notwithstanding other provisions. - Repeals any other state laws that conflict with this new county-approval requirement. ### Who it affects Cities and towns across Georgia that annex land using the methods in Article 2, 3, or 4 of the state's annexation law, and county governments, which would gain a formal veto-like role over annexations of property within their borders. ### Why it matters If enacted, cities would no longer be able to annex property on their own under these methods; they would need the county commission's formal approval first. This could slow annexations or give counties leverage to block city growth into unincorporated areas. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds new Code section 36-36-12, making annexations under Article 2, 3, or 4 of the annexation chapter contingent on county approval. - The new section requires the county governing authority to adopt a resolution consenting to the annexation before it can take effect. - The requirement overrides any conflicting provision elsewhere in the annexation chapter ('notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter'). - Section 2 repeals all state laws and parts of laws that conflict with the new requirement. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-02-11) - Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-02-12) - Sponsors: Matt Brass, Bo Hatchett, Timothy Bearden, Jason Anavitarte, Lee Anderson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73128 > The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb496.md?full=1