SB 498: Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority; establish

Currently, Georgia charter schools have limited options for financing construction and building repairs compared to traditional public school districts, which can access state facility funding. This bill amends Georgia's charter school capital finance law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2095) to create the Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority, a 15 member public body made up of state education officials and appointees of the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker. The authority would be attached to the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission for administrative support and could make loans, issue notes, own and lease property, and set up a revolving loan fund to help qualified charter school organizations pay for construction, renovation, and rehabilitation of educational facilities. Loans for most projects are capped at the lesser of 20 percent of a project's cost or $2 million, and renovation loans are capped at $200,000. The bill also updates the State Financing and Investment Commission Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-17-22) to make clear the commission is responsible for disbursing state funding for charter school capital outlay.

• Creates the Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority as a new public corporation with 15 members, including state education officials and gubernatorial and legislative appointees.
• Authorizes the authority to make loans, loan guarantees, and other financing to qualified charter school organizations for building, renovating, and repairing educational facilities.
• Caps most project loans at the lesser of 20 percent of total project cost or $2 million, and caps renovation and modernization loans at $200,000.
• Limits loan terms to five years or the expiration of the charter school's current charter agreement, whichever comes first.
• Exempts the authority's property, activities, and notes from state and local taxes, except sales and use tax.
• Directs the State Financing and Investment Commission to also handle disbursement of state funding for charter school capital outlay, expanding its existing role over public school capital funding.

Georgia charter schools and the qualified charter school organizations that run them, the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, the State Board of Education, the State Charter Schools Commission, and the officials and gubernatorial and legislative appointees who would serve on the new authority's 15 member board.

Charter schools would gain a new avenue, a state backed loan and financing program, to pay for building projects that many currently struggle to fund without access to local district facility budgets or bonding capacity. The authority's loans, caps, and lease terms would shape how quickly and how much charter schools can build or fix their facilities.

• Section 1 adds a new Part 2 to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2095 creating the Georgia Charter School Facilities Authority as a body corporate and politic, an instrumentality of the state.
• The authority's 15 members include six ex officio state officials and nine appointees split evenly among the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker, serving staggered four year terms.
• The authority is assigned to the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission for administrative support, including office space, staff, and equipment.
• O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2095.23 caps project loans at the lesser of 20 percent of cost or $2 million, and renovation/modernization loans at $200,000, with loan terms capped at five years or the charter's expiration date.
• O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2095.27 specifies that the authority's debts do not count as state debt or obligate the state's credit.
• O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2095.28 exempts the authority's property, income, and notes from state and local taxes, except sales and use tax.
• O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2095.31 requires the state treasurer to withhold state funds from a charter school organization that fails to repay amounts owed to the authority, with exceptions for conflicting contracts, federal law, or court judgments.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 50-17-22 so the State Financing and Investment Commission is also responsible for disbursing state appropriations for charter school capital outlay.

1. 2026-03-25House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-03-10House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-09House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-03-06Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
5. 2026-03-06Senate Third Read (Senate)
6. 2026-03-06Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
7. 2026-03-06Senate Tabled (Senate)
8. 2026-03-04Senate Engrossed (Senate)

• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)Primary sponsor
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Matt Dubnik (R, HD-029)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 4, 2026

   31 yea, 22 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Motion To Engross: Sb 306, Sb 465, Sb 498, Sr 668: Senate Vote #615

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   49 yea, 3 nay (1 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #663

• charter schools
• school facilities financing
• education funding
• state authorities
• school construction