SB 612: City of Cochran Public Facilities Authority; create

This bill sets up a new public body called the City of Cochran Public Facilities Authority, a legally separate but state-created entity meant to acquire, build, and run facilities the City of Cochran uses for its government operations, such as buildings, sewers, and utility projects. The authority would be run by seven members who also sit on the Cochran city council, serving matching terms. To pay for projects, the authority can borrow money by issuing revenue bonds (debt repaid from project income, not tax dollars), lease facilities back to the city, and collect rent to cover the bonds. The bill makes clear that this borrowing does not count as debt of the City of Cochran or the State of Georgia, and bondholders cannot go after city or state property if the authority defaults. The authority is exempt from most local and state taxes, has legal immunity similar to a Georgia county, and any lawsuits involving it must be filed in Bleckley County Superior Court. If the authority is ever dissolved, its remaining property would go to the City of Cochran.

• Creates the City of Cochran Public Facilities Authority as a separate public corporation that can acquire, build, and operate buildings and infrastructure for the city.
• Authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds to pay for construction, with repayment coming only from project rents and revenue, not local or state taxes.
• Sets up a seven-member board drawn from the Cochran city council, with terms matching their council terms and no pay beyond expense reimbursement.
• Exempts the authority's bonds and most of its property and activities from state and local taxation, though not from sales and use tax.
• Grants the authority the same legal immunity from lawsuits over negligence that Georgia counties have.
• Requires that if the authority is dissolved, all its remaining property transfers to the City of Cochran.

City of Cochran residents and taxpayers, the Cochran city council members who would also serve on the authority board, potential bondholders and lenders who buy the authority's revenue bonds, and companies or agencies that contract with the authority to build or lease facilities.

The bill gives Cochran a new financing tool to build public facilities like government buildings or utility infrastructure by borrowing against project revenue rather than raising local taxes or adding to the city's debt, while shielding the city and state from liability if the bonds are not repaid.

• Section 2 establishes the authority as a public corporation and instrumentality of the state, based in Cochran, separate from the state's usual financing commission oversight.
• Section 3 sets board composition at seven members who also serve on the Cochran governing authority, with a four-member quorum needed to act.
• Section 5 lists the authority's powers, including acquiring property, issuing revenue bonds, and leasing projects, largely under Georgia's Revenue Bond Law.
• Section 6 states revenue bonds do not create debt or pledge the credit of the City of Cochran or the State of Georgia and cannot be enforced against city or state property.
• Section 9 sets Bleckley County Superior Court as the exclusive venue for lawsuits and bond validation actions involving the authority.
• Section 14 exempts the authority from most taxes and assessments on its property and income, except sales and use tax.
• Section 15 gives the authority and its employees the same tort immunity as a Georgia county.
• Section 20 directs that upon dissolution, after all bonds are paid off, the authority's property passes to the City of Cochran.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-05-11
2. 2026-05-11Act 618
3. 2026-05-11Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-03-20House Passed/Adopted (House)
6. 2026-03-20House Third Readers (House)
7. 2026-03-20House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
8. 2026-03-10House Second Readers (House)

• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)Primary sponsor
• Danny Mathis (R, HD-133)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   49 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #639

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 20, 2026

   153 yea, 0 nay (14 not voting, 9 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #734

• local government authority
• municipal bonds
• City of Cochran
• public infrastructure financing