--- title: SR 424. Senate Study Committee on Franchise Fees; create collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr424 cite_as: SR 424, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr424 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr424.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr424/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71482 date: 2025-04-02 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/sr423.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr425.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 429 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr424.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 424 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-04-02 last_action: Senate Passed/Adopted sponsors: - Chuck Hufstetler - John Albers - Blake Tillery - Bill Cowsert - Ben Watson - Carden Summers - Max Burns text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR424/2025 upstream_id: 2012223 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - franchise fees - electric utilities - unincorporated areas - state senate study committees - utility regulation --- # SR 424. Senate Study Committee on Franchise Fees; create ## Text 25 LC 50 1223 Senate Resolution 424 By: Senators Hufstetler of the 52nd, Albers of the 56th, Tillery of the 19th, Cowsert of the 46th, Watson of the 1st and others ADOPTED SENATE A RESOLUTION Creating the Senate Study Committee on Franchise Fees; and for other purposes.1 WHEREAS, the substantial growth of large load electricity custo mers is impacting many2 unincorporated areas of this state; and3 WHEREAS, municipalities lease their rights of way under franchise agreements to electric4 utility providers and receive significant compensation in return, including from within many 5 unincorporated areas of this state; and6 WHEREAS, the right for an electric utility provider to utilize county rights of way to reach7 its customers has economic value that is not currently being recognized for the benefit of the8 county and its unincorporated area residents; and9 WHEREAS, for decades, residents of unincorporated areas have pa id municipal franchise10 fees to cities in which they do not reside through a charge included in the base rate of their11 electricity bills; and12 S. R. 424 - 1 - 25 LC 50 1223 WHEREAS, the unprecedented growth of large load electricity cus tomers necessitates a13 reconsideration of the assessment and allocation of municipal f ranchise fees for electric14 services within unincorporated areas of this state; and15 WHEREAS, this state has a compelling government interest to ens ure that large load16 electricity customers, which are particularly situated, are assessed franchise fees or tariffs as17 a condition of conducting their operations in the unincorporated areas of the county.18 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE:19 (1) Creation of Senate study committee. There is created the Senate Study Committee20 on Franchise Fees.21 (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the22 Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall23 designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee.24 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,25 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or26 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.27 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee28 may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or29 convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and30 accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.31 (5) Allowances and funding.32 (A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided33 for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.34 (B) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member35 of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. Funds36 S. R. 424 - 2 - 25 LC 50 1223 necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds37 appropriated to the Senate.38 (6) Report.39 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that40 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the41 same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolut ion, subject to42 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.43 (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not i nclude suggestions for44 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)45 of this paragraph.46 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of47 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.48 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with49 the Secretary of the Senate.50 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Secretary51 of the Senate a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof.52 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2025.53 S. R. 424 - 3 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Senate resolution creates a five-member study committee to examine how municipal franchise fees on electric utilities affect residents and large power users in unincorporated areas of Georgia counties. ### Plain-language summary Cities lease their rights of way to electric utility companies through franchise agreements and collect fees in return, even from customers living in unincorporated county areas who never signed such agreements. This resolution creates the Senate Study Committee on Franchise Fees to look at whether that arrangement still makes sense, especially as large electricity users (like data centers or industrial facilities) grow in unincorporated areas. The committee will have five state senators appointed by the President of the Senate, who will also name a chairperson. It can hold meetings, study the issue, and recommend legislation. Members get standard legislative allowances for up to five meeting days, paid from Senate funds. The committee must file any report and recommendations before it is abolished on December 1, 2025. ### What it does - Creates the Senate Study Committee on Franchise Fees, made up of five senators appointed by the President of the Senate. - Directs the committee to study how municipal franchise fees on electric utilities are assessed and allocated in unincorporated county areas. - Authorizes the committee to hold meetings and recommend legislation or other action based on its findings. - Provides legislative members standard daily allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8 for up to five meeting days, funded through Senate appropriations. - Sets December 1, 2025 as the date the committee is abolished, by which time it must file any approved report. ### Who it affects State senators appointed to the committee, electric utility companies that hold franchise agreements with cities, municipalities that collect franchise fees, and residents and large electricity customers in unincorporated county areas whose bills include those fees. ### Why it matters If the committee's work leads to new legislation, it could change who collects franchise fees from electricity users in unincorporated areas and how those fees are calculated, particularly as large industrial power users expand in those areas. ### Key provisions - Paragraph 1 creates the Senate Study Committee on Franchise Fees. - Paragraph 2 sets committee membership at five senators appointed by the President of the Senate, who also names the chairperson. - Paragraph 3 charges the committee with studying franchise fee assessment and allocation issues and recommending legislation. - Paragraph 5 sets member allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at five days unless additional days are authorized, funded from Senate appropriations. - Paragraph 6 requires any adopted report or recommendations to be filed with the Secretary of the Senate before abolishment. - Paragraph 7 abolishes the committee on December 1, 2025. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-02) - Last action: Senate Passed/Adopted (2025-04-02) - Sponsors: Chuck Hufstetler, John Albers, Blake Tillery, Bill Cowsert, Ben Watson, Carden Summers, Max Burns - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71482 > The history, votes, and amendments (429 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr424.md?full=1