HB1155: HB1155 Tift County; board of commissioners; revise purchasing provisions

Tift County's board of commissioners currently operates under a 1917 law, amended in 1985, that lays out specific purchasing and bidding procedures for the county government. House Bill 1155 changes that setup by striking one section of the old law entirely and rewriting another. Under the new language, the board of commissioners remains the county's purchasing agent responsible for buying goods and services for county use, but instead of following fixed statutory procedures, the board will purchase things according to a purchasing and bidding policy that it adopts itself. The bill repeals any conflicting laws. It does not specify a separate effective date beyond the standard process for local legislation.

• Removes Section 10A of the 1917 Tift County commissioners Act entirely, eliminating whatever purchasing rule that section previously contained.
• Rewrites Section 10 so the county board of commissioners can adopt its own purchasing and bidding policy rather than follow procedures fixed in state law.
• Keeps the board of commissioners as the official purchasing agent responsible for buying goods and services for Tift County.
• Repeals any other state or local laws that conflict with this new arrangement.

Tift County's board of commissioners, county government staff who handle purchasing, and vendors or contractors who bid on county contracts are all affected, since the rules governing how the county buys goods and services would change.

By shifting purchasing rules from fixed state law into a policy the board sets itself, Tift County gains more flexibility to update its bidding process without needing another act of the Georgia General Assembly, which could change how vendors compete for county contracts.

• Section 1 strikes Section 10A of the original 1917 Act (as amended in 1985) outright.
• Section 1 also revises Section 10 to state that the board of commissioners is the county's purchasing agent and must buy according to a purchasing and bidding policy it adopts.
• Section 2 repeals any laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-05-11
2. 2026-05-11Act 542
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-02-24Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-02-24Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2026-02-17Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2026-02-12House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Jaclyn Ford (R, HD-170)Primary sponsor
• Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 12, 2026

   156 yea, 0 nay (11 not voting, 8 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #506

2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 24, 2026

   53 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #571

• local government
• county purchasing rules
• Tift County
• government contracting