HB1133: HB1133 Georgia Environmental Finance Authority; finance and perform certain duties in connection with projects related to facilitating solar installations on closed landfills; authorize

Georgia's Environmental Finance Authority currently finances water, sewer, solid waste, and natural gas projects for local governments, but its governing law does not address solar power on closed landfills. This bill amends Chapter 23 of Title 50 to add new definitions for 'closed landfill,' 'landfill,' 'solar installation,' and 'solid waste,' and adds facilitating solar installations on closed landfills to the list of 'environmental facilities' and 'environmental services' the authority can finance and manage. The bill also shields the authority's members, officers, and employees from personal liability connected to facilitating solar installations on closed landfills, matching protections already given for other authority projects. It makes matching technical updates to related definitions in Georgia's bidding law (O.C.G.A. § 36-91-100) and its water and sewer projects tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-200). The law would take effect July 1, 2027, but only if the General Assembly appropriates funding for it.

• Adds solar installations on closed landfills to the list of environmental facilities and services the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority can finance and manage.
• Creates new legal definitions for 'closed landfill,' 'landfill,' 'solar installation,' and 'solid waste' in the authority's governing law (O.C.G.A. § 50-23-4).
• Extends the authority's existing personal liability shield for members, officers, and employees to cover work facilitating solar installations on closed landfills.
• Updates cross-references in Georgia's public bidding law (O.C.G.A. § 36-91-100) and water/sewer projects tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-200) to match the renumbered definitions.
• Makes the entire Act effective July 1, 2027, but only if the General Assembly actually appropriates money for it.

The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority and its members, officers, and employees; local governments that own closed landfills and might pursue solar projects on them; solar energy developers; and, indirectly, taxpayers and ratepayers connected to authority-financed environmental projects.

By formally authorizing the authority to finance solar projects on closed landfills, the bill opens a new funding and legal pathway for turning unused landfill land into solar energy sites, while protecting authority staff from personal liability for that work, though nothing happens until lawmakers appropriate money for it.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 50-23-4 to add definitions for 'closed landfill,' 'landfill,' and 'solar installation,' and to add solar installation facilitation to 'environmental facilities' and 'environmental services.'
• Section 1 lists specific equipment covered under solar installations on closed landfills, including solar modules, inverters, racking, wiring, transformers, monitoring equipment, access roads, weather stations, fencing, and energy storage.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 50-23-12 to add facilitation of solar installations on closed landfills to the list of activities for which authority members, officers, and employees are shielded from personal liability.
• Section 3 updates O.C.G.A. § 36-91-100's bidding definitions to reflect the renumbered 'environmental facilities' paragraph in the authority's code section.
• Section 4 updates O.C.G.A. § 48-8-200's water and sewer tax definitions to reflect the renumbered 'cost of project' paragraph.
• Section 5 makes the Act effective July 1, 2027, contingent on the General Assembly appropriating funds for it.
• Section 6 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
2. 2026-03-31Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
3. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senate)
4. 2026-03-19Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
5. 2026-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
6. 2026-03-06Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
7. 2026-03-04House Passed/Adopted (House)
8. 2026-03-04House Third Readers (House)

• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)Primary sponsor
• John Corbett (R, HD-174)
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
• Lynn Smith (R, HD-070)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2026

   160 yea, 2 nay (5 not voting, 10 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #638

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #835

• closed landfills
• solar energy
• Georgia Environmental Finance Authority
• renewable energy financing
• local government infrastructure