HB1448: HB1448 Georgia Local Government Finance Authority Act; enact

Georgia currently has no single statewide entity dedicated to pooling local governments' borrowing needs for equipment and other capital assets like public safety vehicles and school buses. This bill adds a new chapter to Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated creating the Georgia Local Government Finance Authority, a public corporation run by five members (three appointed by the Governor, one by the Senate President, one by the Speaker of the House), all of whom must be elected local officials. The authority could issue bonds, notes, and other debt instruments to finance assets that it then leases or sells to participating local governments such as counties, cities, school districts and other authorities. The authority would be exempt from certain state open-meetings and procurement style laws, from state and local taxes, and from the Georgia Uniform Securities Act. Its bonds would not count as debt of the state or any local government, and lawsuits over its bonds must be filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County. The bill also updates a related interest rate management law to include the new authority.

• Creates the Georgia Local Government Finance Authority as a public corporation to finance assets, like vehicles and equipment, for local governments.
• Sets up a five-member governing board made up of sitting local elected officials, appointed by the Governor, the Senate President and the House Speaker.
• Authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds, notes and other debt maturing in up to 30 years to pay for assets leased or sold to participating local governments.
• Exempts the authority from certain state open-records and procurement style laws (Article 2 of Chapter 17 of Title 50 and O.C.G.A. §§ 45-15-13 through 45-15-16), from most state and local taxes, and from the Georgia Uniform Securities Act (O.C.G.A. Chapter 5 of Title 10).
• States that bonds issued by the authority do not count as debt of the state or of any local government and cannot obligate them to raise taxes.
• Adds the new authority to the definition of 'local governmental entity' used in Georgia's interest rate management agreement law (O.C.G.A. § 36-82-250).

Counties, municipalities, consolidated governments, school districts and other local authorities that could borrow through the new authority; local elected officials who would serve on its board; bondholders who buy the authority's debt; and the Georgia Municipal Association, which the bill allows the authority to contract with for staff support.

Local governments that struggle to finance vehicles, equipment or other assets on their own could pool resources through the new statewide authority, potentially getting lower interest rates. The authority's broad tax exemptions and exemption from competitive bidding and securities regulation mean its financing deals would face less of the oversight that applies to typical local government contracts.

• Section 1 adds a new Chapter 93 to Title 36, naming the entity the 'Georgia Local Government Finance Authority' and stating its purpose is to let local governments finance assets at lower cost.
• O.C.G.A. § 36-93-4 creates the authority as a public body with five board members, all of whom must be currently elected officials of a county or municipal government.
• O.C.G.A. § 36-93-5 through § 36-93-6 give the authority broad powers to borrow, lease, sell and insure assets and to set eligibility standards for participating local governments.
• O.C.G.A. § 36-93-7 allows the authority to issue bonds maturing in up to 30 years and requires revenue bond validation only in the Superior Court of Fulton County.
• O.C.G.A. § 36-93-9 exempts the authority's bond offerings from the Georgia Uniform Securities Act of 2008 and from competitive bidding requirements for its contracts.
• O.C.G.A. § 36-93-10 states that the authority's bonds are not debt of the state or any local government and cannot force any government to levy taxes to pay them.
• O.C.G.A. § 36-93-11 gives the authority, its property, and its bond income broad exemption from state and local taxes, though not from sales and use tax except as otherwise allowed.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 36-82-250 to add the new authority to the definition of 'local governmental entity' for purposes of interest rate management agreements.

1. 2026-02-25House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-24House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Victor Anderson (R, HD-010)Primary sponsor
• Bill Yearta (R, HD-152)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Katie Dempsey (R, HD-013)
• Gary Richardson (R, HD-125)

• local government finance
• municipal bonds
• public authorities
• tax exemptions
• government borrowing