HB1523: HB1523 Sumter County Public Facilities Authority; create

This bill sets up a new government entity called the Sumter County Public Facilities Authority. Its five members would be appointed by the Sumter County Board of Commissioners for staggered terms, and the authority would have broad power to acquire property, build and operate public buildings and facilities for the county, the Sumter County School System, or municipalities within the county, and borrow money by issuing revenue bonds to pay for those projects. The bonds would be repaid only from project revenues, not from county tax dollars, and the bill says issuing them does not pledge the county's credit or obligate it to raise taxes. The authority would get tax exemptions on its property and bonds (except sales and use tax), tort immunity similar to the county's, and its bond disputes would go through the Sumter County Superior Court. If the authority is ever dissolved, its remaining assets would transfer to the county.

• Creates the Sumter County Public Facilities Authority as a political subdivision of the state with power to build, own, and operate public facilities.
• Establishes a five-member board appointed by the Sumter County Board of Commissioners for staggered three-year terms.
• Authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds, capped at a 40-year maturity, to pay for facility projects, repayable only from project revenues.
• Specifies that revenue bonds do not pledge the county's or state's credit or require any tax increase to repay them.
• Grants the authority tax exemptions on its property and bonds and gives it the same tort immunity the county has.
• Sends the authority's remaining assets to Sumter County if the authority is ever dissolved.

Sumter County residents and taxpayers, the Sumter County Board of Commissioners, the Sumter County School System, municipalities within the county, potential bondholders and investors, and any private trustees, contractors, or fiscal agents the authority hires to build and finance projects.

The new authority could build schools, government buildings, and other public facilities more quickly by borrowing against project revenue instead of waiting on county budget cycles, but it also creates a new appointed body with borrowing power, property tax exemptions, and legal immunities operating alongside existing county government.

• Section 2 creates the authority as a five-member board appointed by the county commission, with members serving staggered three-year terms and needing to be at least 21 and county residents for two years.
• Section 4 lists the authority's powers, including acquiring property, building and leasing projects, hiring staff, and borrowing money.
• Section 5 authorizes revenue bonds for project costs or refinancing, capped at a 40-year maturity.
• Section 9 states that revenue bonds do not count as county or state debt and do not require any tax pledge to repay.
• Section 12 requires revenue bonds to go through the state's Revenue Bond Law validation process in court.
• Section 17 gives the authority and its employees the same immunity from lawsuits over torts and negligence as the county has.
• Section 18 exempts the authority's property and bonds from most taxes, except sales and use tax.
• Section 19 sends the authority's assets to Sumter County if the authority is dissolved.

1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
2. 2026-03-31Senate Third Read (Senate)
3. 2026-03-27Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
4. 2026-03-27Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
5. 2026-03-25Senate Withdrawn & Recommitted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-23Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
7. 2026-03-20House Passed/Adopted (House)
8. 2026-03-20House Third Readers (House)

• Mike Cheokas (R, HD-151)Primary sponsor
• Patty Stinson (D, HD-150)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 20, 2026

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

   Local Calendar : House Vote #734

• local government authorities
• Sumter County
• public facilities financing
• revenue bonds
• county government