HB1567: HB1567 Quitman, City of; transfer of all legal rights, privileges, and assets to Brooks County; provide

This bill addresses the City of Quitman, in Brooks County, which has faced ongoing issues with state-required financial audits. It sets up a multi-step, multi-year process. First, Brooks County must hold a special election in November 2026 asking voters in both the city and the unincorporated county whether to consolidate into one unified government. If both groups of voters approve, a nine-member Quitman-Brooks County Charter and Unification Commission would be created to study the idea and draft a new charter, which would then go to voters again by November 2027. If voters reject consolidation, or if the commission's charter also fails, the bill's backup plan (Part 3) takes over: the 1962 Act governing Quitman is repealed, the city legally ceases to exist, and Brooks County absorbs all of its property, funds, contracts, permits, bonded debt, and pending court cases. A special Quitman Services District would be created to keep paying off the former city's bonds and utility obligations. The city of Barwick, Pavo, and Morven are expressly excluded from any of this.

• Requires Brooks County to hold a November 2026 referendum asking voters in Quitman and unincorporated Brooks County whether to consolidate their governments.
• Creates a nine-member Quitman-Brooks County Charter and Unification Commission to study consolidation and draft a proposed unified government charter if voters approve the concept.
• Sets up a second, later referendum (by November 2027) on the commission's actual charter, which would replace the City of Quitman and Brooks County governments if approved.
• Establishes a fallback plan (Part 3) that repeals the City of Quitman's 1962 charter Act and transfers all of the city's property, funds, contracts, debts, permits, and pending court cases to Brooks County if consolidation fails or if the city remains out of audit compliance.
• Creates a Quitman Services District to collect taxes needed to pay off the former city's outstanding bonds and utility contract obligations.
• Excludes the cities of Barwick, Pavo, and Morven from any part of this Act.

Residents and registered voters of the City of Quitman and unincorporated Brooks County, the governing bodies of both, Brooks County employees and departments that would absorb city functions, holders of Quitman's municipal bonds, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia, and pending litigants or defendants in Quitman's municipal court.

Depending on referendum results and the city's compliance with state financial audits, Quitman could either merge into a new unified county government or simply cease to exist as a municipality, with Brooks County taking over its services, debts, employees' contracts, and legal cases, changing who governs and taxes residents of the former city.

• Section 1-1 requires a November 2026 referendum in Quitman and unincorporated Brooks County on whether to pursue consolidation, with results counted separately for each area.
• Sections 2-3 through 2-11 create the Charter and Unification Commission, define its nine appointed members, give it subpoena power, and set an August 31, 2027 deadline to file a proposed charter, followed by a ratification referendum.
• Section 3-1 repeals the 1962 Act that established Quitman's city charter, if the fallback plan takes effect.
• Section 3-4 creates the Quitman Services District, a special tax district matching the old city limits, to pay off outstanding bonds and utility obligations.
• Section 3-5 transfers all of Quitman's real and personal property, funds, and records to Brooks County automatically, without deeds or bills of sale.
• Section 3-6 makes Brooks County (via the special district) responsible for Quitman's bonded debt and existing electric and gas authority contracts, while shielding the county from other pre-existing city liabilities.
• Section 3-9 transfers pending Quitman municipal court cases to Brooks County Magistrate Court or another appropriate court.
• Section 4-2 ties the effective date of the fallback dissolution (Part 3) to specific 2027-2028 dates and to the state auditor's certification of Quitman's compliance with required financial audits from 2017 onward.

1. 2026-05-12Effective Date 2026-05-12
2. 2026-05-12Act 681
3. 2026-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-04-02House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-03-31Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
8. 2026-03-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)

• John LaHood (R, HD-175)Primary sponsor
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
• Jaclyn Ford (R, HD-170)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 25, 2026

   96 yea, 68 nay (4 not voting, 8 absent)

   Supplemental Local Calendar : House Vote #760

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   31 yea, 16 nay (4 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #874

3. FailedHouse voteApril 2, 2026

   75 yea, 97 nay (1 not voting, 3 absent)

   Remove From Local Cal/vote Separately: House Vote #845

• local government consolidation
• city dissolution
• Brooks County
• municipal charters
• special local elections