HB 1567: Quitman, City of; transfer of all legal rights, privileges, and assets to Brooks County; provide

This bill lays out a multi-step process for the future of the City of Quitman in Brooks County. First, it calls for a special election in November 2026 asking voters in both Quitman and unincorporated Brooks County whether they want to explore consolidating the city and county into one unified government. If voters approve, a nine-member Quitman-Brooks County Charter and Unification Commission would be appointed to study the idea and draft a proposed charter, which would then go to voters in a second referendum no later than November 2027. If voters reject consolidation, or if the charter fails, the bill has a fallback: it repeals the 1962 Act that created Quitman's current charter and requires all of the city's legal rights, property, debts, contracts, and permits to transfer to Brooks County, effectively dissolving city government. That fallback would not take effect if the state auditor certifies Quitman has caught up on required financial audits by set 2027 deadlines. The cities of Barwick, Pavo, and Morven are excluded from any of this.

• Requires Brooks County to hold a special election in November 2026 asking voters whether to explore consolidating the City of Quitman and Brooks County into one government.
• Creates a nine-member Charter and Unification Commission to study consolidation and draft a proposed unified government charter if voters approve the concept.
• Sets up a second referendum, by November 2027, for voters to approve or reject the drafted consolidation charter.
• Repeals the 1962 Act that established Quitman's current city charter, but only if consolidation fails and the city has not met state audit compliance deadlines.
• Transfers all of Quitman's property, contracts, debts, permits, and pending court cases to Brooks County if the city is dissolved under this fallback process.
• Excludes the cities of Barwick, Pavo, and Morven from any provision of this Act.

Residents and voters of the City of Quitman and unincorporated Brooks County, the Quitman city government and Brooks County government, city employees and bondholders, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia, and pending court cases in Quitman's municipal court.

Depending on how the votes and audits go, Quitman could either become part of a newly designed unified city-county government or cease to exist as a separate municipality, with Brooks County taking over its property, debts, services, contracts, and law enforcement duties within the former city limits.

• Section 1-1 requires a November 2026 referendum asking Brooks County and Quitman voters whether to pursue consolidating their governments.
• Sections 2-3 through 2-11 create and empower the Charter and Unification Commission to study consolidation, draft a charter, and hold public hearings, with a charter deadline of August 31, 2027.
• Section 2-10 requires a second referendum, no later than November 2027, on any proposed unified government charter.
• Section 3-1 repeals Quitman's 1962 charter Act in its entirety if the fallback provisions take effect.
• Sections 3-4 through 3-7 create a special Quitman Services District, transfer city debts, contracts, permits, and assets to Brooks County, and require the county to levy taxes to cover Quitman's bonded debt.
• Section 4-2 ties the fallback dissolution dates (May 31, 2027, June 30, 2027, or January 1, 2028) to whether the state auditor certifies Quitman has met its financial audit requirements.
• Section 4-1 explicitly excludes the cities of Barwick, Pavo, and Morven from any changes made by this Act.

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

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

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes25 de marzo de 2026

   96 a favor, 68 en contra (4 sin votar, 8 ausentes)

   Supplemental Local Calendar : House Vote #760

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado31 de marzo de 2026

   31 a favor, 16 en contra (4 sin votar, 3 ausentes)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #874

3. RechazadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes2 de abril de 2026

   75 a favor, 97 en contra (1 sin votar, 3 ausentes)

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

• city-county consolidation
• local government
• Brooks County
• municipal dissolution
• special elections