HB 656: Local government; authorize assessment of development impact fees for public facilities produced through agreements between developers and governmental entities

Georgia law already lets cities and counties charge development impact fees on new construction to pay for things like roads, water and sewer lines, parks, and fire stations. This bill amends Chapter 71 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to expand what counts as a public facility eligible for these fees. It adds a new category covering any of the listed facility types that result from agreements between private developers and local governments, meaning fees could fund infrastructure built cooperatively rather than only by the government alone. The bill also tweaks the definition of 'proportionate share' so fees are tied to the service demands a project causes rather than demands generally attributed to it. Separately, it extends from six years to ten years the amount of time a local government has to spend or commit collected impact fees before a property owner becomes entitled to a refund, and it updates the related public notice requirement to match the new ten-year window.

• Adds a new category to the legal definition of 'public facilities' covering facilities that result from agreements between developers and local governments, making them eligible for impact fee funding.
• Revises the definition of 'proportionate share' so a project's impact fee is tied to service demands caused by that project rather than demands broadly associated with it.
• Extends from six years to ten years the deadline for a municipality or county to encumber or begin construction with collected impact fees before a refund is owed.
• Updates the refund notice requirement so the public notice about refund entitlement is tied to the new ten-year period instead of six years.

Georgia municipal and county governments that charge development impact fees, real estate developers who enter into infrastructure agreements with those governments, and property owners or feepayors who paid impact fees and may seek refunds if fees go unspent.

Local governments would gain more flexibility to fund roads, water systems, parks, and public safety facilities built jointly with developers, and would have four extra years to spend collected fees before owing refunds, potentially changing how quickly developers or property owners can recover unused impact fee payments.

• Section 1 revises paragraph (16) of O.C.G.A. § 36-71-2 so 'proportionate share' reflects service demands caused by a project rather than demands 'of the' project.
• Section 1 adds new subparagraph (H) to the 'public facilities' definition in O.C.G.A. § 36-71-2, covering facilities listed in subparagraphs (A) through (G) that result from developer-government agreements.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 36-71-9 to extend the refund trigger period from six years to ten years after fee collection if funds are not encumbered or construction not started.
• Section 2 updates the public notice deadline for refund entitlement to align with the new ten-year period instead of the prior six-year period.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-28House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-02-27House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-02-26House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Steven Sainz (R, HD-180)Patrocinador principal
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)

• development impact fees
• local government funding
• public infrastructure
• property developers
• county and city government