SB 615: Incorporation of Municipal Corporations; county police services for qualified municipalities; provide

When a Georgia community incorporates as a new city (called a 'qualified municipality' in this law), questions often arise about who keeps providing services like police protection, water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure. This bill amends Georgia's municipal incorporation law (O.C.G.A. § 36-31-11.1) to address those questions for cities created by a local Act on or after January 1, 2022. The bill says the county that created such a city must keep providing police and law enforcement services as long as residents keep paying county property taxes, and the county cannot charge the new city extra for that protection or raise its tax rate unevenly. Counties can instead set up a special taxing district that charges both the city and the rest of the county the same rate. New cities can also opt out of county police service. Separately, the bill blocks counties from forcing new cities to take ownership of large stormwater retention systems, dams, or detention ponds unless the city agrees, and voids contract clauses that require a city to accept that infrastructure as a condition of keeping water, sewer, or stormwater service. It also broadens the definition of a covered 'county' to include ones linked to a metro transit system, and makes these protections available to any qualified municipality at any time.

• Requires a county to keep providing police and law enforcement services to a newly incorporated city as long as its residents pay county property taxes, unless the city opts out.
• Bars the county from charging the new city separately for police protection or raising its property tax rate unevenly compared to unincorporated areas.
• Allows counties to create a special taxing district so both the new city and county residents pay the same rate for shared police services.
• Voids any prior agreement that conflicts with these police service rules.
• Prohibits counties from forcing a new city to take ownership of stormwater retention systems, dams, or detention ponds unless the city agrees by resolution.
• Voids contract terms requiring a new city to accept ownership of water, sewer, or stormwater infrastructure just to keep receiving those county services.

Newly incorporated Georgia cities created by local legislation since January 1, 2022, the counties that used to serve those areas, property owners inside both the new cities and the surrounding county, and local governments negotiating police, water, sewer, and stormwater service agreements.

Newly formed cities in Georgia have sometimes faced disputes with their home counties over losing police coverage or being pushed to take on costly infrastructure like detention ponds. This bill would lock in continued police service and limit surprise infrastructure transfers, affecting how new cities and counties split services and costs.

• Section 1 revises the definition of 'county' in O.C.G.A. § 36-31-11.1 to include counties that own or operate a transit system linking to a metro transit system, not just those levying a transit tax.
• Adds new subsection (c.1) guaranteeing continued county police and law enforcement service to qualifying new cities as long as residents pay county property tax, with no extra charge or unequal millage increase.
• Subsection (c.1) allows the county to create a special service district charging equal rates to city and county property owners for shared police services, and lets a city opt out of county policing.
• Declares void any agreement that conflicts with the new police service rules in (c.1).
• Revises subsection (d) to extend fee-continuity protections to stormwater services, not just water and sewer.
• Adds language to subsection (d) barring counties from making a new city take control of large stormwater infrastructure, dams, or detention ponds unless the city agrees by resolution, and voiding agreements that condition service on accepting such infrastructure.
• New subsection (m) makes all these protections available to any qualified municipality at any time, regardless of other laws.

1. 2026-03-04Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2026-03-03Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Donzella James (D, SD-028)Patrocinador principal
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)

• municipal incorporation
• local police services
• stormwater infrastructure
• property taxes
• county-city relations