# Georgia HB 685: Bartow County Community Improvement Districts Act; enact Georgia HB 685, Bartow County Community Improvement Districts Act; enact, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Matthew Gambill (Republican), Mitchell Scoggins (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-13 (House Date Signed by Governor); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB685-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Georgia HB 685 - State: Georgia - Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session - Title: Bartow County Community Improvement Districts Act; enact - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-28 - Last action: 2025-05-13, House Date Signed by Governor - Sponsors: Matthew Gambill (Republican), Mitchell Scoggins (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Intragovernmental Coordination, State and Local Governmental Operations, Local Bill - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (217 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - District Investors Face Securities Law Exemption: cost, low. Offers, sales, and issuances of district bonds, notes, and other debt are exempt from Georgia's Uniform Securities Act of 2008. Investors do not receive that law's regulatory coverage for these offerings. The exemption does not approve a particular sale or set its financial terms. - District Charges Apply To Nonresidential Property: cost, low. District boards can impose taxes, fees, and assessments, capped at 5 mills—0.5% of eligible property's aggregate assessed value. Residential, agricultural, forestry, tax-exempt, and personal property is excluded. Charges must be fairly divided based on development-related service needs, rather than… - Property Owners Govern Districts With Limits: mixed, low. Each district has at least seven board members, combining local-government appointments and property-owner elections; all members must be district electors. Eligible voters are owners listed in the latest property-tax records whose property is subject to district charges. Owners have one vote for o… - District Borrowing Funds Projects And Repayment: mixed, low. Districts can borrow outside the usual Georgia limits on local-government borrowing; each issuance requires a board resolution. Bonds and other obligations can last up to 40 years, with no state usury limit or bond interest-rate ceiling. General obligation bonds use district credit and taxing power… - Bartow Property Owners Can Approve Districts: mixed, low. The law allows improvement districts in unincorporated Bartow County, municipalities, or both. Districts can provide roads, sidewalks, lighting, parks, water, sewage, stormwater, docks, and parking facilities. Activation requires local-government approval and written consent from a majority of owne… - District Projects Expand With Local Limits: mixed, low. Districts can manage property, build and operate projects, hire staff and professionals, and accept grants and gifts. They can contract with public and private groups, including state or local agreements lasting up to 50 years. Services require a cooperation agreement with Bartow County and municip… - Owners Can Dissolve Districts After Repayment: mixed, low. One dissolution route requires applicable local-government resolutions and written consent from two-thirds of charged owners representing at least 75% of property value. Every six years, owners also hold a dissolution caucus. That route requires a majority voting yes at the caucus and at least 75%… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Matthew Gambill (Republican), House - Sponsor: Mitchell Scoggins (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-03-27 | Senate | LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR | pass | 52 | 0 | | | 2025-03-10 | House | Local Calendar | pass | 165 | 0 | 8 | ## Actions (14) - 2025-05-13: House Date Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-05-13: Act 160 - 2025-05-13: Effective Date - 2025-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House) - 2025-04-04: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House) - 2025-03-27: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate) - 2025-03-27: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate) - 2025-03-11: Senate Read and Referred (Senate) - 2025-03-10: House Committee Favorably Reported (House) - 2025-03-10: House Third Readers (House) - 2025-03-10: House Passed/Adopted (House) - 2025-03-04: House Second Readers (House) - 2025-03-03: House First Readers (House) - 2025-02-28: House Hopper (House) ## Bill text - HB 685/AP* (v6): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239318) ## Related bills - SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed) - SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed) - SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed) - SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed) - HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed) - HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed) ## Sources - [HB 685/AP* (v6) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239318) ## Related - [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026) - [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026) - [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026) - [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026) - [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026) - [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026) - [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills) - [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB685-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).