# Georgia HB 797: Homelessness Prevention Act of Chatham County; enact

Georgia HB 797, Homelessness Prevention Act of Chatham County; enact, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Carl Gilliard (Democrat), Bill Hitchens (Republican), Jesse Petrea (Republican) and 1 others; status signed, last action 2025-05-01 (House Date Signed by Governor) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB797-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 797
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Homelessness Prevention Act of Chatham County; enact
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-03-18
- Last action: 2025-05-01, House Date Signed by Governor
- Sponsors: Carl Gilliard (Democrat), Bill Hitchens (Republican), Jesse Petrea (Republican), Ron Stephens (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Intragovernmental Coordination, State and Local Governmental Operations, Local Bill
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (213 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Homelessness council gains powers and tax breaks: benefit, low. The council can hire staff, make contracts and rules, accept gifts, loans and grants, and acquire or dispose of property. It can also sue or be sued. Property and service agreements with public bodies can last up to 50 years. Some property transfers need no public bidding or notice; public bodies c…
- New council coordinates Chatham-Savannah homelessness services: benefit, low. The law creates the Interagency Council on Homelessness for Chatham-Savannah as a Georgia public corporation and state body. It develops, carries out, and evaluates homelessness plans for Chatham County and Savannah. It sets service standards through certification and oversees shared records, a coo…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Carl Gilliard (Democrat), House
- Sponsor: Bill Hitchens (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Jesse Petrea (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Ron Stephens (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-03-31 | Senate | LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR | pass | 49 | 0 | 5 |
| 2025-03-27 | House | Local Calendar | pass | 164 | 0 | 12 |

## Actions (13)

- 2025-05-01: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2025-05-01: Act 50
- 2025-05-01: Effective Date
- 2025-04-07: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2025-03-31: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2025-03-31: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2025-03-28: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2025-03-27: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2025-03-27: House Third Readers (House)
- 2025-03-27: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2025-03-21: House Second Readers (House)
- 2025-03-20: House First Readers (House)
- 2025-03-18: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 797/AP* (v4): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/238125)

## 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 797/AP* (v4) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/238125)

## 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-HB797-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).