Joint Authorities

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Local Government
  4. Development Authorities
  5. Joint Authorities

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  1. By proper resolution of the local governing bodies, an authority may be created and activated by:
    1. Any two or more municipal corporations;
    2. Any two or more counties;
    3. One or more municipal corporations and one or more counties; or
    4. Any county in this state and any contiguous county in an adjoining state.
  2. A joint authority so created shall be governed by this chapter in the same manner as other authorities created pursuant to this chapter, except as specifically provided otherwise in this Code section.
  3. The resolutions creating and activating a joint authority shall specify the number of members of the authority, the number to be appointed by each participating county or municipal corporation, their terms of office, and their residency requirements.
  4. The resolutions creating and activating joint authorities may be amended by appropriate concurrent resolutions of the participating governing bodies.
    1. A joint authority created by two or more contiguous counties pursuant to this Code section must be an active, bona fide joint authority; must have a board of directors; must meet at least quarterly; and must develop an operational business plan. A county may belong to more than one such joint authority.
    2. A business enterprise as defined under subsection (a) of Code Section 48-7-40 located within the jurisdiction of a joint authority established by two or more contiguous counties shall qualify for an additional $500.00 tax credit for each new full-time employee position created. The $500.00 job tax credit authorized by this paragraph shall be subject to all the conditions and limitations specified under Code Section 48-7-40, as amended; provided, however, that a business enterprise located in a county that belongs to more than one joint authority shall not qualify for an additional tax credit in excess of $500.00 for each new full-time employee position created.
  6. With respect to a joint authority created on or before March 31, 1995, and notwithstanding any provision of this Code section to the contrary, any taxpayer eligible for a tax credit pursuant to subsection (e) of this Code section shall have the option of electing to utilize for a given project the tax credit formerly authorized under this Code section for taxable years beginning prior to January 1, 1995, in lieu of the tax credit otherwise available pursuant to this Code section for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1995. Such election shall be made for each committed project in writing on or before July 1, 1995, to the commissioner of community affairs. Such election shall not be effective unless approved in writing by the commissioner of community affairs. The Board of Community Affairs shall promulgate regulations necessary for the implementation of this subsection.
    1. By May 15, 2019, and then by February 15, 2020, and annually thereafter, each joint authority with established revenue sharing agreements between the joint authority and its participating local governments and revenue emanating pursuant to such an agreement shall furnish to the state revenue commissioner and the state auditor:
      1. A statement that identifies and separately states all real and personal property and all property interests that are owned, in part or in full, by such joint authority together with the nature of any encumbrances, liens, or covenants on such property;
      2. A complete copy of all current agreements or contracts related to such joint authority that are between or among one or more counties, municipalities, joint authorities, or private parties that references matters related to taxation, payments in lieu of taxation, tax abatements, leasehold interests or estates, leaseback agreements, or the sharing of revenue, funds, fees, taxes, assessments, fines, or any other income; and
      3. All additional information determined by the state revenue commissioner or state auditor to be necessary to accurately determine the net taxable digest of each county or municipality participating in such joint authority and any affected school district.
    2. The information compiled by the state auditor pursuant to this subsection shall be utilized in determining any equalized adjusted property tax digest prepared pursuant to Code Section 48-5-274.
    3. On or before July 1, 2019, and then on or before April 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, a report that compiles the information gathered by the state auditor and that sets out the net impact of the total activities of the joint authority on the tax digest of each affected taxing jurisdiction shall be furnished to the tax commissioner of each affected county, to the governing authority of each affected county or municipality, to each affected local board of education, to the joint development authority, and to the State Board of Education. Each tax commissioner shall utilize such net impact to adjust the net assessed value of each of his or her taxing jurisdictions in order to fully account for activities of any joint authority in digest values submitted pursuant to Code Sections 48-5-32 and 48-5-32.1.
    4. The state revenue commissioner and the state auditor shall be authorized to:
      1. Conduct audits of any joint authority subject to the requirements of this subsection; and
      2. Promulgate rules and regulations necessary to administer, implement, and enforce this Code section.

(Ga. L. 1981, p. 1419, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 928, § 7; Ga. L. 1995, p. 585, § 9; Ga. L. 2003, p. 390, § 2; Ga. L. 2004, p. 921, § 1; Ga. L. 2019, p. 767, § 1/HB 406.)

The 2019 amendment, effective May 7, 2019, added subsection (g).

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1995, in subsection (f), "commissioner of community affairs" was substituted for "Commissioner of community affairs" in the second sentence and "Board of Community Affairs" was substituted for "board of community affairs" in the fourth sentence.

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2004, in paragraph (e)(2), "located" was substituted for "locating" in the second sentence.

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 1994, p. 928, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Business Expansion Support Act of 1994.'"

Ga. L. 1994, p. 928, § 8, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that this Act was applicable to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1994.

Ga. L. 1995, p. 585, § 10, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that this Act was applicable to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1995.

Administrative Rules and Regulations.

- Job Tax Credit Program, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Chapter 110-9.

Law reviews.

- For note on the 1994 amendment of this Code section, see 11 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 249 (1994). For article, "Revenue and Taxation: Amend Titles 48, 2, 28, 33, 36, 46, and 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating Respectively to Revenue and Taxation, Agriculture, the General Assembly, Insurance, Local Government, Public Utilities, and State Government," see 28 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 217 (2011).


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