Definitions

1. Law
2. Georgia Code
3. Local Government
4. Bonds
5. Revenue Bonds
6. Definitions

As used in this article, the term:

1. "Governing body" means the board, commission, council, or other local legislative body of a governmental body.
2. 1. "Governmental body" means any school district, county, or municipal corporation of this state.
   2. The term "governmental body" shall also mean and include highway districts of the state which have been or may hereafter be created as political subdivisions of the state, which shall have the same rights and powers to operate under this article as have counties, municipal corporations, and school districts. Such highway districts as political subdivisions of the state shall be limited, however, in such undertakings to the construction, acquisition, and building of highways, bridges, causeways, approaches, viaducts, tunnels, and all things incidental to the improvement of highways located within their respective districts as created by the Constitution and laws of this state.
   3. The term "governmental body" shall also mean and include state and local public authorities having corporate powers which have been or may hereafter be created by general, local, or special Act of the General Assembly. Such state or local authorities are fully empowered to issue revenue-anticipation certificates and to operate under this article in the same manner and to the same extent as counties or municipal corporations of the state are authorized to do.
   4. For the purposes of Code Sections 36-82-74 through 36-82-82, inclusive, the term "governmental body," in addition to its definitions in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of this paragraph, means a hospital authority the revenue certificates of which are required by Code Section 31-7-81 to be confirmed and validated in accordance with the procedure of this article.
3. "Revenue" or "revenue of the undertaking" means all revenues, income, and earnings arising out of or in connection with the operation or ownership of the undertaking and, if so stated in the resolution or resolutions authorizing the issuance of obligations under this article, also means moneys received as grants from the United States of America, from this state, or from any instrumentality or agency of the foregoing in aid of such undertaking.
4. "Undertaking" includes the following revenue-producing undertakings or any combination of two or more of such undertakings, whether now existing or hereafter acquired or constructed:
   1. Causeways, tunnels, viaducts, bridges, and other crossings;
   2. Highways, parkways, airports, docks, piers, wharves, terminals, and other facilities;
   3. Systems, plants, works, instrumentalities, and properties:
      1. Used or useful in connection with the obtaining of a water supply and the conservation, treatment, and disposal of water for public and private uses;
      2. Used or useful in connection with the collection, treatment, and disposal of sewage, waste, and storm water; together with all parts of any such undertaking and all appurtenances thereto, including lands, easements, rights in land, water rights, contract rights, franchises, approaches, dams, reservoirs, generating stations, sewage disposal plants, intercepting sewers, trunk connecting and other sewer and water mains, filtration works, pumping stations, and equipment;
      3. Used or useful in connection with the collection, treatment, reuse, or disposal of solid waste; or
      4. Used or useful in connection with buying, constructing, extending, operating, and maintaining gas or electric generating, transmission, and distribution systems together with all necessary appurtenances thereof; provided, however, that any revenue certificates issued by a governmental body with electric utility assets that have a net book value of less than $300 million to buy, construct, extend, operate, and maintain electric generating, transmission, and distribution systems shall, before being undertaken, be authorized by a majority of those voting at an election held for the purpose in the county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision affected, the election for such to be held in the same manner as is used in issuing bonds of such county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision and the said elections shall be called and provided for by officers in charge of the fiscal affairs of said county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision affected;
   4. Dormitories, laboratories, libraries, and other related facilities;
   5. Parks, golf links and fairways, tennis courts, swimming pools, playgrounds, athletic fields, grandstands and stadiums; buildings to be used for various types of sports, including baseball and football; buildings to be constructed and used for the housing of exhibits for fairs and educational purposes; buildings to be used for the housing of livestock, horses, cattle, swine, poultry, and agricultural exhibits for exhibition purposes; the erection and construction of buildings to be used for amusement purposes or educational purposes or a combination of the two; and such buildings to be used for fairs, expositions, or exhibitions in connection therewith;
   6. Combinations of sea wall, groin, and beach erosion protection systems;
   7. Public parking areas and public parking buildings;
   8. Purchase of lands used by the United States government as army camps for the training of soldiers during the war, when and if the same is declared surplus by the United States government or its authority, provided that a county shall only be allowed to purchase lands which were within its boundaries at the time such lands were acquired by the United States government or any division of the United States government;
   9. Parking meters on streets, thoroughfares, parkways, and any avenue of traffic, such meters to be located thereon or immediately adjacent thereto for the purpose of providing space for vehicles and authorizing the use of same for parking purposes upon the payment of a charge therefor;
   10. Purchase of existing public common carriers of passengers for hire and facilities necessary, incident, or needful thereto by the use of motor buses, trackless trolleys, electric trolleys, or any other means of transportation of passengers on the streets and highways;
   11. The purchase of land and the construction thereon of facilities for lease to industries, so as to relieve abnormal unemployment conditions; and
   12. Jails and all other structures and facilities which are necessary and convenient for the operation of jails.

(Ga. L. 1937, p. 761, § 2; Ga. L. 1939, p. 362, § 1; Ga. L. 1949, p. 973, § 1; Ga. L. 1950, p. 20, § 1; Ga. L. 1950, p. 188, § 1; Ga. L. 1950, p. 422, § 1; Ga. L. 1951, p. 46, § 1; Ga. L. 1953, Jan.-Feb. Sess., p. 489, § 1; Ga. L. 1957, p. 410, § 1; Ga. L. 1957, p. 453, § 1; Ga. L. 1973, p. 588, § 1; Ga. L. 1980, p. 709, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 839, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 36; Ga. L. 1987, p. 3, § 36; Ga. L. 1995, p. 286, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 862, § 2; Ga. L. 2020, p. 493, § 36/SB 429; Ga. L. 2020, p. 795, § 1/SB 43.)

The 2020 amendments. The first 2020 amendment, effective July 29, 2020, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "provided, however, that any" for "provided, further, any" in the proviso of division (4)(C)(iv). The second 2020 amendment, effective August 5, 2020, in division (4)(C)(iv), inserted ", transmission," twice, substituted "however, that any revenue" for "further, any revenue", and inserted "by a governmental body with electric utility assets that have a net book value of less than $300 million".

Law reviews.

- For article surveying legislative and judicial developments in Georgia local government law for 1978-79, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 155 (1979). For annual survey of local government law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 289 (2005) and 58 Mercer L. Rev. 267 (2006).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Construction of sewer system is clearly undertaking contemplated under the Revenue Bond Law, O.C.G.A. Art. 3, Ch. 82, T. 36. Kelley v. City of Griffin, 257 Ga. 407, 359 S.E.2d 644 (1987).

Creation of water district and system outside city approved.

- Revenue Bond Law (O.C.G.A. Art. 3, Ch. 82, T. 36) defines a "municipality" (now "governmental body") to be any county, city, or town of this state. It authorizes any such municipality to create a water district and to construct, operate, and maintain a water system which may be located wholly without the municipality, or partially within and partially without the municipality. City of Trenton v. Dade County, 75 Ga. App. 326, 43 S.E.2d 432 (1947).

Combining waterworks and sewage systems approved.

- Argument that the waterworks system is a proprietary and revenue-producing function, and that the sewage system is a governmental function, and for this reason the two cannot be combined into one system, notwithstanding any authority to do so under this section, is without merit. Under Ga. Const. 1945, Art. VII, Sec. VII, Para. V (see now Ga. Const. 1983, Art. IX, Sec. VI, Para. I), it is expressly provided that water systems and sewerage systems may be combined. Reed v. City of Smyrna, 201 Ga. 228, 39 S.E.2d 668 (1946).

Word "terminal" as used in the Revenue Bond Law (O.C.G.A. Art. 3, Ch. 82, T. 36) means a place provided by or for any type of common carrier, including buildings and structures incidental to their services, such as shelters and enclosures for the comfort and convenience of passengers, or for the care and safety of freight pending shipment or delivery to consignee or to connecting carriers. Beazley v. De Kalb County, 210 Ga. 41, 77 S.E.2d 740 (1953).

County payments to airport authority's sinking fund as "revenue."

- Under a contract between county and airport authority for use by the county of an expanded airport facility, although the county's consideration would not be paid directly to the authority, but paid to the custodian of the authority's sinking fund, the consideration did not lose its character as "revenue" for the authority and such payment scheme was not a reason to deny validation of the authority's revenue bonds. Clayton County Airport Auth. v. State, 265 Ga. 24, 453 S.E.2d 8 (1995).

Hotel/motel tax proceeds were revenue.

- Hotel/motel tax funding agreement for a stadium project worked with a bond proceeds funding agreement to ensure that the stadium's tax proceeds were expended consistent with O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51(a)(5)(B), and there was no requirement that the development authority own the stadium for the tax proceeds to be considered as part of the revenue to pay for the bonds: under O.C.G.A. § 36-82-61(3), "revenue" included revenues arising out of or in connection with the operation or ownership of the stadium. Cottrell v. Atlanta Dev. Auth., 297 Ga. 1, 770 S.E.2d 616 (2015).

No law makes county commissioners individually the governing body of the county in cases of water systems financed by revenue bonds or certificates. Gwinnett County v. Archer, 102 Ga. App. 813, 118 S.E.2d 97 (1960).

County was proper party plaintiff in suit alleging that former commissioners paid an excessive fee to the commissioners' attorney and improperly delegated to the attorney the authority to settle with and pay other attorneys in connection with establishment of a water system financed by revenue anticipation bonds. Gwinnett County v. Archer, 102 Ga. App. 813, 118 S.E.2d 97 (1960).

Cited in Dade County v. State, 77 Ga. App. 139, 48 S.E.2d 144 (1948); Fort Oglethorpe v. Catoosa County, 80 Ga. App. 188, 55 S.E.2d 753 (1949); Johnston v. Clayton County Water Auth., 222 Ga. 39, 148 S.E.2d 417 (1966); Austin Enters., Inc. v. DeKalb County, 222 Ga. 232, 149 S.E.2d 461 (1966); Hospital Auth. v. Stewart, 226 Ga. 530, 175 S.E.2d 857 (1970); Norton Realty & Loan Co. v. Board of Educ., 129 Ga. App. 668, 200 S.E.2d 461 (1973); City of Jonesboro v. Clayton County Water Auth., 136 Ga. App. 768, 222 S.E.2d 76 (1975); Krause v. City of Brunswick, 242 Ga. 659, 251 S.E.2d 239 (1978); Ware v. Henry County Water & Sewerage Auth., 258 Ga. App. 778, 575 S.E.2d 654 (2002); McLeod v. Columbia County, 278 Ga. 242, 599 S.E.2d 152 (2004).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Application of section to buildings constructed for educational purposes.

- While counties are authorized to issue revenue bonds in paragraph (2) of this section, and while an "undertaking" is said to include buildings constructed for educational purposes under paragraph (4), both Ga. Const. 1945, Art. VII, Sec. VII, Para. V (see now Ga. Const. 1983, Art. IX, Sec. VI, Para. I) and this section require that the funds must be for a revenue-producing facility and that the obligations be paid only from revenue produced by this revenue-producing facility. 1954-56 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 222.

Housing for teachers not included.

- Since subparagraph (4)(E) contains no general language, despite the fact that reference is made to housing facilities for swine, cattle, etc., it does not include housing for teachers. Cattle, swine, and other domestic animals constitute only one type of personal property belonging to the school which would require housing no different than class room furniture or laboratory supplies and which would be used as an integral part of the educational operation, whereas the home or living quarters of a teacher would not fall in the same category. 1958-59 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 140.

General phrase "other related facilities" in subparagraph (4)(D) cannot be construed to include housing facilities for teachers. The specific subjects, i.e., "dormitories, laboratories, libraries," enumerated prior to the general phrase "other related facilities," all relate to facilities that constitute an integral part of the physical school properties for use by the students and public generally, whereas housing facilities would not be construed as a part of the school plant or for use by the public generally, notwithstanding the incidental public benefit to be derived therefrom in facilitating the employment of desirable teachers. 1958-59 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 140.

County cannot make donations to water and sewerage authority, but the county can enter into contracts with such authority. 1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U70-225.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 56 Am. Jur. 2d, Municipal Corporations, Counties, and Other Political Subdivisions, §§ 1, 280. 64 Am. Jur. 2d, Public Securities and Obligations, §§ 13, 74, 86 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 62 C.J.S., Municipal Corporations, §§ 1 et seq., 268. 64A C.J.S., Municipal Corporations, § 2167.

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