City of Decatur Public Facilities Authority; a referendum for issuing revenue bonds for certain projects requested by the City Schools of Decatur; require

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Elena Parent

Requires a voter referendum before issuing revenue bonds of $20 million or more for City Schools of Decatur projects, with majority approval needed.

Effective Date

Summary of Senate Bill 625 (2025-26 Session, Georgia)

Purpose and intent

SB 625 amends the act creating the City of Decatur Public Facilities Authority (approved March 17, 2017) to require a public referendum before issuing certain revenue bonds.

Specifically, it targets revenue bonds for projects requested by the City Schools of Decatur, ensuring voter approval for projects with estimated costs of $20 million or more.

Key provisions and changes

Section 6(a) authority provisions (existing framework):

The City of Decatur Public Facilities Authority can issue revenue bonds to pay for all or part of project costs and to refund previously issued bonds or obligations.
Bond principal and interest are payable solely from pledged revenues and properties.
Bonds issued may include terms determined by the Authority but shall not mature beyond 40 years.

Section 6(b) referendum requirement (new threshold and process):

Before the Authority can issue revenue bonds for any project requested by the City Schools of Decatur that has an estimated cost of $20 million or more, the Authority must: 1) Request the City of Decatur to have the election superintendent present the question to the qualified voters of the City Schools of Decatur. 2) Conduct a referendum to determine voter approval. 3) Proceed with bond issuance only if a majority of those voting approves the referendum.

The referendum process acts as a check on major financing decisions for school-related projects within the City Schools of Decatur.

Who/what is affected

City of Decatur Public Facilities Authority (CDPFA): The entity authorized to issue revenue bonds for eligible projects, subject to a referendum for large-scale school-related projects.

City Schools of Decatur: Their project requests that meet the $20 million threshold will require voter-approved authorization via referendum.

Qualified voters in City Schools of Decatur community: The voters who will decide on whether to authorize the bond issuance for qualifying projects.

City of Decatur (local government) and related financing structures: Any revenue bond issuances for eligible projects must now align with the referendum requirement.

Procedural/timeline aspects

The referendum requirement activates only for projects with an estimated cost of $20 million or more that are proposed by the City Schools of Decatur.

The Authority cannot issue the revenue bonds for such projects until:

The referendum is conducted, and
A majority vote in favor is obtained.

Bond maturities remain capped at 40 years, consistent with the prior framework, and revenues/properties pledged continue to secure bond obligations.

Effective date and status

The bill was passed by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor, becoming law as Act 706 (2026-05-12).

The act repeals conflicting laws as needed to implement this referendum requirement.

If you’d like, I can provide a brief comparison to the pre-SB 625 framework or create a quick FAQ for residents and school stakeholders.