City creation unchanged by Georgia lawmakers
An effort to more thoroughly analyze the impacts of creating new cities has stalled at the Georgia General Assembly.
The legislation, Senate Bill 375, would have required studies to show how forming a city would shift taxes and government services from nearby jurisdictions.
But House Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Rynders, R-Albany, says the measure isn't necessary because he believes the state's cityhood creation process is already working, with eight new municipalities created in metro Atlanta since 2005.
The bill cleared the Senate 55-1 but didn’t get a hearing in the House, and it’s not expected to move forward before this year’s legislative session ends Thursday.
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
