Committee advances rule substitute to require city–county consent for annexations in Paulding County

Lee Registration, a staff member, presented a rule substitute to House Bill 521 that would require mutual consent of both the county and the city for annexations occurring in Paulding County. The committee voted to pass the substitute and placed the bill on the supplemental calendar.

The substitute retains language from Chairman Anderson’s original bill regarding deannexation and adds a new Section 2 that, as presented, would apply only to Paulding County and require that “any annexation that is to occur be by consent of both the county and the city.” The presenter said the substitute has the support of Chairman Gullit.

Committee leadership moved and seconded a motion that the rule substitute “do pass.” No named opposition was recorded on the transcript, and the chair announced that the motion passed. The committee later added House Bill 521 to the supplemental calendar during its calendar-setting routine.

The action changes the local approval mechanism for annexation in a single county, as presented; the substitute and the committee action do not themselves implement annexations but would change the conditions under which annexation could proceed for the county specified in the bill. Further legislative steps would be required for any change to become law.

The committee’s vote on the substitute and the calendar placement closed the committee’s discussion of HB 521 for this session; no additional amendments or roll-call vote totals were recorded in the transcript.

Ending: The bill will move forward to the next legislative step on the supplemental calendar; any additional committee debate, amendments, or roll-call votes would be recorded on subsequent calendars or in floor debate.