DeKalb Operations Committee vets proposed 2026 state legislative agenda; rental registry, 9‑1‑1 funding and annexation reforms highlighted

Marita Davis Johnson, chair of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners’ Operations Committee, opened a special meeting to review a proposed 2026 state legislative agenda and directed staff to refine the package for a follow‑up vote.

The committee considered a staff and outside counsel proposal that condenses 16 initial ideas into 10 recommended legislative priorities and a set of support statements. Dan Baskerville of Dentons, who helped draft the packet, told the committee the material groups items into three categories: matters the county can handle locally without state law changes; issues that are primarily federal; and items that require additional review or did not meet voting thresholds during an earlier retreat and work session.

Committee members focused discussion on several recurring topics. The top item on the draft list is a “comprehensive property ownership database (rental registry).” Committee members and counsel clarified that existing state law currently prevents requiring all rental property owners to register, but the county can compile owner information from public records and existing administrative sources. Dan Baskerville and county counsel advised that the most complete statutory solution to identify owner‑ versus tenant‑occupied properties would require a change in state law; the county can, in the interim, gather data from utility accounts, business licensing, tax records and the Secretary of State.

Commissioners pressed several operational options: creating a local opt‑in registry…