Committee approves substitute to restructure Central State Hospital redevelopment authority amid contested local testimony and ongoing probes

Senator Williams, sponsor: "What we have is trying to straighten out a little issue down in Milledgeville, Baldwin County," Senator Williams told the House Committee on Intergovernmental Coordination, describing Central State Hospital as a 2,000-acre campus with roughly 100 buildings that the state still owns.

The substitute for SB 260 would change the structure of the Central State Hospital redevelopment authority by reducing the number of local board members (the draft before committee set four members, three voting) and placing the authority under the Department of Community Affairs with appointments made by statewide leaders (the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker) and a State Properties representative. Senator Williams and supporters said the change would provide state legal counsel, auditing oversight and state-level capacity to market and redevelop the site more quickly.

Supporters: Baldwin County Commissioner Andrew Strickland and others described the local economic distress around Milledgeville after the hospital closed and urged state help. Commissioner Strickland told the committee the county's poverty rate is much higher than the national average and that the campus is a large-scale blight that requires state-level assistance.

Opponents and controversy: Multiple local witnesses and a former redevelopment authority executive director told the committee they oppose the measure because it would remove local appointment authority and local input from decisions about Central State's future. Dr. Joycelyn Nelson, a city-appointed board member, said: "Stripping away our local representation means stripping away our ability to help shape our own future." Mary Demian, the authority's former executive director, and attorney Matt Ressing testified the authority had been operating with local plans and commercial interest but that recent board decisions and sales raised transparency and conflict-of-interest concerns; Ressing said in testimony to the committee: "It is a question of corruption. It is a question of conflicts of interest and favoritism" and said he had provided evidence to the inspector general.

Senator Williams told the committee the substitute would place the authority under state auditing rules, grant access to state legal counsel (Attorney General), and help finalize pending property sales that had been delayed by governance disputes. He described prior creation of the authority under Governor Nathan Deal in 2012 and said the state already owns many parcels; the substitute, he said, is intended to help convey and market property that has been vacant for decades.

Committee action: Representative Thomas moved that the substitute do pass; a later motion to table the bill failed. After discussion and testimony, the committee approved the substitute by voice/show-of-hands vote. The transcript records that a motion to table failed and that the "motion does pass" for do-pass by substitute; the record does not include a detailed roll-call tally in the committee transcript.

Why it matters: Central State is a large property with significant local economic implications. Supporters argued the state-level structure will provide the authority the legal, audit and marketing resources to advance redevelopment; opponents warned the change removes local appointments and argued the board and recent transactions required further investigation. Several witnesses told the committee they had provided materials to the inspector general.

Next steps and follow-up: The substitute passed the committee and will advance. Opponents asked for tabling and additional review; at least one witness said he had supplied documents and that the inspector general is investigating; the committee record shows public requests for more time and study but the substitute still received committee approval.