Statham City Council holds public hearing on HB 581; vote postponed

The Statham City Council held a public hearing on HB 581 on Feb. 18, 2025, and later postponed a vote on the bill to a future meeting. City Attorney Jody Campbell and City Accountant Rachel Bembry gave presentations explaining HB 581 and provided an update on HB 92; the transcript records that they described the bills' impacts on the City but does not specify the substance of those explanations.

Why it matters: Council members moved quickly to open and close the public hearing and then deferred a final decision, leaving the timing and nature of any follow-up review or vote unspecified in the record. A postponement preserves time for additional information or deliberation before a formal council decision.

During the meeting Councilmember Penn moved to open the public hearing at 6:33 p.m., a motion seconded by Councilmember Burnette and adopted 5-0. After the presentations the council voted on a motion by Councilmember Penn to exit the public hearing at 7:40 p.m.; that motion carried 5-0. Later in the same meeting Councilmember Patterson moved, and Councilmember Penn seconded, to postpone the vote on HB 581 to a later date; the motion passed on a 5-0 recorded vote (Councilmembers Terilli, Bogenrieder, Patterson, Penn and Burnette voted yes).

The transcript does not record direct quotes from the presenters or attendees, nor does it include specific policy language or fiscal figures tied to HB 581. Because those details are not in the record, this article reports only the procedural steps taken and the identities of presenters and movers as recorded in the minutes.

Next steps: The council postponed the vote; no new date or timeline for reconsideration was specified in the meeting record.