GA Legislature Passes Carson's 1st Bill

Rep. John Carson this week celebrated General Assembly passage of the first legislation he introduced in the state House, H.B. 1089.

The bill is only three sentences, but it will save taxpayers $100,000 to $300,000 a year, according to a news release from the House press office.

The House passed the bill March 7, 150-18, and the Senate followed suit Tuesday, 48-4.

“I am pleased that my colleagues in the House and Senate showed overwhelming bipartisan support for this measure,” Carson said in the news release.

Once signed by Gov. Nathan Deal, the measure will repeal Chapter 67 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, which mandates additional procedures for rezoning only in counties with at least 625,000 people and cities with at least 100,000 that sit at least partially within those counties.

The law uses the census every 10 years as the basis for those population counts, and it was written to apply specifically to Fulton and DeKalb counties. The Georgia Constitution no longer allows such population-triggered laws.

Cobb and Gwinnett counties both passed 625,000 in population between the 2000 and 2010 census counts and were due to be covered by the special rezoning rules. Both counties supported the law’s repeal.

“This code section is unnecessary as the two affected counties already choose to perform these procedures in zoning proposal reviews,” said Carson, who represents the 43rd District. “We need to do more to rid our state of onerous, job-killing regulations.”

The Northeast Cobb Republican completed his first legislative session Thursday. He was in representing parts of Northeast and East Cobb; .

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