---
type: "Bill"
title: "Local government; annexation of territory; revise provisions relating to dispute resolution"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 36 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A., relating to annexation of territory, so as to revise provisions relating to dispute resolution; to allow school systems to participate in the dispute resolution process; to require arbitration findings to be sent to the Department of Community Affairs; to provide for regular reports on arbitration findings; to revise per diems for arbitration panel members; to extend the period of a zoning freeze following an arbitration; to revise provisions regarding notice municipalities must provide to counties regarding annexation applications; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2021_22"
identifier: "HB 1461"
citation: "Georgia HB 1461 (2021_22)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Brad Thomas", "Darlene Taylor", "Eddie Lumsden", "Jan Jones", "Lee Hawkins", "Victor Anderson"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 16
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2022-02-24"
last_action: "2022-07-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a7812b25-2ac3-478d-aee3-a55b2324a252"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "649fb94d1db4a0fcf16878066ad03da637eea8e6faacb36182b1aaa9d041c161"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ga"]
---

# Georgia HB 1461 (2021_22) — Local government; annexation of territory; revise provisions relating to dispute resolution

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 36 of Title 36 of the O.C.G.A., relating to annexation of territory, so as to revise provisions relating to dispute resolution; to allow school systems to participate in the dispute resolution process; to require arbitration findings to be sent to the Department of Community Affairs; to provide for regular reports on arbitration findings; to revise per diems for arbitration panel members; to extend the period of a zoning freeze following an arbitration; to revise provisions regarding notice municipalities must provide to counties regarding annexation applications; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **HB 1461/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20212022/212206.pdf)
2. **LC 47 1624/a** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20212022/207644.pdf)
3. **LC 47 1715S/hcs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20212022/209344.pdf)
4. **LC 47 1715S/hs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20212022/208949.pdf)
5. **Sen ctee sub LC 49 0969S** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20212022/210025.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **172–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Brad Thomas — primary (person)
- Darlene Taylor — primary (person)
- Eddie Lumsden — primary (person)
- Jan Jones — primary (person)
- Lee Hawkins — primary (person)
- Victor Anderson — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2022-02-24** House Hopper
- **2022-02-28** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2022-03-01** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2022-03-09** House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-03-15** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2022-03-15** House Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2022-03-16** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2022-03-23** Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-03-25** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2022-03-28** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2022-03-28** Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2022-04-04** House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub
- **2022-04-08** House Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2022-05-02** House Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2022-05-02** Act 785 `executive-signature`
- **2022-07-01** Effective Date

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a7812b25-2ac3-478d-aee3-a55b2324a252`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).