PROVEN LEADERSHIP
The Fair Annexation Act
I'm pleased to announce that this legislation, contained in the 2007 legislative session's House Bill 2 (HB 2), passed the General Assembly on April 20th of 2007, and was signed by Governor Perdue on May 23 of that year. HB 2 fundamentally changes how annexation works in Georgia. For the first time, Georgia will officially recognize the property rights of homeowners living next to or near a proposed annexation.If you are one of these homeowners, you now have a voice in the process. You can submit an appraisal to your county commissioner showing damage that an annexation would cause to your property value. Your county commission can use that information to file an objection.
The objection requires creation of a panel to review the annexation proposal. The panel then determines if the objection is valid and substantial. If it agrees with the objection, binding conditions can be placed on the annexation to relieve the immediate impact of the change. The annexation will only be able to go forward if the conditions are met. This process is intended to slow down the rash of unreasonable annexations that have been occurring all over the state.
Many people deserve thanks for helping to demonstrate the importance of this problem, and for giving the bill the support needed to pass. Homeowners all around Georgia are the real heroes of this two year process. I thank all of you for your hard work -- you deserve the real credit for making this bill a success!