Decatur, Avondale Estates annexation bills, Greenhaven cityhood bill could be introduced soon
Closeup of the Georgia State Capitol. Photo by Connor Carey. Source: Wikimedia Commons
This story has been updated.
A copy of legal ads provided by the DeKalb Champion newspaper shows that annexation bills for Avondale Estates and Decatur, as well as a Greenhaven cityhood bill, could soon be introduced in the General Assembly.
There’s also a legal ad for the proposed city of Winship, with a map that’s yet to be revealed. Decaturish has learned that state Rep. Michele Henson, D-Stone Mountain, purchased the ad for that bill.
For more information on Avondale Estates annexation plan, click here.
For more information on Decatur’s plan, click here.
The news comes as the House Government Affairs Committee approved bills for creating cities of Tucker and LaVista Hills, allowing them to move toward a vote by the House by the March 13 Crossover Day, according to sources who attended the meeting.
Annexation bills are not bound by the Crossover Day rule because they are considered local legislation. Cityhood bills are treated as general legislation.
The legal ads do not say who will sponsor the annexation bills. Both Decatur and Avondale Estates recently approved annexation master plans to be submitted to the legislative delegation.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution quoted state Rep. Karla Drenner, D-Avondale Estates, as saying the ads do not mean the bills are “imminent.”
Here are the ads. More details will be provided as they become available.
Clarification: After this story initially ran, state Rep. Karla Drenner was quoted in the AJC saying that advertisement of the bills does not automatically mean they will be filed. This story has been updated to reflect that caveat. Bills for Tucker, LaVista Hills and Stonecrest were introduced a week after they were advertised in The Champion.