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Bills of Concern Fail to Meet Crossover Deadline
ACCG and Georgia counties had much success at the State Capitol this week working to modify or stop several bills that had negative consequences. Over the last few years, ACCG has stressed the importance of county officials building relationships with state senators and representatives so that the lines of communication are open when critical legislation is under consideration. Based on comments directly from legislators on the floor of the House and Senate and feedback from legislators that many of you shared with ACCG, it is evident that your efforts are having an impact.
While this legislation cannot move forward this legislative session in its current bill form, it can be added to other legislation if it meets certain requirements. As such, ACCG will be keeping a close eye on all bill amendments to ensure that this legislation is not included. If you have concerns about bills that are not listed in this week’s legislative update, you can check their status in the ACCG legislative tracking database.
Following are several significant bills that failed to meet the Crossover Day deadline:
HB 1 – Rewrite of the Georgia Law on Forfeitures: County sheriffs turned out in force on Thursday to oppose this legislation which would have made major changes to how forfeitures and “drug money” were seized, allocated and utilized. This legislation was not brought to the House floor for consideration.
HB 159 – Prohibiting Counties from Placing Fees or Assessments on Property Tax Bills: This legislation was tabled on Tuesday and not brought back to the House floor on Thursday. By stopping this legislation, counties retain the ability to use property tax bills for a mechanism to levy fees and other assessments for solid waste, storm water, streetlights and fire services.
HB 176 – Cell Tower Preemption Legislation: This legislation sought to preempt local governments from reviewing and approving applications for the construction of new towers in local communities, severely diminishing the already-limited tools available to commissioners to either deny an inappropriate cell tower application or to negotiate a more suitable site for towers within residential areas. Counties were successful in stopping this legislation which had strong support from the wireless industry and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. This legislation was not brought to the House floor for consideration.
HB 282 – Municipal Investment Broadband Act: This legislation sought to limit local governments’ ability to provide broadband Internet service to under serviced areas or to expand their service. This bill failed in the House by a vote of 70-94.
SB 144 – Georgia Emergency 911 Support Authority: County 911 Directors were actively tracking this legislation, which sought to create a Georgia Emergency 911 Support Authority and may have impacted local 911 funding. This legislation was not brought to the Senate floor for consideration.
Final Ten Days of the 2013 Session Start on Monday
ACCG and counties cannot let down our guard during the final ten days of the 2013 legislative session which begins on Monday. Several important bills are still in play, and other legislation may be amended in ways that can create problems for county operations.
Please familiarize yourself with the House and Senate bills that are listed in the progressing section of this update which may heat up as the legislative session winds down. The General Assembly has set the next five days for official business as follows: Day 31 (March 11); Day 32 (March 12); Day 33 (March 13); Day 34 (March 14) and Day 35 (March 20).
The ACCG policy team will provide video updates on Monday to offer additional perspectives on certain bills that will be moving through the General Assembly during the final ten days of the legislative session. Check the ACCG website on Monday afternoon to see the latest “County Scoop” YouTube link.
Governor Signs Title Ad Valorem Tax Legislation
A conference committee was called on Tuesday, March 5 to resolve the differences on the Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) legislation (HB 266). The final legislation, which was approved by the committee and agreed to by the House and Senate, authorizes the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue (DOR) to implement a TAVT for “Buy Here Pay Here” transactions that is 2.5 percentage points less than the regular TAVT.
HB 266 also makes several administrative changes for the administration and implementation of the TAVT system.
Governor Nathan Deal signed this legislation on Thursday, March 7, 2013. Please review the following information from the Georgia Department of Revenue:
DOR Bulletin: Summary of Changes to the TAVT from HB 266
DOR Bulletin: Fair Market Value of New Motor Vehicles
DORBulletin: Annual Ad Valorem Exemptions & Opt-In
In addition, ACCG has created a summary of HB 266 to assist county officials. Watch for additional updates from the Department of Revenue on implementing these changes.
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