This bill aligns the state and local elections calendar with the court ordered federal calendar. This changed the qualifying period to March 3-7, 2014, the primary on May 20, 2014, and the general election on November 4, 2014.

This bill also reduces the time period required to call a special election to be held in conjunction with a statewide primary or general election from 90 days to 60 days for 2014.

This legislation provides an exception to the open records law for 9-1-1 call recordings in which the caller is in extreme distress or dies.

This legislation requires county emergency management agencies and health departments (once they are notified by the Environmental Proteciton Division) to place a public notice when there is a spill of pollutants that is reasonably expected to be a hazard to the public health and safety, to private and public drinking water supplies, or to animals, birds or aquatic life.

This bill provides for the continuation of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) for counties and cities that relied on judicial arbitration to settle their dispute over LOST distributions. This past fall, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled the judicial arbitration unconstitutional.

This bill makes substantial revisions to state and local title ad valorem tax. These revisions include:

• Establishes the trade-in value of a used vehicle at the department of revenue book value to prevent inflating trade-ins to reduce TAVT;
• Defines the taxable value of a kit car;
• Clarifies when a tax commissioner may deviate from the defined taxable value;
• Provides for a new trade-in credit for leased vehicles;
• Requires the Department of Revenue to promulgate a standardized bill of sale;
• Requires used vehicle dealers to file the title work and TAVT on behalf of their customer;
• Specifies a county administrative fee of 1% on TAVT collected for cities and the school system;
• Increases the penalty for failing to title and register a vehicle from a misdemeanor to a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature;
• Authorizes the transfer of a vehicle through a divorce decree or court order to be treated as a family transfer;
• Clarifies that a motor vehicle dealer can apply for a refund on behalf of a purchaser and must pay the refund to the purchaser within 10 days of receipt;
• Extends the expiration date of a temporary tag to 45 days and authorizes a 30 day extension when a title is delayed due to the failure of a security interest or line holder to timely release the security interest or lien;
• Clarifies electronic title registrations must be filed with the county instead of the Department of Revenue

This legislation requires those applying for septage land application permits to provide the EPD with a letter verifying that the proposed site complies with a jurisdiction's local zoning and land use ordinances. If a public hearing is held in the application process, it must occur in the same jurisdiction where the proposed site is to be located.

This bill makes several changes to the ad valorem tax laws.

• Requires forestland protection grants for 2008 to be based upon the final value once an appeal is settled;
• Before an appeal can be filed in Superior Court, the legislation authorizes the payment of the temporary tax bill as an alternative to payment of the amount of taxes that were paid in the year a final tax bill was determined;
• Reinstates appeal thresholds that cannot be exceeded in order to get digest approval;
• Gives the Commissioner the authority to reject a tax digest if evidence exists that the county has substantially failed to comply with the ad valorem tax laws or the Department's rules and regulations;
• Authorizes owners of nonhomestead property with a value of $2 million or more to pay a portion of the temporary tax bill to an escrow account held by the tax commissioner until the appeal is settled;
• Consolidates the provisions that define the amount of interest due once an appeal is settled into a single subsection;
• Changes the eligibility to request a refund of paid taxes or license fees from a case where it has been determined that the tax or fee was illegally erroneously collected to an allegation that the tax or fee was illegally or erroneously collected;
• Redefines the authorized time frame for submitting a refund request to the governing authority and filing suit in court for a refund;

This legislation allows the discharge of a firearm within 50 yards of a public road (provided the discharge is shielded from the view of a traveler) if the discharge occurs at an indoor or outdoor shooting range; a facility used for firearm or hunting safety courses sponsored by a unit of government, nonprofit corporation, or commercial enterprise; or the business location of any person, firm, retail dealer, wholesale dealer, pawnbroker, or corporation licensed as a firearm dealer.  

This legislation exempts certain nonprofit organizations from the board of health's food service establishment requirements. The exemption would apply to qualified nonprofit organizations that operate food banks; that provide on-site feeding programs for free distribution of food to combat poverty and hunger; that provide food to houses or residential structures where seriously ill or injured children and their families are provided temporary accommodations near the hospital where the child receives treatment, so long as food is prepared, served, transported or stored by volunteer personnel.

This legislation clarifies the General Assembly's intent regarding the use and provision of probation services by courts for misdemeanor and ordinance violations. It clarifies the ability of judges to toll warrants of probationers who abscond during their probationary period without meeting the conditions of their sentence.

This legislation clarifies the definition of a personal transportation vehicle by merging motorized carts, golf cars, and golf carts into one definition. It also provides minimum requirements for who can operate a PTV, along with minimum safety requirements to be installed on the PTV for operation in the evening.

This legislation authorizes local governments, at their option, to adopt an ordinance allowing for the operation of PTVs on certain roadways and designated pathways subject to certain requirements established by the local government. It gives local governments the option to adopt a transportation plan to address minimum requirements for operating a PTV on the roadways, as well as construction and use of designated pathways.

This legislation adopts the Interstate Compact for Juveniles. This compact ensures that court orders relating to juveniles in the State of Georgia are honored in other states that are members of the compact.