This bill creates the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship program. The intent of this legislation is to provide dedicated funding for state parks and state wildlife management areas as well as support to local parks and trails. Forty percent of the proceeds of all state sales tax from outdoor recreation items would be appropriated for the protection and preservation of conservation land. The General Assembly has the ability to increase this amount up to the 80%. 

Counties would be eligible to apply for grants and loans from this newly created trust fund. A Board of Trustees of the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund is created to oversee the grant/loan applications. The composition of the board could include representatives from local government.

In addition, each county in which is located 20,000 acres or more of unimproved real property belonging to the state and under the custody or control of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA DNR), in which such state-owned property exceeds 10 percent of the taxable real property in the county, and in which such property represents 10 percent or more of the assessed tax digest of the county may receive from the GA DNR an annual grant. Only land acquired with Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund money would be used in the calculation of this grant. 

The bill is contingent upon a proposed constitutional amendment, found in HR 238, which would be placed on the ballot for the November, 2018 state-wide general election.

Additional Information:  https://georgiaoutdoorstewardship.org/ 

This bill requires cities and counties, if they are soliciting a bid or proposal opportunity for goods and services valued at $10,000 or more, or public works contracts for over $100,000, to post the advertisement on the Georgia Procurement Registry at no cost to the local government.  It is then optional for the local government to advertise the bid or proposal opportunity in the legal organ or their website.  Action: the above notices must be posted on the Georgia Procurement Registry.         

 Following recommendations of the Governor's Court Reform Council and in response to several recent Georgia Supreme Court decisions, this bill would allow for a limited waiver of the state's sovereign immunity so as to allow lawsuits against the state for injunctions and/declaratory judgments where a state law is alleged to be unconstitutional. As amended in House committee, the substance of HB 674 was added to this bill, waiving county and city sovereign immunity for injunctive/declaratory relief for allegations that the local government has violated a constitutional provision, statute, state rule/regulation, or local ordinance. Immunity would still apply to any  related monetary damages. The amended version also permits direct appeals of trial court orders ruling that immunity does not apply to a claim (from HB 256).

A substitute version approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee removes local governments from the scope of this bill but retains the direct-appeal authorization. 

While this bill began, constructively, as a rural broadband bill, the Senate Regulated Industries Committee stripped and replaced it with the language of SB 426.  This wireless industry legislation guarantees authorization for wireless providers to construct and place poles (50' high), antennas (up to 6 cubic feet in volume and 10' higher than poles), equipment boxes (up to 25 cubic feet in volume), plus up to 4 cabinets (undefined size) and other infrastructure in county and city right of way (ROW).  Local government management of the above is all but entirely usurped; the grounds by which applications can be denied are few; denials are primed to result in litigation; and then locals are set up to lose.  

ACCG has attempted to work with the wireless providers, legislators and other stakeholders since last year to try to incorporate safeguards into the legislation.  While some of our recommendations were made, most of these "concessions" are so wrought with legal loopholes that their purported purpose has been nullified. 

For ACCG's concerns with (and suggestions for) this bill and SB 426, please click here.  

This bill provides for transit governance and funding options for the Metro Atlanta region (a designated nonattainment area currently consisting of Cherokee, Clayton, Coweta, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale counties) and the rest of the state. 

The Atlanta-region Transit Link (ATL) Authority is a new regional governing board that will lead the planning and coordination of transit in the Metro Atlanta region and will control state and federal transit funding.

Counties in the Metro Atlanta area would be able to call for a referendum to levy a Transit SPLOST up to 1% (and may be in .05% increments) for up to 30 years.  The county and all qualified municipalities may select transit projects for the county from the regional transit plan. The ATL Authority shall approve or deny any or all projects within a submitted transit project list and the proposed operator of any transit projects.

Lastly, counties outside of Metro Atlanta who partner with a neighboring county have the option to levy up to 1% (and may be in .05% increments) for up to 30 years. Each county planning to participate in the selected transit project or projects shall enter into intergovernmental agreements.  The referendum must pass both counties for the tax to be imposed.

A more detailed analysis of the bill can be found here.  

This legislation allows private companies to place cameras in school zones and enforce civil penalties for speeding in school zones.   The fine is $75 for the first offense and $125 for subsequent offenses with an additional processing fee up to $25 assessed per offense. Additionally, should a local government chose to use cameras in school zones, signs must be placed within the approaching school zone warning drivers of the use of speed detection cameras. Money collected from such fines are to be used by the local governing body only for law enforcement or public safety initiatives. 

This bill also allows private companies to operate and maintain cameras placed on school buses. Additionally, the bill reduces the civil penalty for passing a school bus that has its stop sign activated from $300 to $250. This fine is to be paid to the governing body of the law enforcement agency. 

This legislation authorizes EMCs to provide broadband service, VoIP, wireless services and other emerging communications technologies within their service areas and a 5-mile radius thereof.  EMCs would be allowed to accept state, federal and private grants loans to fund this endeavor, but cannot cross-subsidize their broadband services from their electric or natural gas funds. To do this, EMCs must provide nondiscriminatory, competitively neutral and commercially reasonable terms, conditions and access to their utility poles for other communications service providers.      

This legislation partly eliminates the need for the Governor to call a special election when there is a vacancy for a U.S. House, U.S. Senate and General Assembly office - the Governor will appoint a replacement if less than 12 months remain on the term.  The bill does call for a special primary to proceed a special election in an even-numbered year which does add a race to the ballot; however, it shouldn't entail additional costs to the county.  Savings should be incurred as special elections can no longer be held in odd-numbered years and are held in conjunction with primary elections.