This bill was amended by the House to add HB 276 and HB 182, a description of each is provided below.

HB 276 expands the definition of "dealers" who are required to collect sales taxes to include "marketplace facilitators", such as online platforms that allow vendors to sell goods or services through those platforms. Annual sales via such a platform of $100,000 or more into Georgia would require the facilitator to collect and remit sales taxes on all such sales. As amended in the Senate, the bill would exempt from sales tax all taxi, limo, and ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft. 

Under present law, out-of-state vendors that sell $250,000 or more of goods (or 200 or more transactions) into Georgia must either collect all sales taxes or send the purchaser and the Department of Revenue (DOR) annual notice of those purchases. HB 182 would lower that threshold to $100,000 or more and would eliminate the notice option, with the result that all such vendors will be required and remit to DOR all sales taxes.

This legislation, titled the "Georgia Pandemic Business Safety Act", address liability for businesses, health care providers, local governments, and other entities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. County government employees and county government facilities are included as being afforded liability protection. 

No cause of action (lawsuit) shall exist for the transmission, infection, exposure or potential exposure of COVID-19 unless a local government, business (or other entities as defined in legislation) performed gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, reckless infliction of harm, or intentional inflection of harm.

One of the provisions of the bill is a rebuttable presumption for assumption of the risk by the claimant if an entity posts specific signage at their point of entry.  ACCG encourages you to consult with your county attorney regarding the placement of signage in county facilities.  For sample signage with the required language in one-inch Arial font (per the specifications of the legislation), click here. Note that this sample sign must be printed as an 18” x 24” in order to achieve the one-inch requirement as indicated in the legislation.

The Act covers state level claims, not federal claims, and only applies to causes of action accruing on or before July 14, 2021.