ACCG Capitol Connection E-Newsletter

Capitol Connection E-Newsletter – July 2017

July 20, 2017

Registration for the summer Policy Committee Meetings is now available. Join the ACCG policy team and other county officials as they discuss significant issues to be considered for inclusion in ACCG's 2018 Legislative Agenda. Click here for meeting dates and agendas. The first meeting on August 2nd is fast approaching, so register soon!

Please contact Nicole Logan ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

2017 Legislative Leadership Conference

This year we're heading to the beautiful Augusta-Richmond County! Join ACCG and Georgia’s county officials for the fall policy conference as we explore a new location and finalize ACCG's Legislative Agenda and Priorities for the 2018 legislative session. Contact your county clerk to register today. Click here for more information.

Tax Assessments and the Setting of the Millage Rate

ACCG Legislative Director Clint Mueller and Deputy General Counsel Larry Ramsey discuss the property tax assessment process and the setting of millage rates. As of late, this topic has garnered much traction and has piqued the interest of many. Access the video to learn more.

ACCG Establishes Broadband Study Committee
ACCG’s General County Government (GCG) Committee has established a “Broadband Study Committee” to examine issues and recommend actions on the expansion of broadband internet service across Georgia. In particular, the study committee will review provisions of SB 232 from the Georgia General Assembly’s 2017 session. While SB 232 has nine sections that ACCG supports or could agree to, Section 2-1 of the bill entails numerous preemptions of local government regulations on the public’s right of way, a state-down approach that concerns many counties. The Broadband Study Committee held its initial meeting on July 18 at ACCG’s Fulton County office and will report its SB 232 recommendations to the full GCG Committee at its August 4 policy meeting at the Braves’ SunTrust Park. For a list of study committee members, please click here.

Be sure to click on the video above to watch the video for more information on broadband and counties.

Health Care Reform Task Force Considers Solutions to Improve Quality Care for Rural Georgians

In 2017, Lt. Governor. Casey Cagle led the Senate to establish Georgia’s Health Care Reform Task Force to direct the state toward building a stronger health care system. To read more click here.

The next meeting of the Health Care Reform Task Force will be held on August 28, 2017 in Northwest Georgia.

TSPLOST Guides

A Regional TSPLOST and a Single County TSPLOST are two mechanisms available for funding transportation projects at the local level. ACCG has provided an overview of the Regional TSPLOST, Single County TSPLOST as well as information on HB 134, the legislation that took effect July 1st that made edits to both the Single and Regional TSPLOST.

Grants-to-Counties for Juvenile Court Judge Salaries

When HB 5 was passed out of the 2017 legislative session, it was intended to provide an increase to grants counties use to fund juvenile court judges whose salaries were set below $100,000. Since many juvenile court judge salaries surpass the set annual wage, the grants were established to cover the costs of their increase, however it has been recently communicated that in order to be eligible for the new grant increase, all salaries must be increased even if it currently exceeds the set $100,000 salary. To read more about the recent legislation click here.

Fiscal Year End Reporting Requirements for Counties

There are a number of reporting requirements that are based on when a county's fiscal year ends. Information on the different of county fiscal years and year end reporting requirements can be found here.

Dam Safety Rules

The rules for Georgia’s Dam Safety program were modified in August 2016 to address two main areas: Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) and inspections. Owners of Category I dams were required to submit an EAP to EPD by July 1, 2017. Over 200 of the Category I dams have not submitted an EAP. Approximately half of these dams are at least partially owned by a government entity. The second rule change addresses the inspection of the Category I dams. Local governments own many of the Category I dams so its important that the new rules are understood. More information can be found here.

Department of Community Affairs Names New Research and Surveys Manager

The DCA recently hired Dr. Tyler Reinagel to manage the Government Research and Surveys Department to collect data, such as the Wage and Salary annual survey, and make it accessible to all levels of government within the state. Read more about Dr. Reinagal and his developing role as the research lead.

Federal Communications Commission Seeks Local Preemption on Broadband Projects

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering whether to preempt local governments' authority to regulate the use of local taxpayer right-of-way in order to expedite certain broadband developments. Among other provisions, the FCC seeks to end local governments' moratoriums on permits/applications, shorten the time frame by which an application must be approved or denied, have applications "deem granted" if these shortened timeframes are not met, and reduce the administrative recoupment fees associated with the permitting process. Learn more about the proposed FCC rules here.

Increased Truck Weights May Again be Addressed by Congress This Fall

The U.S. Congress will likely begin addressing America’s infrastructure needs and challenges this fall. Among issues expected to arise are increasing truck length and weight limits on America’s interstates – which necessarily means heavier trucks on county roads leading to and from interstates as well. The Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) is preparing for this debate by asking local elected officials from across the country to lend their name to the a letter opposing these increases. Georgia county commissioners may be concerned due to the wear and tear heavier trucks cause on local road and bridge infrastructure, and the ultimate increased cost to county taxpayers. If you would like to sign onto the CABT letter to Congress, please contact:

Ms. Cindy Mills, Regional Director of Coalition Against Bigger Trucks at 803-422-1517 or [email protected].

Department of Labor Drops Defense of Overtime Pay Rule Change

The National Association of Counties (NACo) recently reported that the U.S. Department of Labor will not defend the higher threshold of overtime pay for professional employees that had been scheduled to take effect last December. Instead, it has asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on whether the department had the authority to set overtime pay based on a worker's salary. Since 2015, NACo has expressed its concerns over the increased administrative financial burden the rule would impose on counties.

Click here to access the full report from NACo.

Check out ACCG TV

Are you interested in seeing what's going on at ACCG? Visit ACCG TV to view conference videos, interviews and more. Stay Tuned to see what ACCG.tv has in store!