House Public Safety Committee to Hear E-911 Bill Monday

Law Enforcement Compensation Bill Introduced

Multiple pieces of legislation were introduced this week that include the recommendations of the Compensation of Police and Sheriffs (COPS) Task Force. These bills were introduced by senators who were members of the Task Force. Sen.Steve Gooch introduced  SB 366 which requires that counties perform a wage and compensation study for every employee of the sheriff’s office and law enforcement agency of the county at least once every five years. Failure for the county to conduct the study will result in the loss of the county’s Qualified Local Government Status.  Click here for a section by section summary. 

The other three law enforcement compensation bills are SB 367, SB 368 and SB 369. Please click each bill number to access a summary.

Internet Sales Tax Bill Moves Forward

One of ACCG’s legislative priorities for 2018 is to expand the collection of sales taxes from out-of-state retailers. As sales increasingly move from bricks-and-mortar stores to the internet, the state and local governments have seen flat or declining sales tax receipts because most out-of-state vendors do not collect Georgia sales taxes. In addition, Georgia retailers who do collect sales taxes are placed at a business disadvantage by those non-Georgia retailers who are not requiring customers to pay Georgia sales taxes.  HB 61 would require out-of-state retailers who do a minimum amount of business with Georgia customers to either collect Georgia sales taxes or send Georgia customers a tax form each year indicating the amount of each customer’s purchases in the prior year. HB 61 passed the House last year. On Wednesday, January 31, the Senate Finance Committee passed it with only one "no" vote. ACCG encourages its members to contact their senators and urge them to support HB 61.

DRIVES - New Equipment Costs to Counties

The Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) is updating the equipment and connectivity requirements for its tag and titling system. The GRATIS system will be phased out and no longer supported and counties will be required to use a new system called DRIVES.

This memorandum was sent to tax commissioners notifying them of additional equipment costs that the counties will have to pay for if funds are not added to the state budget. 

As part of the DRIVES initiative, DOR sent out a survey to counties to learn about the equipment being used as well as internet connection speeds. While this information was used to request a budget appropriation, for the legislature to consider, the proposed budget for fiscal year 2019 included no appropriations to fund the equipment and network connectivity.

County officials should contact their legislators to ask them to appropriate the funds to implement this new, required system to process tags and titles at the county level on behalf of the state. Please consult with your tax commissioner and IT staff to determine the potential equipment costs that may be incurred by your county and notify ACCG Legislative Director Clint Mueller ( [email protected]) and your legislators about the financial impact.