ACTION NEEDED

HB 302 – Local Government Design Standards Preemption Clears First Committee

The House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee passed HB 302 out of committee on Wednesday. This bill is now in the House Rules Committee and can be called to the House floor for a vote any day. This proposed bill is a usurpation of home rule and prohibits local governments from regulating building design elements in single or double family dwellings. Local governments would no longer have the ability to enact standards on exterior building color; exterior cladding material (vinyl siding); materials on roofs or porches; architectural ornamentation; types of foundations; and more.  

Please contact your House and Senate members as soon as possible and let them know any concerns your county may have with this legislation. Let them know that home rule works and these decisions are best made at the local level. One size does not fit all for Georgia counties.  

For a model example of county talking points, please see Bryan County Chairman Carter Infinger's feedback to his county's legislative delegation.

ACCG urges counties that have concerns with this preemption of local zoning authority to adopt a resolution opposing HB 302, then share it with your legislators. A sample resolution is available here. 

To see the House Agriculture Committee's testimony on this bill click here. The Committee's testimony on HB 302 begins at the 22:45 mark while the ACCG/GMA testimony begins at 1:05:15.

ACCG's Todd Edwards (right) and GMA's Tom Gehl (left) testifying on HB 302.

Voting Machine and Elections Bill Passes House Committee

On Thursday, after many hours of debate and public testimony, the House Governmental Affairs Committee passed HB 316, which will replace Georgia’s antiquated voting equipment. The state will provide new, uniform voting machines for every county in Georgia. This equipment will consist of ballot marking devices (electronic devices, similar to the DRE interface currently used) which produce a paper ballot that is then scanned into a recording device that tabulates votes. ACCG supports ballot marking devices over hand-marked paper ballots; however, this bill still has a long way to go and hand-marked ballot advocates are vehemently expressing opposition. Please talk to your county’s elections officials and, if you support the state funding ballot marking devices for counties, please let your legislators know.    

For a thorough summary of HB 316, please click here.

Constitutional Officer Pay Raise Bill to be Heard in Committee Soon

HB 334 requires that counties provide a 5 percent pay raise for all constitutional officers (sheriff, clerk of superior court, tax commissioner and probate judge) and magistrate judges, effective January 1, 2021. This is in addition to the proposed 2 percent pay increase scheduled in the Governor's FY 2020 budget (for state employees, which automatically applies to constitutional officers); all of the COLAs received since 2006; state and local supplements; the 5 percent pay raise received per each four-year term in office; and any fees a constitutional officer receives as personal compensation. Please speak with your House members soon, particularly those on the House Governmental Affairs Committee to express any thought you may have on this legislation.  

To view the actual salaries of Georgia’s constitutional officers, by county, please click here.  

Title Ad Valorem Tax Bill Introduced

HB 365 would establish parity in the calculation of Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) on used and new cars, by calculating TAVT on used car sales based on the retail sales price. Under current law, TAVT on used cars is calculated on a lower “book” value, which is the average of the vehicle’s wholesale and retail values. However, in an effort to make this bill revenue-neutral, HB 365 would also lower the TAVT rate from 7 percent to 6.6 percent until June 30, 2023, after which the rate would reset to 7 percent. 

For more information, contact Deputy General Counsel Larry Ramsey at [email protected].

Communication Services Tax

HB 428 would create an entirely new taxation structure for telecommunications services. This complex bill includes the following provisions:

• Elimination of existing county and city cable franchise fees, city telephone franchise fees, and sales taxes on local telephone service

• Addition of prepaid calling services to the list of services subject to sales taxes

• Exemption from sales taxes of the sale of broadband and internet-access equipment

• Imposition of a new 4 percent tax on telecommunications services and digital goods and services (including downloadable software, books, movies, and music). Of that 4 percent tax, 2 percent is retained by the state and, following adoption of a local ordinance, 2 percent (after deduction of an administrative fee by the state) is paid to counties and cities based upon a formula that first seeks to match each local government’s 2019 receipts from the franchise fees and other taxes eliminated as noted above, with remaining tax proceeds split between counties and cities on a population basis

• Imposition of a 2 percent state-only tax on direct-broadcast satellite service (Direct TV, Dish Network)

• Prohibition of other local taxes or fees on communications services providers, other than ad valorem taxes and 9-1-1 fees;

• Streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu are exempt from the communication services tax.

A fiscal analysis of HB 428 has not yet been provided by the state Office of Planning and Budget. While analysis of HB 428 continues, please contact Larry Ramsey ( [email protected]) with questions.

HB 411 - Prohibition on Placing Fees on Property Tax Bill

Rep. Brett Harrell has once again introduced a bill, HB 411, that would prohibit local governments from placing on the property tax bill any other fee or charge, such as solid waste/trash fees and stormwater fees. Instead, billing for such other fees would have to be separate, although they could be included in the same mailing as the property tax bill. Placing fees on property tax bills provides convenience to citizens, lowers counties’ administrative costs, and results in higher collection rates. Preservation of local control on this issue is an ACCG Priority. More information on the topic is included in ACCG's Legislative Toolkit, found here. 

Supreme Court of Georgia Issues Significant Opinions Affecting Counties

This week the Supreme Court issued two significant decisions of interest to local government. 

In Elliot v. State, the Court overturned the statute that allows failure to consent to a field sobriety test to be used in court against a person arrested for driving under the influence. The Court acknowledged that the State has a considerable interest in prosecuting DUI offenses (and thereby deterring others), and that the ruling may make that task more difficult. However, the Court concluded that the existing law violates the constitutional right against self-incrimination. The Court’s ruling may impact your law enforcement officials’ approach to handling DUI stops and prosecutions. The Court’s decision can be found here.

In Bellsouth Communications v. Cobb and Gwinnett Counties, the counties were seeking recovery of allegedly underpaid 9-1-1 fees from various telephone companies. Without reaching the question of whether 9-1-1 fees had actually been underpaid, the Supreme Court ruled against the counties and directed that the counties’ claims be dismissed. The Court said that 9-1-1 charges are a tax owed by the telephone customer and that state law does not provide a direct cause of action against the telephone companies to recover those taxes. The ruling only affects 9-1-1 charges prior to 2018 legislation, HB 751, which created a state 9-1-1- Authority and which was an ACCG legislative priority. The Court’s decision is available here.

REMINDER: New 911 Fees Remittance Process via GECA

The new process for 911 fees collection and disbursement through the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority (GECA) has begun. Click here to read the official message from GECA regarding the new process.