Last Week Before Crossover Day Presents Looming Deadline

Crossover Day, the deadline for legislation to pass out of the chamber in which it originated, is Thursday, March 7. With less than one week until this critical deadline, Georgia's House and Senate members, as well as other key players in state government, are working tirelessly to get bills out of their original chamber to ensure the bills are eligible for passage this Session.

FY 2020 Budget Passes House

The FY 2020 Budget, also known as the big budget, passed the House will all county funding priorities included. Click here to review ACCG's overview of the Governor's proposed budget. Click here to access the Governor's budget report.

Georgia Mental Health Reform and Innovation Commission

HB 514 introduced by Rep. Kevin Tanner creates the Georgia Mental Health Reform and Innovation Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the mental health system in state. The review will include an assessment of available mental health services and facilities as well as the identification of mental health issues in children, adolescents and adults. 

The Commission will consist of 21 members with eight members appointed by the Governor to include the chair; four members by the Senate; four members by the Speaker; and three members by the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court. The Commission will be attached to the Office of Planning and Budget with administrative support provided by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. It will remain active through June 30, 2023.

Transit: New State Agency, Funding and Incentives



House Transportation Chairman Kevin Tanner introduced HB 511. This legislation streamlines statewide transit planning by creating one state agency responsible for transit. The bill designates eight mobility zones throughout the state, each overseen by a Mobility Manager and a council comprised of membership from the area’s Regional Commission.

HB 511 proposes a pilot project to provide tax credits for employers who invest in transit. Furthermore, pilot projects (subject to appropriations) would be created to provide transit vouchers to individuals in unemployed and underemployed areas of the state. New funding mechanisms include a sate excise tax on ride-hailing services and taxis and counties could implement a Single County Transit SPLOST.

Short-Term Rental Preemption Introduced

HB 523 was introduced late this week and broadly preempts almost all local government regulation of short-term rentals (defined in this bill as less than eight days): local governments could not prohibit them, require permits or registration, impose occupancy limits/duration limits/frequency limits. It is not clear whether this bill will progress this year, but needs to be followed closely by all counties with concerns about issues that arise from short-term rentals in local communities. Contact Larry Ramsey at [email protected] with questions about this bill.

Substitute to HB 465 to be Heard in Committee Monday

The Georgia Water Customer Bill of Rights of Act ( HB 465) will be heard in Committee Monday, March 4. Please review the most recent version here and provide any concerns and feedback to Kathleen Bowen at [email protected]. ACCG, GMA, the Georgia Association of Water Professionals are working with the author, so please provide feedback on this version of the bill.

HB 316 - Voting Machine/Elections Bill Clears House on 101-72 Vote

After extensive floor debate on Tuesday, HB 316 passed the House of Representatives. Under this bill, the state will purchase and provide Georgia counties new, uniform voting equipment for every county. This equipment consists of a touchscreen interface which produces a readable paper ballot that is then scanned into a recording device that tabulates votes.

 ACCG supports HB 316 as it meets the association’s policy position of equipment uniformity, administrative feasibility, producing a voter-verified paper trail, is readily audited, user-friendly, and does not consist of hand-marked paper ballots.  If your county concurs, please contact your Senator(s) and express your support for HB 316.     

 

To view ACCG’s HB 316 letter of support to House members, please click here .

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

 

HB 302 - Prohibition on Local Design Standards - Now has a Senate Companion

 

Just after last week’s ACCG update, Sen. John Wilkinson introduced SB 172 , the Senate companion to HB 302 which prohibits local governments’ ability to regulate building design elements in single or double family dwellings. Under these bills, communities will no longer have the ability to enact standards on:

 The bill then goes on to significantly limit other local zoning powers. Both SB 172 and HB 302 are being pushed by our state’s realtor and home building interests.

It is important that you let your Senate and House members know how you feel about this preemption of local zoning authority.   If interested, your county can officially express its position by adopting and sharing a resolution opposing HB 302 and SB 172. A sample resolution is available here .  

New COAG Pay Increase Bill Passes Senate Committee

Similar to HB 334 , SB 171 was introduced on Monday and has already passed the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee. This legislation first re-sets the base salaries for all local constitutional officers (sheriff, clerk of superior court, tax commissioner and probate judge) to their current amount, then increases the base salaries by 5 percent.  This is on top of the proposed 2 percent pay increase scheduled in the Governor's proposed FY 2020 budget (for state employees, which automatically applies to constitutional officers). 

ACCG believes that, in order to receive another pay increase, local constitutional officers should go through a similar process to what is required of county commissioners - provide a notice of intent and fiscal impact in the legal organ at least once a week for three consecutive weeks, then provide notice via a public hearing before a meeting of the respective county Board of Commissioners. 

To view constitutional officers' salaries, by participating counties, please click  here.

Communication Services Tax Bill Progresses

HB 428 passed out of the House Ways & Means Subcommittee this week. This bill overhauls the methods by which various communications services are taxed. As amended in Subcommittee, HB 428 would:

Streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) are exempt from the communication services tax and sales taxes under HB 428. Please contact Larry Ramsey ( [email protected]) with any questions.

No Fees on Tax Bills Proposal Remains in Play

A 2019 ACCG priority is preserving local governments’ ability to place fees and other charges on the property tax bill. This allows for better collection of those fees, which in turn avoids pressure to raise those fees to make up for those who refuse to pay. HB 411 preempts local governments’ authority to include in addition to property taxes on the tax bill.

While the bill has not progressed, it may pop up at any time. Let your legislators know that this is a matter best determined at the local level between county officials and the citizens who receive and rely on county services. More information on this issue is contained on page 9 of ACCG’s 2019 Legislative Toolkit. Please contact Larry Ramsey at [email protected] with any questions.

Tax Collection Modernization Bills Moving Forward in House

Building on legislation last year to require certain out-of-state sellers to collect Georgia state and local sales taxes, several bills are progressing in the House to further modernize tax collections and keep up with the modern economy. HB 276 would require online platforms such as Amazon, Uber/Lyft, AirBnb/VRBO) to collect sales taxes on transactions facilitated through their online platforms, if those platforms facilitate at least $100,000 in Georgia sales annually. Under HB 448, AirBnb and similar platforms would also be required to collect local hotel/motel taxes, and HB 378 would require rental car platforms to collect sales and excise taxes.

All of these bills passed out of the House Ways & Means Subcommittee today and be available for a House vote next week. For more information on any of these bills, please contact Larry Ramsey at [email protected].

Commissioners Visit Gold Dome for Capitol Connection Conference

More than 250 county officials visited the Atlanta for the 2019 Capitol Connection Conference. On Thursday, county officials gathered at the Depot for a joint legislative breakfast with state legislators, city officials, and representatives from the Georgia Municipal Association. Keynote speakers during the breakfast included Governor Kemp, Lt. Governor Duncan, DOR Commissioner Lynne Riley, and House Speaker David Ralston.

Immediately following the breakfast, county officials spent time at the Capitol working on significant issues ranging including preemptions on local design standards and the mandated pay raise for constitutional officers. ACCG leadership also met with Governor Kemp to discuss priority issues such as mental health, replacement of voting equipment, rural broadband and 5G deployment, and the importance of local control.