March 4, 2022
Volume 13, Issue 8
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General Assembly Pushes Mandate for Sheriff Salary Supplement - Contact House Rules Committee
On Tuesday, March 1, House Bill 830 passed out of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee. This bill will require counties to pay their sheriff for each additional court they serve beyond the Superior Court. Current law provides that sheriffs can only receive this supplement for one court regardless of the number of the courts served. At $4,630.80 per court, most counties will be mandated to increase their sheriff’s salary by $13,892 for three additional courts. This is in addition to the mandated $5,000 cost of living adjustment that counties must pay, totaling $18,892.
ACCG opposes this bill. This bill is now in the House Rules Committee. ACCG encourages county officials to reach out to representatives on the House Rules Committee and ask them to vote NO on HB 830. Please let your legislators know what mandated percentage increase in salary your sheriffs will receive from these changes and how that compares to the salary increases you are providing to the employees of the Sheriff’s Office.
Photo: ACCG Legislative Associate Gabriel Carter testifying against HB 830 in House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.
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Hearing for Annexation Bill Scheduled for Monday - Contact House Governmental Affairs Committee
The annexation reform bill, House Bill 1461, will receive a hearing before the House Governmental Affairs subcommittee this coming Monday, March 7, at 9:00 a.m. in Room 506 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB) - across the street from the Capitol. This legislation resulted from the 2021 House Study Committee on Annexation and makes many beneficial changes to Georgia’s annexation dispute resolution/arbitration process. ACCG supports HB 1461.
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Click on "This Week's Bills" to review the bills included in this week's Legislative Update. |
Access the Legislative Tracking Database for a compilation of all bills ACCG is following. |
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Bill Increasing Truck Weight Limits Gets Hearing - Contact House Transportation Committee
On Thursday, during a House Transportation Committee meeting, a substitute version of House Bill 496 was presented. The new version of this bill creates an “Annual Natural Resources Permit” that would allow vehicles hauling raw forest products, agricultural commodities, and minerals to reach a total gross weight of up to 95,000 pounds. As originally introduced, the bill only applied to logging trucks, now applies to more industries.
Click here to view the committee meeting recording where ACCG spoke in opposition. No vote was taken on HB 496, but counties are encouraged to contact House Transportation Committee members to express concerns that heavier trucks accelerate the deterioration of local roads and bridges.
Photo: ACCG Associate Legislative Director Kathleen Bowen testifying against HB 496 in House Transportation Committee.
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Coroner Pay and Benefit Increase Bill Hearing Set for Monday - Contact House Governmental Affairs Committee
House Bill 1329, which mandates counties to increase coroners’ salaries and benefits, is set to receive a hearing in the General Government Subcommittee of the House Governmental Affairs Committee on Monday, March 7. This legislation sets up a state-mandated base pay scale for all county coroners and throws in a significant raise - similar to what is in statute for constitutional officers. Furthermore, the office of coroner will become a full-time job, and the county governing authority shall provide the coroner the same employment benefits it provides other constitutional officers.
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Bill Authorizing Probate Judges to Shed Election Duties Also on House Governmental Affairs Subcommittee Hearing Schedule for Monday
House Bill 975 is also scheduled to be heard by the House General Government Subcommittee on Monday, March 7. This legislation authorizes probate judges who serve as election superintendents, in which there are approximately 30 in the state who serve in this dual capacity, to terminate their election responsibilities by giving written notice to the county governing authority. This can already be done through local legislation. Please contact members of the House Governmental Affairs Committee to let them know that ACCG opposes this legislation.
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Expansion of Exempt Farm Equipment from Ad Valorem Taxes - Discuss with Your Legislators
Two bills would expand the types of farm equipment exempt from ad valorem taxes. House Bill 997 exempts all off-road equipment used for the harvesting of timber from ad valorem taxes. Senate Bill 172 would exempt all crop-dusting planes from ad valorem taxes. Rural counties should discuss the financial impact of these two bills with their legislators.
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Mental Health Bill Moves Forward
After three substantive committee hearings, House Bill 1013, The Mental Health Parity Act, unanimously passed out of the House Health and Human Services Committee. House Speaker David Ralston provided an inspiring and insightful testimony before the bill was taken for a vote. This bill will come up for a vote on the House floor on Tuesday, March 8.
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Call Before You Dig Law Passes House Committee
House Bill 1372, by Rep. Vance Smith, passed the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee. This legislation makes many changes to Georgia’s call before you dig law, including measures requiring local governments with underground electric or electrically powered traffic control devices and traffic management systems to become members of the Georgia Utility Protection Center (UPC) and start locating these devices and systems by January 1, 2024.
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County Contracting with Cities to Collect City Revenues
On Thursday morning, House Bill 1280 was passed out of the full Ways & Means Committee and is headed to Rules. This bill is a culmination of an effort between ACCG, the Georgia Municipal Association, and the Georgia Association of Tax Officials to create a uniform process for cities to contract with the county for the collection of city revenues.
HB 1280 establishes the provision of a three-way contract between the county, municipality, and the local tax commissioner. This contract lays out the exact services expected of the tax commissioner, the amount paid by the municipality to the county for services rendered, and any additional personal compensation for the tax commissioner. This bill does cap additional compensation received by the tax commissioner at 50% of the base salary paid by a county.
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Bills to Prohibit Local Governments from Regulating Corporate Rental Subdivisions Still Pending
On Tuesday, Senate Bill 494 received a hearing in the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee, but it did not receive a vote. On the House side, House Bill 1093 has still not received a vote in the Judiciary Committee. Both bills, opposed by ACCG, prohibit local governments from regulating rental subdivisions any different than subdivisions with homes for sale. For counties considering opposing these bills, a draft resolution can be accessed here.
To view the Senate SLGO Committee’s hearing on SB 494, please click here.
Photo: ACCG Legislative Director Todd Edwards (right) and Columbia County Chairman Doug Duncan (left) testify against SB 494 in the Senate SLGO Committee.
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Legislators Continue to Recognize Faults with Georgia's Antiquated Legal Organ/Notification Process
Sen. Greg Dolezal has introduced Senate Bill 590, the latest bill offering a different option for counties to meet Georgia’s antiquated legal notification mandates. The bill allows counties that have at least one public library offering free internet access to designate the official local government website as its official legal organ to post official notices of the county. The county must go through the established notification process to switch to this posting option. ACCG supports this bill.
Gun Bills on the Move
This week the Senate passed Senate Bill 259, prohibiting local governments from regulating the discharge of firearms on a property of 10 acres or more and Senate Bill 319, authorizing Georgians to carry a concealed firearm without obtaining a weapons carry license so long as they are legally eligible to carry a gun. Over in the House, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee passed House Bill 1358, also allowing the carrying of concealed weapons without a license.
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Federal Transportation Funding Opportunities |
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NACo Releases New Resource Page with Funding Opportunities
The National Association of Counties (NACo) recently released a new resource that breaks down county-accessible funding opportunities in the federal Bipartisan infrastructure Law (BIL) into an easy-to-use, searchable and sortable table. This resource page includes links to BIL funding opportunities that are NOW AVAILABLE. Presently, there are five open Notices of Funding Opportunities that have been made available by the BIL. Additional opportunities will be added as they are made available through the federal government. Learn more here: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Implementing Infrastructure Investments at the County Level.
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Stay Connected and Engaged! |
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Virtual Legislative Update Recap
Did you miss this morning's Virtual Legislative Update? Don't worry. Catch the recap here.
Don't forget to join us every Friday at 9:00 a.m. on Zoom. County officials can access the meeting each week using this link.
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Policy Communication Tools
Don't forget about the various communications tools that will help keep you informed and engaged. Click here to read all about them!
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News You Can Use - Articles Related to ACCG Policy Issues
Articles covering some of ACCG's major policy issues are found here. Click the hyperlinked title to begin reading.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Wildlife Division) - February 28, 2022
Now Habersham - March 3, 2022
Georgia Public Broadcasting - March 1, 2022
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Questions? Email the
ACCG Legislative team:
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ACCG is YOUR county association. We are here to advance all Georgia county governments. Please feel free to contact a member of the policy team if they can assist in any way.
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