February 17, 2023
Volume 14, Issue 6
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Truck Weight Bill Update, Legal Organ Bill Receives First Hearing, Plus More |
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Things are picking up under the Gold Dome as many bills impacting counties were either introduced, received hearings, or progressed this week. The ACCG Governmental Affairs Team continues to work diligently on behalf of Georgia's counties. With that, and as you will see in today's Legislative Update, they need your input, feedback, or engagement with legislators on certain bills. During session, the success of counties depends upon the ACCG membership working with our Governmental Affairs Team to educate House and Senate members on the real world consequences of statewide policies established under the Gold Dome.
Next week marks the 7th week of the legislative session and Crossover Day, scheduled for March 6, is quickly approaching. Be sure to remain engaged and stay informed by reading ACCG's Legislative Update.
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Reminder: Register for the 2023 Legislative Breakfast
There is still time for your county to register for the 2023 Legislative Breakfast. The event will take place on Thursday, March 9 at 7 a.m. in the Freight Room of the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot. House Speaker Jon Burns, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and state Revenue Commissioner Frank O'Connell will address county officials during the event. Invited speakers include Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, and transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry.
Accept the county challenge and invite your legislators to attend this event with you. Submit their RSVP's to Tottianna Davis at [email protected]. Click here for more information.
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Click here to review the list of this week's bills. |
Access the Legislative Tracking Database for a compilation of all bills ACCG is following. |
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Truck Weight Legislation Updates
Contact Your House and Senate Members to Share County Concerns
A Senate version of truck weight increase legislation, Senate Bill 165, has been introduced, and on Thursday, February 16, the House Rules Committee sent House Bill 189 back to the House Transportation Committee. ACCG expects HB 189 to be amended in committee next week. Both SB 165 and House Bill 189 increase the weight limits from 80,000 to 90,000 lbs. for all five-axle commercial trucks. See here for a map showing Georgia's current closed/posted bridges and the new bridges that will be posted if SB 165 or HB 189 become law.
Contact your House and Senate delegation and share your county’s concerns using the HB 189 Talking Points.
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Legal Organ Bill Receives First Hearing
Contact House Judiciary Committee to Urge Their Support
On Thursday, House Bill 254 received its first hearing and passed out of a House Judiciary Subcommittee. HB 254 provides more flexibility to counties regarding the advertisement of public notices. According to the bill, if a legal organ fails to publish a legal advertisement, having posted a notice simultaneously on a website will serve to meet state notice requirements.
As much needed legal organ revisions are very difficult to pass, please contact members of the House Judiciary Committee and urge their support on HB 254.
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Deputy Director of Governmental Affairs Todd Edwards (left) and Jim Thornton, Governmental Relations Director with the Georgia Municipal Association, testify on HB 254. |
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ACCG Requests State Prisoner Housing Per Diem Increase
Contact House Appropriations Public Safety Subcommittee to Express Support
On Monday, February 13, the House Appropriations Public Safety Subcommittee allowed for public comment on appropriations requests. ACCG requested that the General Assembly raise the per diem from $30 to $40 for state prisoners housed at county jails and from $22 to $30 for correctional institutions. This is 2023 ACCG Policy Objective.
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Legislation Will Require a Data Privacy Program for Local Government Contractors
Submit Your Feedback to ACCG
Senate Bill 161 by Sen. John Kennedy requires that all vendors which enter into contracts with local governments be compliant with an external data privacy program. Local governments must require this in these contracts. In the event of a data breach, contractors must notify the local government and take action to preserve forensic evidence, eliminate the cause of the data breach, and take other measures.
Please have your county’s procurement staff review this bill and send any feedback to Todd Edwards ([email protected]).
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Public Bid Requirements for Public Works Projects Legislation Passes House
House Bill 193, sponsored by Rep. Victor Anderson, passed the House on Thursday, February 16. This bill raises the dollar amount threshold required to bid out public works projects from $100,000 to $250,000 - saving counties time and effort by not having to bid out small projects.
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ACCG Policy Objective Advances
Proposed Constitutional Amendment to Waive Delinquent Taxes at Tax Sale
Senate Resolution 82, which would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to waive delinquent taxes at tax sale, passed the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee by unanimous vote. The revised language of the substitute protects against potential gaming of the system, either at a waiver sale or through a right of redemption. It still accomplishes ACCG’s core goals of selling these abandoned properties at tax sale and returning them to effective utilization status, where they will generate future revenue for the counties.
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Soil Amendment Legislation Introduced
House Bill 477, authored by Rep. Rob Leverett, allows counties to partner with the Georgia Department of Agriculture to ensure that soil amendments are appropriately applied. The bill requires the state Agriculture Commissioner to share information with county governing authorities and grants limited regulatory and enforcement authority to counties.
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Legislation Authorizing Online Participation in Judicial and Tax Sales Advances
Senate Bill 13, which authorizes optional online participation in Judicial and Tax Sales, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. A House version, House Bill 418, was introduced this week and will be working its way through the other chamber.
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Multiple Election Bills Introduced This Week
This week, Rep. Saira Draper introduced House Bill 419 which provides that general election candidates who receive at least 45% of the vote would win an election. Current law requires a runoff election, at significant county taxpayer expense, if a candidate does not receive at least 50% of the vote.
Rep. Shaw Blackmon introduced House Bill 426, which unseals ballots required to be kept by counties following election certification. The purpose of this bill is to allow the public to inspect the ballots; however, because the public cannot handle them, county staff would likely have to handle the ballots for the public's review. There are no limits on public inquiries.
Sen. Max Burns introduced Senate Bill 189, which provides that the text portion of the paper ballot now constitutes the official vote for purposes of vote tabulation in Georgia. It does not appear that the state’s current voting machines can read the text portion; thus, new machines would be required statewide, or county election officials would have to hand count all ballots.
Senate Bill 212, also introduced by Sen. Burns, would remove the ability of Georgia’s probate judges to administer elections. Counties in which probate judges serve as election superintendents have until Oct. 31, 2023, to establish a board of elections and registration to assume the role of election superintendent. The bill dictates how these boards are to be appointed.
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Corporate Subdivision Preemption Reemerges
Senate Bill 188, by Sen. Russ Goodman, was introduced on Thursday. This legislation prohibits local governments from addressing corporate rental subdivisions through any regulation, restriction, or condition that is not the same for single-family residential areas. Effectively, it allows unlimited access for hedge funds, private equity firms, and other investors to buy or develop “build-to-rent” subdivisions in areas where homes have traditionally been for sale. Georgia, particularly the metro Atlanta area, already leads the nation in investor-owned rental housing.
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Legislation Requires Counties to Accept New Mobile Homes to Replace Nonconforming Ones
Senate Bill 213, by Sen. Max Burns, requires counties to allow new mobile homes to replace existing mobile homes - those located in a community/park or on other residential land - without enforcing any zoning, regulation, or restriction and without imposing any conditions on the new home that are not required of the existing, non-conforming mobile home.
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From left to right: Director of Governmental Affairs Clint Mueller, Brad Mock with the Georgia Realtors' Association, and GMA Director of Governmental Relations Jim Thornton speaking on housing issues to the Legislative Working Families Caucus. |
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Virtual Legislative Update Replay
Watch the replay of this week's Virtual Legislative Update here. As a reminder, join the ACCG Governmental Affairs team every Friday at 9:00 a.m. during the legislative session. This is a recurring event, so county officials can access the meeting each week through this link.
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Has your county registered for the 2023 Legislative Breakfast? Have you shared details about this event with and invited your legislators? If not, there is still time! The 2023 Legislative Breakfast will take place on March 9 in the Freight Room of the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot.
Attendees will receive briefings and updates from key state leaders and the ACCG Governmental Affairs team as pressing issues move through the state’s legislative process. They will also have the opportunity to hear firsthand from decision makers about the impact of proposed legislation and what it means to Georgia’s counties.
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Stay Connected and Engaged! |
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Weekly Friday Lobbyist Meeting Returns in Person
The Governmental Affairs team will host in-person meetings periodically on several Fridays during the 2023 legislative session. These meetings are for county contract lobbyists, county officials, and county staff who want to strategize and discuss legislation impacting counties in more detail. These in person meetings will occur on February 24, March 10, and March 24 from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. in Room 328 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building. The building address is 18 Capitol Square, Atlanta, Georgia 30334 – right across the street from the Capitol.
ACCG Administrative and Policy Coordinator Tottianna Davis ([email protected]) will issue reminders about the meeting, including details such as the location and time. Please email her if you would like to be added to the distribution list to receive details.
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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.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - February 16, 2023
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - February 16, 2023
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - February 16, 2023
Chattanooga Times Free Press - February 15, 2023
Morgan County Citizen - February 14, 2023
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Questions? Email the
ACCG Governmental Affairs 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 Governmental Affairs team if they can assist in any way. |
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