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Legislative Alert
March 13, 2009 - Legislative Alert
No. 9 / March 13, 2009
Crossover Day Now Behind Us
Yesterday was day 30, or Crossover Day, of the 2009 Legislative Session, the
last day a bill can be passed by the House and sent to the Senate, and vice
versa. While this day is important and effectively stops some bills in their
tracks, it doesn?t mean the language in a piece of stalled legislation can?t
find its way onto a still active bill. With only 10 legislative days left,
you?ll now see increased legislative action and debate. The General Assembly is
tentatively scheduled to adjourn on April 3.
Transportation Legislation Update
With the differing House and Senate transportation funding options still alive,
along with the Governor?s proposal to create the State Transportation
Authority, political and legislative maneuvering will ratchet up on this issue.
In fact, it began yesterday when the Senate Finance Committee replaced the
language in the House?s state-wide 10-year, one-percent sales transportation
sales tax proposal with the language from the Senate?s regional local option
sales tax bill, which GMA opposes. The key for city officials on the two
transportation funding options is for meaningful city participation in
identifying and prioritizing local projects to be funded; GMA will continue to
work toward that end.
GMA continues to urge city officials to read it?s analysis of SB 200, the
Transforming Transportation Investment Act, and to express any concerns you may
have about it with your House members. The House Transportation Committee is
scheduled to hear SB 200 on Monday, March 16 at 2:00 pm.
GMA anticipates a convergence of the two funding bills and the reorganization
bill and will keep you updated as the session moves forward.
Motor Vehicle Title Fee
House Bill 480, Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell)
GMA Position: Evaluating
Contact: Gwin Hall, ghall@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6212
Status: Passed the House on day 30 and is now pending in the Senate Finance
Committee.
HB 480 would eliminate the sales tax and ad valorem tax on motor vehicles
titled in Georgia after January 2010 and creates a 7% title fee. Specifically,
the bill would do the following:
The title fee would be capped at $2000 and would be charged on all vehicles
titled in Georgia, including those sold through casual sales.
The fee would be collected on a county basis, so fees from titles in a county
would be attributed to that county and the local share would stay there, to be
shared between the cities, county and school systems.
In 2010, local governments would receive 52% of the total fee. The local share
would increase 2% a year until reaching 60% in 2014 when it would sunset unless
it was reinstated by the legislature.
Local funds from the fee would first be used to "true-up" any decrease in ad
valorem taxes with the goal of making sure each local government in a county
received a share that would keep it whole with respect to revenue from ad
valorem taxes collected in 2009. Any excess local funds would be distributed in
a manner mirroring local sales tax distributions.
GMA continues to discuss this legislation with the author.
Local Ethics Boards Required
Senate Bill 96, Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta)
GMA Position: Neutral
Contact: Marcia Rubensohn, mrubensohn@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6248
Status: Passed the Senate on day 30 and is now awaiting committee assignment in
the House.
Local Government Equipment Financing Authority
House Bill 553, Rep. John Lunsford (R-McDonough)
GMA Position: Support
Contact: Lamar Norton, lnorton@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6273
Status: Passed the House on day 30 and is now awaiting committee assignment in
the Senate.
HB 553 would allow an authority to be created that could issue tax-exempt
municipal bonds. Such an authority would lower the cost of borrowing for local
governments.
Local Ordinance Preemption: Production of Ag/Farm Products
House Bill 529, Rep. Tom McCall (R-Elberton)
GMA Position: Neutral
Contact: Tom Gehl, tgehl@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6247
Status: Passed the House on day 30 and is now pending in the Senate Agriculture
& Consumer Affairs Committee.
Industrialized Buildings: Exempt from Local Ordinances
House Bill 516, Rep. Jay Roberts (R-Ocilla)
GMA Position: Oppose
Contact: Lamar Norton, lnorton@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6273
Status: Passed the House on day 30 and is now pending in the Senate Agriculture
& Consumer Affairs Committee.
Reduce Threshold for Electronic Filing
House Bill 334, Rep. David Knight (R-Griffin)
GMA Position: Support
Contact: Gwin Hall, ghall@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6212
Status: Passed the House and is now pending in the Senate Finance Committee.
HB 334 would lower the threshold for filing sales taxes and certain other taxes
electronically from $5000 to $1000 and then to $500. Reducing this threshold
should speed up the processing and distribution of local sales taxes.
Immigration Verification Statutes: Grantees to Submit Written Compliance
House Bill 2, Rep. Tom Rice (R-Norcross)
GMA Position: Oppose
Contact: Ted Baggett, tbaggett@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6210
Status: Passed the House on day 30 and is now awaiting committee assignment in
the Senate.
HB 2 would require that recipients of LARP funds specify to DOT in writing
their compliance with e-Verify and SAVE programs provisions. These programs
require verification of legal status of employees and public benefit recipients
respectively.
Cell Tower Siting Restrictions
Senate Bill 192, Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta)
GMA Position: Evaluating
Contact: Marcia Rubensohn, mrubensohn@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6248
Status: Did not pass out of the Senate by day 30. Pending in the Senate Rules
Committee.
Fine Add-Ons: Penalties for Late Remittance
Senate Bill 127, Sen. John Wiles (R-Marietta)
GMA Position: Oppose
Contact: Ted Baggett, tbaggett@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6210
Status: Did not pass out of the Senate by day 30. Pending in the Senate Rules
Committee.
Deannexation
House Bill 558, Rep. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming)
GMA Position: Oppose
Contact: Lamar Norton, lnorton@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6273
Status: Did not pass out of the House by day 30. Pending in the House Rules
Committee.
? 1997 - 2009 Georgia Municipal Association
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