Legislative Alert
GMA Legislative Alert
No. 11 / March 27, 2009
Transportation Update
As we wrote in the Legislative Alert two weeks ago, the political and
legislative maneuvering surrounding Georgia?s transportation funding needs has
indeed ratcheted up. With numerous bills, substitutes to bills and potential
amendments to bills under consideration, we cannot tell you with certainty 1)
which bill will move forward, and 2) what language it will contain. But what we
can tell you is this; GMA?s primary concern has been, and will continue to be,
for meaningful city participation in identifying and prioritizing local
projects to be funded.
The next seven days is that last chance for you as a city official to get
involved and make your case for the role of cities in identifying and
prioritizing local transportation needs. GMA urges you to contact your House
and Senate member(s) and let them know that any local funding option (T-SPLOST,
regional T-SPLOST, etc.) that may be passed needs to include meaningful city
participation in determining and prioritizing which projects get funded. This
can achieved by requiring counties and cities to enter into an
intergovernmental agreement outlining project selection and funding.
Motor Vehicle Title Fee
House Bill 480, Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell)
GMA Position: Oppose
Contact: Gwin Hall, ghall@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6212
Status: Pending in the Senate Rules 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 that is
currently capped at $1500 per title. Vehicles purchased in 2009 would be able
to opt-in to the new system starting in 2010. The title fee would apply to all
motor vehicle sales, including casual sales, and would be split between the
state and local governments. HB 480 would sunset at the end of 2014 unless it
was reinstated by the legislature.
The most recent fiscal note for this bill indicates that local governments
(city, counties and schools) in the aggregate would initially come out ahead
but would start to lose revenue under HB480 starting in 2013. Revenues would
decline more in 2014. A number of cities have reviewed the impact of this
legislation on their specific revenue streams and have determined that they
would experience revenue losses under HB480 more quickly.
Please contact your Senators and ask them to oppose HB 480.
Metal Theft: Tools for Law Enforcement
Senate Bill 82, Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford)
GMA Position: Support
Contact: Ted Baggett, tbaggett@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6210
Status: Passed the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee on March 27 and is now
pending in the House Rules Committee.
Code Enforcement Officers: Training, Other Provisions
Senate Bill 188, Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford)
GMA Position: Support
Contact: Ted Baggett, tbaggett@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6210
Status: Passed the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee on March 27 and is now
pending in the House Rules Committee.
Prompt Deed Recording
Senate Bill 141, Sen. Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton)
GMA Position: Support
Contact: Marcia Rubensohn, mrubensohn@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6248
Status: Scheduled to be heard by the House on Monday, March 30.
TADs and PILOTs
House Bill 63, Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs)
GMA Position: Neutral
Contact: Susan Moore, smoore@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6211
Status: Pending in the Senate Rules Committee.
Firefighters: Limit Disclosure of Information
Senate Bill 26, Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth)
GMA Position: Neutral
Contact: Ted Baggett, tbaggett@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6210
Status: Scheduled to be heard by the House on Monday, March 30.
SB 26 would exempt from public disclosure under the Open Records Act the home
address, social security number, telephone number, insurance or medical
information of firefighters. It would also exempt account numbers, including
utility account numbers, and passwords from public disclosure.
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: Pending in the Senate Rules Committee.
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.
Immigration Verification Mandates: Loss of Funding
Senate Bill 20, Sen. Chip Pearson (R-Dawsonville)
GMA Position: Oppose
Contact: Lamar Norton, lnorton@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6273
Status: Pending in the House Rules Committee.
SB 20 would allow the withholding of all state and state administered federal
funds from cities if cities adopt policies that "prohibit or restrict local
officials from communicating or cooperating with federal officials or law
enforcement officers" in regards to immigration issues. No cities in Georgia
are currently enacting sanctuary policies.
Heavy-duty Equipment Motor Vehicle Taxes
House Bill 318, Rep. Tom McCall (R-Elberton)
GMA Position: Oppose
Contact: Gwin Hall, ghall@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6212
Status: Pending in the Senate Rules Committee.
The Senate Finance Committee added a provision to this bill that would create a
two year property tax exemption for heavy equipment vehicles. Local governments
would lose approximately $58 million in revenue over the two years if this
provision stays in the bill.
LOST Dispute Resolution; T-SPLOST for Counties without LOST
House Bill 56, Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs)
GMA Position: Support
Contact: Gwin Hall, ghall@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6212
Status: Pending in the Senate Rules Committee.
HB 56 prevents the lapsing of LOST by one party's refusal to sign the
distribution certificate by creating a ?baseball arbitration? process in which
a senior judge selects the most appropriate proposal in the event of a
deadlock. Also, the Senate Finance Committee added a provision to this bill
that would allow counties that do not have a LOST to levy a SPLOST for
transportation purposes. As a condition of doing so, the county would be
required to into an intergovernmental agreement with one or more qualified
municipalities containing at least half of the municipal population in the
county.
Bills that have passed both the House and Senate
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 Senate on March 26 and will now be sent to the Governor.
Unidentifiable Sales Tax Collections
House Bill 181, Rep. Rick Austin (R-Demorest)
GMA Position: Support
Contact: Gwin Hall, ghall@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6212
Status: Passed the Senate on March 26 and will now be sent to the Governor.
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 Senate on March 26 and will now be sent to the Governor.
Temporary Freeze on Assessment Increases
House Bill 233, Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta)
GMA Position: Oppose
Contact: Gwin Hall, ghall@gmanet.com, (678) 686-6212
Status: Passed the Senate on March 26 and will now be sent to the Governor.
? 1997 - 2009 Georgia Municipal Association
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