Twenty-five days down; fifteen to go.  The 2024 session is moving past quickly, and the all-important Crossover Day is less than a week away.  This week GMA saw several significant bills advance, and others appear to be stuck in committee.  We will continue to monitor all the bills that potentially affect Georgia cities, many of which are written up in this email report.  Be on the lookout for our Crossover Update next Friday.

Potentially Harmful SDS Bill Advances

• GMA’s primary concern is that the bill would add a mapping requirement for all services, which however well-intentioned, would become a state-mandated service delivery plan that violates the stated intent of SDS, which is to provide a flexible framework recognizing that each individual community has unique challenges and solutions.
• Specifically, lines 97-102 of the bill would require every city and every county to produce maps of all services in those areas of the city or county in which those services are not provided and are not planned.  For all those areas that are unserved, the maps would require an assignment of a service provider, even if that “service provider” does not actually provide the service anywhere.  Additionally, the bill requires every city and every county to produce maps of all services they already provide.  
• This unprecedented mapping requirement is a substantial burden and cost to cities (and counties) and would create unnecessary points of conflict.  The goal of the bill was to reduce conflict, but the bill would have just the opposite effect and create a new point of conflict.
• Assigning services to local governments that do not provide the service in question creates confusion among property owners, developers, investors, and job creators.  This is totally inconsistent with the state’s position as the best place to do business and with recent efforts to reduce red tape.
• In addition, cities need to understand some other aspects of the bill that are also troubling. Lines 290-296 require sanctions on all local governments even if only two local governments are in conflict. This is unnecessarily punitive on local governments who have no part in the disagreement.  A better option would be to impose sanctions only on the local governments who fail to adopt the findings and recommendations of the non-binding arbitration.
• Mandatory sanctions that would not allow the issuance of any state permits, grants or loans would put local governments in the position of not being able to comply with consent orders from regulatory agencies such as EPD and EPA, or to comply with legal settlement with agencies and the court system. 

CHOICE Act Out of Committee

House Bill 1266, also known as the CHOICE Act by Rep. Dale Washburn (R-Macon) is a legislative package that provides state-based incentives for localized zoning updates and other deregulatory actions. Participation is voluntary by municipal governments. 

The CHOICE Act incentivizes cities to adopt local ordinances, policies, and procedures that support the development of more housing options in their communities by awarding housing and infrastructure funding grants or loans.

Built into the CHOICE Act is a menu of reforms, de-regulatory actions, and policies local governments may enact, which in theory would decrease the cost per unit of new development. The focal point of the CHOICE Act is on denser development.

Incentives garnered for participation in the CHOICE Act are layered so that the more options your local government choses to enact, the more your government could receive in funding from existing and new sources.

HB 1266 had two hearings this week, the first in the House Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on State & Local Government, and the second in full committee where it received a favorable recommendation. The legislation is now pending before the House Rules Committee.

• The bill would increase the allowed limit on local sales taxes from 2 percent to 3 percent (allowing a rate of 7 percent in total) while eliminating a majority of exceptions to that limit. Sales taxes not included in the limit are ESPLOST, MOST, and one penny for transportation purposes, either the single county TSPLOST, the regional TSPLOST, or a MARTA tax.
• This bill would remove the prohibition against simultaneously levying a LOST and a HOST. The bill would also revise the provisions of HOST to require an agreement between the county and cities representing 50 percent of the municipal population before a HOST could be levied while guaranteeing a minimum benefit for all cities from the tax.
• Finally, the bill creates a new sales tax called the Flexible Penny Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST). This new sales tax would be available to counties and cities that have not reached the maximum allowable sales tax rate. To levy the tax the county and cities representing 50 percent of the municipal population would need to sign an intergovernmental agreement for the distribution of the funds and a local act by the general assembly would need to be passed before a referendum on the tax. The sales tax revenue from this new sales tax could then be used by each jurisdiction for property tax relief, similar to a LOST or OLOST.

• Speed cameras in school zones may be enforced only one hour prior to and one hour after the school's official start time and one hour prior to and two hours after the school's official dismissal time and when such violations are more than ten miles per hour over the speed limit.
• Prior to the placement of a speed camera in a school zone, the local governing body authorized to enforce the speed limit shall apply for and secure a permit from the Department of Transportation.
• Any agent, law enforcement agency, or governing body found to have intentionally violated the use of speed cameras in school zones, shall be assessed a fine of $2,500 for the first violation and $5,000 for the second violation.
• The commissioner of public safety is authorized to suspend all speed detection permits for a third violation.

Bills to Watch 

Community Development 

House Bill 514 by Rep. Dale Washburn (R-Macon) would create a six-month limitation on local zoning moratoriums. 
Status: Conference committee report has been issued, pending chamber action 
GMA Position: Neutral 

House Bill 1121 by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins) limits the ability of cities to prohibit short-term rentals that are in existence prior to any prohibition and provides a statutory process for cities to address violations by short-term rental operators. 
Status: pending in House Governmental Affairs Committee. 
GMA Position: Oppose 
 

Environment and Natural Resources 

House Bill 1146 by Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) would require the Georgia EPD to issue consumptive water permits to private companies without the consent of the relevant local government if said local government is unable to provide the water service within 12 months of the permit request. 
Status: passed House Natural Resources and Environment Committee on Thursday, Feb. 22 and is pending in House Rules Committee 
GMA Position: Oppose 
 

Municipal Government 

House Bill 456 by Rep. Stan Gunter (R-Blairsville) establishes a two-year term for all municipal court judges and provides a removal mechanism in the event of the breach of an employment agreement. 
Status: pending in Senate Judiciary Committee 
GMA Position: Support 

House Bill 461 by Rep. Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) would make revisions concerning a city's calculation of regulatory fees, specifically building inspection fees. 
Status: pending in Senate Finance Committee 
GMA Position: Neutral 

House Bill 1253 by Rep. Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia) would revise the process of election of regional commission councils, including the process of election of municipal elected officials on such councils. 
Status: passed House Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 21 and is pending in House Rules 
GMA Position: Neutral 
 

Public Safety 

Senate Bill 16 by Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell) would allow municipalities to establish EMS service areas and is a priority for GMA as we aim to address the critical need for efficient EMS response times. 
Status: pending in Senate Health and Human Services Committee 
GMA Position: Support 

House Bill 447 by Rep. Ken Vance (R-Milledgeville) provides that a person driving without insurance or with invalid vehicle registration may be subject to citation via electronic image (camera). The camera, affixed to an officer vehicle, will notify the officer of the violation, and the officer will then have the option to automatically issue a civil citation rather than initiate a traffic stop.  
Status: pending in House Rules Committee  
GMA Position: Support 
 

Revenue and Finance 

Senate Bill 349 by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) would improve the notice requirements for tax assessments and millage rate adjustments to be more transparent but would also allow for a statewide floating homestead exemption with a cap of 3 percent. 
Status: pending in House Ways & Means Committee  
GMA Position: Neutral 

House Bill 808 by Rep. Mike Cheokas (R-Americus) would increase the statewide ad valorem tax exemption for tangible personal property from $7,500 to $20,000. 
Status: Passed House Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday Feb. 21st and is pending in House Rules Committee 
GMA Position: Oppose 

House Bill 946 by Rep. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville) and Senate Bill 383 by Sen. Shelly Echols (R-Gainesville) would both allow for a referendum on a single-county T-SPLOST without the requirement of unanimous approval of the agreement by all local jurisdictions and provides protection for those jurisdictions that are not party to the agreement.  
Status: HB 946  passed the House on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and was assigned to Senate Finance Committee; SB 383 passed Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 21 and is pending in Senate Rules Committee 
GMA Position: Support

House Bill 1031 by Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) would require mandatory reappraisal of parcels at least once every three years and would require an estimated roll-back millage rate to be included on the annual notice of current assessment. 
Status: pending in House Rules Committee 
GMA Position: Support