January 19, 2024
Volume 15, Issue 2
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General Assembly Prioritizes Budget During
Second Week of Legislative Session
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While the Georgia General Assembly was in recess this week, legislators conducted joint appropriations hearings on Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposed Amended FY 2024 and FY 2025 budgets, the only bills that are required by the state Constitution to be adopted each session.
Following presentations by the governor and the state economist, House and Senate Appropriations Committee members heard from more than 40 state constitutional officers, agency heads, commissions, authorities, offices, and other officials on their respective budget proposals, which can be found here. To view respective state agencies’ budget presentations, please click here and select the “Joint Budget Hearings” tab.
This week’s ACCG Legislative Update primarily focuses on the Governor’s proposed AFY 2024 and FY 2025 budget changes that impact ACCG’s Policy Agenda and Georgia’s counties. For a more detailed overview on those proposed items, click here to review ACCG's budget summary.
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Legislative Calendar Set for 2024 |
House and Senate members adopted House Resolution 779, the adjournment resolution, which sets the legislative schedule for the remainder of the 2024 session.
Important dates:
- Thursday, February 29 - Crossover Day, also known as Legislative Day 28, the deadline for a bill to progress out of its originating chamber.
- Thursday, March 28 - Sine Die, also known as Legislative Day 40, the last day of the legislative session.
For the entire calendar, please click here.
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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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Election Bills Popular Once Again |
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Election bills prove to be popular again in both chambers this legislative session. In the House, Rep. Martin Momtahan introduced House Bill 948 which prohibits bar codes or QR codes from being used on the paper ballots produced by electronic ballot markers and House Bill 949 which prohibits voting systems or devices from utilizing any form of wireless network cards or wireless technology. In the Senate, Sen. Randy Robertson introduced Senate Bill 355, to prohibit rank-choice voting as an option for counties seeking to avoid costly runoff elections.
ACCG will continue to track all election bills, providing input only on those impacting county costs, administrative feasibility, and home rule in administering elections.
Staff Contact: Deputy Director of Governmental Affairs Todd Edwards; tedwards@accg.org
Single-County TSPLOST Bill Seeks Changes to Existing Law
With House Bill 946, Rep. Lee Hawkins seeks changes to the existing Single-County TSPLOST law. Changes include adding language from the local option sales tax (LOST) law so that once a city or cities making up more than 50% of the municipal population sign an intergovernmental agreement (IGA), the tax may be levied up to the full 1%. The remaining cities that do not sign will be considered absent municipalities. Absent municipalities will receive a share of the tax based on no less than their proportionate share of the total municipal population and total municipal centerline miles in the county. In addition, if all cities agree to sign the IGA, the tax may be levied for up to six years instead of five. This bill is a 2024 ACCG Policy Agenda item.
Staff Contact: Associate Director of Governmental Affairs Martha Revelo; mrevelo@accg.org
Resolution Calls for Constitutional Amendment to Increase Flexibility in Local Government Finance
House Resolution 804, introduced by Rep. Chuck Martin, calls for a constitutional amendment to allow local governments 12 calendar months to pay back a tax anticipation note (TAN). Under current law, the local governments must pay back a TAN by the end of the calendar year on December 31, regardless of when the TAN originated. This added flexibility would assist local governments with budgeting.
Legislation to Remove Confusing Tax Estimate on Assessment Notice Filed in House
House Bill 944, introduced by Rep. Lee Hawkins, would remove the tax estimate from the assessment notice sent to property owners. Since current-year millage rates are often unavailable when notices are issued, the tax estimate tends to be inaccurate. Additionally, estimates do not always factor in exemptions such as homestead exemptions and never factor in credits such as homeowner tax relief grants. HB 944 also extends the time a homeowner may apply for a homestead exemption, which is taxpayer friendly.
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New Bill Seeks to Address the Use of Speed Detection Devices
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House Bill 935, by Rep. Ken Vance, seeks to revise the use of speed detection devices in school zones. This bill limits the time in which speed detection cameras can be used to one hour prior and 30 minutes after school starts and 30 minutes prior and one hour after school dismisses. Most importantly, this bill places the authority to determine the placement of speed detection cameras in the hands of local governments rather than the local school or school board.
Legislation to Roll Out Judicial Salary Restructuring Plan
House Bill 947, authored by Representative Robert Leverett, seeks to codify the proposed budget changes regarding superior court judges. This bill will require superior court judges’ salary be primarily covered through state funds, meaning that counties will no longer be able to give salary supplements at their discretion. County salary supplements, otherwise known as “locality play”, will be capped at 10% of the judge’s total salary. This law would go into effect on July 1, 2024. However, this legislation delays the enforcement of this change in compensation structure until July 1, 2025. This delay will allow local officials whose salaries are linked to the superior court judge adequate time to un-tie them.
ACCG has data from several sources on counties that tied positions to superior court judges’ salaries. It is important that the data we have on file is correct in that we have asked for a delay in implementation so that counties that tie positions to the superior court judges’ salary have the time and opportunity to untie these positions as need be before the law becomes effective. Click here to review the data to ensure your county’s information is correct. All corrections and confirmations can be sent to Michele NeSmith at mnesmith@accg.org
Housing Task Force Releases Draft Recommendations
Over the summer, at the urging of the Governor’s Office and other legislative leadership, ACCG met several times with the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Home Builders Association of Georgia, the Georgia Association of Realtors, and Habitat for Humanity to develop recommendations to address the state’s housing affordability and accessibility challenges. Representing ACCG were First Vice President and Toombs County Chairman David Sikes, Bryan County Chairman Carter Infinger, Henry County Chairman Carlotta Harrell, Columbia County Manager Scott Johnson, and Cherokee County Community Development Director Brantley Day. This Housing Task Force has released its draft recommendations for your review and comment.
The draft recommendations include the “CHOICE Act”, which is proposed legislation that would require cities and counties to have adopted, from a list, various zoning/land use policies to receive preferential treatment for housing funding from the Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
The draft also includes a list of non-binding best practices for local governments to consider when promoting housing along with suggested changes to state law and regulations.
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Important Reminders
These bills went into effect on January 1, 2024
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9-1-1 Telephone CPR Law Goes into Effect
With the passage of Senate Bill 505 in 2022, 9-1-1 communications officers are now required to receive telephone CPR (T-CPR) training as of January 1, 2024. By January 1, 2025, no one will be certified by the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council if they have not completed this new requirement.
Elimination of EMS Ambulance License Fee
With House Bill 453 being passed into law, the ambulance license fee levied on ambulance service providers and individual ambulances has been eliminated as of January 1, 2024. While ACCG is still pursuing more state funding for EMS, we are hopeful that this law will put more funds back into the pockets of EMS providers, which are often counties. We believe this will further help counties provide high-quality emergency medical care.
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Governmental Affairs Team in Action |
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ACCG Governmental Affairs Associate Dante Handel and ACCG Deputy Director of Governmental Affairs Todd Edwards review ACCG's 2024 Policy Agenda with Senate Minority Caucus Chair Elena Parent |
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ACCG Deputy Director of Governmental Affairs Todd Edwards and ACCG Director of Governmental Affairs Clint Mueller meet with GMA Director of Government Affairs Jim Thornton and GMA Deputy General Counsel Ryan Bowersox. |
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Save the Date: 2024 Legislative Breakfast |
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Save the date for the 2024 Legislative Breakfast to get the latest updates and learn more about trending state issues. Legislation passed during the 40-day session can have a direct impact on county government operations. For this reason, it is important for county officials to stay involved and engaged. The ACCG Governmental Affairs team does an outstanding job working on behalf of Georgia's county governments, but it is extremely important for state leadership and legislators to see and hear from county officials and staff on issues before the General Assembly. Attend this event to do your part to help advance sound policy for Georgia's counties.
More information, including an event agenda and registration details, are forthcoming and will be available soon.
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Stay Connected and Engaged! |
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Please Remember to Update Your County Legislative Coordinator (CLC)
It is time for counties to review and update, if necessary, their ACCG County Legislative Coordinator (CLC). The CLC’s primary responsibilities are to relay pertinent information about current legislation to county commissioners and county management and to maintain an open line of communication with ACCG to ensure county-specific information is readily available for legislators. ACCG encourages all counties to participate in this network and designate a CLC prior to the legislative session. To confirm, update, or appoint your county’s CLC, please contact Tottianna Davis at tdavis@accg.org or 404-522-5022.
Click here to review your county's CLC from the 2023 session.
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Virtual Legislative Update Replay
Watch the replay of the 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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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 - January 18, 2024
Georgia Recorder - January 18, 2024
Cherokee Tribune & Ledger-News - January 18, 2024
The Center Square- January 16, 2024
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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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