State lawmakers passed many bills during the 2011 legislative session that require action on behalf of county elected officials or may impact local communities. Several significant bills will go into effect on July 1, 2011. The Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) provides the following overviews of key legislation that may impact your county:
Illegal Immigration Reform (House Bill 87):´ For more information on this legislation, please see the detailed overview below.
Clear-Cutting in Front of Billboards (House Bill 179): This legislation allows for the removal or maintenance of trees and other vegetation near billboards on state roads. It authorizes billboard owners to clear-cut state-owned trees in front of their signs for better viewing by motorists. The new law includes protection for trees that are considered historic or landmarks. Before doing so, billboard owners must obtain a vegetation removal permit through Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). GDOT has the right to refuse to grant a vegetation maintenance permit for any signs with material that is considered obscene, in accordance with state or local law.
Georgia Tourism Development Act (House Bill 234): This bill creates the Georgia Tourism Development Act to promote the development of new tourism attractions or expansions of existing tourism attractions that draw at least one-fourth of their business from out-of-state tourists and has a construction cost of over $1 million. It authorizes the incremental increase in state, county or city sales tax generated from the project to be applied toward a tax refund equal to up to 25 percent of the project cost over a ten year period.
Collection and Disbursement of 911 Fees on Prepaid Wireless Service (House Bill 256): This legislation changes the method that 9-1-1 fees are assessed on prepaid wireless cellular phones and service, and sets forth a method for distribution of the fees to local governments. The bill provides for a 75 cent fee on each retail purchase of a wireless telephone or purchase of service. The fee will be remitted by the retailer along with sales tax to the Department of Revenue. Fees will be distributed to 9-1-1 centers based on the population of the Public Safety Answering Point.
Emergency Telephone Fund (House Bill 280): In an effort to help local governments fund 911 operations, this legislation expands the use of E-911 funds to include indirect costs and radio equipment used for the purposes of 911. Prior to this change, counties were funding certain expenses from the county general fund instead of having the ability to use existing 911 funds. This legislation also requires all telephone service providers to register with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA).
Change of Date for 2012 Primary (House Bill 302): This bill changes the date of the 2012 General Primary election to July 31. The date has changed to accommodate the logistics of military and overseas voting.
Sunday Sale of Alcohol (Senate Bill 10): With the passage of this legislation, counties and cities now have the ability to approve the package sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits on Sunday, between 12:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Only citizens who live in counties and cities which already allow package sales will be able to vote for this extension. Before a vote can take place, a county commission or city council must first pass a resolution or an ordinance to allow a referendum on this issue to be placed on the ballot. A public notice of the referendum is required at least four weeks in advance of the election. The referendum may take place any time a special election is allowed under current law.
Creation of Mental Health Courts (Senate Bill 39): This bill allows local judicial circuits to create mental health courts at the county level. With the closure of the state psychiatric hospitals, these court programs can assist in diverting offenders with mental health issues to community mental health services instead of jails. This change will provide alternatives for individuals with mental health issues to get assistance, thereby reducing the cost to local taxpayers associated with jail sentences.
Solid Waste Management Reporting and Plan Updates (Senate Bill 157): This legislation enables counties and cities to adopt local solid waste management plans via local ordinance rather than going through the 5 and 10-year updating requirements set by the Department of Community Affairs. To increase transparency, the law also requires public notice prior to any changes to local plans.
