HB1199.html

Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to county sales and use taxes, is amended by striking Code Section 48-8-111, relating to procedures for implementing the special county sales and use tax, in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"48-8-111.
(a) Prior to the vote of a county governing authority to impose the tax under this article, such governing authority shall deliver or mail a written notice to the mayor or chief elected official in each municipality located within the county. Such notice shall contain the date, time, place, and purpose of a meeting at which the governing authorities of the county and of each municipality are to meet to discuss the possible projects for inclusion in the referendum, including municipally owned or operated projects. The notice shall be delivered or mailed at least ten days prior to the date of the meeting. The meeting shall be held at least 30 days prior to the issuance of the call for the referendum. Following such meeting, a county governing authority voting to impose the tax authorized by this article shall notify the county election superintendent by forwarding to the superintendent a copy of the resolution or ordinance of the governing authority calling for the imposition of the tax. Such ordinance or resolution shall specify:
(1) The purpose or purposes for which the proceeds of the tax are to be used and may be expended, which purpose or purposes may consist of projects located within or outside, or both within and outside, any incorporated areas in the county or outside the county, as authorized by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph for regional facilities, and which may include any of the following purposes:
(A) Road, street, and bridge purposes, which purposes may include sidewalks and bicycle paths;
(B) A capital outlay project or projects of the county for the use of or the benefit of the citizens of the entire county and consisting of a county courthouse; county administrative buildings; a civic center; a county or regional jail, correctional institution, or other detention facility; a county library; a coliseum; local or regional solid waste handling facilities as defined under paragraph (27.1) or (35) of Code Section 12-8-22, as amended, excluding any solid waste thermal treatment technology facility, including but not limited to, any facility for purposes of incineration or waste to energy direct conversion; local or regional recovered materials processing facilities as defined under paragraph (26) of Code Section 12-8-22, as amended; or any combination of such projects;
(C) A capital outlay project or projects which will be operated by a joint authority or authorities of the county and one or more municipalities within the county and which will be for the use of or benefit of the citizens of the county and the citizens of one or more municipalities within the county;
(D) A capital outlay project or projects, to be owned or operated or both either by the county, one or more municipalities, or any combination thereof, with respect to which the county has, prior to the call of the election, entered into a contract or agreement, as authorized by Article IX, Section III of the Constitution, with one or more municipalities in the county, which municipality or municipalities contain more than one-half of the aggregate population of all municipalities within the county; and, for purposes of determining the population of a municipality under this subparagraph, only that portion of the population of each municipality which is within the county shall be included;
(E) A capital outlay project consisting of a cultural facility, a recreational facility, or a historic facility (or a facility for some combination of such purposes);
(F) A water capital outlay project, a sewer capital outlay project, a water and sewer capital outlay project, or a combination of such projects, to be owned or operated or both by a county water and sewer district and one or more municipalities in the county, with respect to which the county has, prior to the call of the election, entered into a contract or agreement, as authorized by Article IX, Section III of the Constitution; and when the tax is imposed pursuant to this subparagraph the proceeds of the tax shall be allocated between the water and sewer district and the municipality or municipalities based upon the population of the municipality or municipalities, according to the United States decennial census of ~~1980~~ 2000 or any future such census, over the population of the county, according to the United States decennial census of ~~1980~~ 2000 or any future such census, with such allocation to be specified in the contract or agreement relating to the capital outlay facility or facilities;
(G) The retirement of previously incurred general obligation debt of the county, one or more municipalities, or any combination thereof ~~other than general obligation debt incurred for road, street, or bridge purposes~~, if such previously incurred general obligation debt was incurred for a project or projects of a type for which new general obligation debt may be incurred under this article;
(H) A capital outlay project or projects of the county for the use of and benefit of the citizens of the entire county and consisting of public safety facilities, airport facilities, or related capital equipment used in the operation of public safety or airport facilities, or any combination of such purposes;
(I) A capital outlay project or projects, to be owned or operated or both, either by the county, one or more municipalities, or any combination thereof, consisting of capital equipment for use in voting in official elections or referendums with such county or municipality;
(J) A capital outlay project or projects of the county for the use and benefit of the citizens of the entire county and consisting of any transportation facility designed for the transportation of people or goods, including, but not limited to, railroads, port and harbor facilities, mass transportation facilities, or any combination thereof;
(K) A capital outlay project or projects for the use and benefit of the citizens of the entire county and consisting of a hospital or hospital facilities that are owned by a county or a hospital authority and operated by the county or hospital authority or by an organization which is tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which operates the hospital through a contract or lease with the county or hospital authority; or
(L) Any combination of two or more of the foregoing;
(2) The maximum period of time, to be stated in calendar years or calendar quarters and not to exceed five years;
(3) The maximum cost of the project or projects which will be funded from the proceeds of the tax, which maximum cost shall also be the maximum amount of net proceeds to be raised by the tax; and
(4) If general obligation debt is to be issued in conjunction with the imposition of the tax, ~~as authorized by this article in cases where the tax is imposed other than in whole for road, street, and bridge purposes,~~ the principal amount of the debt to be issued, the purpose for which the debt is to be issued ~~other than for road, street, and bridge purposes~~, the interest rate or rates or the maximum interest rate or rates which such debt is to bear, and the amount of principal to be paid in each year during the life of the debt.
(a.1) For purposes of subsection (a) of this Code section, a 'capital outlay project' means major, permanent, or long-lived improvements or betterments, such as land and structures, such as would be properly chargeable to a capital asset account and as distinguished from current expenditures and ordinary maintenance expenses. Such term shall include, but not be limited to, roads, streets, bridges, police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, garbage trucks, and other major equipment.
(b) Upon receipt of the resolution or ordinance, the election superintendent shall issue the call for an election for the purpose of submitting the question of the imposition of the tax to the voters of the county. The election superintendent shall issue the call and shall conduct the election on a date and in the manner authorized under Code Section 21-2-540. The election superintendent shall cause the date and purpose of the election to be published once a week for four weeks immediately preceding the date of the election in the official organ of the county. If general obligation debt is to be issued in conjunction with the imposition of the tax, the notice published by the election superintendent shall also include, in such form as may be specified by the county governing authority, the principal amount of the debt, the purpose for which the debt is to be issued, the rate or rates of interest or the maximum rate or rates of interest the debt will bear, and the amount of principal to be paid in each year during the life of the debt; and such publication of notice by the election superintendent shall take the place of the notice otherwise required by Code Section 36-80-11 or by subsection (b) of Code Section 36-82-1, which notice shall not be required.
~~(c) If the tax is to be imposed solely for road, street, and bridge purposes, the ballot shall have written or printed thereon the following:~~

(4) If debt is to be issued for purposes other than road, street, and bridge purposes, the ballot shall also have written or printed thereon, following the language specified by paragraph (3) of this subsection, the following:
'If imposition of the tax is approved by the voters, such vote shall also constitute approval of the issuance of general obligation debt of __________ County in the principal amount of $__________ for the above purpose other than road, street, and bridge purposes.'
~~(e)~~(d) All persons desiring to vote in favor of imposing the tax shall vote 'Yes' and all persons opposed to levying the tax shall vote 'No.' If more than one-half of the votes cast are in favor of imposing the tax then the tax shall be imposed as provided in this article; otherwise the tax shall not be imposed and the question of imposing the tax shall not again be submitted to the voters of the county until after 12 months immediately following the month in which the election was held; provided, however, that if an election date authorized under Code Section 21-2-540 occurs during the twelfth month immediately following the month in which such election was held, the question of imposing the tax may be submitted to the voters of the county on such date. The election superintendent shall hold and conduct the election under the same rules and regulations as govern special elections. The superintendent shall canvass the returns, declare the result of the election, and certify the result to the Secretary of State and to the commissioner. The expense of the election shall be paid from county funds.
~~(f)~~(e)(1) If the proposal includes the authority to issue general obligation debt and if more than one-half of the votes cast are in favor of the proposal, then the authority to issue such debt in accordance with Article IX, Section V, Paragraph I of the Constitution is given to the proper officers of the county; otherwise such debt shall not be issued. If the authority to issue such debt is so approved by the voters, then such debt may be issued without further approval by the voters.
(2) If the issuance of general obligation debt is included and approved as provided in this Code section, then the governing authority of the county may incur such debt either through the issuance and validation of general obligation bonds or through the execution of a promissory note or notes or other instrument or instruments. If such debt is incurred through the issuance of general obligation bonds, such bonds and their issuance and validation shall be subject to Articles 1 and 2 of Chapter 82 of Title 36 except as specifically provided otherwise in this article. If such debt is incurred through the execution of a promissory note or notes or other instrument or instruments, no validation proceedings shall be necessary and such debt shall be subject to Code Sections 36-80-10 through 36-80-14 except as specifically provided otherwise in this article. In either event, such general obligation debt shall be payable first from the separate account in which are placed the proceeds received by the county from the tax authorized by this article. Such general obligation debt shall, however, constitute a pledge of the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the county; and any liability on such debt which is not satisfied from the proceeds of the tax authorized by this article shall be satisfied from the general funds of the county. In no event shall any proceeds of a tax which is imposed pursuant to this article in whole or in part for road, street, or bridge purposes be used for payment of general obligation debt with respect to such road, street, and bridge purposes."

Said article is further amended by striking Code Section 48-8-121, relating to use of proceeds and issuance of general obligation debt, in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"48-8-121.
(a)(1) The proceeds received from the tax authorized by this article shall be used by the county exclusively for the purpose or purposes specified in the resolution or ordinance calling for imposition of the tax. Such proceeds shall be kept in a separate account from other funds of the county and shall not in any manner be commingled with other funds of the county prior to the expenditure.
(2) The governing authority of the county and the governing authority of each municipality receiving any proceeds from the tax pursuant to a contract with the county shall maintain a record of each and every project for which the proceeds of the tax are used. A schedule shall be included in each annual audit which shows for each project in the resolution or ordinance calling for imposition of the tax the original estimated cost, the current estimated cost if it is not the original estimated cost, amounts expended in prior years, and amounts expended in the current year. The auditor shall verify and test expenditures sufficient to provide assurances that the schedule is fairly presented in relation to the financial statements. The auditor´s report on the financial statements shall include an opinion, or disclaimer of opinion, as to whether the schedule is presented fairly in all material respects in relation to the financial statements taken as a whole.
(3) Where the tax authorized by this article has been imposed prior to April 19, 1994, for a period of four years for road, street, and bridge purposes and five years for other purposes, this paragraph shall apply. When this paragraph applies, proceeds from any or all years of the five-year imposition period may be used for road, street, and bridge purposes and proceeds from any or all years of the five-year imposition period may be used for the other authorized purposes, so long as the total expenditures of the tax proceeds are consistent with the total expenditures provided for in the original resolution or ordinance calling for the imposition of the tax.
(b) If the resolution or ordinance calling for the imposition of the tax specified that the proceeds of the tax are to be used in whole or in part for road, street, and bridge purposes, then authorized uses of the tax proceeds shall include acquisition of right of way for, construction of, and renovation and improvement of, including relocation of utilities for and improvement of surface water drainage from, roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks, and bicycle paths both within the unincorporated area of the county and within the incorporated areas of municipalities within the county. If the resolution or ordinance calling for the imposition of the tax specified that the proceeds of the tax are to be used in whole or in part for road, street, and bridge purposes, then no part of the proceeds of the tax shall be used to retire general obligation debt with respect to such road, street, and bridge purposes.
(b)(1) If the resolution or ordinance calling for the imposition of the tax specified that the proceeds of the tax are to be used in whole or in part for road, street, and bridge purposes, then authorized uses of the tax proceeds shall include:
(A) Acquisition of right of way for roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks, and bicycle paths;
(B) Construction of roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks, and bicycle paths;
(C) Renovation and improvement of roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks, and bicycle paths, including resurfacing;
(D) Relocation of utilities for roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks, and bicycle paths; and
(E) Improvement of surface water drainage from roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks, and bicycle paths within both the unincorporated area of the county and within the incorporated areas of municipalities within the county.
(2) Where the proceeds are to be used in whole or part for road, street, and bridge purposes and a county has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with one or more municipalities pursuant to subparagraph (a)(1)(D) of Code Section 48-8-111, then authorized uses of the tax proceeds shall, in addition to the activities specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection, include patching, leveling, milling, widening, shoulder preparation, culvert repair, and other repairs necessary for the preservation of roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks, and bicycle paths. Storm water capital outlay projects and drainage capital outlay projects may be funded pursuant to subparagraph (a)(1)(D) of Code Section 48-8-111 or in conjunction with road, street, and bridge projects.
(c) No general obligation debt shall be issued in conjunction with the imposition of the tax authorized by this article when the tax is imposed in whole or in part for road, street, and bridge purposes with respect to such road, street, and bridge purposes. If the tax is imposed solely for purposes other than road, street, and bridge purposes or in part for road, street, and bridge purposes and in part for other purposes, then no No general obligation debt shall be issued in conjunction with the imposition of the tax unless the county governing authority determines that, and if the debt is to be validated it is demonstrated in the validation proceedings that, during each year in which any payment of principal or interest on the debt comes due the county will receive from the tax authorized by this article net proceeds sufficient to fully satisfy such liability. General obligation debt issued under this article shall be payable first from the separate account in which are placed the proceeds received by the county from the tax authorized by this article. Such debt, however, shall constitute a pledge of the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the county; and any liability on said debt which is not satisfied from the proceeds of the tax authorized by this article shall be satisfied from the general funds of the county.
(d) The resolution or ordinance calling for imposition of the tax authorized by this article ~~solely for purposes other than for road, street, and bridge purposes or in part for road, street, and bridge purposes and in part for other purposes~~ may specify that all of the proceeds of the tax will be used for payment of general obligation debt issued in conjunction with the imposition of the tax ~~with respect to purposes other than road, street, and bridge purposes~~. If the resolution or ordinance so provides, then such proceeds shall be used solely for such purpose except as provided in subsection (g) of this Code section.
(e)~~(1)~~ The resolution or ordinance calling for the imposition of the tax authorized by this article ~~solely for purposes other than for road, street, and bridge purposes or in part for road, street, and bridge purposes and in part for other purposes~~ may specify that a part of the proceeds of the tax will be used for payment of general obligation debt issued in conjunction with the imposition of the tax ~~with respect to purposes other than road, street, and bridge purposes~~. If the ordinance or resolution so provides, it shall specifically state the other purposes for which such proceeds will be used; and such other purposes shall be a part of the capital outlay project or projects for which the tax is to be imposed. In such a case no part of the net proceeds from the tax received in any year shall be used for such other purposes until all debt service requirements of the general obligation debt for that year have first been satisfied from the account in which the proceeds of the tax are placed.
~~(2) In no event shall any proceeds of general obligation debt issued pursuant to this article be used for road, street, or bridge purposes.~~
(f) The resolution or ordinance calling for the imposition of the tax may specify that no general obligation debt is to be issued in conjunction with the imposition of the tax. If the ordinance or resolution so provides, it shall specifically state the purpose or purposes for which the proceeds will be used.
(g)(1)(A) If the proceeds of the tax are specified to be used solely for the purpose of payment of general obligation debt issued in conjunction with the imposition of the tax, then any net proceeds of the tax in excess of the amount required for final payment of such debt shall be subject to and applied as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(B) If the county receives from the tax net proceeds in excess of the maximum cost of the project or projects stated in the resolution or ordinance calling for the imposition of the tax or in excess of the actual cost of such project or projects, then such excess proceeds shall be subject to and applied as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(C) If the tax is terminated under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 48-8-112 by reason of denial of validation of debt, then all net proceeds received by the county from the tax shall be excess proceeds subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(2) Excess proceeds subject to this subsection shall be used solely for the purpose of reducing any indebtedness of the county other than indebtedness incurred pursuant to this article. If there is no such other indebtedness or, if the excess proceeds exceed the amount of any such other indebtedness, then the excess proceeds shall next be paid into the general fund of the county, it being the intent that any funds so paid into the general fund of the county be used for the purpose of reducing ad valorem taxes."