GEORGIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
ROOM 505, LOB 30334
404-656-5082     1-800-282-5800

Daily Report Number 23
February 23, 2004

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Lawmakers returned from a beautiful weekend at home to pass eight bills and two resolutions in the Georgia House today.

First up on today’s calendar was HR 1095 which seeks to amend the state constitution to provide a financial incentive for builders to provide quality low-income housing for Georgia’s citizens. During the 2000 session, House lawmakers passed legislation to extend tax credits to builders who would provide quality housing for low-income citizens of this state. However, local tax assessors began to assign a value to these tax credits, and to add that value to a property’s ad valorem tax bill. This effectively limited the tax credit’s designed ability to encourage developers to include low-income units in their projects.

If adopted by 2/3 of the House and Senate, and accepted by the majority of voters in this year’s general elections, HR 1095 would amend Georgia’s Constitution to make the pre-qualified low-income housing tax credit a separate class of property for ad valorem taxation. This would prevent tax assessors from adding the credits into the value of the property. It is hoped the savings put forth in these tax credits will result in the creation of thousands of quality, and affordable housing units for Georgia’s poorer citizens. House members voted 157-2 to pass HR 1095. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

HB 1347, which passed by a vote of 163-0, seeks to save the Department of Human Resources some money, and expedite criminal checks for childcare workers and foster parents. The proposal would allow local law enforcement agencies to conduct background checks on behalf of childcare facilities, or foster care placement agencies to ensure adults applying to care for children do not have past criminal histories. Currently, this function is performed through DHR, costing the department time and money. Childcare agencies or foster care placement facilities which use their local law enforcement to conduct background checks must retain the results, as well as their written assessment of the check, on file and available for DHR inspection at any time. If, upon inspection of the agency records, the department should have a question about an individual, it could require that person to submit to another background check which would be handled through DHR.

Lawmakers also voted 164-3 to give farmers, and those in the agriculture related industry a break. HB 1087 would add large trucks which are used to transport agricultural crops to the list of transport vehicles which benefit from a $220 cap on the amount they can be charged for licenses and fees. Agriculture is Georgia’s number one industry, and supporters of HB 1087 hope it will help this important industry continue to thrive.

Also dealing with large trucks, HB 1243 would give the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety the authority to implement regulation guidelines to keep Georgia in compliance with federal regulations governing the identification of large trucks. Currently, a new state law is required each time federal regulations change. Realizing HB 1243 is drawn narrowly, and seeing the proposal as a time saver, members voted 159-0 in favor of passage.

Although personal privacy is usually a very good thing, there are rare instances when it can work against a person; especially if that person is an elected official. Such is the genesis of HB 1461. Newspapers and television news agencies love sensationalistic stories about elected officials who are behind in paying their taxes. These media organizations often use the Department of Revenue’s delinquent list to find the material for their stories. Many of these same elected officials are often paying their taxes on a payment schedule which has been agreed upon by the department. Unfortunately, Georgia law forbids the DOR from discussing the payment schedule with anyone other than the affected person. This leads to embarrassing stories in newspapers and on TV where honest officials are portrayed at tax dodgers, when they are actually paying their bill. HB 1461 would allow any citizen to authorize the DOR to release this information to other parties. This authorization would have to be written, and would only cover the specific information to be released. HB 1461 passed by a vote of 166-0.

Finally, House members voted 162-2 to pass HB 1185 dealing with law enforcement searches on freshwater recreation vehicles. Currently, Department of Natural Resources officers, and other law enforcement officials are allowed to stop boats and vessels operating on Georgia waters for inspection without probable cause. Language in HB 1185 would scale back this authority by requiring the permission of the owner or operator, or a reasonable cause to suspect that a regulation has been broken to board and inspect boats operating on Georgia’s lakes and rivers. The law would not apply to any saltwater vessels, or any boat over 30 feet in length. Furthermore, persons engaged in any hunting, fishing, or commercial activities are still subject to random stops.

Other measures receiving passage on the House floor today include:

• HB 1194 (157-4)– would provide a limited, qualified immunity for a court appointed custody evaluator or guardians for children. The measure would only allow for civil liability in cases of gross negligence.
• HB 1382 (168-2)– seeks to increase from 3 to 5 the number of members who serve on the Shore Protection, and Coastal Marshland Protection Committees. It also would set the quorum requirement– number of committee members needed to conduct business– for both these committees at three members.
• HB 1457 (169-0)– would require all companies and their affiliates doing significant business with the state of Georgia to register with the state and collect sales and use taxes for goods and services rendered in this state.
• HR 1400 (166-1)– seeks to establish a legislative session schedule through the 31st legislative day.

Georgia House of Representatives
Public Information Office

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