GEORGIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
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Daily Report Number 30
March 9, 2004

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The thirtieth legislative day brought more than a dozen items before House lawmakers, addressing topics ranging from professional wrestling to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Without a doubt, today’s high-profile vote came on a bill designed to help the City of Atlanta help itself with respect to its highly publicized sewer woes. Unfortunately, previous city administrations failed to update Atlanta’s sewer system to account for the city’s tremendous growth. The city’s insufficient sewer capacity has led to overflows and sewer dumps of virtually untreated waste water into the Chattahoochie and other metro area rivers and streams. The problem was consistently ignored by previous mayors until an environmental organization decided to sue the city to force it to upgrade its sewer system. The city lost the suit and has been given a court mandate to make the necessary improvements to its sewer infrastructure.

Current Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin has shown a commitment to undertake this daunting task. Estimates for the complete overhaul run as high as $4 billion over the next ten years. However, like the state of Georgia, Atlanta is under serious financial strain, and cannot afford the repairs without an additional revenue source.

Realizing the serious economic and environmental importance of fixing Atlanta’s sewer infrastructure, House lawmakers previously passed legislation which would allow the city to impose an additional one-cent sales tax to be dedicated for water and sewer improvement projects. However, this sewer improvement tax was never implemented because the Fulton County Commission has consistently refused to allow for the necessary ballot referendum.

HB 1612 is specifically written to address this particular situation and help the city raise the funds to turn its substandard sewers into an effective system which will not only protect the environment from waste, but provide a sufficient infrastructure to support future growth. The bill provides that a municipality with a sewer capacity exceeding 100 million gallons per day (Atlanta) may pass a resolution requesting a county-wide referendum to pass a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for the purpose of accomplishing sewer and/or water infrastructure improvement projects. Upon passage, the resolution would be sent to the Fulton County Commission. The Fulton Commission would then have 30 days to negotiate with the city of Atlanta and work out the details for an intergovernmental contract to share the proceeds of the requested SPLOST. The revenues would be divided according to population breakdown, and while Atlanta’s share must be directed toward water/sewer projects, the county share could be used as the Commission sees fit. Once a contract is agreed upon, the Commission is required to set the soonest practical date for a county-wide referendum to let the voters decide whether to implement the new SPLOST. Commission compliance is mandatory, and as a guarantee HB 1612 orders the county tax commissioner to withhold local sales tax revenues from the county government until these requirements have been met.

Some House members opposed the measure, saying it sets a dangerous precedent. They also expressed their dislike for any measure which would allow a local government to exceed the 7 percent state limit on local sales taxation.

A majority of House lawmakers, however, noted that the sewer upgrades sought by the city not only help Atlanta, but the entire state. First, they said a new and more effective sewer collection and treatment facility would significantly improve the water quality in the rivers and streams which are downstream of Atlanta. The also submitted that since Atlanta is Georgia’s economic engine, failure to help the city solve this problem now could be catastrophic for the state’s economy. HB 1612 therefore passed by a vote of 137-31.

Also dealing with Atlanta, House members voted 163-4 to pass HB 1511, which would extend a tax break to the builders of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s new symphony hall. The new hall is scheduled to be started in 2005, and is expected to open during the fall of 2008. HB 1511 would exempt all building materials used to construct the new symphony hall from state sales tax. The project is expected to cost approximately $300 million, raised from private sector donors. The authors of HB 1511 noted that the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra already has a $70 million impact on Georgia’s economy. They estimated that any tax revenue lost due to the legislation would quickly be repaid since the new symphony hall is expected to bring in more than $2 billion over the next 15 years.

One of the major legacies of the Oklahoma City bombing, and the events of September 11, 2001 is the realization that terrorism is possible on American soil. With that realization comes the responsibility to plan and prepare to deal with these horrible situations, should they arise. HB 1450 represents House efforts to devise such a plan for the emergency operation of Georgia’s courts system.

If passed into law, the legislation would grant the chief justice or judge who presides over the affected jurisdiction the power to declare a “state of judicial emergency” in his or her court system. The state of emergency could coincide with an emergency declared by the Governor, public health emergency, or local emergency. Otherwise, the authorized judicial official could declare a state of emergency in any instance which significantly impedes the normal functioning of the judicial system in that jurisdiction. The initial emergency order would be limited to 30 days, but could be extended for as much as 90 days should the adverse circumstances persist. If the emergency events render a courthouse, or court clerk’s office inaccessible or inoperative, the judge which issues the emergency order would have the authority to designate another facility which is reasonably accessible to conduct court business. Furthermore, an order for judicial emergency would have the effect of freezing legal deadlines and time limits such as statutes of limitation, habeas corpus motions, or appeal windows. HB 1450 also requires that notification of the emergency declaration be sent to the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, the clerks for the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, all legally affected parties, and the general public. Finally, the proposal provides recourse for any person whose rights or interests are adversely affect by an emergency order. The appeal would be heard by the Georgia Court of Appeals, and could be further appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.

While some expressed concern over any measure which would allow a court to suspend such constitutional rights as habeas corpus, the vast majority of House members saw HB 1450 as a vital tool in protecting this state’s judicial system from those who would use terrorist tactics to disrupt the administration of justice. HB 1450 passed by a vote of 159-9.

Finally, in keeping with House members’ long standing support for the military men and women who dedicate their lives in service to our country, lawmakers voted 162-0 in favor of HB 274. The legislation creates a specialty licence plate for the men and women who are retirees from the military reserves, or National Guard. Georgia currently has a specialty tag for active reservists and guardsmen, but not for retirees. House members hope this tag will serve as a small token of the vast appreciation and respect they have for these men and women who have sacrificed so much time and effort to contribute to the protection of our great nation.

Other items receiving passage on the House floor today include:

• HB 558 (149-16)– would bring professional and amateur wrestling, and martial arts contests under the same licensing and regulation oversights which the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission already exercises over boxing in this state.
• HB 727 (142-0)– seeks to clarify language in existing legislation to ensure that sand which is dredged from Georgia’s rivers be used– either directly or by equivalent suitable replacement– to preserve and restore the state’s coastal beaches and barrier beaches.
• HB 975 (141-26)– would change the Fulton County School Employees Pension Fund’s annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to bring it into line with other state retirement system COLAs.
• HB 1151 (165-0)– seeks to reduce from 200 to 90 days the grace period allowed for a local school system to conduct a background check on a newly hired school employee.
• HB 1416 (162-1)– would expand Georgia’s conservation use property tax exemption to include land in excess of ten acres which is used as a natural wildlife habitat or for the production of wild game.
• HB 1431 (154-0)– deals with the execution of judgements, such as liens, against a property. In the event that these judgements are paid in full, but not legally terminated due to neglect or error, the legislation would allow for the cancellation of such judgements upon an affidavit by the plaintiff, or any attorney who has knowledge that the judgements were properly settled.
• HB 1598 (163-0)– seeks to require that those counties and municipalities which currently require a permit to perform electrical, heating and air, plumbing, or other related work, provide a means by which the contractor could also apply for the required permit electronically.
• HR 1096 (161-4)– Because Georgia is currently seeing unprecedented percentages of children who are overweight and developing obesity related diabetes, HR 1096 urges Georgia schools to provide training to encourage healthy eating habits and a healthy lifestyle. It also urges all schools to provide 30 minutes of structured physical activity for students in grades K-12.
• HR 1262 (170-1)– would dedicate the 121 Bypass around the eastern side of the City of Waynesboro as the Burke Star Veterans Parkway.
• HR 1341 (170-1)– would designate the portion of State Highway 20 from I-75 to the Atlanta Motor Speedway as the Bruton Smith Parkway.
• HR 1404 (161-0)– seeks to designate the bikeway on State Route 26 from Bryan Woods Road to the Bull River Bridge in Chatham County as the Joy N. Kleeman Memorial Bikeway.