05 LC 28
2057
House
Bill 304
By:
Representatives Burmeister of the
119th,
Yates of the
73rd,
Shaw of the
176th,
Cummings of the
16th,
and Rice of the
51st
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 1 of Chapter 13 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to general provisions concerning specific, business, and
occupation taxes, so as to change the provisions relating to the imposition and
determination of the amount of certain regulatory fees by local governments; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
1 of Chapter 13 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to general provisions concerning specific, business, and occupation taxes, is
amended by striking paragraph (6) of Code Section 48-13-5, relating to
definitions, and inserting in lieu thereof a new paragraph (6) to read as
follows:
"(6)
'Regulatory fees' means payments, whether designated as license fees, permit
fees, or by another name, which are required by a local government as an
exercise of its police power and as a part of or as an aid to regulation of an
occupation, profession, or business. The amount
of
a
of
each regulatory fee shall approximate the
reasonable cost of the actual regulatory activity performed by the local
government in
accordance with Code Section 48-13-9. A
regulatory fee may not include an administrative fee or registration fee. No
local government is authorized to require any administrative fee, registration
fee, or fee by any other name in connection with a regulatory fee, except an
occupation tax, as defined in paragraph (4) of this Code section. Regulatory
fees do not include development impact fees as defined by paragraph (8) of Code
Section 36-71-2 or other costs or conditions of zoning or land
development."
SECTION
2.
Said
article is further amended by striking subsection (a) of Code Section 48-13-9,
relating to limitation on authority of local government to impose regulatory
fee, and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (a) and adding new
subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:
"(a)
A local government is authorized to require a business or practitioner of a
profession or occupation to pay a regulatory fee only if the local government
customarily performs investigation or inspection of such businesses or
practitioners of such profession or occupation as protection of the public
health, safety, or welfare or in the course of enforcing a state or local
building, health, or safety code, but no local government is authorized to use
regulatory fees as a means of raising revenue for general
purposes;
provided that
the.
The amount
of
a
of
each regulatory fee
imposed
shall approximate the reasonable cost of the actual regulatory activity
performed by the local government
with regard to
that individual business or practitioner of a profession or occupation;
provided, however, that if a local government requires payment of a regulatory
fee for each job undertaken by a business or practitioner of a profession or
occupation, each regulatory fee shall approximate the reasonable cost of the
actual regulatory activity performed by the local government with regard to that
individual
job."
"(e)
Local governments are authorized to determine the amount of a regulatory fee
imposed in accordance with this article by one of the following
methods:
(1)
A flat fee for each business or practitioner of a profession or occupation doing
business in the jurisdiction as authorized by Code Section 48-13-8;
(2)
An hourly rate determined by the hourly wage or salary of the person or persons
assigned to investigate or inspect multiplied by the number of hours estimated
for the investigation or inspection of the individual business, practitioner, or
job; or
(3)
An hourly rate as determined by paragraph (2) of this subsection in addition to
other expenses reasonably related to such regulatory activity, such as
administrative and travel expenses.
(f)
Local governments are prohibited from determining the amount of a regulatory fee
imposed in accordance with this article by any of the following
methods:
(1)
The cost of the job;
(2)
The capacity or size of the equipment installed as a part of the
job;
(3)
The number of square feet encompassed by the job; and
(4)
Any other measure not authorized by subsection (e) of this Code
section."
SECTION
3.
Said
article is further amended by striking Code Section 48-13-9.1, relating to civil
actions and
attorneýs
fees, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 48-13-9.1 to read as
follows:
"48-13-9.1.
A
civil action to enforce the
limitation
limitations
on regulatory fees set out in Code Section 48-13-9 may be filed after the
exhaustion of administrative remedies. The prevailing party in such an action
shall be awarded reasonable
attorneýs
fees."
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.