08 LC
18 7101
Senate
Bill 530
By:
Senators Fort of the 39th, Tate of the 38th, Orrock of the 36th, Ramsey, Sr. of
the 43rd, Jones of the 10th and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to sales and use taxes, so as to authorize the imposition of a joint county and
municipal sales and use tax for the maintenance and operation of public
hospitals; to provide for applicability with respect to the ceiling on local
sales and use taxes; to establish special districts; to provide for procedures,
conditions, and limitations for the imposition, collection, disbursement, and
removal of the tax; to provide for administration by the state revenue
commissioner; to require referendum approval of the imposition or
discontinuation of the tax; to provide for all related matters; to provide an
effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to sales and
use taxes, is amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 48-8-6,
relating to prohibitions regarding the imposition of certain local taxes, as
follows:
"(b)
There shall not be imposed in any jurisdiction in this state or on any
transaction in this state local sales taxes, local use taxes, or local sales and
use taxes in excess of 2 percent. For purposes of this prohibition, the taxes
affected are any sales tax, use tax, or sales and use tax which is levied in an
area consisting of less than the entire state, however authorized, including
such taxes authorized by or pursuant to constitutional amendment, except that
the following taxes shall not count toward or be subject to such 2 percent
limitation:
(1)
A sales and use tax for educational purposes exempted from such limitation under
Article VIII, Section VI, Paragraph IV of the Constitution;
(2)
Any tax levied for purposes of a metropolitan area system of public
transportation, as authorized by the amendment to the Constitution set out at
Georgia Laws, 1964, page 1008; the continuation of such amendment under Article
XI, Section I, Paragraph IV(d) of the Constitution; and the laws enacted
pursuant to such constitutional amendment; provided, however, that the exception
provided for under this paragraph shall only apply in a county in which a tax is
being imposed under subparagraph (a)(1)(D) of Code Section 48-8-111 in whole or
in part for the purpose or purposes of a water capital outlay project or
projects, a sewer capital outlay project or projects, a water and sewer capital
outlay project or projects, water and sewer projects and costs as defined under
paragraph (3) of Code Section 48-8-200, or any combination thereof and with
respect to which the county has entered into an intergovernmental contract with
a municipality, in which the average waste-water system flow of such
municipality is not less than 85 million gallons per day, allocating proceeds to
such municipality to be used solely for water and sewer projects and costs as
defined under paragraph (3) of Code Section 48-8-200. The exception provided for
under this paragraph shall apply only during the period the tax under said
subparagraph (a)(1)(D) is in effect. The exception provided for under this
paragraph shall not apply in any county in which a tax is being imposed under
Article 2A of this chapter;
(3)
In the event of a rate increase imposed pursuant to Code Section 48-8-96, only
the amount in excess of the initial 1 percent sales and use tax and in the event
of a newly imposed tax pursuant to Code Section 48-8-96, only the amount in
excess of a 1 percent sales and use tax;
and
(4)
A sales and use tax levied under Article 4 of this
chapter;
and
(5)
A sales and use tax levied under Article 5 of this
chapter.
If
the imposition of any otherwise authorized local sales tax, local use tax, or
local sales and use tax would result in a tax rate in excess of that authorized
by this subsection, then such otherwise authorized tax may not be
imposed."
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended by adding a new article to read as
follows:
"ARTICLE
5
48-8-230.
As
used in this article, the term 'qualified municipality' means only those
incorporated municipalities which impose a tax other than the tax authorized by
this article and which provide at least three of the following
services:
(1)
Water;
(2)
Sewage;
(3)
Garbage collection;
(4)
Police protection;
(5)
Fire protection; or
(6)
Library.
48-8-231.
Pursuant
to the authority granted by Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VI of the
Constitution, there are created within this state 159 special districts. The
geographical boundary of each county shall correspond with and shall be
conterminous with the geographical boundary of one of the 159 special
districts.
48-8-232.
When
the imposition of a joint county and municipal public hospital sales and use tax
is authorized according to the procedures provided in this article within a
special district, the county whose geographical boundary is conterminous with
that of the special district and each qualified municipality located wholly or
partially within the special district shall levy a joint sales and use tax at
the rate of 1/2¢. Except as to rate, the joint tax shall correspond to
the tax imposed and administered by Article 1 of this chapter. Dealers shall
be compensated, and penalties and interest shall be imposed in the same manner
as for purposes of Article 1 of this chapter.
48-8-233.
(a)
Whenever the governing authority of any county or qualified municipality located
wholly or partially within a special district wishes to submit to the electors
of the special district the question of whether the tax authorized by Code
Section 48-8-232 shall be imposed, any such governing authority shall notify the
election superintendent of the county whose geographical boundary is
conterminous with that of the special district by forwarding to the
superintendent a copy of the resolution of the governing authority calling for a
referendum election. Upon receipt of the resolution, it shall be the duty of
the election superintendent to issue the call for an election for the purpose of
submitting the question of the imposition of the tax to the voters of the
special district for approval or rejection. 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 two weeks
immediately preceding the date of the election in the official organ of the
county. The ballot shall have written or printed thereon the
following:
|
'( ) YES
( ) NO
|
Shall
a public hospital sales and use tax at the rate of 1/2¢ be levied within
the special district within ______________ County?'
|
(b)
All persons desiring to vote in favor of levying 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 levying the tax, then the tax shall be levied
in accordance with this article; otherwise, the tax may not be levied, and the
question of the imposition of the tax may not again be submitted to the voters
of the special district until after 24 months immediately following the month in
which the election was held. It shall be the duty of the election
superintendent to hold and conduct such elections under the same rules and
regulations as govern special elections. It shall be the election
superintendent´s further duty to 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 borne by the county whose
geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district holding
the election.
48-8-234.
If
the imposition of the tax provided in Code Section 48-8-232 is approved in a
referendum election as provided by Code Section 48-8-233, during the first 30
days following the certification of the result of the election, the governing
authority of the county whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of
the special district and the governing authority of each qualified municipality
located wholly or partially within the district shall each adopt a resolution
imposing the tax authorized by Code Section 48-8-232 on behalf of the county and
each qualified municipality located wholly or partially within the special
district. The resolution shall be effective on the first day of the next
succeeding calendar quarter which begins more than 80 days after the adoption of
the resolution. A certified copy of the resolution shall be forwarded to the
commissioner so that it will be received within five days after its
adoption.
48-8-235.
The
tax levied pursuant to this article shall be exclusively administered and
collected by the commissioner for the use and benefit of each county whose
geographical boundary is conterminous with that of a special district and of
each qualified municipality located wholly or partially therein. Such
administration and collection shall be accomplished in the same manner and
subject to the same applicable provisions, procedures, and penalties provided in
Article 1 of this chapter; provided, however, that all moneys collected from
each dealer by the commissioner shall be applied first to such dealer´s
liability for taxes owed the state.
48-8-236.
Each
tax report remitting taxes collected under this article shall separately
identify the location of each sale or use of motor fuel for which any of the
taxes remitted were collected in order to facilitate the determination by the
commissioner that all taxes imposed by this article are collected and
distributed according to situs of sale.
48-8-237.
(a)
The proceeds of the tax collected by the commissioner for each special district
under this article shall be disbursed as soon as practicable after collection as
follows:
(1)
One percent of the amount collected shall be paid into the general fund of the
state treasury in order to defray the costs of administration; and
(2)
Except for the percentage provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
remaining proceeds of the tax shall be distributed to the governing authority of
each qualified municipality within the special district and to the governing
authority of the county whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of
the special district for the purpose of assisting such political subdivisions in
funding all or any portion of the maintenance and operation of public hospitals
located in the special district.
(b)
The net proceeds of the tax shall be distributed to the county whose boundary is
conterminous with the special district and to each qualified municipality within
the special district according to population. Each qualified municipality shall
receive a share of the proceeds based on the population of the municipality
which is within the special district. The county shall receive a share of the
proceeds based on the population of the county which is outside of any qualified
municipality. Each local government´s share of the net proceeds shall be
determined pro rata on the basis of the population assigned by this subsection
to that local government as a fraction of the total population of the special
district. For purposes of this subsection, population shall be determined
according to the United States decennial census of 2000 or any future such
census.
(c)
If there comes into existence within any special district a qualified
municipality which was not a qualified municipality as of the date of imposition
of the tax, such new qualified municipality may give notice of its existence and
its desire to share in the proceeds of the tax by adoption of a resolution to
impose the tax. Upon receipt of a certified copy of such a resolution, the
commissioner shall, unless the commissioner determines that the requesting
entity is not a qualified municipality, commence to withhold from the county and
distribute to the new qualified municipality its share of the net proceeds of
the tax, as determined under subsection (b) of this Code section. Such new
distribution shall apply to taxes collected on and after the first day of the
first calendar quarter which begins more than 30 days after the date upon which
the commissioner determines that the new qualified municipality is eligible to
receive a share of the net proceeds of the tax.
(d)
If the commissioner determines that a qualified municipality entitled to receive
tax proceeds under this article has ceased to be a qualified municipality, the
commissioner shall thereafter distribute the percentage of the net proceeds of
the tax to which that qualified municipality was entitled to the county which is
conterminous with the special district.
48-8-238.
(a)
Whenever the governing authority of any county or qualified municipality located
wholly or partially within a special district in which the tax authorized by
this article is being levied wishes to submit to the electors of the special
district the question of whether the tax shall be discontinued, the governing
authority shall notify the election superintendent of the county whose
geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district by
forwarding to the superintendent a copy of a resolution of the governing
authority calling for the referendum election. Upon receipt of the resolution,
it shall be the duty of the election superintendent to issue the call for an
election for the purpose of submitting the question of discontinuing the levy of
the tax to the voters of the special district for approval or rejection. 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 two weeks immediately preceding the date of the election in the
official organ of the county. The ballot shall have written or printed thereon
the following:
|
'( ) YES
( ) NO
|
Shall
the public hospital sales and use tax at the rate of 1/2¢ being levied
within the special district within _______________ County be
terminated?'
|
(b)
All persons desiring to vote in favor of discontinuing the tax shall vote 'Yes'
and all persons opposed to discontinuing the tax shall vote 'No'. If more than
one-half of the votes cast are in favor of discontinuing the tax, then the tax
shall cease to be levied on the first day of the second calendar quarter
following the month in which the commissioner receives the certification of the
result of the election; otherwise, the tax shall continue to be levied, and the
question of the discontinuing of the tax may not again be submitted to the
voters of the special district until after 24 months immediately following the
month in which the election was held. It shall be the duty of the election
superintendent to hold and conduct such elections under the same rules and
regulations as govern special elections. It shall be the election
superintendent´s further duty to canvass the returns, declare and certify
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 borne by the county
whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district
holding the election.
48-8-239.
No
tax provided for under this article shall be imposed upon the sale of tangible
personal property which is ordered by and delivered to the purchaser at a point
outside the geographical area of the special district in which the joint tax is
imposed regardless of the point at which title passes, if the delivery is made
by the seller´s vehicle, United States mail, or common carrier or by
private or contract carrier licensed by the Interstate Commerce Commission or
the Georgia Public Service Commission.
48-8-240.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term 'building and construction materials'
means all building and construction materials, supplies, fixtures, or equipment,
any combination of such items, and any other leased or purchased articles when
the materials, supplies, fixtures, equipment, or articles are to be utilized or
consumed during construction or are to be incorporated into construction work
pursuant to a bona fide written construction contract.
(b)
No tax provided for under this article shall be imposed by a county or
municipality upon the sale or use of building and construction materials when
the contract pursuant to which the materials are purchased or used was
advertised for bid prior to approval of the levy of the tax by the county or
municipality and the contract was entered into as a result of a bid actually
submitted in response to the advertisement prior to approval of the levy of the
tax.
48-8-241.
The
commissioner shall have the power and authority to promulgate such rules and
regulations as shall be necessary for the effective and efficient administration
and enforcement of the collection of the tax authorized to be imposed by this
article."
SECTION
3.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.