07 LC 28
3392
House
Bill 351
By:
Representatives Stephens of the
164th,
Lindsey of the
54th,
Hill of the
21st,
Graves of the
12th,
and Horne of the
71st
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 2 of Chapter 12 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the Georgia Council for the Arts, so as to provide for
legislative intent; to create the Georgia Arts Trust; to provide for the
membership, appointment, terms, filling of vacancies, duties, and
responsibilities of the board of trustees of the Georgia Arts Trust; to provide
for the creation, appointment, terms, filling of vacancies, duties, and
responsibilities of the Georgia Arts Trust Advisory Committee; to provide for
certain reports and audits; to amend Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to imposition, rate, and
computation of income taxes, so as to provide a tax credit for certain donations
to the Georgia Arts Trust and certain qualifying arts organizations; to provide
for definitions; to provide for the calculation of such credit; to provide for
limitations on such credit; to provide for related matters; to provide for
applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
2 of Chapter 12 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the Georgia Council for the Arts, is amended by designating the existing text
as Part 1 and inserting a new Part 2 to read as follows:
"Part
2
50-12-30.
The
General Assembly finds that:
(1)
The arts serve as an economic engine for the state, are a great community
development tool, support improvements in educational performance, and preserve
our state´s heritage;
(2)
Tourism is Georgia´s second largest industry and cultural heritage tourism
is the fastest growing industry segment;
(3)
The arts surpass professional sports in attendance and are ranked as one of the
top ten reasons for corporate relocations;
(4)
The arts preserve history and heritage for Georgians, whether through
architecture and other visual arts, oral and written literary works, or the
performance arts;
(5)
The arts enhance education success for our children through the teaching of
complex and abstract ideas; the nurturing of cognitive, social, and personal
competencies; and the reaching of otherwise unreachable students;
(6)
Companies desire employees who can meet the challenges of a global economy and
can apply creative thought to problem solving;
(7)
The arts build communities and increase the quality of life for
Georgians;
(8)
Increasing the availability of the arts and tourism is a direct economic benefit
for the economy of Georgia and will provide jobs and opportunities for our
citizens; and
(9)
It is in the best interests of this state and its citizens to support the arts
and tourism.
50-12-31.
(a)
In order to foster a public-private partnership for the support of the arts and
tourism in this state, there is created the Georgia Arts Trust. Such trust
shall be for the purpose of receiving and distributing funds for the support of
the arts and tourism in this state. The Georgia Arts Trust shall not be an
entity or agency of government, but shall be a private trust operating under and
in accordance with the laws of this state. It is the intent of the General
Assembly that such trust take all necessary steps to become a Section 501(c)(3)
entity under the federal Internal Revenue Code.
(b)(1)
The Georgia Arts Trust shall be governed by a board of trustees. Such board
shall be composed of 19 members to be selected in accordance with this
subsection.
(2)
The Governor shall appoint one member from each of the state´s 13
congressional districts. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
Lieutenant Governor shall each appoint one at-large member.
(3)
The Governor shall also appoint one serving board member from each of the
following state agencies or departments: the State Board of Education, the
Department of Economic Development, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and the Georgia
Council for the Arts, each of whom shall have the approval of the board of the
department or agency being represented. Such persons shall not be elected
officers of the state or officials of any of such agencies.
(c)
The members of the board of trustees shall serve no more than two terms of four
years and until their successors are appointed and qualified; provided, however,
that the initial terms of the members appointed from the even-numbered
congressional districts and the members representing the Department of Economic
Development and Georgia Public Broadcasting shall be for two years and until
their successors are appointed and qualified. Thereafter, such members shall
serve for four-year terms and until their successors are appointed and
qualified. Vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority that appointed
the departing member for the departing member´s unexpired term of office.
The members of the board of trustees shall serve without compensation but may be
reimbursed for actual expenses incurred while on the business of the
trust.
(d)
The board of trustees shall elect from among their number annually a chairperson
and a vice chairperson. The board of trustees may also elect such other
officers as the board deems appropriate. The board shall meet at the call of
the chairperson or the request of any four members.
(e)
The executive director of the Georgia Council for the Arts shall also serve as
the executive director of the trust. The trust shall reimburse the Georgia
Council for the Arts for the time spent by the executive director on matters
concerning the trust.
(f)
The board of trustees may appoint an advisory committee to assist the board
members in their duties. If created, such advisory committee shall consist of
30 members and shall be chaired by the executive director of the trust. The
advisory committee shall consist of two representatives from each of the
state´s congressional districts; the first representative from each
congressional district shall be from a nonprofit arts organization with an
annual budget of less than $300,000.00 and the second representative from each
congressional district shall be from a nonprofit arts organization with an
annual budget in excess of $1 million. In circumstances in which there is
not a nonprofit arts organization with an annual budget in excess of $1 million
dollars in a congressional district, the board of trustees may select a
representative from another arts organization in the district. In addition, the
board of trustees shall appoint a representative of the Georgia Humanities
Council; a representative of the film, video, and music division of the
Department of Economic Development; a representative of the tourism division of
the Department of Economic Development; and the executive director of the trust.
In making its appointments, the board shall select members of the boards of arts
and tourism organizations, persons who have shown a commitment to the arts in
their communities, and persons who understand the needs of business and the arts
and tourism industries. Such members shall serve for four-year terms and until
their successors are selected and qualified; provided, however, that the board
of trustees shall designate 15 of the initial appointees to serve terms of two
years and until their successors are selected and qualified. Such 15 members
shall thereafter serve four-year terms and until their successors are selected
and qualified. The members of the advisory committee shall serve without
compensation but may be reimbursed for expenses actually incurred while on the
business of the advisory committee.
50-12-32.
The
Georgia Arts Trust shall be for the following purposes:
(1)
To support the arts and tourism industries of this state through contracts for
services for arts programming or those events that promote, develop, administer,
produce, present, maintain, or provide for the arts in this state;
(2)
To receive, invest, and administer funds received from the state, the federal
government, private donations, grants, and other sources to fulfill the purposes
for which the trust is created;
(3)
To attract contributions and grants;
(4)
To preserve the long-term financial health of Georgia´s arts and tourism
industries;
(5)
To conserve and grow the state´s art resources;
(6)
To maximize access to the arts for Georgia citizens;
(7)
To ensure that the benefits of arts education are competitively available to all
schools;
(8)
To inventory, conserve, and grow the state´s public art;
(9)
To develop and implement ongoing growth and conservation programs for the
state´s arts and tourism industries;
(10)
To market and sell Georgia´s arts, crafts, and traditional
arts;
(11)
To focus grants on the fine arts, crafts, and traditional arts for increased
cultural heritage tourism;
(12)
To utilize funds of the trust for matching dollars for federal and foundation
grants to fulfill the purposes of the trust;
(13)
To develop additional resources for Georgia´s arts assets; and
(14)
To engage in other activities designed to grow and support Georgia´s arts
and tourism industries.
50-12-33.
The
board of trustees shall have the following duties and
responsibilities:
(1)
To operate and manage the Georgia Arts Trust, including the investment and
reinvestment of the trust´s funds, the management of assets of the trust,
and the distribution of such funds and assets to fulfill the purpose of the
trust;
(2)
To enter into contracts with public and private entities for services needed by
the trust and to fulfill the purposes of the trust;
(3)
To employ staff and consultants as deemed necessary to fulfill the purposes of
the trust and to manage, invest, and administer funds and assets of the
trust;
(4)
To receive, retain, and invest donations, state and federal funding, grants, and
other funds and assets;
(5)
To ensure that an annual independent audit is conducted of all funds and assets
of the trust;
(6)
To apply for and administer grants from public and private entities to fulfill
the purposes of the trust, to assist Georgia arts and tourism organizations in
obtaining and administering grants for these purposes, and to partner with other
organizations in order to obtain such grants;
(7)
To receive, invest, and administer funds as endowments for Georgia arts and
tourism organizations;
(8)
To institute and administer grant programs for Georgia arts and tourism
organizations and programs to fulfill the purposes of the trust;
(9)
To promote, market, and assist in the export of Georgia´s arts and
crafts;
(10)
To promote, fund, conduct, and assist in the development, provision, and
expansion of arts education programs in Georgia;
(11)
To preserve, maintain, and make accessible the public art of this state;
and
(12)
To perform such other tasks as may be appropriate to fulfill its purposes that
are not inconsistent with law.
50-12-34.
(a)
The funds and assets of the trust shall be independently audited annually, and
the results of such audit shall be open to inspection at reasonable times by any
person. A copy of the audit report shall be sent to the state auditor and the
state accounting officer.
(b)
The trust shall provide the Governor and the members of the General Assembly
with a full report of its activities in December of each year with
recommendations, if any, for legislation to assist the trust in achieving its
purposes."
SECTION
2.
Article
2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to imposition, rate, and computation of income taxes, is amended by inserting a
new Code section to read as follows:
"48-7-29.13.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Georgia arts organization' means a private, not for profit organization in this
state that has as its purpose, and engages in, the promotion, development,
administration, production, maintenance, or provision of the arts in this
state.
(2)
'Georgia Arts Trust' means the Georgia Arts Trust created by Code Section
50-12-31.
(b)
For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2007, and ending on or before
December 31, 2012, a taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed
by Code Section 48-7-20 or 48-7-21, as applicable, for donations to the Georgia
Arts Trust and donations to one or more Georgia arts organizations as provided
in subsection (c) of this Code section. No taxpayer shall be entitled to such
credit with respect to the same donations claimed by another
taxpayer.
(c)
In order to receive the credit provided in this Code section, the taxpayer must
during the taxable year in which such credit is sought:
(1)
Make a contribution to the Georgia Arts Trust; and
(2)
Make a contribution to one or more Georgia arts organizations that is equal to
or exceeds the aggregate total of the contributions to the Georgia Arts
Trust.
(d)
The credit provided in this Code section shall be equal to one-half of the
aggregate total of the taxpayer´s contributions to the Georgia Arts Trust
during the taxable year for which the credit is sought.
(e)
In no event shall the amount of the tax credit exceed $5,000.00 with respect to
tax liability determined under Code Section 48-7-20 for individual taxpayers or
$10,000.00 with respect to tax liability determined under Code Section 48-7-21
for corporate taxpayers or the taxpayer´s income tax liability, whichever
is less. Any unused tax credit shall not be allowed to be carried forward to
apply to the taxpayer´s succeeding years´ tax liability. No such tax
credit shall be allowed the taxpayer against prior years´ tax
liability.
(f)
The commissioner shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to
implement and administer this Code section."
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.