HB 168: Sales and use tax; SPLOST; require enactment of a local Act for reimposition of such tax

Under current Georgia law, once a county's 1 percent special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) is set to expire, the county government can reimpose a new SPLOST by following the same local process used to impose it the first time, such as a resolution and a referendum, without needing separate action from the state legislature. This bill changes that process. It amends O.C.G.A. § 48-8-112 so that after a county meets the existing local requirements for reimposing a SPLOST (whether starting the process while the old tax is still in effect or after it has expired), the county must also wait for the General Assembly to pass a local Act specifically enabling that reimposition before the new tax can take effect. The single 1 percent cap on SPLOST within a special district stays in place.

• Adds a new requirement that a county cannot reimpose an expiring or expired SPLOST until the General Assembly passes a local Act enabling that specific reimposition.
• Applies this new state legislative approval step whether the county starts the reimposition process before or after the current tax expires.
• Leaves in place the existing rule that only a single 1 percent SPLOST tax can be in effect in a special district at one time.
• Keeps the existing emergency waiver allowing the state revenue commissioner to permit uninterrupted reimposition in emergencies, but this now applies alongside the new local Act requirement.

County governing authorities across Georgia that levy or plan to reimpose SPLOST funds, county residents who pay the sales tax, local governments and school districts that rely on SPLOST revenue for projects, and the General Assembly, which would gain a new approval role in each reimposition.

Counties would no longer be able to renew their SPLOST purely through local resolutions and referendums. They would need the state legislature to pass a specific local Act first, adding a step and potential delay to how counties fund roads, buildings, and other capital projects with sales tax revenue.

• Section 1 revises subsection (c) of O.C.G.A. § 48-8-112 to add a new paragraph (4) conditioning SPLOST reimposition on both meeting existing local requirements and the General Assembly's enactment of a local Act.
• The new requirement applies to reimposition initiated while the existing tax is still in effect (paragraph 2) and to reimposition initiated after the tax has expired (paragraph 3).
• The existing cap remains: no more than a single 1 percent SPLOST tax may be imposed within a special district at any time.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard provision with no substantive effect beyond clearing conflicts with the new requirement.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
3. 2025-02-03House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-01-30House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-01-29House Hopper (House)

• Mitchell Horner (R, HD-3)Primary sponsor
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-16)
• Chas Cannon (R, HD-172)
• Jason Ridley (R, HD-6)
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
• Jordan Ridley (R, HD-22)

• SPLOST
• sales tax
• county government
• local option sales tax
• state legislature approval