SB 430: Taxes; certain military museums qualify as destination marketing organizations and private sector nonprofit organizations; provide

Georgia counties and cities collect a hotel-motel tax to fund tourism promotion, often through a designated private sector nonprofit organization. This bill changes the definition of 'tourism product development' in Georgia's hotel-motel tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-13-50.2) to specifically add museums, including military museums and other institutions preserving the history of U.S. armed forces conflicts, as qualifying attractions. It also removes museums generally from an older catch-all category and separates planetariums out on their own. The bill removes the $500,000 annual tax collection threshold that used to limit which local governments needed approval to change their designated tourism nonprofit, so the approval process now applies to all of them. It adds specific factors the Hotel Motel Tax Performance Review Board must weigh when deciding whether to approve such a change, requires the board to meet quarterly instead of as needed, shortens several deadlines for reporting and remedial action, and requires public notice of noncompliance findings.

• Adds museums, including military museums and institutions on U.S. armed forces history, as a category of 'tourism product development' eligible for hotel-motel tax funded projects.
• Removes the $500,000 per year tax collection threshold that determined which local governments had to follow special procedures before changing their designated tourism-promoting nonprofit.
• Requires the Hotel Motel Tax Performance Review Board to weigh specific factors, such as visitation goals and conflicts of interest, before approving a change to a local tourism nonprofit.
• Changes the board's meeting schedule from an annual September-to-December window to quarterly meetings, with 90 days to hold a hearing on any complaint received.
• Shortens the deadline for transmitting hearing findings to the commissioner of community affairs from 60 to 30 days, and creates a new 60 day window for a noncompliant organization to submit a corrected report.
• Requires notifications of noncompliance to be published in the local legal organ (the county's official newspaper) and posted on the department's website until the issue is resolved.

Military museums and other history-focused museums seeking hotel-motel tax funded tourism projects, local governing authorities that levy the hotel-motel tax, private sector nonprofit organizations designated to promote tourism, the Hotel Motel Tax Performance Review Board, and the state commissioner of community affairs and revenue commissioner.

Military museums could newly qualify for hotel-motel tax revenue used for tourism development, potentially opening new funding for these institutions. Local governments of any size, not just larger tax-collecting ones, would face a more structured, faster-moving review process before swapping their tourism promotion nonprofit, with public disclosure of compliance problems.

• Section 1 revises the definition of 'tourism product development' in O.C.G.A. § 48-13-50.2, moving museums out of a general category and adding a new category (R) specifically covering military museums and similar history institutions.
• Section 2 removes the $500,000 annual tax collection threshold in O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51(k) so the special approval process for changing a tourism nonprofit applies to all local governments levying the tax.
• Section 2 also directs the Hotel Motel Tax Performance Review Board to consider five specific factors, including visitation goals and conflicts of interest, when approving or rejecting a change in the designated nonprofit.
• Section 3 changes the board's meeting frequency in O.C.G.A. § 48-13-56.1 from an annual window (September 1 through December 1) to quarterly meetings, and sets a 90 day deadline to hold a hearing on a complaint.
• Section 3 shortens the deadline for the board to send hearing findings to the commissioner of community affairs from 60 to 30 calendar days.
• Section 3 creates a 60 day period for a noncompliant subject to submit a corrected tax report, and requires publication of noncompliance notifications in the local legal organ and on the department's website.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 493
3. 2026-05-11Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-04-02Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2026-03-25House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
7. 2026-03-25House Third Readers (House)
8. 2026-03-18House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)Primary sponsor
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)

1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 24, 2026

   30 yea, 22 nay (2 not voting, 1 absent)

   Motion To Engross: Senate Vote #573

2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 24, 2026

   49 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #578

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 25, 2026

   169 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #762

4. PassedSenate voteApril 3, 2026

   53 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #988

• hotel-motel tax
• military museums
• tourism funding
• local government oversight
• tax compliance