48-13-9. Limitation on authority of local government to impose regulatory fee; examples of individuals and entities which may and may not be subject to fees; methods for determining fees.

Code 1981, § 48-13-9, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1292, § 7; Ga. L. 1995, p. 419, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 749, § 3; Ga. L. 2006, p. 544, § 2/HB 304; Ga. L. 2011, p. 227, § 28/SB 178; Ga. L. 2013, p. 37, § 2-3/HB 487; Ga. L. 2024, p. 661, § 1/HB 461, effective July 1, 2024.

The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2024, in subsection (a), substituted a comma for a semicolon following “purposes” and added “and the proceeds of such regulatory fee shall be used to fund such regulatory activity and not the general operations of the local government, and further provided that the local government shall not be required to establish separate accounts for such proceeds” at the end; substituted “Reserved” for “Shooting galleries and firearm ranges” in paragraph (b)(6); substituted “Reserved” for “Firearms dealers” in paragraph (b)(11); added paragraphs (c)(13.1), (c)(22), and (c)(23); deleted “and” from the end of paragraph (c)(21); redesignated former paragraph (c)(22) as paragraph (c)(24); added “or” at the end of paragraph (e)(4); in paragraph (e)(5), inserted “or for extensive renovation projects” near the beginning, deleted “and limited by the building valuation data, as established from time to time by” preceding “the International Code Council”, deleted “; or” from the end, and added the second sentence; and, deleted paragraph (e)(6), which read: “For construction projects that are classified as renovation and all other construction projects other than those classified as new construction, the cost of the project in conjunction with and limited by the building valuation data that conforms with the principles and methods established from time to time by the International Code Council or by similar data, and in conjunction with and limited by the hourly rate described in paragraph (3) or (4) of this subsection.”

Ga. L. 2013, p. 37, § 3-1/HB 487, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that: “(b) If any section of this Act is determined to be unconstitutional by a final decision of an appellate court of competent jurisdiction or by the trial court of competent jurisdiction if no appeal is made, with the exception of subsection (g) of Code Section 50-27-78 and Section 2-1 of this Act, this Act shall stand repealed by operation of law. “(c) This Act is not intended to and shall not be construed to affect the legality of the repair, transport, possession, or use of otherwise prohibited gambling devices on maritime vessels within the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia. To the extent that such repair, transport, possession, or use was lawful prior to the enactment of this Act, it shall not be made illegal by this Act; and to the extent that such repair, transport, possession, or use was prohibited prior to the enactment of this Act, it shall remain prohibited.” As of May 2025, no such finding has been issued.