Finance Committee approves substitute to House Bill 66 to allow limited "a-host" option for counties without LOST

Committee members heard a multi-county proposal to allow an "a-host" (alternative host) sales-tax option targeted to counties that do not currently levy a local option sales tax. Committee discussion identified Cherokee, Cobb and Gwinnett counties as the jurisdictions that could use the option under the draft.

Senator Albers, speaking for members of the local delegation, said the proposal aims to reduce homeowners' property-tax burdens while preserving capital funding for roads and other infrastructure. "This is a chance for [local officials] to help out the homeowners who, as we all have experienced, 45 year high inflation, in order to, really get rid of that county portion of their tax bill," Albers said.

Committee counsel and local government representatives explained the mechanics: up to 25% of the sales-tax revenues would be available for capital projects and, if capital funds are used, municipalities would receive their portion in the same proportion as a SPLOST distribution. The remainder would fund an alternative homestead exemption (for homeowners) and business exemptions as described in the substitute. The ballot question requires both the homestead exemption and the sales-and-use tax to pass for either to take effect.

Panel members discussed the bill's trigger language and the relationship to existing LOST and SPLOST processes. A staff speaker explained that if negotiations over redistribution certificates break down and a county's LOST expires, a local act would be required for a county to put the a-host on the ballot; that process includes local legislative action and a voter referendum. The substitute includes a 10-year sunset so a future renewal would require another ballot question.

Members debated technical provisions carried forward from existing code — for example, pump-price thresholds for motor-fuel sales tax collection — but committee counsel said those sections mirror current state code and were not newly-created by the substitute. Several members said the draft had been pared down from longer host-language used elsewhere and that the substitute is narrower in scope.

The committee approved an amendment (AM500110) that returned specific senate/house-numbered language into the bill text and then voted the substitute as amended. Committee leadership reported the amendment vote was unanimous and the final voice vote on the substitute as amended was unanimous as reported in the transcript. The panel's action advances the substitute to the next stage of the legislative process.

The transcript does not include a numerical roll-call by member name or a fiscal note in the excerpt.