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Marietta board hears legislative roundup as property-tax and permitting bills advance
Summary
Marietta received a legislative briefing on April 6: several high-profile state bills moved this session — including a property-tax measure shifted into Senate Bill 33 and a permitting package in SB 309 — while data-center bills failed to pass; the board said it will monitor possible vetoes and a potential special session.
Ronnie Barrett told the Marietta Board on April 6 that the recent state legislative session produced a mixed outcome for measures affecting cities.
"For all the discussion, all the committee meetings, none of the data‑center bills passed this year," Barrett said, noting that House Bill 1027 — a proposal on the length of utility contracts the board had tracked — did not get a Senate hearing. He said the legislature did pass Senate Bill 309, which includes permitting language and retains provisions addressing how counties and municipalities could pursue changes to police services; that portion would require a voter referendum before cities could abolish police services.
Barrett told the board that House Bill 463 moved the state income tax rate immediately to 4.99% and set a potential path to 3.99% over eight years if budgetary thresholds are met, and that the property‑tax measure had been folded into Senate Bill 33 late in the session. "We believe they stripped out the cap of the 3% that the city manager was mentioning, but that bill did pass," he said, adding that there is debate about whether the measure will withstand legal scrutiny or a gubernatorial veto.
Board members asked for bill numbers and more detail; Barrett said he would email exact citations and that the board should watch for a possible special session, currently discussed as focused on election bills but potentially broader if the governor calls it.
Why it matters: the package of bills discussed would change tax and permitting rules that affect city revenues and local planning processes. The board flagged SB 309 for its combination of unrelated provisions and for language that, if triggered, would move decisions about police services to a public referendum.
The board did not take a formal vote on legislative strategy; members asked staff to circulate the written bills and watch for developments, including possible legal challenges or an executive veto that could prompt further local action.
