GA Code § 33-8-8.3 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 33 - Insurance|Chapter 8 - Fees and Taxes|§ 33-8-8.3. Funding of Services, or Reduction of Ad Valorem Taxes, in Unincorporated Areas of Counties; Powers and Duties of Governing Authority

  The proceeds from the county taxes levied for county purposes, as provided by this chapter, shall be separated from other county funds and shall be used by the county governing authorities solely for the purpose of either:   Funding the provision of the following services to inhabitants of the unincorporated areas of such counties directly or by intergovernmental contract as authorized by Article IX, Section III, Paragraph I of the Constitution of the State of Georgia:   Police protection, except such protection provided by the county sheriff;   Fire protection;   Curbside or on-site residential or commercial garbage and solid waste collection;   Curbs, sidewalks, and street lights;   Flood risk reduction, which, for purposes of this paragraph, such term shall mean policies adopted or projects implemented by a county to reduce the risks from flood events to residents of or property located in unincorporated areas of such county that are prone to experiencing floods. Such policies or projects may include but are not limited to the creation of flood risk management strategies and plans, installation of storm-water management infrastructure, and acquisition of high-risk properties; and   Such other services as may be provided by the county governing authority for the primary benefit of the inhabitants of the unincorporated area of the county; or     Reducing ad valorem taxes of the inhabitants of the unincorporated areas of those counties in which the governing authority of a county does not provide any of the services enumerated in paragraph (1) of this subsection to inhabitants of the unincorporated areas. In fixing the ad valorem tax millage rate for the year, the governing authorities of such counties shall be authorized and directed to reduce such ad valorem tax millage rate on taxable property within the unincorporated areas of such counties to offset any of the proceeds derived from any tax provided for in this chapter which cannot be expended pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection.     In the adoption of the budget utilizing any of the funds derived from the tax imposed by Code Sections 33-8-8.1 and 33-8-8.2 the governing authority of a county shall specify in such budget the amount of such funds expended as authorized by paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section or used to reduce ad valorem taxes as provided in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section. Said budget shall also specify the amount of any other funds expended for such purpose or purposes as are authorized to be expended for services referred to in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section. Such provisions shall be spread on the minutes of the meeting at which such budget is adopted.     (Code 1981, §33-8-8.3, enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 1595, § 4; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 33; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1581, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1151, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 561, § 1; Ga. L. 2015, p. 5, § 33/HB 90; Ga. L. 2019, p. 337, § 1-45/SB 132; Ga. L. 2021, p. 84, § 1/HB 244.)    The 2019 amendment,  effective July 1, 2019, deleted "1984 and any year thereafter" following "rate for the year" near the beginning of the second sentence of paragraph (a)(2).    The 2021 amendment,  effective April 21, 2021, deleted "and" at the end of subparagraph (a)(1)(D); added subparagraph (a)(1)(E); and redesignated former subparagraph (a)(1)(E) as present subparagraph (a)(1)(F).   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 1983, p. 1595, § 5, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that that Act would apply to all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 1984.   Law reviews.   - For annual survey on local government law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 205 (2017).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   County's funding of solid waste collection and disposal convenience centers.    - In a class action suit seeking a refund of Insurance Premium Tax proceeds (IPTP) used to fund convenience centers for collecting and disposing of solid waste, the court reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the class members because the trial court erroneously concluded that the county's use of IPTP to operate the county's convenience centers could not be authorized; however, if it met the primary benefit requirement under O.C.G.A. § 33-8-8.3(a)(1)(E), the use was authorized. Montgomery County v. Hamilton, 337 Ga. App. 500, 788 S.E.2d 89 (2016), cert. denied, No. S16C1805, 2017 Ga. LEXIS 113 (Ga. 2017).    Under the plain language of O.C.G.A. § 33-8-8.3, the use of Insurance Premium Tax proceeds to operate the county's convenience centers may be authorized by the statute's catch-all provision, but only if it meets the requirement that these remote, off-site waste-collection centers primarily benefit the residents of the unincorporated area. Montgomery County v. Hamilton, 337 Ga. App. 500, 788 S.E.2d 89 (2016), cert. denied, No. S16C1805, 2017 Ga. LEXIS 113 (Ga. 2017).