Bill > SB166

This bill makes several changes to Georgia law concerning local government authority and penalties. It adds a new violation to the Fair Business Practices Act for attempting to avoid registering certain residential properties. The bill also revises how counties can govern and police unincorporated areas, allowing for confinement as a penalty for ordinance violations instead of just imprisonment, and establishes that county ordinances can be punished by a fine of up to $1,000 or 60 days confinement, with exceptions for certain environmental violations. Furthermore, it authorizes enhanced monetary penalties for repeat violations of county or municipal codes and ordinances related to public health and safety, with escalating fines for subsequent offenses, though these enhanced penalties do not apply to properties with a homestead exemption or to individuals owning fewer than ten residential properties in the same county. Finally, the bill creates an exception to the prohibition against requiring registration of residential rental properties, allowing such registration if the owner possesses ten or more such properties within the same county, and clarifies that attempting to evade registration through multiple business names is a violation of the Fair Business Practices Act.

Housing and Urban Affairs

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70303