O.C.G.A. § 12-6A-5
(Effective July 1, 2022.) Establishment of the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund
Redline — December 1, 2018 → current.View current text →
Current — August 21, 2019
As of December 1, 2018
(1) Approval of a land conservation project proposal for purposes of this chapter shall be accomplished as provided for in this Code section. Cities, counties, the department, the commission, other state departments or agencies, other state authorities, and nongovernmental entities may develop and submit land conservation projects using rules and regulations established by the authority. Cities, counties, the department, the commission, other state departments or agencies, and other state authorities may develop land conservation proposals in partnership with nonprofit environmental and conservation organizations and organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code. The department shall make available its geographic information systems data as described in Code Section 12-6A-10 to cities, counties, the commission, other state departments or agencies, and other state authorities to assist them in the development of land conservation proposals. Land conservation projects by any nongovernmental entity shall be submitted by means of co-application with the city or county having jurisdiction over the area in question, but such city or county shall not be liable for any debt of the nongovernmental entity.
(2) The authority shall review each land conservation project for fiscal merit, for the capacity of the applicant to fulfill its matching fund or loan repayment commitments, for the fiscal solvency of the entity identified as responsible for protecting and managing the conservation land or conservation easement, and for compliance with all applicable terms and conditions of this chapter. (b) (2) The authority shall make a recommendation based on its review of each land conservation project to the council, including recommended funding sources, funding levels, and the terms and conditions of those funds.
(3) The department shall review each land conservation project proposal for its strategic investment in land resources with high environmental values or conservation benefits; for consistency with the land conservation goals set forth in this chapter and the land conservation priorities set forth by the Governor; for the merit of a plan for long-term management of the conservation land or conservation easement; and for compliance with all applicable terms and conditions of this chapter.
(4) The department shall make a recommendation based on its review of each land conservation project to the council, including any terms and conditions of those funds.
(5) The council shall review each land conservation project proposal and shall consider the recommendations of the authority and the department, as well as the procedures, conditions, components, priorities, and criteria set forth in subsections (c) and (e) of this Code section, and any rules and regulations promulgated by the authority. The decision of the council that a land conservation project complies with all of the required terms and conditions and is approved shall cause the city, county, department, commission, other state department or agency, other state authority, or nongovernmental entity to become eligible for funding pursuant to the terms of this chapter and of the project approval. The authority shall then be responsible for the execution of each such project approval decision of the council.
(6) The council shall adopt procedures to review and determine the disposition of project proposals including, but not limited to, a schedule of meetings on an as needed basis, but not less than quarterly, at which project proposals will be considered; the components required to comprise a project proposal; the format in which project proposals will be presented for consideration by the council; the conditions which provide priority ranking to be used in reviewing the merits of project proposals; and the means, such as a memorandum of understanding, by which organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code may enter into partnerships with cities, counties, the department, the commission, other state departments or agencies, other state authorities, or nongovernmental entities to assist with the development and implementation of project proposals.
(7) The council shall use, at a minimum, the following criteria in granting project approval: The project shall promote the permanent protection of conservation land;
(8) The identification and commitment to the employment of local land use ordinances and local conservation and preservation ordinances, policies, and regulations which further the achievement of the permanent protection of conservation land; and
(9) Project proposals which are multijurisdictional in scope or regional in impact will receive additional ranking points.
(10) The council, the authority, and the department shall enter into contracts or memorandums of understanding, as appropriate and consistent with the intent and provisions of this chapter, setting forth the details of how they will each discharge, in cooperation with the others, their respective responsibilities under this chapter.
(1) There is established the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund as a separate fund in the state treasury. Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this Code section, the state treasurer shall credit to the trust fund 40 percent of all moneys received by the state from the sales and use tax collected by establishments classified under the 2007 North American Industry Classification Code 451110, sporting goods stores, in the immediately preceding year.
(2) Such funds shall not lapse to the general fund. Such funds shall be used to support the protection and conservation of land and shall be used to supplement, not supplant, department resources.
(3) In the event that, in any current year, the immediately preceding year's total moneys received from the levy of a sales and use tax fall at least 1 percent below the total moneys received from the levy of the tax in the year prior to the immediately preceding year, then the amount that the state treasurer shall credit to the trust fund during the current year shall be reduced by 20 percent of the trust fund credit, which amount shall instead be paid into the state general fund.
(4) In the event that, in a year following the year of an initial trust fund credit reduction pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the immediately preceding year's total moneys received from the levy of a sales and use tax fall at least 1 percent below the total moneys received from the levy of the tax in the year prior to the immediately preceding year, then the amount that the state treasurer shall credit to the trust fund during the current year shall be reduced by 50 percent of the trust fund credit, which amount shall instead be paid into the state general fund.
(5) In any current year following a year for which the amount paid to the trust fund is reduced in accordance with subsection (c) of this Code section, the same percentage shall be paid into the state general fund as in the immediately preceding year unless the total moneys received from the levy of the sales and use tax in the immediately preceding year equal or exceed the total moneys received from the levy of the sales and use tax in the most recent year in which no reduction in the amount paid to the trust fund occurred pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) of this Code section.
Current official text: Official Code of Georgia Annotated (LexisNexis). Digitized from the Internet Archive scan of the OCGA. Reproduced from public-domain Georgia statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.