As I am sure all of you are aware the current draft of the Transportation Funding Act of 2015 (HB-170) seriously affects the future collection of Special Option Sales taxes for both counties and school districts.Should the 2015 ELOST that is on the ballot for March 2015 be passed, it would go into effect September 2015.   Since that is after HB-170 would go into effect on July 1, 2015, the new ELOST would have to comply with the new law.  This will seriously impact the money that would come to the school system under ELOST.  In 2014 Gilmer County collected $10,794,709 in LOCAL sales tax. According to the State, 10.82% or $1,167,979 of that comes from tax on motor fuel. SPLOST and LOST received $798,398 and ELOST received $389,581. This portion of the ELOST revenue will go away under HB-170 when the 2009 ELOST expires on September 1, 2015.  (See the newly added paragraph (d) to Section 4-2.)

As you can see, this will be a significant reduction in ELOST revenue.  Since the Board is to provide direction and determine priorities, this may greatly affect projects other than maintenance of our existing structures, and little, if any, for an AG barn, cannery or athletic upgrades. The current HB-170 is still in draft form but if passed with the language concerning future SPLOSTs and ELOSTs, it will greatly affect the tax collection for ELOST as you will no longer receive any sales tax from the sale of gasoline and possibly also propane.  The likelihood of this language remaining is fairly strong as the State Constitution requires that all taxes collected on motor fuels be used for transportation, so even if HB-170 doesn’t pass, it has been determined that usage of the sales tax on gasoline for other than transportation is prohibited by State law.
Therefore, the Gilmer County School Board should not issue any bonds that would require ELOST funds to pay for the debt.  The school board should require that no ELOST expenditures be made from the 2015 ELOST referendum until such funds are actually collected.  This will also save the Gilmer County Charter School System from having to pay any interest on bond debt.  The Board will essentially be instituting a more conservative “pay as you go” policy or don’t spend the money until it is collected.  This new potential change in the sales tax law should it pass will not affect collection of sales tax on the current 2009 ELOST for any months after July 1, 2015.   It would only effect the new 2015 ELOST should it pass.

Joene DePlancke