State Representative Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire) announced that House Bill 340, House Bill 470 and Senate Bill 104 were signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal on Monday, May 8, 2017. These measures will amend Georgia motor vehicle tax law, establish a grant fund to assist military communities and update Georgia’s invasion of privacy law.

“I’m thankful to Governor Deal and my colleagues in the House and Senate for helping pass these important bills this session,” said Rep. Blackmon. “These pieces of legislation reflect Georgia’s commitment to the well-being of its citizens, and I’m confident that each measure will greatly benefit all Georgians. I’m proud of the diligent work of the General Assembly during the 2017 session, and I look forward seeing to the positive impacts HB 340, HB 470 and SB 104 will have on our state.”

HB 340, which was sponsored by Rep. Blackmon, will amend Georgia law relating to motor vehicle taxes by stating that a leased motor vehicle’s taxable value is the total of the base payments pursuant to the lease agreement.

HB 470, which was also sponsored by Rep. Blackmon, will authorize the Department of Economic Development to administer the Defense Community Economic Development Fund, a grant program aimed at reviewing economic development opportunities at and around military installations and providing assistance to communities surrounding these facilities. Under this measure, the Department of Economic Development will determine the grant amount on a case-by-case basis by taking into account the proposed goal of the grant, including the extent that the grant would better the relationship between the military community and military facilities, the extent that the grant would promote the military installation’s economic development investment into the military community or the extent that the grant would assist in efforts to protect the military installation from a federal review.

SB 104 contains language from House Bill 9, legislation that was sponsored by Rep. Blackmon during the 2017 legislative session. SB 104 will criminalize the use of a device, such as a camera or mobile phone, to secretly observe, photograph, videotape, film or record underneath or through a person’s clothing to view intimate parts of the body in circumstances where that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. This legislation will also make it unlawful to disseminate images or recordings that were obtained this way. In addition, SB 104 will add a new tier relating to motor vehicle theft by adding hijacking a motor vehicle in the second degree; expand requirements for posting human trafficking hotline information; amend Georgia law relating to counterfeit or false proof of insurance documents; and add fentanyl and fentanyl derivatives to the list of prohibited substances.