(The Center Square) – New tax credits for local businesses is being sought by the Atlanta City Council from the Georgia General Assembly.
The request is part of the city’s 2025 legislative package, which was approved by the council on Monday.
The goal of the credit is to “increase access to capital for Atlanta’s entrepreneurs, aiming to retain and grow local businesses.”
The council is hoping the General Assembly will take another look at House Bill 1105 and make parts of it optional for cities. The sweeping legislation requires cities and counties to comply with federal immigration laws.
Critics of the bill say it is expensive for local governments.
“HB1105 will likely expand the state’s system of carceral control and caging of people of color while perpetuating the separation of immigrant families,” David Schaefer, vice president of research and policy for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, previously said.
Other public safety items include legislation that penalizes criminal use of artificial intelligence and one that increases penalties for street racing.
City leaders are also proposing a bill that would allow cities to lessen impact fees for developers, which the panel said could address the affordable housing crisis. The fee waiver would be optional for cities.
A bill that called for public hearings on Special Administrative Permits should be reconsidered, the council said in its agenda.
“An SAP can be for projects as simple as the construction of an addition to a single-family home, a renovation, or a demolition. The development community and homeowners are hindered by this requirement because it adds more time to the SAP process,” the agenda said. “The city is hindered by this requirement because it must use staff and resources to advertise the hearing, prepare for the hearing, and staff the hearing.”
The council is also supporting legislation that would require proposed data centers to disclose their water usage. Georgia has had an influx of data centers. More than 50 companies have data centers in the Peach State, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
The Mayor’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs is asking lawmakers to approve a bill that would allow DACA recipients and refugees to qualify for in-state tuition registering at Georgia’s colleges and universities. A bipartisan group of lawmakers proposed House Bill 131 during the 2024 session, but it did not pass. The agenda said the bill would boost workforce diversity.
DACA is an acronym for deferred action for childhood arrivals.
