# Georgia HB 498: Garden City Charm and Tourism Act; enact

Georgia HB 498, Garden City Charm and Tourism Act; enact, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Lynn Heffner (Democrat), Karlton Howard (Democrat), L.C. Myles (Democrat) and 2 others; status signed, last action 2025-05-13 (House Date Signed by Governor); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB498-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 498
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Garden City Charm and Tourism Act; enact
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-02-18
- Last action: 2025-05-13, House Date Signed by Governor
- Sponsors: Lynn Heffner (Democrat), Karlton Howard (Democrat), L.C. Myles (Democrat), Mark Newton (Republican), Brian Prince (Democrat)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Intragovernmental Coordination, State and Local Governmental Operations, Local Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (221 yes, 1 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Augusta lodging taxes fund local tourism: benefit, low. Each fiscal year the tax is collected, the county must direct revenue above what a 5% lodging tax would raise. At least 50% of that extra revenue must fund tourism, convention, and trade-show promotion. Promotion funds go through the county’s designated tourism marketing group or another entity aut…
- Augusta lodging tax capped at 8%: cost, low. The law authorizes Augusta-Richmond County to tax paid lodging charges at a rate no higher than 8%. Covered lodging includes hotels, motels, inns, cabins, campgrounds, and other places regularly or periodically offering paid stays. Operators must be county-licensed or required to pay county busines…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Lynn Heffner (Democrat), House
- Sponsor: Karlton Howard (Democrat), House
- Sponsor: L.C. Myles (Democrat), House
- Sponsor: Mark Newton (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Brian Prince (Democrat), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-02-28 | Senate | LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR | pass | 51 | 1 | 2 |
| 2025-02-21 | House | Local Calendar | pass | 170 | 0 | 7 |

## Actions (13)

- 2025-05-13: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2025-05-13: Act 144
- 2025-05-13: Effective Date
- 2025-04-07: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2025-02-28: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2025-02-28: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2025-02-24: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2025-02-21: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2025-02-21: House Third Readers (House)
- 2025-02-21: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2025-02-20: House Second Readers (House)
- 2025-02-19: House First Readers (House)
- 2025-02-18: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 498/AP* (v4): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/234690)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [HB 498/AP* (v4) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/234690)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
- [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills)
- [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB498-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).