Georgia House Bill 230, which calls for a referendum on imposing a new sales tax to fund construction of an arena in Augusta, passed the state house Friday.
The bill passed 165-7 along with 25 other bills during a house floor session Friday.
Voting no to the bill were seven Republicans, including Rep. Jan Jones, R-Milton, the speaker pro tem of the house. Others against the bill were Reps. Houston Gaines of Athens, Marcus Wiedower of Watkinsville and Trey Rhodes of Greensboro.
The bill calls for a referendum on whether to impose a .5% sales tax to fund construction of “a successor facility” to the current James Brown Arena.
The bill doesn’t specify when the referendum is to be held. City leaders had discussed placing it on the November general election ballot.
Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, recently told a senate committee it would go on the ballot during next year’s general primary alongside a referendum on giving Augusta’s mayor a vote, which is in a bill Burns sponsored.
The “C-SPLOST,” for coliseum special purpose, local option sales tax bill was introduced last year after Augusta voters rejected an earlier plan to fund construction of a $240 million arena by raising property taxes.
Its passage in the House means the bill has survived to crossover day Monday, the deadline for a bill to move forward during this legislative session. It hadn’t been assigned to a senate committee Friday.
The bill’s sponsors include Rep. Mark Newton, R-Augusta, and Democrats Brian Prince, Lynn Gladney and Karlton Howard.
