A measure from State Rep. Rob Leverett in the Georgia House would grant Bowman the ability to tax lodging businesses locally in order to fund tourism initiatives, as detailed by the Georgia State House.
The proposal, labeled HB1484 and filed on Tuesday, March 3 in the 2026 regular session of the 158th General Assembly, was officially summarized as: ’Bowman, City of; levy an excise tax’.
See our summary below, referencing the original bill text, with clarifications for easier understanding.
The bill empowers the City of Bowman to assess an excise tax up to 8% on the cost of rooms, lodgings or accommodations supplied by hotels, motels, inns, lodges, tourist camps, cabins, campgrounds and related establishments licensed by or subject to city occupation taxes. The proposal would only go into effect through a city resolution adopted on Jan. 30, 2026, which would set the tax rate, define projects or tourism product development uses, and allocate the tax proceeds. For each year, no less than half of revenue raised above a 5% rate must be used for tourism promotion, conventions and trade shows; any additional funds are intended for tourism product development.
Since session began, Leverett has sponsored another 21 bills, 7 of which have passed.
Leverett earned a BA from Dartmouth College in 1986 and a JD from University of Georgia.
A Republican, Leverett was elected in 2023 to Georgia’s 123rd House District, succeeding Mark Newton as state representative.
In Georgia, the legislative process typically starts when a lawmaker—sometimes at a constituent’s prompting—collaborates with the Office of Legislative Counsel to draft a bill. After filing the bill with the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, it gets its initial reading and is referred to committee, where detailed analysis and discussion occur. Measures that receive committee approval get a third reading, floor debate and a vote. To become law, a bill needs to pass both chambers—sometimes through a conference committee if language differs—before being sent to the governor, who then has 6 days during session, or 40 days after adjournment (Sine Die), to sign, veto or let the legislation become law without signing. The Georgia General Assembly convenes yearly for a 40-day session starting the second Monday in January.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| HB1475 | 02/26/2026 | Commerce and trade; benefits from governmental programs or civil or military service; provisions |
| HB1446 | 02/24/2026 | Health; transfer responsibility for oversight of emergency medical services from Department of Public Health to Georgia Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Council |
| HB1407 | 02/20/2026 | Civil Practice Act; scheduling of civil trials; provide |
| HB1364 | 02/18/2026 | Property; nonjudicial foreclosures on time-share estates; provisions |
| HB1195 | 02/04/2026 | Veterinarians; practice and provision of veterinary teletriage and veterinary telemedicine; revise provisions |
| HB1194 | 02/04/2026 | Insurance; clarify periods of time for transportation network company services |
| HB1111 | 01/29/2026 | Sales and use tax; new special purpose local option sales tax dedicated to certain healthcare purposes; provide |
| HB1084 | 01/29/2026 | Madison County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee |
| HB1083 | 01/29/2026 | Madison County; Magistrate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee |
| HB999 | 01/15/2026 | Magistrate courts; collecting sums and fees authorized by law; revise provisions |
| HB998 | 01/15/2026 | Public utilities; authorize certain Tier 2 local exchange companies to elect to become subject to rate of return regulation |
| HB997 | 01/15/2026 | Penal institutions; limit time that Department of Community Supervision can hold certain inmates in a county facility |
| HB530 | 02/19/2025 | Courts; authorization for electronic filing of pleadings in probate court; provide |
| HB406 | 02/11/2025 | Judicial Retirement System; increase retirement age of superior court judges first taking office on or after July 1, 2026 |
| HB377 | 02/10/2025 | Buildings and housing; manufactured homes; provisions |
| HB339 | 02/06/2025 | Motor vehicles; exempt ride share drivers or ride share network services from definition of motor carrier |
| HB327 | 02/06/2025 | Official Code of Georgia Annotated; amend various titles |
| HB86 | 01/16/2025 | Public officers and employees; calculating and setting the salaries of certain state officials; revise provisions |
| HB85 | 01/16/2025 | Superior Court Judicial Compensation Reform Act; enact |
| HB37 | 01/14/2025 | Education; require local school systems to notify employees regarding social security withholdings and eligibility for certain benefits |
| HB36 | 01/14/2025 | Guardian and ward; revise list of providers who are authorized to participate in the processes for appointment of a guardian for an adult |
Details in this story come from the Georgia State House. Access the primary data here.
