Among other things, Kemp rejects the attempt to suspend the tax break for data centers in Georgia

Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday vetoed a dozen bills the General Assembly passed this year, including legislation that would have temporarily suspended a state sales tax exemption to lure data centers to Georgia.

Republican legislative leaders supported House Bill 1192, arguing that the rapid growth of data centers is putting a strain on the state’s energy grid. But business leaders — particularly the Georgia Chamber of Commerce — called on Kemp to veto the bill.

In his veto message, the governor wrote that the timing of the measure would have left companies planning to build data centers in Georgia in the lurch.

“Just two years ago, the Legislature extended these tax exemptions for an additional three years, through 2031,” Kemp wrote.

“The bill’s language would prevent the issuance of exemption certificates after an abrupt July 1, 2024 deadline for many customers of projects already under development – ​​and the investments of high-technology data center operators, customers and others who rely on them Interest groups are undermining the recent expansion and inhibiting important infrastructure and employment development.”

Data center industry representatives also claimed that eliminating the tax break would send the wrong message to prospective companies because they would likely move their operations to states that offer a sales tax exemption.

Other bills Kemp vetoed on Tuesday include House Bill 1019, which called for doubling the statewide homestead tax exemption from $2,000 to $4,000, subject to a referendum.

The legislation was part of a tax cut package that House Republican leaders introduced at the start of this year’s session. When Kemp vetoed the bill, he pointed to a significant eleventh-hour change that he said made the measure untenable.

“After the Senate Finance Committee changed the exemption amount, the Senate passed a statutory amendment late on the last day of the legislative session to restore the bill to its original form,” the governor wrote.

“However, this amendment did not change the language of the constitutionally required voter referendum referring to a $10,000 exemption.” Voters would therefore agree to a different exemption that the legislature did not pass, while the statutory language never did would receive the voter approval necessary for it to take effect.”

Kemp also vetoed Senate Bill 368, which would have banned foreign nationals from making political contributions. In his veto message, the governor noted that such contributions were already prohibited under federal law.

Additionally, the measure would have imposed additional state-level requirements on “agents of foreign principals,” including some not envisioned by the bill’s sponsor, Kemp wrote.