Legislation passed by the state House Regulated Industries Committee will shield short-term rentals from excessive local regulation if the bill makes it through the Georgia General Assembly.

The measure would require cities and counties to treat short-term rentals like they would any residence and prevent local governments from banning them.

State Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, lead sponsor of House Bill 523, called it a property rights issue.

Short-term rentals also help property owners because they pay full property taxes without the heavy burden of local services and school systems, Carpenter said. They provide small communities with tourism dollars, but first and foremost these rules and regulations are an attack on personal property rights.

Carpenter said the bill would treat short-term rentals the same as long-term rentals and property thats not rented.

Short-term rentals where problems occur can be addressed like any other property, the legislator said.

I firmly believe that cities and counties have the opportunity to deal with these issues through their various nuisance ordinances, occupancy, and other ways, without having to issue bans and prohibitions, Carpenter said. Hopefully now that we have a piece in the works for tax collection, and it has been addressed, these cities and counties can realize the value these properties bring, and not over-regulate them or ban them out of business.

Marketplace facilitator legislation passed by the General Assembly provides a method to collect taxes from businesses like Airbnb and Vrbo, but that doesnt solve all the problems seen by those opposed to the bill.

State Rep. Jeff Jones, R-St. Simons Island, a member of the committee, voted for the legislation. The bill provides a carve-out for homeowner associations to regulate the properties under their umbrella as they see fit.

State Rep. Don Hogan, R-St. Simons Island, said hed rather the issue be handled at the local level.

I think that county commissioners ought to be able to make their own decision and pass local legislation on it, rather than the state getting involved in it, Hogan said. I know weve got problems in Glynn County on St. Simons weve got zoning on single residences and its really a bad situation when people rent out their homes on short-term rentals with people that nobody knows (and) dont know who theyre renting them to.

Its an issue close to the heart of Glynn County Commissioner Peter Murphy, who rejects the notion that the HOA carve-out will solve the problems he envisions occurring with the bill, among them being state control of a local issue.

Certainly, every locale will have a different set of circumstances regarding short-term rentals, Murphy said. To try to paint it with one broad brushstroke out of Atlanta is foolish.

He said the latest research identified more than 1,500 short-term rental properties on St. Simons. Thats 20 to 25 percent of all residential properties on the island.

Murphy said he discussed the issue with a Vrbo executive at a convention in Texas last year and learned the rental group backs some amount of local regulation, specifically because of what happened in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The city and the surrounding area were losing tax revenue because people werent paying their occupancy tax like the hoteliers were, Murphy said.

It was also driving up the cost of homes, he said.

All these stakeholders and constituency groups went to the legislators this was about a year ago and just banned short-term rentals, Murphy said, calling it a draconian response to a lack of local control.

Scott McQuade, president and CEO of the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the facilitator bill helps but doesnt fix things like quality of life issues with short-term rentals. He also notes the bill bans registration of the rentals, which he sees as problematic in tracking tax and fees compliance, along with who needs to be contacted for emergencies and complaints.

It has been proven throughout the nation that the cities and counties that have smart and well-balanced local ordinances for short-term rentals have the best results, McQuade said. Smart local ordinances have proven effective in protecting the quality of life for residents while providing accommodations for visitors and creating a level playing field for tax compliance.

The CVB, the county and the local short-term rental committee were recently leading efforts to balance the needs of the business community with the needs of residents with the goal to draft a local ordinance to improve the quality of life in the Golden Isles. (This legislation) could potentially jeopardize all that hard work that has done over the last year.

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