DeKalb County v. Atlanta Gas Light Co., Nos. 26815-26817
| Court | Supreme Court of Georgia |
| Writing for the Court | MOBLEY |
| Citation | 228 Ga. 512,186 S.E.2d 732 |
| Parties | DeKALB COUNTY et al. v. ATLANTA GAS LIGHT COMPANY. DeKALB COUNTY et al. v. SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE & TELEGRAPH COMPANY. DeKALB COUNTY et al. v. GEORGIA POWER COMPANY. |
| Docket Number | Nos. 26815-26817 |
| Decision Date | 06 January 1972 |
Page 732
v.
ATLANTA GAS LIGHT COMPANY.
DeKALB COUNTY et al.
v.
SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE & TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
DeKALB COUNTY et al.
v.
GEORGIA POWER COMPANY.
Page 733
[228 Ga. 515] George P. Dillard, Herbert O. Edwards, Robert E. Mozley, Decatur, for appellants.
Hansell, Post, Brandon & Dorsey, Albert G. Norman, Sr., Carroll L. Wagner, Jr., Atlanta, M. H. Blackshear, Jr., Decatur, for Atlanta Gas Light Co.
Weekes & Candler, Murphey Candler, Jr., Decatur, Kilpatrick, Cody, Rogers, McClatchey & Regenstein, Harry S. Baxter, Albert C. Tate, Jr., A. Stephens Clay, Atlanta, for Southern Bell.
Troutman, Sanders, Lockerman & Ashmore, Milton A. Carlton, Jr., Piers J. Weyant, Atlanta, for Georgia Power.
Syllabus Opinion by the Court
[228 Ga. 512] MOBLEY, Presiding Justice.
DeKalb County, the Chairman and Members of the Board of Commissioners of Roads and Revenues, and other officials of the county appeal from the judgments in cases brought by Atlanta Gas Light Company, Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company, and Georgia Power Company, in which the trial judge declared an ordinance of the county, enacted February 9, 1971, to be null and void, and granted interlocutory injunction against the enforcement of the ordinance.
The ordinance requires all telephone, telegraph, gas, and electric companies doing business in the unincorporated area of DeKalb County, and using rights of way owned, acquired, and maintained by the county, to obtain a license for such privilege. Electric and gas companies are required to pay a percentage of non-industrial gross revenue from the sale of electricity
Page 734
and gas in the unincorporated area of the county, and telephone companies are required to pay sums based on the number of telephones in service in the unincorporated area. The ordinance also requires a fee of $75 and $.50 per square yard before any company shall make any cut, excavation, or tunnel in, upon, under, or across any sidewalk, roadbed, street, pavement, or right of way in the unincorporated area of the county, in addition to restoring such area to its previous condition. The ordinance provides for fine and imprisonment for any person violating it.1. 'The distinction between a tax and a license is not one of names but of substance. A tax is primarily intended to produce revenue, while a license is primarily intended for regulation under the...
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DeKalb County v. Southern Bell Tel. & Tel. Company, Civ. A. No. 16776.
...of Georgia, which affirmed the trial court's holding. DeKalb County, Georgia, et al. v. Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company, 228 Ga. 512, 514, 186 S.E.2d 732, 735 (1972). The court stated the County of DeKalb has no constitutional or statutory authority to impose the taxes and cha......
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Smith v. Abercrombie, No. 30613
...in the notice, matters foreign to those subjects may not constitutionally appear in the bill. See DeKalb County v. Atlanta Gas Light Co., 228 Ga. 512, 514, 186 S.E.2d 732 (1972); Stepp v. Lance, 233 Ga. 358, 211 S.E.2d 311 The general notice here involved alerted the citizens of Douglas Cou......
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Bibb County v. Georgia Power Co., No. A99A1350
...47 S.E. 183 (1904). 25. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. III, Sec. VI, Par. VI(a); Grand Lodge, supra, 226 Ga. at 8(3)(b), 172 S.E.2d 612. 26. 228 Ga. 512, 514(5), 186 S.E.2d 732 27. See also DeKalb County v. Ga. Power Co., 249 Ga. 704, 705(1), 292 S.E.2d 709 (1982). 28. See State of Ga. v. Tru......
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Alltel Communications, Inc. v. City of Macon, No. 02-15969.
...However, the "distinction between a tax and a license is not one of names but of substance." DeKalb County v. Atlanta Gas Light Co., 228 Ga. 512, 186 S.E.2d 732, 734 (1972)(quoting Richmond County Bus. Ass'n, Inc. v. Richmond County, 224 Ga. 854, 165 S.E.2d 293, 295 (1968)). Here, although ......
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DeKalb County v. Southern Bell Tel. & Tel. Company, Civ. A. No. 16776.
...of Georgia, which affirmed the trial court's holding. DeKalb County, Georgia, et al. v. Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company, 228 Ga. 512, 514, 186 S.E.2d 732, 735 (1972). The court stated the County of DeKalb has no constitutional or statutory authority to impose the taxes and cha......
-
Smith v. Abercrombie, No. 30613
...in the notice, matters foreign to those subjects may not constitutionally appear in the bill. See DeKalb County v. Atlanta Gas Light Co., 228 Ga. 512, 514, 186 S.E.2d 732 (1972); Stepp v. Lance, 233 Ga. 358, 211 S.E.2d 311 The general notice here involved alerted the citizens of Douglas Cou......
-
Bibb County v. Georgia Power Co., No. A99A1350
...47 S.E. 183 (1904). 25. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. III, Sec. VI, Par. VI(a); Grand Lodge, supra, 226 Ga. at 8(3)(b), 172 S.E.2d 612. 26. 228 Ga. 512, 514(5), 186 S.E.2d 732 27. See also DeKalb County v. Ga. Power Co., 249 Ga. 704, 705(1), 292 S.E.2d 709 (1982). 28. See State of Ga. v. Tru......
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Alltel Communications, Inc. v. City of Macon, No. 02-15969.
...However, the "distinction between a tax and a license is not one of names but of substance." DeKalb County v. Atlanta Gas Light Co., 228 Ga. 512, 186 S.E.2d 732, 734 (1972)(quoting Richmond County Bus. Ass'n, Inc. v. Richmond County, 224 Ga. 854, 165 S.E.2d 293, 295 (1968)). Here, although ......