North Georgia auto owners don’t cross the state line to skirt the law and register their vehicle in Tennessee as much as in previous years, Georgia sheriffs say, but it’s still something they check.

“Eight years ago this was the number two issue,” Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers said. “It was a huge problem, minor for the sheriff, but major for the general public.”

Sheriffs, police and county tax commissioners along the Georgia-Tennessee border couldn’t cite specific numbers, but all said complaints about the problem are way down from several years ago when heavy population growth was taking root.

Those complaints were the primary way authorities learned of offenders. Neighbors would call police or complain at the vehicle registration office that someone who lived in the state was not paying for a Georgia tag.

Sheriff Summers and Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said their departments pressed hard on patrolling areas after a change in the law gave police authority to cite vehicle owners even if they were not driving.

“What we had before the ordinance was passed was the constant complaints from neighbors,” said Catoosa County Tax Commissioner Sandra Self. “I hear that rarely anymore.”

Sheriff Summers said that before Catoosa and Walker counties passed their ordinances, the only time deputies could cite someone for a tag infraction was if they were driving.

“That takes up a whole lot of time,” Sheriff Summers said.

After the changes allowed police to cite stationary vehicles, it was just a matter of responding to calls and patrolling high-density residential areas such as subdivisions and apartment complexes, he said.

Sheriff Summers said it took about two years of solid pressure.

Deputies often issue a warning citation which gives the owner 30 days to register, or the deputy will return with another citation that sends them to court and face a fine potentially up to $500.

Commissioner Self said she saw an increase in the number of vehicle registrations after authorities cracked down.

She also credited changes in state law that tied license issuance to homestead tax exemption and made proof of Georgia residency a requirement for many things, such as student registration in schools.

Mrs. Self said the local and state laws were much more coordinated.

Other conditions have changed since 2000, when both registration costs and insurance requirements varied for Georgia and Tennessee drivers. At the time Tennessee drivers paid only a fee, about $20 for a license plate, and had no proof of insurance requirement.

Georgia charges $20 for a basic tag fee and a tax rate based on 40 percent of the value of the vehicle. The ad valorem tax is relatively low on older, used vehicles, but newer vehicles of higher dollar value cost drivers much more to register. Also Georgia has long required drivers to be insured to register vehicles, Sheriff Summers said.

The differences used to amount to hundreds of dollars more to register a car in Georgia than in Tennessee. Today, though, for most vehicles the costs and requirements are nearly the same in both states, officials said.

There are still those who try to skirt the system to save a few dollars, though.

Walker County Tax Commissioner Carolyn Walker said when her office audits the population based on power and water company records, then compares that to the vehicle sales information, often there is only one registered vehicle for every two people.

Mrs. Walker said not all of those are intentional, but said some out there don’t follow the law, which is to register your vehicle with the state within 30 days of making Georgia your home.

Sheriff Wilson said the tag issue is still a problem that deputies keep an eye on, but he and Sheriff Summers said the work these days is on more of a “case-by-case” basis.