Legislative Update Number 2008.12 - April 4, 2008
Leaders’ feud kills tax cut, transportation, trauma care
By Rep. Pat Gardner
The talk of the 2008 legislative session, from beginning to end, was tax relief. A number of proposals to eliminate automobile tag taxes, reduce income taxes and property taxes were discussed and passed by either the House of Representatives or the Senate. But when all was said and done, much more was said than done.
Because House Speaker Glenn Richardson and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle could not agree on a final form of tax relief legislation by the end of the session at midnight last Friday, Georgians will continue to pay their automobile tax each year on their birthday and the full amount of their state income tax. Nor will there be a property tax valuation assessment freeze. However, the Fulton County delegation passed a bill to increase the homestead exemption to $30,000 over the next five years to help provide homeowners some relief.
Another major issue the Republican leadership failed to address is Georgia’s transportation funding crisis. Although the House approved an amended version of SR 845, which would authorize counties to join together and implement a one-cent transportation sales tax on a regional basis, if approved by the voters in those counties, the Senate failed to agree to the measure. Georgians will continue to sit in traffic longer or wait on much-needed road and bridge improvements to be completed because of this failure.
A third victim of the in-fighting between House and Senate Republicans was Georgia’s trauma care system, which faces a severe funding shortfall. An agreement on details of a $10 car tag renewal fee that would have provided $74 million in revenues for trauma care could not be reached before midnight on the 40th and final day of the session. The budget does provide additional $58 million in state funding for the trauma care network, an increased rate of reimbursement for trauma services and an increase in the state dollars for residents in medical schools. These last three should provide Grady some additional dollars.
It is worth noting that Gov. Perdue had expressed his strong opposition to all tax cuts and the transportation funding proposal, which did not help either proposal. After the session ended Friday, there was plenty of finger-pointing going on between House and Senate leaders, as well as the governor, but the real losers were the people of Georgia.
Both the House and Senate did agree on the final version of a $21.2 billion annual state budget for fiscal year 2009, which begins July 1, 2008. HB 990 includes a 2.5 percent pay raise for educators and other state employees, $1 billion in school construction projects $98 million to fully fund PeachCare for Kids and $30 million in bonds for reservoirs.
The budget reflects a $90 million reduction in state funding for local schools, bringing the six-year total cuts under the Perdue administration to $1.5 billion. These cuts hurt both our students and local property owners, who are forced to shoulder more of the tax burden. But at least the legislature was able to restore $50 million of the $140 million the governor had proposed to cut this year.
Also approved on the final day of the session was a major revision of the state’s certificate of need (CON) law, which regulates the construction of new health care facilities. SB 433 allows some ambulatory centers to operate without a CON if they meet certain criteria and treat indigent patients. The legislation also allows for a unique CON application for the Cancer Treatment Center of America. The bill also provides some much needed streamlining of the CON process.
Thanks to the thousands of concerned citizens who made their voices heard about protecting the beach at Jekyll Island, the private developer overhauling the island will not place hotels and condominiums on a half-mile stretch of open, public beach. This is a move in the right direction.
Supporters of Jekyll Island will continue to keep a close eye on the situation to ensure that this Georgia treasure remains a place for families to enjoy, and the people’s island remains the people’s island.
Lawmakers also adopted SR 822, which seeks to correct the state’s northern boundary, which was incorrectly surveyed in 1818. The original border with North Carolina and Tennessee was about one mile north, which would put a portion of the Tennessee River in Georgia and give our state another source of drinking water. The resolution seeks to create a boundary commission to look into correcting the error, but the Tennessee legislature has already voted against participating in such a process.
Other legislation approved by the House during the final week of the session includes:
SB 1, which prohibits registered sex offenders from intentionally photographing a minor without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian. The legislation also states that no registered sex offender may reside or work within 1,000 feet of any child care facility, church, school or areas where minors congregate – unless they resided, owned property or worked at the location before a child care center, church or school was built.
SB 196, which provides scholarships to University System institutions for children of military personnel who are killed or disabled as a result of combat wounds.
SB 417, which requires the state Department of Transportation to submit an annual report to the governor and House and Senate leaders, detailing the progress on every construction project valued at $10 million or more.
SB 169, which authorizes the Georgia Student Finance Authority to provide direct loans to students at an annual interest rate of 1 percent.
SB 466, which would exempt permanent outdoor car washes that recycle their water from outdoor watering restriction. The use of water to fill swimming pools would not be in violation of watering restrictions, if failure to maintain the pool would create unsafe, unsanitary or unhealthy conditions.
SB 55, which would allow people who purchase a bottle of wine in a restaurant but don’t finish it during their meal to re-cork it and take the remainder home.
Sunday Sales came closer to passing than previous sessions but a final bill provided an exemption for the Gwinnett County stadium and no other expansions.
The 2008 election cycle will begin again in May and I look forward to seeing you in the neighborhood and at various town hall meetings in House District 57.
Thanks again for the opportunity to represent you this session. There is much work to be done next January and I hope you will be willing to help me get re-elected. The Primary is July 15 and the General Election is November 5th.
- Rep. Pat Gardner (D-Atlanta) represents the 57th District (Atlanta and DeKalb County) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact her at 604 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0265 or by e-mail at pat@patgardner.org.
