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Georgia General Assembly back in session
According to State Representative Gerald Greene and State Senator John Bulloch, there will be some very hot topics facing this session. Transportation, the water plan, the long debate over tax reform and the budget will be the top topics on the agenda. Senator Bulloch, as chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee and is a member of the 14 member Water Council. This committee presented a statewide water plan to the legislators for an "up and down" vote. It is doubtful that the water plan will be approved the first time presented. If the plan is not approved, the water council will have an opportunity to present their revised plan for a vote. If this is not approved, the legislature can try to come up with their own plan. The tax reform bill, known as House Speaker Glenn Richardson's GREAT plan, proposes to abolish property taxes and replace them with sale taxes.
Although water and taxes will be the highest priority items on the legislative agenda, the 40-day session will seem short to everyone, but those legislators who are there working to get their ideas into law. Other important issues are public health, funding state mental institutions and trauma centers. Grady Hospital will get a lot of attention on how the state will or will not keep it from going under. This legislature will be faced with the issues including stiffer dog fighting laws, the constitutionality of residence restrictions for sex offenders, what can be done to get Georgia education out of the national cellar and what can be done to get gas prices down to avoid a recession. The first day proved that there is no honeymoon for the three highest officials in the state, Governor Sonny Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Speaker Glenn Richardson. It seems like old times as the miff between these three seem to be taken up right where they left off in the 2007 General Assembly. On the first day, Jan. 14, the House as the lower chamber overrode -- by overwhelming margins -- 12 of the 41 bills vetoed by Gov. Perdue in May 2007. It was the largest number of bills overridden by the legislature in modern times. Gov. Perdue vetoed the bills in what some described as payback after the House tried to replace his $142 million income tax exemption for higher-income retirees with a $142 million property tax cut for homeowners. In recent months, the governor and the Speaker appeared to have put aside at least some of their differences. The two even appeared in public together in the past week to discuss their common legislative agenda for 2008. That common agenda is now in jeopardy following this latest move by the House on Monday. Among the 12 measures given new life was House Bill 451, which would hand a $250 million sales tax break to developers seeking to build a $1 billion indoor ski resort on the shores of Lake Lanier. HB 91, would require state agencies to turn over detailed financial information to lawmakers. At least two-thirds of the Senate must also vote for the overrides in order for them to take effect. Richardson urged senators to take action quickly, asking them "not to play a game" with the legislation. Senate Rules Chairman Don Balfour (R-Snellville) on Jan. 14 said his committee will consider the 12 overridden bills -- but not before Jan. 17, and only after lawmakers take up a controversial gun rights bill. The Senate sided with Gov. Perdue in 2007, effectively blocking the House's property tax cut from becoming law. It looks like this will be an interesting session for both Democrats and Republicans. The Miller County Liberal will try to report some of what is happening in your state legislature since their votes determine what we pay in taxes and where the state will go economically. The two legislators who answer to this part of the state are Senator Bulloch (R) and Representative Greene (D). They can be contacted by U.S. mail, phone, FAX, or email. They want to know what you think about the state. |
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