Georgia Legislative Watch

With the circus coming to town on Monday, here is a look at some of the legislation and issues that may get some attention under the Gold Dome. Before we get started, take a look at the players in the upcoming legislative session, as identified by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

There is no shortage of issues in the session, thought the budget may be will be the main focus of attention. Here are some issues that interest us here at Georgia Legislative Watch. We hope they help you better understand the session.

Budget: Georgia has one of the worst budget shortfalls in the nation, currently sitting at $2 billion in the red and tax receipts are still falling. Legislators will amend the FY 2009 budget to cut spending up to 10 percent, putting it around $19 billion to $20 billion. Some organizations want the state to increase taxes and spending. However, the Governor sets the budget based on revenue projections and he is calling for cuts, though I would not rule out a tax increase of some kind.

Appropriators are seriously considering giving up Local Assistance Grants (LAGs), the Assembly’s version of earmarks, presumably until the economy improves and revenues pick back up. Georgia’s taxpayer funded halls of fame and golf courses may be targeted as well. Even cost-of-living pay raises for legislators have been scrapped.

Economy: Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) will also propose an “aggressive” bond package as economic stimulus for Georgia’s economy, despite advising President-Elect Barack Obama “that we cannot borrow our way back into prosperity.”

There is no doubt that the proposal will pass, despite evidence that this type of spending doesn’t work and projects likely to be pushed will be only short-term, meaning temporary jobs and limited economic impact.

Georgia will also seek $3.4 billion in funds from the federal stimulus package being put together by the incoming administration. You can view the project list here.

T-SPLOST: The Georgia Department of Transportation has what is perceived to be a long-term funding shortfall of $100 billion.

House and Senate leaders have expressed support tax solely dedicated to transportation that would be dedicated for projects for counties in a specific region. Lt. Gov. Cagle says that a proposal will be pushed through the Senate in the first week of the session.

The original proposal, introduced by State Rep. Vance Smith, was a 1-cent sales tax that would be implemented statewide for ten years and would bring in $22.2 billion. That would have been the largest tax increase in state history. It was scrapped over objections raised by legislators from South Georgia.

A T-SPLOST proposal cleared the House in the final hours on Sine Die in 2008, but was rejected by three votes, twice, in the Senate after Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and the Speaker clashed over tax reform.

The proposal passed in House created regions where counties could join into the potential T-SPLOST. The catch is that there were only two ways to defeat the proposal. Either a county’s Board of Commission would need to decide not to enter into it or it would have to be defeated in a collective vote by the counties with the question on the ballot. One county defeating the proposal is not enough to kill it or to avoid participation in the county voting it down.

The proposal, a constitutional amendment and separate statutory legislation, is being pushed very hard by the business community and is very likely to pass either the 2009 or the following session. Either way, the constitutional amendment will not be brought before voters until the 2010 general election.

Property Taxes: We all witnessed the GREAT Plan fall during the last session. Lt. Gov. Cagle was only willing to endorse caps on property tax assessments, which was part of the package. However, Speaker Richardson seemed to want it all or nothing.

A property tax cap is not without opposition, but the votes are probably there. Rep. Ed Lindsey (R) has already pre-filed a proposal, HR 1, that would cap assessments at 3 percent. Rep. Kevin Levitas has also pre-filed a property tax fix, HR 2 (Bringing Equity Statewide to Taxation Amendment).

Healthcare & Trauma Care: Gov. Perdue is seeking an increase in fees levied on hospitals based on revenues to cover a $208 million shortfall in funding for Medicaid, which also funds PeachCare.

Legislators will also look for funding for trauma care, as they only passed a temporary fix of $58.9 million during the 2008 session.

Elections: Some Georgia legislators felt that voters had too much time to go to the polls before the general election. For mostly pragmatic reasons, Secretary of State Karen Handel made it clear last week that she opposes any effort to scale back early voting.

A move may be made to bring back plurality voting, or 45% threshold for incumbents. This was attempted in 2007, but ultimately failed after the language was stripped by an amendment on the floor of the Senate.

Cigarette Tax: Rep. Ron Stephens (R) has already started his crusade to increase Georgia’s cigarette tax by $1. Legislative leaders are opposed to the tax increase, but rumor has it that Gov. Perdue is supportive of the proposal. Perdue was able to pass his own tax increase on cigarettes (an alcohol “sin” tax was also part of the budget) after taxing office in 2003, upsetting fiscal conservatives in the process.

Stephens says the tax would raise $350 million in new revenues, opponents believe that the tax will encourage evasion by smokers purchasing cigarettes out of state, as cigarette taxes would be much lower in states surrounding Georgia. They also believe that such an increase would discourage smoking, ostensibly dragging down projected revenues, as well as being a burden to the poor.

Strip Club Tax: This week, Sen. Jack Murphy (R) proposed a $3 to $5 per person fee on strip clubs to fund child abuse programs. Much like the cigarette tax, legislative leaders will not consider this proposal.

Inventory Tax: The Georgia chapter of the Americans for Prosperity is pushing for repeal of the state inventory tax through HB 18, Small Business and Jobs Protection Act, introduced by Rep. Tim Bearden (R) and the Zero-Based Budget Act, introduced by Sen. David Shafer. Rep. Tom Graves (R) is also carrying a version of zero-based budgeting in the House.

The AFP has an ally in the Georgia Retail Association, who are openly talking about how the inventory tax negatively effects businesses.

Abortion: Two pieces of legislation dealing with abortion have been pre-filed. HB 1, introduced by Rep. Bobby Franklin (R), would make abortion a crime by defining life at conception.

HR 5, filed by Rep. Martin Scott (R), is the Human Life Amendment.

As with past sessions, neither proposal stands any chance of passing. They are only mentioned here because abortion is still a hot topic.

Cell Phones: Three separate pieces of legislation have been introduced to limit use of cell phones in some way while driving. HB 23, filed by Rep. Matt Ramsey, would prohibit use of cell phones for drivers under the age of 18. HB 21, filed by Rep. Mary Oliver, would prohibit use of a cell phone by any driver with a Class D license. Rep. Oliver also filed HB 19, which would outright restrict use of cell phone while driving, no matter age or license class.

Guns: Guns could be a hot topic again. However, Lt. Gov. Cagle has made it clear that he is not interested in any further loosening of concealed carry laws.