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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 25, 2009
Legislative Update
Benton Opposes Pay Cuts For
Nationally Certified Teachers
Voters May Be
Asked To Increase
Georgia Sales Tax
By Mark Beardsley
If the General Assembly
plans to break a com
mitment made a decade
ago, Rep. Tommy Benton
says it'll do it without his
vote.
Benton said this week he
intends to vote against a
proposal from Gov. Sonny
Perdue to cease paying
10 percent salary supple
ments to some 2,400
Georgia teachers who
earned National Board
For Professional Teaching
Standards certification.
Perdue proposes elimi
nating the supplements,
which were approved in
the late 1990s, as a means
of balancing the state
budget. Benton estimat
ed that the move would
save Georgia about $20
million starting in the
upcoming fiscal year.
"We made a commit
ment to these people for
10 years," Benton noted.
"The bill said if teach
ers will go back and do
this, we will give them
a 10-percent raise for 10
years. We made a promise
to these people."
Perdue says he wants to
implement his own pro
gram that pays supple
ments to "master teach
ers,"who Bentondescribed
as the department heads,
mentors and grade-level
leaders. Jackson County,
he notes, already pays a
small supplement to those
teachers.
"In some form or fash
ion, your word has got to
be your bond," Benton
says. "The governor prob
ably has the vote to pass
it, but I'm not going to
vote for it. If he wants
master teacher certifica
tion, make the National
Board certified teach
ers the master teachers.
Let them finish out the
10-year commitment,
then go through the mas
ter teachers."
According to Benton, a
retired teacher, most of
the National Board cer
tified teachers received
"a small scholarship"
to get the training that
makes them certified in
all 50 states, but most of
them also spent $3,000
to $4,000 of their own
money to complete the
rigorous program.
Benton said he's received
hundreds of emails from
around the state on the
topic, but only two from
his district.
Bills In Committee
Two Benton-sponsored
bills will be heard in com
mittee this week.
One would change state
law to allow police to use
speed detection devices
in and around school
zones. Current law pro
hibits use of RADAR and
other devices within 300
feet of a speed limit sign
in a city (600 feet outside
a municipality) or within
300 feet of a city limit.
The proposal to allow
RADAR use is the result
of a request from West
Jackson Primary School
principal Denny Turner,
who noted that officials
have been unable to slow
traffic on Hwy. 53 at the
school.
The other is a bill that
would require automo
tive antifreeze sold in
Georgia to have an agent
added to make the anti
freeze taste bitter so chil
dren and animals will not
drink it. Benton said the
agent would cost about
three cents a gallon.
The bill is the result of
a plea from an Arcade
woman whose dog was
poisoned by meat laced
with antifreeze. Benton
said the House Judiciary
Committee will hear the
issue.
Seven Western states
How To Contact
Rep. Tommy Benton
Rep. District 31 Rep.
Tommy Benton can be
reached by phone at
706-367-5891 (home)
or at 404-656-0177
(office); or by e-mail
at tommy.benton@
house.ga.gov.
For information,
and links to Georgia
representatives,
U.S. Congressmen,
Senators and other
officials, visit Benton's
Web site at www.tom-
mybenton.com.
have similar provisions,
Benton noted.
Benton said he will
introduce legislation this
week on behalf of Jackson
County to increase the
terms of Airport Authority
members to three years
(from one year) and allow
them to serve three con
secutive terms.
Local legislation cor
recting an error in the
Maysville City Charter has
already been approved by
the House, he said.
Budget Woes
"I don't think you're
going to see a budget this
week," Benton comment
ed.
He's referring to the
supplemental budget,
where Perdue has again
revised the revenue esti
mate downward by anoth
er $400 million to $3.1
billion.
"That's just '09. We
haven't started working
on 2010 yet," Benton
points out.
The District 31 repre
sentative said the House
has made a commitment
to "cut education last,"
but he acknowledged that
there will be deep cuts
everywhere.
BCHS Class Of 1959 Planning 50-Year Reunion
The Banks County
High School Class of
1959 is planning its
50-year reunion.
Interested classmates
are requested to make
immediate contact with
one of the following for
current addresses: Jerry
and Nadine Seabolt,
706-335-3847; Pauline
Stevens Hancock, 706-
367-5758; or Nadine
Evans Waters, 706-335-
2216.
*
CASA
Co*1*1 1»kI«I *i
IOI CHILOtlN
Piedmont CASA Presents Its
4th Annual Casino Night Event:
Benefiting Abused and
Neglected Children in
Banks, Barrow, and Jackson
Counties
\>\ e *
Saturday, March 7th
7:00 p.m.
Commerce Civic Center
Dinner and Mixed Drinks (cash bar) by LongHorn Steakhouse
Beer & Wine Open Bar Dancing Entry in Grand Prize Raffle
Casino Games with Professional Dealers
Surprise Giveaways All Night
Weeklong Vacation for 4 at the
Holiday Beach Resort
Destin, Florida
Additional chances available for purchase at CASAblanca!
Tickets $75 Each
Reserved Tables of 8 $600;
$500 for CASAblanca 2008
Table Reservers
For tickets, table reservations, or
contributions to Piedmont CASA
please call 706-387-6375
or visit
www.piedmontcasa.org
Extra Penny Would Go To
Fund Transportation Projects
"We are really looking
at some radical things,"
Benton said.
Among them are trim
ming five days off the
school calendar, which
would save $650 million;
cutting everyone's pay,
included elected officials;
and requiring teacher fur
loughs. Benton said the
General Assembly cut its
operating budget by eight
percent, and the Executive
Branch has made cuts as
well. Some departments
have had their budgets
cut by 15-20 percent since
July 1.
"We are trying every
thing that we can to
come up with the
money," Benton said.
"I've never asked to be
on the Appropriations
Committee. I'm kind of
glad I'm not on it now."
2010 Budget?
As difficult as the sup
plemental budget may
be, next year's budget —
generally the main focus
of the General Assembly
in any year — will be
harder.
"The talk is that '09 rev
enue would finish way
down. 2010 starting off is
not looking any better,"
Benton notes.
The process will start
with the governor's rev
enue forecast. Since the
forecast for the current
year goes down every
month, the 2010 fore
cast is likely to be grim.
Also, as the current year
demonstrates, the gover
nor could further trim it
at any point during the
year.
"It's coming pretty
soon," he said of Perdue's
2010 revenue estimate.
Meanwhile, proposals to
increase revenue through
hiking the tobacco tax
and expanding the Sunday
sales of alcohol are not
getting a lot of support.
NEED PRINTING?
CALL
706-367-5233
By Mark Beardsley
Georgia voters could
be asked next fall to
approve an additional
penny of state sales tax
to fund transportation
projects.
Rep. Tommy Benton
reported this week
that the Transportation
Committee on which he
serves passed both House
Bill 277 — which has a list
of projects — and House
Resolution 206 — which
calls for a state referen
dum to increase the sales
tax — last week.
Similar bills are in the
Senate.
The House version of
the bill spells out specific
projects. The Senate ver
sion, said Benton, "takes
a regional approach."
While there are numer
ous road projects, the
bill would also allow the
tax to be used on gen
eral aviation airports, for
mass transit lines, for a
commuter rail line link
ing Athens to Atlanta, for
American Legion post
215 in Homer has started
an American Legion Riders
chapter and seeks veter
ans with motorcycles to
join. Veterans from Banks
County and surrounding
areas are invited.
Qualifications include
being a member of the
American Legion,
the American Legion
streetcars in Atlanta, for
the "Beltline" in Atlanta
and for a rail line linking
the Atlanta area with the
Georgia Ports Authority
facilities.
Some of the projects
will draw federal match
ing dollars; some will
not.
Much of the empha
sis on roads, it appears
is designed to com
plete corridors for
moving both people
and freight without
bottlenecks in Atlanta.
For example, some of
the money would be
used to complete the
four-laning of U.S.
441 from 1-16 north.
Other funds would be
used to improve inter
state "interchanges of
regional significance."
"It looks good," said
Benton. "I just hope the
House and Senate can
get together and work
something out. They've
agreed that something
needs to be done."
Auxiliary or the Sons of
the American Legion and
owning a motorcycle.
Further information will
be provided at the first
meeting. Meetings will be
held the second Thursday
of each month at 7 p.m. at
the American Legion Hall
in Homer.
For more information,
call 706-677-4258.
Banks-Jackson Risk Reduction
DUI SCHOOL
706-336-6777
DEFENSIVE DRIVING
1728 North Broad Street, Commerce, State Certified 5010 and 2007
Next DUI Class begins on March 7, 2009
Next Defensive Driving Class will be held on February 28,2009
Banks Co. Veterans Group
Wants To Start Motorcycle Unit
BENTLEY
Assisted Living
a/
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50 SUMNER WAY • JEFFERSON, GA 30549
706-387-7000
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