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Your Athens-Centric Legislative Wrap-Up
HOW LOCAL LAWMAKERS TOTED ON THE MAJOR ISSUES
The chaotic General Assembly session has finally adjourned
for this year, with legislators passing fewer significant bills
than they normally do because of in-fighting among the
Republican leadership.
How did Athens-Clarke County fare during the session?
Here's a look at bills that would have the most impact on
the community—in addition to major issues of statewide
interest—with attention to the votes by local legisla
tors: Rep. Keith Heard, Rep. Bob Smith, Rep. Doug
McKillip, Sen. Ralph Hudgens and Sen. Bill Cowsert.
TAXES
Speaker Glenn Richardson's “GREAT'' plan
to eliminate all property taxes in Georgia was
scrapped before it could come up for a vote, with
Richardson substituting a measure to eliminate the
ad valorem tax on auto tags instead, SR 796.
SR 796 initially was defeated by a 110-62 vote, which
was less than the required two-thirds majority, as Bob Smith
voted for it while Keith Heard and Doug McKillip voted against
it. The tag tax measure resurfaced a few days later as HR 1246
3nd passed by a margin of 166-5. with Smith voting for it and
Heard and McKillip opposing.
The Senate proposed a 10 percent reduction in state
income tax rates as part of H5 1244, which it passed 49-6. Bill
Cowsert and Ralph Hudgens voted for it. The two tax cut pro
posals failed to survive tne squabbling between Richardson and
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in the session's final days.
Legislators came closer to passing a regional tax *or high
way projects, SR 845, which would have enabled Athens-clarke
and other counties within the region to hold referendums on
a special one*cent sales tax. The House passed SR 845 by a
134-34 vote in the session's final minutes with Heard and
McKillip voting for it, while Smith voted against it. The mea
sure fell three votes short of the required two-thirds majority
in the Senate, 35-18. Cowsert and Hudgens both voted for it.
Although legislators could not agree on a tax cut for
working-class Georgians, they did adopt several bills that will
provide tax breaks for corporate interests:
• HB 1100, a tax credit for film companies, passed with
the support of all Athens lawmakers except Hudgens, who was
excused from the vote.
• HB 272, a sales tax exemption for energy used in manu
facturing passed with the support of all Athens legislators
except for Smith, who did not vote.
• HB 670, an income tax credit for transporting wood resid
uals to a renewable biomass facility, passed with the support of
all Athens legislators.
• HB 851, an income tax credit for the rehabilitation of
historic homes and buildings, passed with the support of all
Athens legislators except McKillip, who did not vote.
• SR 996 is a proposed constitutional amendment that
would allow education property tax revenues to be used for
redevelopment projects in a tax allocation district, nullifying a
recent Georgia Supreme Court decision. It passed with the sup
port of all Athens legislators.
WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The Senate and House adopted identical statewide water
management plans in the form of SR 701—which Hudgens
voted for and Cowsert voted against—and HR 1022, which
Smith supported but Heard and McKillip opposed.
SB 342 paves the way for developing more reservoirs, either
through converting Soil and Water Conservation Commission
flood control dams for water supply purposes or by impounding
new reservoirs. The measure split the Athens-Clarke delegation,
as Cowsert, Hudgens and Smith voted for it while Heard
and McKillip voted against.
Cowsert, a first-term senator, was able to secure
passage of SB 352, which will authorize the General
Assembly to override rules and regulations devel
oped by the state Environmental Protection
Division. The bill has already been signed into law
by Gov. Sonny Perdue. All members of the Athens-
Clarke delegation voted for it.
HB 1281 prohibits local governments from
enforcing water conservation rules that are stricter
than those imposed by the state during a drought,
unless they receive an exemption from the EPD director.
Smith voted for it. Heard voted against it, and McKillip was
excused from voting. Cowsert and Hudgens voted for it in the
Senate.
ALCOHOL SALES
The state's alcoholic beverage industry was unable to win
approval of Sunday package sales, but several other measures
were adopted that will make it a little easier to imbibe in cer
tain circumstances.
• HB 1061, it signed into law, will allow Georgians to order
wine over tie internet or via telephone directly from wineries.
Smith, McKdltp and Cowsert voted for it, while Hudgens voted
against it and Heard was excused from voting.
• SB 385 will allow limousine drivers to sell alcoholic drinks
to their passengers. Smith, McKillip and Heard voted for it.
Cowsert and Hudgens opposed it.
• SB 55 would allow persons who buy wine at a restaurant
to take home the unconsumed portion of the bottle. All of the
Athens-Clarke lawmakers voted for it.
IMMIGRATION
• SB 350 would make it a felony offense punishable by
prison sentences as long as five years to drive without a
license. The bill would apply to all unlicensed drivers but is
intended to punish undocumented immigrants who drive with
out a license. Cowsert, Hudgens and Smith voted for it; Heard
and McKillip voted against it.
• HR 413 would have declared English as the official lan
guage of the state and made it illegal to administer driver's
license examinations or print government documents in any
language other than English. It was blocked in the House when
Democrats prevented it from getting the required two-thirds
majority for a constitutional amendment. Smith voted for it,
while McKillip and Heard voted against it.
EDUCATION
• HB 881 will create a state commission that can approve
applications for a charter school if the application is rejected
by the local school board, and funnel public education funds
to charter schools. t, «»ard and McKillip voted against it, while
Smith did not vote. Hudgens voted for it, while Cowsert voted
against it.
• HB 1133 will provide an income tax credit for persons and
corporations that make donations to private school scholarship
organizations. Smith, Heard, Cowsert and Hudgens voted for it,
while McKillip voted against.
• HB 1209 will allow public school systems to bypass state
regulations in return for meeting specified performance goals
as part of an "accountability contract." Heard and McKillip
voted against it. while Smith, Cowsert and Hudgens voted for
it.
• SB 458 was Sen. Eric Johnson's proposal to give private
school vouchers to students from under-performing or non-
accredited public schools. It passed the Senate with Hudgens
voting for it and Cowsert opposed. It never came up fo^ a vote
in the House.
• Smith introduced HB 1228, a proposal that would
have extensively restructured the Board of Regents and the
University System with the intention of making the higher
education system operate more effectively. He was unable to
get the bill out of committee for a floor vote in the House,
however.
MEDICAL COLLEGE EXPANSION
The Legislature continued to allocate funds to plan tne
expansion of the Medical College of Georgia, a prefect that
eventually will include a regional o r satellite campus at th<-
University of Georgia.
Lawmakers added $7.16 mia-Vm to the $2.8 million already
in the budget, bringing the total for planning expenses tc
nearly $10 million. Tne money is in the st3te budget for the
fiscal year that starts July 1. All Athens-Clarke legislators
except Smith, who missed the vote, voted to pass the final ver
sion of the budget.
PUBLIC SAFETY
• SB 145 was originally a "life without parole" bill that was
amended by Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) to allow the impo
sition of the death penalty even if there was not a unanimous
recommendation from the trial jury. Heard and Smith voted for
Fleming's amendment, while McKillip voted against it. When
the bill was returned to the Senate, Cowsert and Hudgens
voted with other senators to remove the Fleming amendment.
SB 145, in either form, did not receive final passage.
• HB 89 is a gun bill that was amended at the urging of
NRA lobbyists to allow persons with concealed weapon permits
to carry firearms into restaurants, state parks, MARTA trains
and workplace parking lots with the company's permission.
Cowsert, Hudgens and Smith voted for it, while Heard and
McKillip voted against it.
• HB 77 provides for tighter state oversight of the installa
tion of red-light cameras by local governments. The bill passed
both chambers as Smith, Cowsert and Hudgens voted for it,
while Heard and McKillip voted against.
Tom Crawtord
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact's Georgia Report, an Internet
news site at www gareport.com that covers government and politics in
Georgia.
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