Georgia Capitol notes
By The Associated Press
HEADLINES:
Georgia lawmakers want to hand out some property tax breaks, but have set the stage to take away another. The House voted 110-63 for a plan this week that would immediately freeze taxable property value increases across the state for two years. The vote came days after the Senate adopted a measure that would double the statewide homestead exemption. Both measures could cut property taxes. But lawmakers have also signed off on a plan that could scrap a state-funded property tax break worth about $200 to $300 per household.
ODDS & ENDS:
— A prominent Republican said he would merge an effort to allow Georgia stores to sell alcohol on Sundays with a push to crack down on underage drinking.
Backers of Sunday sales said Thursday that linking the two issues will make the Sunday sales bill more appealing to some conservative lawmakers wary of a backlash from family values groups.
— Adults in pickup trucks would finally have to buckle up under a bill that sailed through the state Senate. Georgia is the only state in the nation that specifically exempts adults in pickups from wearing seat belts. That defiant stance has cost the state millions of dollars in federal highway funds.
— The Senate paved the way for Georgia Power to begin charging ratepayers early for the interest costs of a $14 billion expansion near Augusta. The legislation would effectively hike the average Georgia Power customer’s electric bill by about $1.30 a month starting in 2011, some six years before construction of two new nuclear reactors is scheduled to be completed.
— A sweeping new food safety measure proposed in the wake of the salmonella outbreak has passed its first key legislative hurdle. The Senate Agriculture Committee voted unanimously on a plan that would require food makers to alert state inspectors within 24 hours if a plant’s internal tests show its products are contaminated.
— Gov. Sonny Perdue warned that lawmakers will have to make even deeper cuts to state services if lawmakers get their wish to provide $200 to $300 in property tax relief for each of Georgia’s homeowners.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“We will slam shut the process of backdoor tax increases once and for all that have made property taxes the most hated form of taxes to our constituents.” — State Rep. Ed Lindsey, R-Atlanta, of a proposal to freeze property assessment hikes for two years.
DAYS IN SESSION:
22 days remain in the 40-day session.
LOOK AHEAD:
As President Barack Obama prepares to sign a massive stimulus package into law, Georgia lawmakers will focus on how the spending plan impacts the state budget. Expect budget-writers to meet throughout the week as details of the stimulus emerge. The Senate could consider legislation that would require food manufacturers to alert state inspectors of the results of internal tests. And House committees could begin work on a bill that would pave the way for Georgia Power to charge ratepayers for interest costs on the construction of two nuclear reactors.
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