Benfield Beat -- March 22, 2010

Update on Trasnportation Bill

On Wednesday, a twice-postponed meeting of the House Transportation Committee scheduled to discuss Governor Sonny Perdue's HB 1218 (transportation funding package) received a surprise visit from a clear and direct Speaker David Ralston. The Blue Ridge Republican, among other things, spoke in favor of a committee substitute his office has been working on. Ralston urged his colleagues to continue pressing forward on the important issue, and admonished them to avoid getting bogged down on issues like regional versus Congressional balancing. The new version of the bill leaves the current congressional balancing system intact, and also:

Changes the date of the vote on the sales tax to the general election of 2012 rather than the presidential preference primary
Provides that 25%, rather than 10%, of the new revenue will be returned to the region of origination for local projects
Adds one member of the State Senate and two members of the State House, selected by the respective Transportation Committee Chairmen, to the regional roundtable executive committee
Maintains the current congressional balancing system as established in Senate Bill 200
Exempts from the tax fuel used by airlines, off road heavy equipment, locomotives and farm equipment
Requires any county in which 90% of the population live in a particular city to appoint the mayor of that city to the regional roundtable, and
Provides for up to 20 years of maintenance and operations costs for transit (except MARTA)

The legislation continues to allow any region to opt out if it cannot agree with the state on a list of projects; a provision the Governor has to date declared a "poison pill." The legislation passed out of the House Transportation Committee on Thursday morning, and will now proceed onto the House Rules Committee for consideration. The committee debated 19 amendments before the vote for passage, the most prominent of which was a provision that was passed and would allow Clayton County to raise their sales tax cap to provide additional funding for C-Tran. Most of the other amendments were unsuccessful.

Cigarette Tax Faces Stiff Opposition; Christian Coalition Favors Taxing Movie Tickets; More News about State Budget

Rep. Ron Stephens (R - Savannah) told Denis O'Hayer of WSB on Wednesday that he only had 81 of the 91 required votes to pass a $1 per pack increase on cigarette taxes. The chances of getting more than that, he said, are slim to none. He is now working to pass a constitutional amendment that would allow the voters to choose whether or not to impose the tax. That measure would require 120 votes.

In the meantime, Jerry Luquire, the (relatively) new President of the Georgia Christian Coalition weighed in on the proposed $1 per pack tax on cigarettes. The Christian Coalition apparently doesn't favor the tobacco tax, rather favoring a tax on other voluntary purchases such lottery and movie tickets. Luquire, a former smoker, doesn't believe an additional tax on tobacco would deter a nicotine addict. In fact, Luquire said "the only justification for sales or use taxes is the exclusive need for government revenue and not to control lifestyle, health or the environment and apply it only to voluntary purchases."

Increase in User Fees Proposed

The leadership in the State House of Representatives is working to pass legislation that would raise more than $90 million in state user fees to help fill gaping holes in the state's budget.

HB 1055 was passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. While the legislation creates a few new fees (such as registration fees for lobbyists), the vast majority of the changes are increases in current fees for court filings and specialty license plate tags. Under the bill's proposal, lobbyists would have to pay an annual fee of $250. There was some debate in the committee, which quickly subsided after Speaker David Ralston (R - Blue Ridge) stopped in to voice his support for the bill.

Sales Tax Collection Measure Passes the House

On Wednesday, the House passed Rep. David Knight's (R - Griffin) HB 1093. The legislation establishes a mechanism whereby local governments can cross reference business information with the Georgia Department of Revenue and insure that the proper amount of taxes levied are collected. The legislation passed 160-2.

Joint House & Senate Effort to Reform Our Tax System

On Thursday, Speaker Ralston and Lt. Governor Casey Cagle unveiled a joint effort to overhaul Georgia's tax system. The two most powerful members of the Georgia General Assembly joined together to unveil HB 1405, which creates a "special council on tax reform and fairness." The team would be made up of economists, politicians and business leaders who would review income tax rules, tax exemptions, sales and use taxes, capital gains taxes and corporate taxes. The intent, according to House Ways and Means Chairman Larry O'Neal (R - Warner Robins), the sponsor of the legislation, as quoted by The Macon Telegraph's Travis Fain, is "potentially a total overhaul." HB 1405 was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.

Senate Unanimously Passes Ban on Texting While Driving

On Thursday, the Senate passed SB 360, a ban on texting on mobile phones while driving by a vote of 46-0. The ban would apply to all drivers, carry a $150 fine, and would provide extra penalties to drivers under 17 that were convicted of two violations. Unlike other versions of texting bans, this legislation does not provide any exemptions. However, this bill limits the ban to mobile phones only, while other legislation included items such as laptop computers.

Senate Passes Online Voter Registration

Senator Cecil Staton (R - Macon), who has long been Georgia's champion for voting integrity, presented the Senate with his latest innovation: legislation (SB 406) which would allow new voters to register online. Senator Vincent Fort (D - Atlanta), and other Senate Democrats, voiced strong opposition to the bill. The United States Department of Justice has approved the practice in a number of states. SB 406 passed 32-20.

Lt. Governor Casey Cagle's Task Force Makes Budget Recommendations

This week, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle's budget review task force presented approximately 50 ideas that could potentially solve $3.1 billion of the state's budget crisis. The seven-member panel recommended bringing college tuition closer to other institutions around the country; moving to merit-based teacher pay; increasing the amount teacher's contribute to their retirement; reducing the state's real estate holdings; outsourcing services such as janitorial and landscaping; and encouraging public-private partnerships. Cagle acknowledged that many of the recommendations are politically unviable.

Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court Presents State of the Judiciary

On Tuesday, Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court Carol D. Hunstein addressed a joint session of the Georgia General Assembly at the State Capitol. Her comments revolved around the importance of the judiciary's 1% of the state budget, which continues to shrink. Hunstein challenged the legislators present to view Georgia's judiciary at a crossroads -- the crossroads of performing constitutionally mandated duties and participating in budget cuts coming from a struggling economy. She pointed out that judges had participated in furloughs, and that staff positions had been eliminated in order to support statewide budget cuts.

Other Measures that Passed the House this Past Week:

First introduced was House Bill 571, authored by Speaker Ralston, which will update the code sections dealing with sex offender laws. The necessary changes were made in response to a series of court decisions since this code section was re-written in 2006.

House Bill 1128 extends sunset provisions in place that allow state agencies and departments, including the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia, to administratively consider discharging debt obligations that have been determined uncollectable.

House Bill 788 passed the House after much debate. This bill would provide for a more humane euthanasia for animals in shelters that were grandfathered in from the previous law adopted in 1990. These counties would no longer be able to euthanize animals by way of gas chambers.

In an effort to significantly aide the Department of Revenue in collecting taxes owed to the state, House Bill 982 would provide for an administrative garnishment process. This measure would create a way for the department to collect more of the revenue for the state.

House Bill 1188 would allow for additional POST certified law enforcers. These agents would be allowed to go undercover and investigate and enforce criminal laws involving tax matters. This bill would put more enforcement officers in the field to cut down on fraud in the state of Georgia .

House Bill 979 allows for prosecution and penalties to be administered when aggravated assault has been committed against a "law enforcement explorer."

In response to Hustler Magazine's request for crime scene photos of the murder of Meredith Emerson, House Bill 1322 called the Meredith Emerson Memorial Privacy Act provides that photographs in the custody of law enforcement where graphic images of sexual organs or dismemberment of the body are shown will not be subject to public disclosure.

House Bill 954, regarding the way alimony can be determined, failed to pass.

Thursday, March 18th marked the 27^th legislative day of the 2010 session. Members debated and passed these 9 bills:

House Bill 936 gives local school systems the flexibility to use State Board of Education Bus Replacement Funds for the purpose of bus refurbishing.

House Bill 994 allows the State Board of Community Health to charge a licensure fee for health care facilities that the Department is required to inspect and regulate. The fee will be adjusted annually by the department, but will not exceed the rate of inflation. All fees will be paid into the general fund of the State of Georgia .

House Bill 1005 allows for the creation of two different specialized license plates; one benefiting Zoo Atlanta and the other, Alpha Phi Alpha Sorority, Inc. The purpose of these special plates is to generate funds for their respective organizations.

House Bill 1041 gives the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue greater flexibility to approve digests when at least 3% of the total value is being held on appeal or in arbitration.

House Bill 1090 abolishes the Georgia Agrirama Development Authority and provides that Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College , known as (ABAC), shall be the successor to the authority to continue its functions.

House Bill 1119 creates the "Arthritis Prevention and Control Program" established by the Department of Community Health. Its purpose is to raise public awareness, to educate, and to train consumers, health professionals, teachers and human service providers.

HB 1144 would allow juveniles to receive credit for time served in juvenile detention prior to disposition or sentencing.

In order to ensure that the State Agency on Aging is eligible to receive federal funds, House Bill 1260 provides clarification language relating to planning and service areas.

And finally, SB 370 recognizes the need to create a "culture of water conservation" in Georgia to ensure proper use of our finite water resources. The legislation directs a number of state agencies who are involved in water-related issues to work together in developing programs for water conservation and water supply.