Final adjournment of the 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly came at the stroke of midnight Friday, April 3. The House of Representatives and Senate passed an $18.6 billion annual state budget for fiscal year 2010 on the final day of the session. HB 119 uses $1.3 billion in federal stimulus money to balance and includes $1 billion in spending cuts. The budget restores cuts to Medicaid and provider fees that were proposed by the Governor and would have devastated hospitals and medical treatment for the poor.



Regrettably, the 2010 budget fails to fund the Homeowner Tax Relief Grants that go to local governments and are passed on to homeowners. This will mean a $200-$300 property tax increase for the average homeowner later this year.



The House passed and sent to the governor a package of tax cuts for businesses. HB 438 provides certain Georgia employers a $5,000 tax credit for creating new jobs. An amendment was added in the Senate mandating that those applying for the credit must go through an electronic verification system to ensure that the employee is not an illegal immigrant. HB 481 provides a $2,400 tax credit for corporations that hire those who have been unemployed for at least four weeks. The legislation was amended to cut the capital gains taxes by 25 percent on investment earnings in 2010 and 50 percent in following years.



Another tax measure adopted in the House was HB 261, provides a $1,800 tax credit to first time home buyers and will be spread out over three years. Originally the bill called for a $3,600 tax credit.



For the second year in a row, legislators left without agreeing on sufficiently funding a transportation system that has failed to keep up with the state’s growing population. Although the House and Senate had staked out their respective positions on a one-cent sales tax plan early in the session, a compromise could not be reached. Meanwhile, the governor and legislative leaders were proposing separate legislation dealing with control over transportation revenues and road-building priorities.



SB 200 was passed in the House on April 1 by the slimmest of margins, with the speaker casting the deciding vote after he allowed an extraordinary amount of time for members to switch their votes in favor of the governance bill. The Senate gave final passage to SB 200 on a party-line vote April 3.



The legislation creates a new position of Director of Planning at the Department of Transportation, who is appointed by the governor. That individual is charged with developing a long-term plan for the DOT which is submitted to the governor and General Assembly for approval. But DOT board members and rank-and-file House and Senate members, who have a say in what projects are funded now, would have their voices limited under the bill. Top House and Senate leaders and the governor would have greater authority over the DOT appropriations process. The DOT commissioner would still be appointed by the board but would only be responsible for running the department and implementing the long range plan. Members of the General Assembly currently band together to elect DOT board members from the state's 13 congressional districts.



On the transportation funding proposals, the House version was a constitutional amendment calling for a statewide one-cent sale tax that, if approved by the voters, would have raised $25 billion over 10 years for transportation projects. Senators insisted on a plan allowing contiguous counties to band together and vote to pass a one-cent sales tax for transportation projects in that region. House and Senate conferees could not agree, and any solution for funding transportation in Georgia is dead for another year.



Other legislation approved during the final week of the session includes:



HB 168, an ethics bill that would require the Department of Revenue to release the names of legislators who have not paid state income taxes.



SB 26, which would limit the disclosure of private information of firefighters and emergency medical technicians, protecting these public servants from identity theft.



SB 55, which would require tax assessors to consider bank-owned sales and distressed sales of comparable properties when determining the fair market value of real estate.



SB 117, which would enhance the “Made in Georgia” program by creating a web site to promote sale of products manufactured in the state.



SB 246, which would require Juvenile Court officers to give 24 hours notice to the victim when a juvenile accused of a violent crime is release from detention.



Among the bills that failed to win final approval were SB 67, which would have required driver's license examinations to be conducted in English only; SB 42, which would have stripped the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council of its authority; SB 164, which would have allowed billboard owners to clear-cut trees in front of signs located on public rights-of-way; and HB 243, which would have cut the additional pay for educators who earn national board certification.



Rep. Ellis Black represents the 174th District (Brooks, Echols, Lowndes and Thomas Counties) in the Georgia House of Representatives. During the legislative session, contact him at 607 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, Ga., 30334; by phone at 404-656-0287 or by e-mail at ellis.black@house.ga.gov.