Senate Passes Regional Transportation Initiative

   The General Assembly reconvenes on Tuesday, Feb. 26 for day 23 of a 40 day session. Below are highlights of action taken last week.

Transportation
   A measure allowing counties to band together and seek voter approval for a sales tax increase to fund common transportation needs passed out of the Georgia State Senate on February 20. SR 845, by Senator Jeff Mullis, provides that 80 percent of the funds collected in a given area would remain in that area and 20 percent would be remitted to the state where at least half of that amount would be spent on mass transit needs. The measure will now go to the House, which is expected to soon vote on its own statewide sales tax measure for transportation, HR 1226. 
   On more than one occasion Governor Perdue has intimated he may not support a raise in sales tax to fund transportation needs, even though voters would ultimately make the decision by referendum under either the Senate or House version.

Retooled GREAT Plan to Reach House Floor
   Speaker Richardson’s broad based tax reform initiative passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday, Feb. 21 and should reach the House floor this week. The scaled down version would eliminate ad valorem taxes on automobiles the first year, 2009, and the state would make up the difference to local government by taxing lottery and grocery sales. In the second year, school ad valorem taxes would essentially be eliminated and the revenue would be replaced to local systems dollar for dollar through a sales tax on services, which would not include medical, education, child care or business to business transactions. Being a constitutional referendum, it requires a supermajority, or 120 votes, to pass and move onto the Senate.