2006 LEGISLATIVE WRAPUP – April 4, 2006

2006 legislative session matched policy vs. politics

By Sen. Tim Golden

Throughout the recently completed 2006 session of the Georgia General Assembly, it seemed there was a constant competition between good public policy and election-year politics as the major legislative issues were being debated. Fortunately, policy won out over politics most of the time. Here is a review of the major legislative action from this year’s session:

Annual state budget. As usual, one of the last pieces of legislation to win final approval was the $18.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2007. The record budget amount, which is up more than $1 billion from the current year, includes a 7 percent pay raise for state Public Safety officers, including State Troopers, and a 4 percent pay raise for public school educators, as well as raises of 2 to 4 percent for other state employees. The measure also includes funding to provide home-based care for more seniors and disabled Georgians.

Although I voted for the budget in its final form, I remain concerned that it piles on an inordinate amount of additional bonded indebtedness. Also, more cuts and mandates are imposed on public school systems, which will shift the tax burden to local property taxpayers. In the future, we must work toward greater fiscal responsibility at the state level to meet the needs of all Georgians.

Eminent domain. Lawmakers adopted legislation that answers a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld a Connecticut town’s ordinance authorizing the seizure of private property in the name of economic development. As a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 461, the “Landowners Bill of Rights,” I am pleased that language from our legislation was inserted into the final bill.

House Bill 1313 would rule out eminent domain for that purpose or a means of creating more tax revenue. The bill would also strengthen due process rights of property owners and requires government to prove the proposed land seizure serves a narrow public purpose. To head off any future legislative attempts to expand eminent domain – such as SB 5, which was pushed last year by the Senate Republican leadership – we also approved a companion constitutional amendment, House Resolution 1306, aimed reining in far-reaching condemnation powers of local government.

Keeping politics out of HOPE. Both the Senate and House defeated a proposed Constitutional amendment proposed by Gov. Perdue that would have mandated that all future lottery revenues be used only for the HOPE Scholarship and pre-kindergarten. These are already designated as the first two priorities for lottery funding under the Constitution, but the governor’s proposal would have permanently eliminated the use of extra lottery proceeds for K-12 technology and needed capital outlay for education.

When Senate Republicans refused to accept my amendment that would have protected HOPE from future budget cuts, this legislation was exposed as an election-year gimmick by a governor who has opposed the HOPE program from its inception.

Stem cell research. During this year’s legislative session, I co-sponsored Georgia’s Search for the Cure Act of 2006 (SB 537) which would create a “bank” to collect voluntary donations of umbilical cord blood, placental tissue, and unused embryos from fertility treatments. SB 537 requires high ethical standards for research and strictly bans human reproductive cloning and the sale of tissue. Our bill had the potential to attract additional advanced medical research – and jobs – to Georgia.

Unfortunately, the Senate Science & Technology Committee actually approved a competing bill (SB 596) that would have criminalized embryonic stem cell research, making it a felony and requiring up to a 10-year prison sentence and imposing a $100,000 fine on researchers who work on new stem cell lines. Thankfully, the committee chairman responded to my strong objection as the ranking Democrat on the Committee as well as a shell-shocked scientific community and backed off that provision.

The version of SB 596 that ultimately passed the Senate was a reasonable compromise and a first step toward bringing this lifesaving research to Georgia. However, the legislative session ended before the issue was considered by the House of Representatives.

Tax relief for manufacturers. The cost of energy used in the manufacturing process has grown rapidly and now is the second largest cost in the process of producing goods. Georgia, which has lost more than 130,000 manufacturing jobs in the past eight years, is the only Southeastern state – and one of only 10 in the U.S. – that levies a sales tax on energy used by manufacturers.

In order to remain competitive with our sister states in the recruitment of industry and, especially, to help our existing businesses survive, I, with the support of Rep. Jeff Lewis (R-White), introduced HB 209 (all tax-related legislation must originate in the House), which would provide tax relief to Georgia manufacturers in the form of a sales tax exemption on the cost of natural gas, artificial gas or electricity that is used in the production of manufactured goods. With the endorsement of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce – among many others – this bill was introduced early in the 2005 session and for some reason has not received any support from the Perdue administration and has languished in the House Ways & Means Committee.

Tax relief for seniors. In an effort to keep Georgia seniors here and attract others to our state, I was able to successfully amend legislation that would increase a state income tax exemption for retirees, leading to its overwhelming approval by the full Senate. SR 1085, as first proposed, would have increased the income tax exemption for Georgians age 62-64 to their first $50,000 of annual retirement income and completely exempted those 65 and older from paying any income tax, starting in 2009. Under current law, beginning in 2008, retirees 62 and older will be exempt from paying taxes on their first $35,000 of annual income.

My amendment raised the exemption to $75,000 for ages 62-69 and increased the age for a total exemption to 70. Another amendment then limited the income level at the first $100,000 for those 70 and older to avoid removing some of Georgia’s wealthiest citizens from the income tax rolls all together. I fully support this income tax relief for our seniors who have worked hard and paid taxes all their lives. Raising the income limit to the first $75,000 in annual income will assist substantially more middle-class Georgians as the “baby boomer” generation starts to reach retirement age. Even though this is a fiscally sound policy for our state, the House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee failed to act on it before the end of the session.

Medicaid estate recovery. The General Assembly agreed on two steps that would curtail the Perdue administration’s plan to seize the estates of nursing home patients as a means of recovering Medicaid benefits. The legislation receiving final approval includes a provision offered by House & Senate Democrats raising the exemption level to estates valued at $100,000 (up from $25,000) and a proposal offered by Senator Greg Goggans (R-Douglas) applying the program only to those who go on Medicaid after May 1, so as not to retroactively impact existing nursing home patients.

• Sen. Tim Golden represents the 8th District (Brooks, Cook, Lowndes and Thomas counties) and serves as Democratic Caucus Chairman in the Georgia State Senate. Contact him at 121-A State Capitol, Atlanta, Ga. 30334; by phone at 404-656-7580; or by e-mail at tim.golden@senate.ga.gov.