WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT—February 8, 2008

A balanced, reasoned approach to property tax reform

By Sen. Tim Golden

Tax reform, specifically property tax reform, is one of the major issues being addressed during this year’s Georgia legislative session. While the much-publicized “GREAT” plan to replace all property taxes with a sales tax has yet to emerge in the House of Representatives, the Senate is working on a proposal that would bring a balanced, reasonable approach to the issue.

As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I joined my colleagues this week in supporting SR 796, which would limit assessment increases to 2 percent per year for residential property and 3 percent for non-residential property. As a proposed constitutional amendment, this is one of the most effective measures to deal with rising property values that I have seen.

Assessment increases have become known as “back-door tax hikes” because they allow governments to take in more revenue without the publicly scrutinized action of raising millage rates. This is a system that is crying out for fairness, and implementing a modest cap on these increases could be the most effective approach to property tax reform this year.

I will keep you posted on the progress of this legislation.

Another tax relief proposal I am supporting is HB 237, which would expand the sales tax exemption for machinery and parts used in the manufacturing process. This “integrated plant theory” exemption would encourage manufacturers to invest in new facilities and to upgrade existing plants, allowing Georgia factories to remain competitive with those in other states and continue to create jobs.

HB 237, resting in the House Ways & Means Committee, would provide some long overdue tax relief for manufacturers. The current sales tax exemption is too restrictive as compared to other states, and this legislation would give a needed boost to the manufacturing sector and Georgia’s employment picture.

Meanwhile this week, I have expressed my opposition to SB 391, which would remove the requirement for many public notices to be published in the local newspapers designated as the legal organs for Georgia’s 159 counties. The bill would allow these notices to be posted on the Internet only, with one company given complete control over their placement.

Despite the greatly expanded popularity and availability of the Internet, there is still a significant portion of our population that does not routinely use computers and depends on local newspapers for information and public notices. This measure would limit access to open government, especially in rural areas and among seniors. I see no reason to make it harder for these citizens to receive public information, just so one company can benefit.

I will urge my colleagues to oppose SB 391, which is pending in the Senate Science & Technology Committee.

On Tuesday, the Senate overwhelmingly approved HR 1022, the House version of the Statewide Water Management Plan. Gov. Sonny Perdue signed the plan into law on Wednesday and announced he was relaxing some of the water use restrictions imposed in 61 counties last year during extreme drought conditions.

The Senate also approved SB 342, which would streamline and speed up the state’s permitting process for building dams to impound reservoirs. The permitting process currently can take as much as 14 years to complete. The measure now moves to the House for its consideration.

On behalf of our veterans, I have requested funds be put in the FY 09 budget to allow our local Veterans Services Office, as well as facilities in six other cities, to be able to add staff to better serve our veterans.  This agency has experienced an increase in its workload due to the number of veterans returning from the war.  Our local office does an outstanding job in assisting our veterans and we owe it to those employees as well as the veterans to provide sufficient workers to be able to provide services in a timely manner.

• Sen. Tim Golden represents the 8th District (Brooks, Cook, Lowndes, and Thomas counties) 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.