Senate focuses on tax reform and budget
By Senator Bill Jackson

BILL JACKSON

This week, the Senate gave careful consideration to two issues that will significantly affect you and every Georgian - tax reform and the state budget. As public stewards of your tax dollars and the state's funds, the importance of the legislature using that money wisely cannot be overstated. If you've been keeping up with the news under the Gold Dome, you've no doubt heard the debates over tax reform and that the Senate announced its version on Tuesday. It's clear that Georgians need tax relief; our challenge is deciding upon the most fiscally responsible approach in providing relief to our constituents while also benefiting the economy and a balanced budget.

Let's first take a look at tax reform. The plan announced by the Senate this week constitutes the largest tax cut in Georgia's history. Under this measure, every working Georgian will receive a 10 percent income tax cut. The goal here is to provide broad, immediate and fair tax relief to every working citizen in Georgia. The cuts will be phased in over five years in equal, annual installments, beginning July 1, 2008. This will deliver over $3.5 billion to Georgia taxpayers at full implementation. It is important to give hardworking Georgians the opportunity to keep more of their money and decide how to spend it, which in effect will stimulate our economy.

The House of Representatives must be commended for undertaking this critical issue to address the fact that Georgia needs tax reform. Their measure calls for the elimination of all ad valorem taxes in Georgia on motor vehicles. Both plans have their benefits, and now it is our job to work together in developing a final plan that combines the best of both for the benefit of our state. This is when the legislative process is at its finest - when two competing ideas, both with merit, must be deliberated upon and a strong end result is reached. I'm sure there will be much more talk of this until the end of session, so stay tuned for further developments in this crucial debate.

New developments have arisen in budget negations as the Senate and House passed their respective midyear budgets on Thursday. The legislature passed a strong amended budget with funding for a number of critical issues, beginning with $40 million for building new reservoirs and $500,000 for repairs. These funds will go towards enhancing the state's water storage capacity to help prevent future drought. The budget also includes over $58 million for trauma funding, $20 million in equalization funding for education and $2.7 million to help fund the indigent defense system. New funds have been added for mental hospitals, child welfare services and PeachCare. I am pleased that we have agreed upon a budget that addresses the most critical needs of our state and will provide significant

relief in several areas. Here's a quick look at some other measures that passed the Senate this week:

.. HB 945 authorizes certain persons to access vehicle tag and title information in order to provide notice to the owners of towed or impounded vehicles.

.. HB 983 authorizes law enforcement agencies from neighboring states that are in pursuit of a suspect who crosses into Georgia to arrest and hold such person in custody.

.. HB 1014 expands the Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan to include qualified tuition programs.

.. HB 1019 creates the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank within the State Road and Tollway Authority.

.. HB 1245 makes changes to the current indigent defense system in Georgia with the goal of maintaining solvency. We have only six legislative days left before the end of session, and we are scheduled to reconvene in the Senate Chamber on Thursday of next week. This will allow time for further budget negations on the FY 09 budget and for committees to work on passing out more legislation. We will continue to work hard to come to agreements on tax reform and I'm sure the pace will quickly increase as we head for the final days of this year's session.

Sen. Bill Jackson represents the 24th Senate District, which includes Columbia, Glascock, Lincoln, McDuffie and Wilkes counties and portions of Elbert and Warren counties. He can be reached at 404.656.5114 or via e-mail at bill.jackson@senate.ga.gov.