February 27, 2009
Over my objection Wednesday, the Senate Transportation Committee favorably reported legislation that would reorganize the state's transportation agencies and potentially weaken the process of representative government.
SB 200, proposed by Gov. Perdue, would shift control and oversight over Georgia's highway system from the state Department of Transportation (DOT) board to a newly created, 11-member State Transportation Authority (STA). While DOT board members are elected by legislators within each of Georgia's 13 congressional districts, the STA members would be hand-picked by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House of Representatives.
Such consolidation of power would potentially leave vast areas of the state unrepresented in transportation decisions. The loss of representation by congressional districts also would potentially violate the U.S. Voting Rights Act. Also, there are provisions within SB 200 that would allow the STA board to award road-building contracts outside the competitive bidding process.
This legislation proposes a monumental change in a process that involves billions of taxpayer dollars each and every year. It does not need to be put on such a fast track toward approval without substantial study and debate. Centralizing control of our transportation system in the hands of the state's three most powerful politicians - at the expense of representative government - is a very dangerous road to travel.
Hopefully we will have an opportunity for that debate before SB 200 is voted on by the full Senate.
In other action Wednesday, a majority of the Senate voted to give the governor the power to remove elected members of local school boards.
According to its supporters, SB 84 addresses a situation in which one Georgia public school system lost its accreditation because of, in large part, the mismanagement of a dysfunctional board of education.
However, I voted against the measure out of concern over whether taking away local control and expanding the governor's power is the right remedy for the situation. SB 84 now goes to the House for its consideration.
On Thursday, the Senate voted to approve legislation I introduced that would relieve MARTA of the requirement to divide its sales tax revenues equally between capital expenditures and operational costs. SB 120 is aimed at helping the transit agency reduce its financial deficit.
The Senate also passed SB 89, which would make it possible for MARTA to generate additional revenues through the operation of concession stands at rail stations by lifting the ban on food and beverage consumption at the stations. Eating and drinking on MARTA trains and buses would still be prohibited.
Both SB 120 and SB 89 now go to the House for its consideration.
Other legislation passed by the Senate and sent to the House this week includes:
SB 20, which would prohibit local governments from adopting "sanctuary policies" that protect illegal immigrants from being arrested or deported.
SB 23, which would allow evidence that a driver or passenger was not wearing a seat belt to be presented in a civil trial and allow juries to take that evidence into account when assessing damages.
SB 70, which would strengthen campaign ethics laws, requiring businesses to report within two days any contributions they make to candidates for offices with which they have a contract or could get a contract.
SB 78, which would provide voluntary and timely investigation and remediation of properties where there have been releases of regulated substances into the environment, in order to reduce human and environmental exposure to safe levels. The bill, also known as the Georgia Voluntary Remediation Program Act, would establish the criteria to qualify for a voluntary remediation program and spell out provisions for corrective action. I co- sponsored this legislation.
SB 156, which would help Georgia move closer to establishing a statewide trauma care network. By revising the duties of the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission, this legislation would provide guidelines for dealing with uncompensated care, assisting rural hospitals in providing trauma care and supporting trauma centers that incur financial losses.
The Senate also passed an amended version of a House proposal that would freeze property valuation reassessments for two years. I am among the Senators who oppose HB 233. This is simply another unfunded mandate that forces local governments to either raise property taxes through higher millage rates (the bill did not cap rates) or reduce vital services and/or raid already shrinking reserve funds due to the economic downturn.
HB 233 also potentially creates an unfair disadvantage for new businesses considering locating in Georgia. Because commercial property reassessments would be frozen for existing businesses, the loss in revenue would have to be made up by new businesses that come into our state, purchase and improve property.
Simply put, this is a one-size-fits-all mandate from the state that will result in little or no actual tax relief at the local level. If the House approves the Senate's changes, HB 233 will go to the governor for his signature.
Senate addresses economy's effect on property values
February 20, 2009
The Senate voted on a property tax relief measure this week, approving legislation that would hold down increases in valuation assessments by local tax officials.
Under SB 55, tax assessors would be required to consider the impact on property values of home foreclosures and bank sales of comparable real estate, along with the decrease in property values caused by conservation easements.
These are considerations that could have a negative effect on property values and thus justify a lowering of the assessment, which in turn would mean lower ad valorem tax bills for property owners.
Sponsors of SB 55 said the bill will bring a more realistic, common-sense approach to the tax appraisal process as home prices have dropped dramatically during the current economic turndown. The foreclosure crisis affects the value of other homes in the community.
Critics of the bill complained about its potential effect on local government revenue, but the legislation passed Wednesday by a 46-6 vote and now goes to the House of Representatives for its consideration.
On Thursday, a majority of Senators approved legislation that would strip the Georgia Public Defenders Standards Council of its authority to oversee the state's indigent defense system. Under SB 42, the council would be changed to an advisory board with its members selected by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker.
The legislation, which passed 32-21, would place administration of the agency in the hands of its director. Supporters of the bill are unhappy with present members of the council, who have publicly criticized the lack of adequate funding for indigent defense in our state.
I voted against the bill because it appears to be a reactive measure against individual council members and fails to address the problem of funding for the constitutionally mandated public defender system, resulting in lengthy delays in criminal cases in our state.
Following up on last week's report about legislation addressing the case of the Peanut Corp. of America plant, the Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to pass SB 80. The proposal is aimed at preventing future situations like the shipping of salmonella- tainted peanut butter products from the Early County plant.
SB 80 would require that any time a test comes back positive for the presence of hazardous substances in food products, the processing company must report those results to the state Department of Agriculture within 24 hours and retain the test results for at least two years. The bill now goes to the House for its consideration.
The $787 billion economic stimulus plan passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama includes an estimated $6 billion in aid for Georgia in the form of grants for new roads and bridges, mass transit, local schools and other critical needs. Some of the highlights of Georgia funding, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, include:
~ More than $1 billion for highways and bridges
~ $168 million for transit capital grants
~ $97.8 million for weatherization of modest-income homes to make them more energy efficient
~ $420 million for Title I schools
~ $333 million for special education
~ Additional stabilization funds for modernization and renovation of schools
~ $220 million in additional unemployment insurance trust fund dollars
~ $1.73 billion for increased Medicaid payments
The Senate and House Appropriations committees are still working on the supplemental budget for fiscal year 2009 and the annual budget for 2010. This week, Gov. Perdue lowered the current- year revenue estimate by another $450 million, bringing the total budget deficit closer to $3 billion.
The governor also signed into law HB 143, which guarantees payment of the $428 million in homeowners' tax relief grants to local governments for this year only. While continuing to express his opposition to the tax relief grants, the governor acknowledged the receipt of federal funding helped in his decision to sign the bill.
Legislation I introduced this week includes SB 120, which would remove a requirement for MARTA to split its sales tax proceeds evenly between capital expenditures and operational expenditures; SB 167, which would exempt public school systems from motor fuel excise taxes under certain circumstances; and SR 295, which requests the implementation of a Strategic Deployment-Distribution Center Corridor network by various state agencies.
Stoner resolution urges continued F-22 production
February 13, 2009
On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Senate unanimously adoped legislation I introduced which urges President Barack Obama and his administration to continue the uninterrupted production of the F-22 Raptor.
SR 255 points out that the current U.S. figher aircraft fleets are aging and stretched to the breaking point and must be replaced. The F-22 Raptor, produced by Lockheed Martin Corp., is the world's most capable fighter plane, providing U.S. military forces command of the skies, an essential component of the nation's military strength. The U.S. Air Force and more than 30 air campaign studies conducted over the last 15 years have found that it is essential that current production of the F-22 be drastically increased.
The F-22 program also contributes $12 billion to the nation's economy, directly employing more than 25,000 Americans, including 2,500 Georgians, and another 70,000 in indirect jobs for subcontractors and suppliers all over the country. In these perilous economic times, it is imperative that we maintain the existing, high-paying, specialized jobs that are critical to the preservation of our national defense industrial base.
A majority of the Senate voted Feb. 11 to approve the Georgia Nuclear Energy Financing Act, which would allow Georgia Power to impose rate increases beginning in 2011 to cover $1.6 billion in construction costs for two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle.
I voted against this legislation, SB 31, because Georgia Power customers would have to start paying the higher rates a full six years before the reactors are in operation, allowing the company to make money in advance in a way no other business could - amounting to a corporate giveaway for the utility monopoly.
The bill was amended to exempt large business and industrial users from paying the same higher rates as residential and small business users, meaning the smallest users of electricity would pay most of the advance fees.
SB 31 also usurps the authority of the Georgia Public Service Commission, which is the elected regulatory agency for utility oversight. The PSC should be making the decisions on rate increases, not the state legislature. SB 31 now goes to the House of Representatives, where hopefully it will be defeated.
On Feb. 12, the Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would restrict future midyear budget appropriations to education funding, additions to the state reserve fund or repayment of state debt. No other new spending would be allowed without two-thirds approval of the legislature.
SR 1 would apply when economic growth results in higher-than-expected revenues, which is certainly not the case this year, with the state facing a nearly $3 billion revenue shortfall. As a constitutional amendment, the proposal still needs two-thirds approval by the House of Representatives and majority approval by Georgia voters in the 2010 general election.
The Senate also voted 49-4 in favor of legislation I co-sponsored that would enforce the state's seat belt laws for pickup truck drivers and passengers. Pickup trucks are currently exempt from seat belt requirements, costing Georgia millions of dollars each year in federal highway funding. Under SB 5, which now goes to the House for its consideration, an exception would still be made for trucks while they are being used for agricultural pursuits.
In response to the case involving the Peanut Corp. of America plant in Early County, a Senate committee has approved legislation that would require Georgia manufacturing plants to regularly test their products and report any findings of contamination. SB 80, which came out of the Senate Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee, is intended to raise a "red flag" if a manufacturer finds salmonella or another type of contamination in its food products.
Under the bill, the state Department of Agriculture would launch its investigation earlier in the process and the company would be required to keep records of the tests for two years. SB 80 now moves to the full Senate for a vote.
Senate approves regional transportation solution
February 6, 2009
Across the state of Georgia, the lack of adequate funding to improve our transportation system is a problem. But the specific needs and urgency for improvements are different in various regions of the state.
For example, some parts of rural Georgia might need to expand a two-lane state highway to four lanes to attract industry and development. Here in metro Atlanta, the problem is much different. Because of decades of rapid growth and development, we have a need to explore transit alternatives to relieve traffic congestion on the roads. Still another region of Georgia might need to replace old bridges or pave dirt roads.
This is why the regional approach to generating transportation funding makes the most sense: local decisions being made at the local level, with local dollars solving local problems.
This week, the Senate voted overwhelmingly for legislation I co-sponsored that would set up a regional transportation solution. SR 44 and SB 39 would authorize counties to join together and levy a regional one-cent sales tax to pay for the transportation projects that are most urgently needed in those areas. Voters in those counties would have to approve the tax in a referendum.
Because SR 44 proposes a constitutional amendment, it needs approval by two-thirds of the House of Representatives and a majority of voters in the next general election. Although House leaders have proposed a statewide transportation sales tax, hopefully they will eventually agree that the regional option is fairer to all areas of the state and more likely to win voter approval.
On Friday, the Senate narrowly passed two measures addressing property taxation. SB 83 would raise the annual state homestead exemption from $2,000 to $4,000 to give homeowners a modest property tax break. The measure still needs a two-thirds vote of approval in the House of Representatives before going on a special election ballot in June, when Georgia voters would need to approve the increase.
HB 143, meanwhile, would require the General Assembly to put $428 million into the budget this year for homeowner tax relief grants, which Gov. Perdue has proposed to cut from the budget. But the bill also includes a provision requiring a 3 percent growth in revenue in future years for the grants to be funded, virtually assuring a $200-$300 tax increase for homeowners in 2010.
An amendment to the bill would have kept the grants in place upon any increase in state revenue, but it was not allowed when a slim majority of Senators voted to "engross" the legislation, or force a vote on it with no changes.
The Senate also voted this week to adopt legislation that would allow a "life without parole" sentence in murder cases when the prosecutor does not seek the death penalty. SB 13 would apply in cases where there might not be sufficient legal cause to seek capital punishment, but the convicted murderer still needs to be incarcerated for life with no parole.
Current law allows juries to impose a life without parole sentence only as an option in death penalty cases. Approved unanimously by the Senate, SB 13 now goes to the House for its consideration.
The Senate Natural Resources & Environment Committee is considering legislation I co-sponsored that would provide voluntary and timely investigation and remediation of properties where there have been releases of regulated substances into the environment, in order to reduce human and environmental exposure to safe levels.
SB 78, the Georgia Voluntary Remediation Program Act, has bipartisan support and would also establish the criteria to qualify for a voluntary remediation program and spell out provisions for corrective action.
District 6
P.O. Box 1781
Smyrna, GA 30081
Phone: 770.436.0699
Fax: 770.436.0699
Email: doug.stoner@senate.ga.gov
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