Under The Gold Dome

Published March 12, 2010 at 10:11 p.m.
HEADLINES:

Georgia's hospitals and health care providers were hammered as part of a new round of cuts proposed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to deal with a gaping budget shortfall. With state tax collections in freefall, Perdue is pushing to cancel the state's weeklong sales back-to-school sales tax holiday. Georgians will also face a host of new or increased fees totaling some $96 million as the state scrambles to balance its books. The bad budget news has been expected since February's revenue numbers dipped for the 15th straight month. Perdue is pushing a 10.25 percent cut in the amount the state gives to hospitals and health care providers for serving Medicaid patients. He also proposed eliminating the state sales tax exemption for nonprofit hospitals, meaning they would have to pay sales taxes for purchases.

ODDS ENDS:

Identical water conservation bills cleared both chambers of the state Legislature. The bills provide incentives to save water. Among the provisions are a requirement that low-flow faucets and toilets be installed in new construction and a watering ban during some daylight hours in the warmer months.

The state Senate has unanimously approved a wide-ranging overhaul of property taxes. The bill from Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers requires that homes be assessed every year. It extends the appeals process from 30 to 45 days and requires that all comparable sales, including bank sales and foreclosures, must be applied when officials set an assessed value.

Georgia's top lawyer says the state must hand over $18 million in disputed sales tax revenue to local governments in the midst of a crippling state budget crunch. A spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue was critical of the opinion from Attorney General Thurbert Baker and declined to say whether they would comply.

A Republican state senator is proposing cutting 19 Superior Court judges a move he says could save the state up to $14 million. Mitch Seabaugh says a bill he is sponsoring would reduce the number of Superior Court judges from 205 to 186. The Sharpsburg Republican says the Superior Court system has not been carrying its weight during the state's budget crisis and has made far fewer cuts than many other departments.

A polarizing proposal that would split Fulton County in two has cleared the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee by a 9-7 vote. The proposal would break off Atlanta's predominantly white, wealthy suburbs to the north and put them in a new Milton County. The poorer, black neighborhoods in Atlanta would remain in Fulton County, Georgia's most populous county and home to most of the city of Atlanta.

Opponents and supporters of a cigarette tax rallied at the Capitol on back-to-back days. Grover Norquist, head of the national anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform, led the charge against a proposed $1-per-pack hike in the tax on cigarettes. The day before anti-smoking advocates had gathered under the gold dome and said boosting the tax would help close the state's budget hole while also stopping some smokers from lighting up.

A House Republican is pushing legislation that would keep crime scene photos under wraps. The proposal from state Rep. Jill Chambers comes after Hustler Magazine sought to obtain photos of the decapitated body of slain Georgia hiker Meredith Emerson through an open records request. House Speaker David Ralston blasted the request and said he had instructed the GBI to refuse to hand over the material.

A bill that would allow gun owners with permits to carry firearms onto college campuses and into churches and bars passed the Special Judiciary Committee 7-1. Under the legislation, restaurant owners, churches and other private property owners could choose whether to exclude people carrying guns from their property. The Board of Regents would determine the policy for the state's college campuses.

The Georgia House voted 142-20 to approve a bill that puts teeth in a food safety bill that cleared the Legislature last year after a deadly salmonella outbreak was linked to a South Georgia peanut plant. The legislation from Rep. Kevin Levitas would make it a felony to knowingly distribute a tainted food product. Violators could face up to 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

A special House panel has approved a transportation funding plan that would allow regions in the state to vote on a one-cent sales tax hike to pay for road improvements. Under the plan, regions that vote to approve the tax increase would have money to spend on local road and infrastructure projects. Others could reject the increase and would not see any additional funding.

The House voted 137-33 approved a bill that would allow Georgia's governor to oust misbehaving school board members. It was prompted by troubles in the Clayton County school system, which was stripped of accreditation in 2008. Under the bill, the governor could remove school board members if the state board of education recommends removal. Schools must be poised to lose accreditation.

The case of a Columbus man fatally shot during a traffic stop was the catalyst for a Senate bill that would ban unsworn testimony before a grand jury. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ed Harbison of Columbus, passed 53-0 in the Senate. It requires all grand jury witnesses to be sworn in before testifying in a criminal case.

In an overture to keep the Falcons in downtown Atlanta, the Georgia House voted 151-13 to an extend the hotel tax until 2050. The additional money could be used to help build a new stadium. The 7 percent tax levied on hotels and motels in Atlanta was set to expire in 2020. The tax helps pay debt service for the Georgia Dome, where the Falcons play their home games.

Efforts to update Georgia's anti-bullying statute stalled in the House. Rep. Mike Jacobs tabled the bill after a testy floor debate. The bill would make it a crime for principals to knowingly not report bullying to authorities and would expand the state's current law against bullying to include elementary school students.

The Georgia House honored longtime speaker Tom Murphy by placing his portrait in the state Capitol. Gov. Sonny Perdue and other current former legislators were in the House chamber for a tribute. The Democrat was the longest-serving state House speaker in the nation when voters in his west Georgia district turned him out of office in 2002. He died in 2007 at age 83.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

``We're taking a step back from a lot of things that were nice to do in good times,'' Gov. Sonny Perdue, discussing how the state is coping with a growing budget shortfall.

DAYS IN SESSION:

Sixteen days remain in the 40-day session.

LOOK AHEAD:

Budget work is set to continue at the Capitol. The House Appropriations Committee will meet on Monday to begin work on the spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Lawmakers are expected to consider legislation that would increase a number of state fees. And they will take up a bill that would eliminate a sales tax exemption for hospitals.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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