Perdue Thumbs Nose at Voters, Frustrates North Fulton Delegation

publication date: Apr 1, 2008

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author/source: John Fredericks / STAFF

By John Fredericks / Staff

Governor Perdue has taken a hard line on several Republican issues during the legislative session.

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue boarded a Delta jet last week on a trade mission to China with 40 statewide business leaders. The non-stop flight takes 16 hours.

Some Georgia state legislators, many who hail from North Fulton County, hope he takes a different mode of transportation back home: like a slow boat from China.

Perdue, ruling with an iron fist, has for the second year in a row threatened to veto key legislation emanating from his majority party at the end of the session. Some elected officials liken it to the proverbial armchair quarterback who sits on the sidelines and second-guesses the Sunday game plan on Monday morning.

“He basically does not get involved for three months, then weighs in during the final hours. It is both frustrating and perplexing,” said Rep Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta).

Rep. Joe Wilkinson (R-Sandy Springs) added, “No matter what party you are in, governing is hard. This is certainly frustrating, to say the least.”

The Incredible Shrinking Tax Cut
Hoping to stave off recession in a slowing economy, and looking at an approximate $1.7 billion dollar surplus, Georgia’s North Fulton lawmakers, not without some discord of their own, helped to pass different versions of bold tax cut packages in both the House and Senate.

First the House passed their version, calling for elimination of the dreaded car tag ad valorem tax, scrapping the extra quarter millage rate on property tax that goes to the state and freezing both residential and commercial property value tax assessments in 2008.

The bill would remove half the tag tax between July 1 next year and June 30, 2010, and then eliminate the other half in the following year.
The Senate blocked that, and countered with an alternate plan, the centerpiece being a 10 percent state income tax reduction over five years, at 2 percent per year, the brainchild of Lt. Governor Casey Cagle.

Unlike the House plan, this would go into effect this year.

All Georgia legislators are up for election in 2008 and Cagle is preparing for a gubernatorial bid of his own in 2010.

With Republicans enjoying solid majorities in both chambers and a Republican governor serving out his second term, one would assume some form of major tax cut package would be a shoo-in this year.

Not when that governor is from Georgia and his name is Perdue.

As a result, Georgians are unlikely to see any benefits of a tax cut in their pocketbooks this year.

What Party Is He In, Anyway?
Perdue, a former Democrat once rumored to be on John McCain’s short list of Vice Presidential choices is no tax cutter. He raised taxes in the initial months of his first term and vetoed tax cut bills last year. He likes the cash in the state coffers.

The Governor tore into both tax-cut plans last week, calling them, “Draconian cuts,” while accusing GOP lawmakers of playing politics. “They’re trying to figure out how to get elected,” he said.

"When you cut taxes long-term, what are you going to do to pay for education, transportation, health care?" Perdue queried.

Perdue has called for doing away with the quarter point millage rate and reducing the state income tax due from seniors.

The House car tag tax cut is estimated to reduce state tax revenue by $660 million and the Senate income tax cut version would reduce revenues by $1.2 billion by 2013.

"Sadly, all these tax plans are more about politics than policy,'' Perdue said.

Martin

Jones

Martin shot back, “Everyone knows the way to get an economy moving is to put money back in the pockets of citizens. Perdue won’t cut taxes, but he can somehow justify a $19 million dollar earmark for a fish hatchery. This doesn’t make sense.”

Wilkinson estimated that the state will enjoy a tax revenue increase of $230 million dollars, “just from the federal stimulus package.” He added, “We need to get this money back in the hands of its [rightful] owners – Georgia taxpayers. We need a meaningful tax cut.”

Over-Riding the Governor
To do away with the car tag tax, also referred to as “the birthday tax” because tag renewals and the accompanying fee are due by the end of the car owner’s birth month, a constitutional amendment would need to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses. It has already sailed through the House. If the Senate passes it by two thirds, it will be placed on the Georgia 2008 ballot in November. The Governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment.

Problem is it may never get to the Senate floor for a vote, as Cagle, who presides over the State Senate, is said to be blocking its pathway. He has the power to deny the vote its due.

Some observors believe Cagle’s income tax gambit is a purely political move to fuel his run for governor. Fearing both tax cuts will be too much, he may want his to pass so he can take credit for it in the 2010 GOP primary election.

Regardless of political posturing, Martin believes the amendment still has a shot and said, “Ax the Tax is still in play.”

For Cagle’s 10 percent income tax cut plan to become law, both chambers would have to override Perdue’s promised veto with two-thirds majorities in a specially called session. By law, the state legislative session completes its 40 days and officially ends on Friday, April 4.

When pressed if he has the support to override a veto from Perdue, Cagle said it was too close to call. “This is a process. We're not at the end of the process. We're at the beginning.”

House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons) said since Perdue opposes both tax cut ideas, the Senate should agree with the House to eliminate the car tag tax because the House's proposal is a resolution, which Perdue can't veto, while the Senate's proposal is a bill, which Perdue can veto.

Representative Jan Jones (R-Roswell/Milton) predicted a victorious overide and said, “We would assemble the necessary votes in both cases if we had the chance. The tougher part is getting the special session [approved].”

Jones was strident in her call for tax reform. “I want a tax cut. I want an across the board, broad tax cut that reduces the size of government and leaves more money in people’s pockets.” She favors a freeze on property values and elimination of the ad valorem auto tag tax.

One Tax Cut Deserves Another: Tax Increase, That Is
Georgia is the fastest-growing state in the nation, but spends less per capita on transportation than 46 other states.

A mere 3 percent of the Georgia Department of Transportation's budget is designated for new highway construction. Most lawmakers’ projections show the Federal Highway Trust Fund will be bankrupt by next year.

The House and Senate have forged a compromise funding plan – Senate Resolution 845 – to provide additional resources for Georgia's cash-strapped Department of Transportation, bringing future potential relief to heavily trafficked roadways.

Passage of the bill would put it on the November ballot in the form of a constitutional amendment. Subsequent voter approval would allow Georgia's 12 regional development centers to impose a one percent sales tax to pay for the projects that each region needs.

Advocates of Senate Resolution 845 claim that it leaves every step of the decision-making up to voters.

If the constitution is amended, voters could decide whether to raise the sales tax in their communities and use the money to improve roads, support buses and train systems, and add sidewalks and trails. The question of how the projects are determined and supervised is one of the issues the House and Senate have to resolve in committee.

Naturally, Perdue is opposed to it in any form, preferring a more top-down approach. He has vowed to campaign against it. He may not have to.

One area legislator said, “If its not his [Perdue’s] idea, he’s against it.”

A recent poll conducted by InsiderAdvantage found that the transportation sales tax was being rejected statewide 48 percent to 38 percent.

After All This Some May Need a Drink
Those who want to eradicate Georgia’s historical blue law that outlaws the sale of alcohol on Sundays better stock up on Saturday. Perdue is against that, too.

In an editorial in this newspaper, Perdue, a conservative Christian who does not drink, argues that Sunday sales would lead to more alcohol-related fatalities. He cites a New Mexico study that reports traffic fatalities rose on Sundays in counties that allowed alcohol sales.

Supporters of the legislation say that the study is suspect and that fatalities have not increased in other states where Sunday liquor sales were approved.

For more than a year, Perdue has dissed the proposal to allow voters to decide whether to approve Sunday sales of beer, wine and liquor in stores. Like the other constitutional amendments he opposes, Perdue would rather decide on what is best for Georgians himself than put their fate in the hands of his fellow citizens in the form of a plebescite.

He compared allowing a vote on the issue to letting Georgians decide whether prostitution should be legal.

Martin said the analogy to prostitution was silly and believes each community should decide. He added, “If this were to pass as an amendment to the state constitution then each community, each city council could determine its own fate and approve or disapprove of Sunday [alcohol] sales. I can’t fathom why he [Perdue] is opposed to letting our own citizens decide.”

As both a state senator and governor, Perdue has opposed most legislation to expand the sale of alcohol.

The outcome of this year's Sunday liquor sales bill remains undetermined. It could die without a vote in the House, even in the face of what appears to be robust support.

Many House Republicans have said that they doubt it will come up for a vote.

Milton County Dead for ‘08, Dunwoody Gets Green Light
The much heralded and long awaited constitutional amendment to create Milton County that Speaker Pro Tempore Mark Burkhalter (R-Johns Creek) has staked his political reputation on is not going to see the light of day in 2008. State law prohibits the ballot initiative from showing up in odd years, so 2010 will be the new target date.

However, the creation of the city of Dunwoody passed muster and will be put to Dunwoody voters in a July 15 referendum. It is expected to pass overwhelmingly. Corresponding City elections would then be held in the fall.

Wilkinson hailed the vote and added, “We were witness to reams of misinformation on this issue. The bottom line is allowing people to have greater local control over their lives and to have their say. The formula works. The numbers are there. We proved that in Sandy Springs. This brings government closer to people, always a good thing.”

The Dunwwody vote garnered 106 House votes, 14 shy of the 120 needed for a constitutional amendment to put the creation of Milton County on the 2008 ballot. Jones said that although she believes the studies will all come back favorably for the creation of Milton County, she thinks the gap of 14 votes will take some time and effort to bridge.

“It is bigger than it seems,” Jones said.

If You Invest in Iran, Kiss Georgia Money Goodbye
State Senator Dan Balfour (R-Snellville) has sponsored a resolution that has passed overwhelmingly in the Senate (Senate Bill 451) that calls for disinvestment of state funds in any company in the oil and gas sector that does business in the state of Iran. Balfour's bill is being shepherded through the House by Wilkinson. The bill primarily effects state and department of education controlled pension funds.

Wilkinson termed its full passage, “Likely,” and expects Perdue to sign the bill into law. He added, “We are a country at war and the state of Iran is producing, manufacturing and providing the primary roadside weaponry used by terrorists in Iraq to kill our troops. Continuing to allow companies to invest our funds in Iran to help their economy is [insanity]. We must put enough economic pressure on them to feel some pain.”

Wilkinson said Iran is desperate for foreign investment and this resolution will send a strong message to companies who choose to do business with them.

Both the state pension and election lobbies oppose the bill.

Education Reform: Choice
Jones wants to see HB 881 passed. The bill would give parents additional public school options through the creation of more charter schools. She hailed it as, “A very significant piece of education reform. It is very important to me. I have been working on it for a year. It supports the mantra that one size does not fit all. Parents want and deserve different types of public schools that would best fit their children’sneeds.”

Jones believes the bill will be ultimately be signed into law.

Billboards Be Gone
Mark Burkhalter’s billboard bill (HB 975) would make it unlawful for a county to backdate billboard approvals to a time that predated a city’s creation.

Jones said, “It is the only thing that stands between North Fulton County and 75 unwanted billboards.”

Although it was hung up for awhile in the senate, it is expected to be passed 53-0 on Monday and is expected to be signed into law.