State amendment to restrict reassessments proposed
LEGISLATIVE REPORT
By REP. CHARLES JENKINS

Charles Jenkins

House Resolution 3, is a proposed constitutional amendment that would cap annual property tax reassessments for homeowners at either 3 percent or the rate of inflation for that year, whichever is lower.

Thirty-one states already offer homeowner protections similar to those contained in this legislation, and some feel it is time for Georgia to be added to the list of homeownerfriendly states. The proposed amendment promotes the idea that property owners (residents) should be taxed based on their investment in their property.

Several reassessment protection programs have been implemented in local jurisdictions in Georgia. They are popular among residents in the local communities. A uniform state constitutional amendment would resolve any legal challenges to the county-by-county approach.

HR 3 is supported by a large bipartisan group of cosponsors. It must be adopted by a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, then win approval from a majority of Georgia voters in the next General Election. However, we have some legal hurdles to cross before the voters will have an opportunity to vote on such a proposed Constitutional Amendment. An update will be provided to you during this Legislative Session.

There is a growing concern across the state over problems that Georgia's rural hospitals are having as a result of last year's change to a managedcare approach for Medicaid. According to top rural health care leaders, some smaller hospitals are reconsidering their participation in the program or facing the possibility of having to shut down because of delays, shortages or denial of reimbursement payments from Medicaid, as well as additional paperwork. These problems have been reported to legislators and in a recent Atlanta Business Chronicle article.

The state Department of Community Health contracted with three managed-care organizations to take over the 1 million Georgians who are on Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids. The program was implemented in several stages last year. But a stricter process for reimbursing hospitals for emergency care under the new system has escalated the financial woes of a number of hospitals. It is time for legislators and state DCH officials to work together toward a swift, effective solution to this very critical situation.

While the General Assembly was in official recess last week, state government department heads addressed a joint session of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to make their requests for funding in the annual state budget for fiscal year 2008, which begins July 1, 2007. Here is a breakdown of the record $20.2 billion budget proposed by Governor Perdue in some of the major areas of state government:

+ Education, $11.2 billion

+ Health care and human services, $4.1 billion

+ Public safety and corrections, $1.7 billion

+ Governmental services, $1.3 billion

+ Transportation, agriculture, economic development $995 million

+ Repayment of state debt, $954 million

The state government collects revenue to pay for these programs from the following sources:

+ Income Tax (Individual), 44.5 percent

+ Sales Tax, 31.6 percent

+ Fees & Sales, 4.6 percent

+ Motor Fuel Tax, 4.4 percent

+ Income Tax (Corporate), 4.4 percent

+ Lottery, 4.2 percent

+ Tobacco Settlement Funds, 0.7 percent

+ Other Taxes, 5.6 percent

+ Miscellaneous, 0.1 percent

Lawmakers returned to the Capitol for Day 5 of the 40-day session on Monday, Jan. 22. Please contact me whenever I can be of service.

Rep. Charles Jenkins (DBlairsville) represents the 8th District (Rabun, Towns, Union and White counties) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact him at 411 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0126 or by e-mail atcharles.jenkins@house.ga.gov .