Tax reform debate heats up this week
By SEN. CHIP PEARSON

Chip Pearson

It was back to business this week in the General Assembly, as Senators and Representatives returned to the Gold Dome for another week of the 2008 session. We are rapidly approaching the halfway point of the session, and many new bills have been introduced in both chambers. This week, the debate on statewide tax reform took center stage, as the Senate passed three important pieces of legislation that could end up as referendum votes on the ballot in November. I'd like to update you on these measures, because they affect every citizen of this state.

On Tuesday, the Senate took the first steps in the tax reform debate by passing two Constitutional Amendments that will freeze property taxes at the 2008 rates until the property is sold. With broad bipartisan support, the Senate voted to send both Constitutional Amendments to the House for consideration. Essentially, these two pieces of legislation propose an amendment to the Constitution to require the freezing of existing real property values at the time the owner acquires the property. Any valuation increases thereafter would be subject to limitations. Once a property is transferred or sold to another person, that property will be appraised at its fair market value on the date of the new owner's acquisition. Any increase in the assessment could not exceed an inflation percentage set by the Department of Revenue for the current tax year. Only significant improvements to a property would warrant further increases in the property's value.

One of Governor Perdue's initiatives, SR 859, would create a Constitutional Amendment to repeal the state's share of the ad valorem tax on homes and cars. This tax reform measure was also overwhelmingly approved in the Senate on Thursday. Overall, these amendments will give Georgia citizens the opportunity to voice their opinion on the amount of tax they pay on their homes and vehicles. We may not approve all of these amendments, but I think it's safe to say we will leave here in the spring with some significant tax relief measures on the ballot for approval by the voters.

In other news, some major transportation initiatives took big steps this week. On Monday, a resolution I've sponsored, Senate Resolution 750, cleared the Senate. SR 750 urges the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to make the funds collected under the federal motor fuel tax immediately available to individual states to fund their transportation needs and to cease collection of state motor fuel taxes in Georgia. Like several other bills this year, this is an effort to ensure that all transportation dollars in Georgia, whether federal, state or local, are spent wisely and efficiently. Also this week, Lt. Governor Cagle's initiative, the Transportation Special Purpose Local

Option Sales Tax

(TSPLOST) resolution, passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee and could make its way to the Senate floor very soon.

Finally this week, the Senate has approved a bipartisan measure that will create the "Made in Georgia" campaign. I have co-sponsored this legislation, SB 359, with Sen. Tim Golden of Valdosta in an effort to promoting the sale of products manufactured in Georgia. The "Made in Georgia" campaign received unanimous approval on Thursday, after picking up a key endorsement from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). I am hopeful the House will also give the legislation speedy approval, and the governor will sign it into law so that Georgia manufacturers can give their products the "Made in Georgia" stamp of certification as soon as possible. We need to do everything in our power to reverse the trend of manufacturing job losses in Georgia and SB 359 is a step in that direction.