The General Assembly went home for the year a month ago but it was clear Saturday that House Speaker Glenn Richardson has not forgotten how the 2008 session ended.

Richardson (R-Hiram) promised more than 100 people attending the annual Americans for Prosperity Georgia chapter meeting that come January, he will reintroduce his plan to eliminate car taxes. That proposal died on the last day of the 2008 session.

And the speaker said he'll travel the state this year promoting the plan and blaming Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle for not allowing the Senate to vote on it during the 2008 session.

"It wasn't that the Senate wouldn't have voted for it," Richardson said. "I am comfortable that about 50 of 56 senators would voted for it. The lieutenant governor chose to not let the Senate vote, and therefore you will not get property tax reform in Georgia this year.

"This story needs to be told over, and over and over, all over the state that one person prevented the people of Georgia from eliminating taxes on their cars."

Richardson added, "I'm going to start again with it next year the very first thing out of the gate. We are going to do something about taxes."

Cagle, the Senate's president, could not be reached for comment Saturday. But after the session, Cagle accused Richardson of trying to bully him into agreeing to the House tax cut plan. He said the speaker's ego got in the way of an agreement.

Richardson, meanwhile, urged Georgians to vote the lieutenant governor out of office. Cagle is not up for re-election until 2010, and he may decide to run for governor that year.

Richardson was one of several lawmakers speaking Saturday to Americans for Prosperity, a grass-roots group that fights federal pork-barrel spending and advocates for lower taxes.

Among the speakers was former Congressman Bob Barr, a potential Libertarian presidential candidate. Barr did not talk about his plans, although, after listing the three remaining Republican and Democratic presidential contenders, he added, "This is the best we have to offer the American people? This is the best choice? I don't think so."

Richardson's address to the group was short, but, as is his style, very pointed.

The speaker traveled the state last year touting his plan to eliminate property taxes. With strong opposition from local governments, he eventually agreed to instead push for eliminating the car tax.

His bill also would have capped increases in property reassessments used to determine property taxes and would have eliminated the small state portion of property taxes.

The plan, which overwhelmingly passed the House, would have saved Georgians about $750 million a year.

Late in the session, Cagle proposed instead cutting income taxes 10 percent over five years. When fully implemented, it would have saved Georgians about $1.2 billion a year.

Negotiations between the two sides broke down late in the session, and no plan passed. Jared Thomas, Georgia director of Americans for Prosperity, said whether you agreed with Richardson's proposal or not, the speaker should be applauded for trying to do something about taxes.

"It was leadership, and we are lacking leadership in some of our state elected officials," Thomas said.