DEL.ICIO.US4 major bills left for Perdue to settle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, May 11, 2009
Time is running out for Gov. Sonny Perdue to make his final marks on the 2009 legislative session.
Midnight Wednesday is the governor’s deadline to deal with bills and resolutions left over from when the General Assembly vacated Atlanta in early April. And the Man from Perry has some doozies left to tackle:
Political Insider:
Gone fishing.
Gold Dome Live:
2009 Legislature Guide:
• Track bills & more!
• Issues | Players | Links
Related Links:
• More Georgia politics
• Metro News
• National News
» Senate Bill 200 overhauls the Department of Transportation.
» House Bill 481 creates new tax breaks for businesses and cuts the state’s capital gains tax.
» House Bill 119 is the $18.6 billion 2010 state budget.
Each has advocates and detractors. But it is up to Perdue to decide each’s fate. And the governor isn’t saying much, although he has given hints.
Perdue said last week there are three figurative stacks of bills on his desk: one of proposals he likes right off, one he dislikes and … a third stack.
“And then we’ve got that middle ground we look at,” he said. “We talk to the authors, try to understand what the purpose going forward was.”
Perdue indicated the transportation bill and the tax credit bill fall into his middle stack.
Stakeholders largely agree Perdue is more likely to sign SB 200 into law. The governor himself said last week that the bill — while vastly different from what he wanted — is a “step in the right direction.” As for HB 481, many expect the governor to veto it, because while he philosophically likes tax cuts, the dismal revenue forecast makes that difficult.
Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger) sponsored HB 481, which gives businesses $2,400 in tax credits for each unemployed worker they hire and keep on the payroll at least two years. It also cuts the long-term capital gains tax by 25 percent for 2010 and by 50 percent after that. Capital gains are profits from the sale of stocks, bonds, other investments and things like vacation real estate.
Graves, who believes the bill encourages investment and creates jobs, has met at least twice with Perdue to urge him to sign it. How did that go?
“I do not want to speculate,” Graves said. “… I know the governor is very interested in job creation.”
Perdue agrees, but said in the waning moments of the 2009 session that there are limits.
“As Republicans, we don’t like taxes,” he said. “But when you’re in a constrained situation in a balanced-budget state with challenges we have now, I will have to look at it in the light of that. There may be a better day to look at that in the future.”
An official estimate found the bill would cost the state $340 million a year in lost revenue.
House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans) was at the bill-signing last week when Perdue explained his stack process. Perdue’s words, Harbin said, were not a good sign.
“It’s a good bill, but I understand the predicament,” he said.
But House Rules Chairman Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) believes it’s an easy call.
“I’m scratching my head,” Ehrhart said. “If I were the governor, I would have said, ‘Where is that? Let me get my pen.’ “
Meanwhile, SB 200 — the transportation overhaul — seems to have few fans. Perdue originally proposed gutting the board that oversees the DOT and giving most of its power to a new state transportation authority. What passed is a mishmash that leaves the DOT board in place but creates a director of planning who would have great power — along with the House of Representatives — to decide which projects become reality.
The planning director would be nominated by the governor and approved by the House Transportation Committee. Lawmakers would gain power over millions for specific road projects.
Sam Olens, who chairs the Cobb County Commission and the Atlanta Regional Commission, believes Perdue will sign it. “The bill does have some improvements in it,” Olens said.
Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, was less sure of the governor’s intentions.
“It’s a rather awkward start, but my attitude is it’s better than nothing,” Williams said. “It’s better than what we have today.”
While Perdue has made encouraging statements about SB 200 and disparaging ones about HB 481, his comments on the budget have been nil.
“I haven’t gotten a bad signal, but I normally don’t get much of a heads up anyway,” Harbin said.
Harbin has one thing going for him: The state has to have a budget. It’s just a question of how much Perdue messes with it first.
Services »
