Georgia license plates could sport "In God We Trust"

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By Kristina Torres

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A requirement that all of Georgia's license plates read "In God We Trust" and a mandate requiring the state to drug-test parents who apply for federal financial assistance were among bills filed Tuesday, the first day state lawmakers could submit proposed laws and resolutions in advance of next year's legislative session.

Georgia Department of Revenue Linda Sosebee's bucolic image of rolling fields framed with peaches won a design contest for Georgia's newest license tag. Currently car owners can chose to buy "In God We Trust" stickers for their plates.

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The drug-test mandate would apply to anyone applying for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The program provides temporary financial help to low-income families with children who cannot meet basic needs. The federal government provides grants to individual states to run the program.

State Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, sponsored the bill and has said state taxpayers should not have to subsidize "drug addiction" among the program's applicants.

Separately, the call to a higher power -- at least among vehicle owners -- follows a kerfuffle last spring. The state was forced to re-do a public contest to pick a new license plate design after the Revenue Department's website showed entries with the "In God We Trust" motto, without making clear it was not a permanent part of each design.

Motorists can already purchase a sticker with the motto for $1. The sticker can be placed over the usual county name decal Georgia license plates currently sport. Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, filed the proposal to reverse that order. He proposed the motto would be the default on any license plates manufactured after July 1 but motorists could buy a county decal sticker to cover it if they wanted.

The session is set to start at 10 a.m. on Jan. 9. It typically ends by early to mid-April. Also expected to be on lawmakers’ agenda:

The continued fight over when to hold upcoming transportation referendums, through which voters can add a 1-cent sales tax to pay for regional transportation projects; a restart of efforts to overhaul the state’s tax system, which ended in disaster earlier this year; and possible changes to Georgia’s new state law that seeks to deter illegal immigrants from coming to Georgia by cutting off their access to jobs and public benefits.

Related to the immigration law, the state’s powerful agricultural industry has already said farm labor shortages will cost Georgia $391 million this year. Separately, a federal judge in Atlanta put parts of the state law on hold in June amid court challenges. The state is appealing.