Talks likely on car tax remedy
The House and Senate appear headed toward the negotiating table on a bill that seeks to fix changes in car tax laws adopted a year ago.
The House on Monday sent the latest version of House Bill 266 to the Senate minus a provision that would give so-called “buy here, pay here” car dealers a break on their taxes. The Senate immediately disagreed, and on Tuesday the House is expected to insist on its plan, a move that would trigger a conference committee of three House members and three senators to search for compromise.
The bill would remove a double tax now being imposed on car leases, give car dealers more time to file paperwork and lower tax rates for rental-car companies. The House version, originally included in House Bill 80, passed that body in February, but the Senate abandoned that bill and added much of it to HB 266, a bill that would adjust state tax code to meet new federal guidelines and adjust state tax breaks created last year.
But the Senate also added a provision to benefit the “buy here, pay here” lots by allowing them to pay a lower upfront tax than other car dealers. Those lots typically sell cars to customers with bad credit. These dealers finance the sale themselves and typically charge high interest rates. If the buyer defaults, the car is repossessed, and a “buy here, pay here” dealer could sell the same car several times. The current tax would charge them the same title tax every time the car is sold.
— Aaron Gould Sheinin
Legislation tinkers with HOPE eligibility
High school students who take college-level classes would get the same advantage for HOPE scholarship eligibility as those who take advancement placement classes, under legislation approved by the state House on Monday.
HB 131, sponsored by Rep. Valerie Clark, R-Lawrenceville, passed the House 169-1.
Current law allows scores in AP classes an extra boost when determining a student’s eligibility for the HOPE scholarship. Clark’s bill would give dual-enrollment classes the same boost.
Clark said a student in an AP class who scores a 97 could be awarded up to 107 for HOPE eligibility. Dual-enrollment students don’t get the same boost.
— Aaron Gould Sheinin
Measure would close immigration law loophole
Dozens of small cities would no longer be exempt from a key part of Georgia’s sweeping immigration law under a bill pending in the House.
House Bill 125 says all city, county and state government agencies must require their contractors to use a free online work authorization program. The federal E-Verify program helps employers ensure their newly hired employees are eligible to work in the U.S.
Government agencies with fewer than two employees are now exempt from this requirement. Dozens of cities across Georgia have one or no employees. Some operate with the help of volunteers and contractors.
HB 125 passed the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee last week. It includes other changes aimed at blocking illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits.
For example, the legislation says people must show certain forms of “secure and verifiable” identification to receive state driver’s licenses, homestead tax exemptions, assisted housing, tax credits, grants and retirement benefits. The bill also prohibits people from using foreign passports to obtain such public benefits, unless those passports include records indicating they are legally in the country.
— Jeremy Redmon
Bill would expand water agency’s reach
The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority would be allowed to help local governments make repairs and conserve water under legislation approved Monday in the state House.
House Bill 199, sponsored by Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta, would allow the GEFA to expand its efforts beyond reservoirs. The bill passed 169-0 and now goes to the Senate.
Lindsey said he is often asked whether the state should focus its water efforts on “capacity or conservation.”
“The answer is simple,” he said. “Yes, we should focus on both.”
The bill would allow the GEFA to help local water systems to spot leaks, make repairs and “make maximum use of water,” Lindsey said.
— Aaron Gould Sheinin
House backs protection for state’s saltwater fish
The red fish, or red drum, Georgia’s state saltwater fish, would be protected from commercial fishing under legislation approved Monday in the state House.
House Bill 36, sponsored by Rep. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, passed 168-0 and now goes to the Senate.
It would protect the red fish for recreational fishing by designating it a game fish.
“It does not take the red fish off your dinner plate,” Watson said. “You’ll still be able to catch the limit.”
Watson said the fish is farmed commercially in North Carolina and Texas, so it should still be available to restaurants.
— Aaron Gould Sheinin
Nursing home arbitration bill pulled for session
State Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, on Monday tabled a bill that would have created standards for agreements used by nursing homes that ask residents to agree to accept arbitration to settle complaints.
Advocates for elderly Georgians testified last week before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee that they feared patients and their families would be pressured into signing away their constitutional right to a jury trial during the often painful and confusing admission process. For nursing homes, Senate Bill 202 would have helped prevent family members who sign an arbitration agreement from later trying to dispute it in court.
Heated debate continued Monday with the committee ultimately unable to reach a compromise. Unterman, who sponsored SB 202, set the bill aside until the Legislature’s next session.
— Misty Williams
