Democrats defeat Republican tax cut ammendment

House Speaker Glenn Richardson lost his atempt to refrom taxes today when house democrats blocked his constitutional amendment to cap property assessments and cut car taxes.

Democrats wielded their minority power when they successffully blocked Glenn Richardson's plan to let voters decide whether they want to cut ad valorem taxes on cars and limit property assessments on homes. The measure fell 10 votes short of the two thirds majority needed to pass.

"I don't know what Galaxy these people who voted against it live in", said Republican speaker pro temp Mark Burkhalter, "but it certainly isn't the one most Georgians live in."

Republicans say the no vote will hurt Democrats come election time. For their part Democrats defended their votes saying they didn't want to hurt local governments. They sided with
municipalities and schoolboards who worry that a limit on property tax assessments could hurt their bond ratings and budgets.

Democratic House minorty Leader Dubose Porter says it would not have been a real tax cut, but a tax shift.

"It shifts to fees, it shifts to local services, it shifts to other things in the economy and hurts education," he said.

Porter says demorats would support cutting ad valorem taxes on cars if that proposal were presented by itself. The Amendment would have cut close to one billion dollars in taxes over 2 years.

State House sends strong message to Governor Pedue

The Legislative session started with a show of power by the State House. It decided to make History by overriding 12 of Govenor Perdue's vetos from last year.
They range from tax credits for the construction of concert halls to a higher book allowance for the hope scholarship. House Speaker Pro Temp Mark Burkhalter said it's not about teaching
the governor a lesson.

"There's no message, particularly, these are bills on the issue we feel passionately about," he said. "

Burkhalter said he genuinely looks forward to working with the governor throughout the session. By law veto overrides have to be considered by the state senate. There Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle called the overrides petty politics. He said he's worried about this year's session.

"I'm very concerned that this is a distraction. If we're not careful veto overrides are going to dominate the session," he said. "Healthcare, transportation and water will go on the backburner and we can't afford to do that.

Cagle says the Senate is not expected to take up the veto overrides this week.
Governor Perdue called the action "yet another example of
House leadership insisting on making a statement rather than making the
state better. The Governor issued a statement saying while he respects the constitutional
provision for veto overrides, he is also mindful that there has not been
a groundswell of support for any of these bills from Georgians.

Republican leaders exchange written threats

A letter has renewed the budget battle between top state lawmakers and Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Six of the state's most powerful legislators—all Republicans—have sent a memo to state agency heads warning them not to stray from the budget passed by the General Assembly back in April.

That bill contained lawmaker's instructions on how agencies should spend their money. But Perdue told agencies to disregard it. He says the state constitution does not give lawmakers the authority to issue spending instructions.

In this memo, Sens. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah), Tommie Williams (R-Lyons), and Jack Hill (R-Reidsville), and Reps. Mark Burkhalter (R-Duluth), Jerry Keen (R-St. Simon's Island) and Ben Harbin (R-Evans) remind agencies that the General Assembly hold their purse strings, and will not hesitate to tighten them in January, when the legislature revisits the state budget.

Here is an excerpt from the memo:

You should be aware that any expenditure conflicting with the intent of the appropriation jeopardizes our confidence in your ability to act as a proper steward of public funds. In writing the 2008 Amended Budget, we reserve the option of reducing or eliminating funding for your agency by that amount.

Confused agency directors called Perdue's office. The governor shot back at lawmakers with his own letter.

An appropriation consists of (1) a recipient, (2) a purpose, and (3) an amount. Language beyond these three criteria is neither authorized by constitutional or statutory law, nor is it binding….In sum, it was within my authority to strike certain earmarks because the information language is not part of the appropriation.

In other words, Perdue says that he is sticking to his guns. But his spokesman, Burt Brantley, strikes a conciliatory note.

"We want to work issues out with the legislature," he says. "We do not want agencies to have to choose between one or the other. That is a tough position to be in."

Brantley says lawmakers know the governor is willing to work with them. Perdue ends his letter by saying that his door remains open.

Special session could be a rocky repeat

At least publicly, lawmakers remain miles apart on the midyear budget, which could make the special session as rocky as the regular one that ended Friday.

While House leaders vow to override Gov. Sonny Perdue’s veto of the 2007 midyear budget “again and again and again,” Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) released a statement Wednesday saying he would not support that.

In his statement, Johnson calls the $142 million property tax cut that Perdue had criticized, "a logistical nightmare" that would have given most homeowners less than the promised $100.

Johnson says lawmakers should put that money in the state’s reserves instead.

"I will not vote to override the Governor's veto as long as the surplus money is put into our reserve account," he says. "A permanent tax cut only will be possible once the reserves are full."

"After all our hard work to reach a compromise on the '07 Amended Budget, Senator Eric Johnson compared the final result to giving birth, saying that you can't have a beautiful baby without the pains of labor and declaring himself the proud parent of a $142 million tax cut," House Speaker Pro Tem Mark Burkhalter (R-Alpharetta) responds. "I guess he's decided to put that baby up for adoption."

The House, he says, continues to stand behind the tax refund. The midyear budget is supposed to allocate additional funding of state services through June 30. The bill included emergency funds for the Peachcare child health program, education, tornado relief and public defenders.

Gov. Sonny Perdue has not formally called a special session yet. When he does, it is expected to last at least five days, at a cost of $48,000 per day.