CAPITOL BRIEF – 2008
Weekly Newsletter
I
hope you find this newsletter informative and enlightening, and I
encourage you to share it with your friends and neighbors. I also welcome
any comments you may have about legislation or issues. Feel free to
express you thoughts via email to
barry@barryloudermilk.com.
Red Light Camera Legislation Passes Senate
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On
Thursday March 20, House Bill 77, the red light camera bill, passed the
Senate with a vote of 45 - 5. The
significantly amended bill was heavily debated and survived several attempts
to add further amendments. While it is far from a complete repeal of red light
cameras as the original bill was written, it will help curb the number of
cameras that are operating for revenue purposes.
The amended bill
is designed to ensure |
that
red light cameras are only used by
local governments for a genuine and documented interest in saving human
life. Governments may only place and operate a red light camera at
intersections documented to
be dangerous, and can only be used to improve safety. Local
governments who wish to install and operate red light cameras would need
to apply for a permit from the Georgia DOT.
With their application, they
would have to document a compelling need to install and operate a red
light camera to improve the safety of the intersection.
There are also other limitations
and requirements which would
ensure that cameras would no longer be used as revenue generators for
local governments. While we have not been able to successfully repeal
the laws that allow red light cameras, the current version would go a
long way to ensure that local governments do not use them solely to
raise local caufers.
CAP Responds to Local Disaster
The
storms that ripped through Bartow, Floyd and Polk counties on Saturday
March 15, damaged hundreds of homes, some of which were totally
destroyed. Citizens within the storm’s path were left with a desperate
need for emergency supplies, but many of the roads leading into the
disaster area were impassable, leaving citizens stranded.
The
Emergency Management Agencies in all three counties were quick to
respond and each efficiently coordinated their local emergency relief
efforts. Bartow County
EMA
director, Johnny Payne, was quick to assess the vastness of the damage
in Bartow and called upon the local Civil Air Patrol to assist in
getting emergency supplies to citizens in the disaster area.
Civil
Air Patrol 1 Lieutenant, Hayden Collins of the Bartow Squadron took the
leading role and began organizing a disaster relief team to get the
supplies to those who needed them. I also serve in CAP as Lieutenant
Colonel in the Rome Squadron as a search and rescue Ground Team
Leader I was contacted by 1Lt.Collins and asked to lead a disaster
relief mission to deliver emergency relief supplies. We organized a
disaster relief ground team comprised of
CAP
members from the Bartow and Rome
CAP
Squadrons. The team comprised of me and my sons, 2Lt Travis Loudermilk
and Cadet 2Lt
Michael
Loudermilk
of the Rome Composite Squadron, Cadet 2Lt Dwayne Collins, Cadet 2Lt
Zane Collins,
Cadet CMSgt Blake Collins and Cadet MSgt Cory Collins of the Bartow
Squadron.
Supplies
such as water, tarps, roofing nails, rope and other essentials, donated
by Home Depot and
Euharlee
Baptist
Church,
were delivered to the Euharlee Fire Station which served as the mobile
incident command post for the operation.
The
CAP
team launched multiple missions (sorties) into the disaster area from
around 4:30
in the afternoon until after midnight Sunday morning.
Around
9:30pm Capt. Phil Boylan and
Senior Member Sara Rutten, of Rome Squadron, and Capt. Don Colson and
Cadet TSgt Kathryn Colson, of Bartow Squadron, joined the ground team to
assist.
Civil Air Patrol
aircrews were also alerted to provide aerial reconnaissance of the
disaster area, but weather kept all aircraft grounded until early Sunday
morning.
Two air crews were airborne
early on Sunday, photographing the disaster area for Bartow
EMA officials.
Aircrews consisted of local pilots Maj. Tom Cavanelli; and Maj.
Keith Walker both from the Bartow Squadron in Cartersville.
Every
CAP
team member worked with the utmost professionalism during the mission,
and I was very impressed with the efficiency of the Bartow
EMA and our first
responders. It is common for our teams to respond to mission base and
wait around for a couple of hours before being dispatched; however,
within fifteen minutes of arriving at mission base, we were being sent
into the field.”
The
Civil Air Patrol, Georgia Wing operates active local squadrons at the
airports in Cartersville,
Rome
and Calhoun. For more information about Civil Air Patrol visit
www.cap.gov
Stimulate the Economy - Lower Taxes
“The problem in this country is
not that the people pay too little taxes, it’s that the government
spends too much,” these words of wisdom by the late President Ronald
Regan are as true today as they were during his presidency. As one of
the greatest leaders of the modern era, Ronald Reagan understood the
economic principle that when government cuts taxes it stimulates the
economy and brings more revenue into public coffers.
John F.
Kennedy and Margaret Thatcher also understood this concept and not only
stopped recessions but inevitably turned their nation’s economies around
with policies that lowered the tax burden on citizens.
When
taxes are cut, consumers have extra cash and they spend it. They buy a
new pair of jeans, go out to dinner, take a vacation or purchase the
latest flat screen television. That creates more jobs and generates more
tax revenue for federal, state and local tax coffers.
The
best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, so we know that’s
exactly what will happen when
Georgia
families don’t have to pay “the birthday tax” on their vehicles
annually. They will spend that new-found money.
The
Georgia House has adopted legislation to allow voters to abolish this
offensive ad valorem tax on personal vehicles.
Some
local governments have expressed concerned about the projected $679
million impact to the state budget once the tax cut is implement in
2010. These local officials need to look at the history of tax cuts in
this nation to get comfortable about what tax cuts can do for government
revenues.
*During
President John F. Kennedy’s presidency, significant income tax cuts were
enacted, resulting in a 62 percent increase in revenue to the U.S.
Treasury from 1961 to 1965.
*Federal
revenues increased $500 billion after Ronald Reagan cut marginal tax
rates during his presidency. Those cuts help stop the horrible inflation
that was strangling our nation during the Carter years.
In
a 1962 speech to the Economic Club of New York, President Kennedy said,
“The soundest way to raise revenues in the long run is to cut
taxes….This is the most important step we could take to prevent a
recession.”
Former
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had the same experience. When
she took control of her country in 1979, the nation was almost bankrupt.
Her tax cuts generated new revenue and balanced the country’s budget.
After
Sept. 11, 2001 when the nation was anxious, the economy slipped into a
recession and consumer confidence was down. But the President passed two
significant tax cuts. Those cuts caused our economy to quickly rebound
and bring in new revenues to the federal government.
According
to the Tax Foundation in
Washington,
D.C.,
New York
State,
meanwhile, responded to 9/11 by raising taxes which in turn hurt that
state’s economy. Only when those taxes expired did the
New York
begin to recover.
If
the citizens of
Georgia
approve the constitutional amendment this November to remove “the
birthday tax” on vehicles, it will be phased out over two years. The
revenue will come from growth in our state’s tax receipts. Even with
some naysayers concerned about recent revenue projections, state
economists predict continued healthy growth next year with state
revenues to increase 4.5 percent while maintaining our reserve funds.
Other states would love to be in that financial condition.
With
an estimated $3.6 billion federal economic stimulus package also coming
to
Georgia
this year, we will have new money spent in our state that will aid our
economy and, in turn, bring $240 million additional money to state tax
receipts.
If
we are successful with eliminating the birthday tax, it would one of the
most progressive tax cuts ever adopted in
Georgia.
Ninety-three percent of Georgians own vehicles. Not every Georgian pays
property tax on a home or real property, but virtually every Georgian
owns a vehicle.
When
government has extra revenues and record reserves, it has taxed its
people too much. Georgians want to keep that $200 or $300 per vehicle to
buy a birthday present, take their families on a vacation or even throw
a party. The birthday tax cut would not only be a present we can give
all Georgians, but it would be a gift of new revenues to the state’s
economy and its budget.
Reducing Congestion Without Raising Taxes
Can we reduce the congestion that plagues our Interstate system by means
other than going
back to the pocketbooks of the people? That is what a study committee
would look into if a bill that I have introduced is passed this session.
House Resolution 1560 creates
a House Study Committee to look into non revenue solutions to congestion
mitigation. We were all subjected to predictions of traffic nightmares
prior to the 1996 Olympic Games that were held in downtown Altanta.
Miles and miles of gridlock were suppose to shut down commerce in and
around the metro area; however, as it turned out traffic was lighter
than normal during the games.
What happened was that government and business alike prepared for the
increased traffic load and introduced policies such as flexible work
hours for employees and telecommuting for many workers. Slowly after the
international visitors and athletes left the Peach State, down town
Atlanta went back to the old schedule which once again brought
congestion.
The study committee will be charged with reviewing the policies that
worked so well during the Olympics and make recommendations for
legislation and policies to reduce congestion. Some ideas may be tax
incentives for companies that introduce flexible work hours or allow
telecommuting. Other ideas may be as far as mandating these programs to
government agencies in congested areas of the state.
HR 1560 is currently in the House Transportation Committee awaiting a
hearing.
Its Better But Still a Tax Increase
Legislators are interesting beings that could be the object of an
interesting study for a university phsychology department. Take for
instance the "Birthday Tax" bill that does away with the ad-valorem tax
on personal motor vehicles. If this bill passes the Senate it could be
the largest tax cut in the history of Georgia. Many of my colleagues in
the House have been thumping their chest at passing this historic tax
relief bill; however, some of them are at the same time pushing a
transportation funding bill that would be the largest tax increase in
the states history.
A bill earlier this year would have raised the
statewide sales tax by 1% to fund transportation projects across the
state. While only 5 members of the transporation committee voted against
this measure, of which I was one of them, it passed to the full House.
Fortunately polling of members showed that there wasn't enough support
among House Republicans to bring it to the floor for a vote.
The bill sponsors have since amended a Senate bill
which breaks the state down into several districts and would allow the
counties in those districts to raise taxes to support transportation
projects. While this proposal is much better than the previous one, it
is still raising taxes at a time when we are and need to be lowering
taxes to stimulate a sagging economy.
Recently the new commissioner of the Department of Transportation
announced that through their reorganization they have identified over
$800 million of unallocated funds for projects that were cancelled never
started. We need to do something about transportation but lets let the
Department reorganize, trim the fat from government and better manage
the citizens tax dollars before we demand more.
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