Published Saturday, May 09, 2009

Horne says legislative session moved in right direction

The Newnan Times-Herald

Georgia State representative Billy Horne of Sharpsburg was the featured speaker at Saturday's meeting of the Coweta County Republican Party.

Horne reported on the 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly. He said that while the state legislators had been widely criticized in the media for accomplishing very little, he believed the session had a significant impact on citizens' lives.

Horne noted that while the budget had to be cut by approximately $3 billion, it's still unclear whether a special session will be called to cut the budget even further.

Horne said April revenue estimates were encouraging, but lawmakers will have to see the May and June revenues to determine if an upward revenue trend is in place that'll prevent further tax cuts this year.

"It looks good today, but time will tell whether we have to go back," he said.

Horne also said a bill that reorganized the way Department of Transportation projects are prioritized and approved, while not perfect, was a step in the right direction toward giving elected officials more input on transportation projects.

"We needed to improve the DOT bureaucracy," he said. "The bill moved the contracting process closer to elected officials and that's a good idea."

Horne also praised legislation that froze property tax assessments for the next two years and requires tax assessors to figure in the value of foreclosed properties when assessing the value of homes near the foreclosed property.

Horne said his main priority has always been "getting people back to work." He believes recent legislation will help in that regard.

One bill provides businesses with a tax credit for up to 24 weeks of the cost of unemployment insurance premiums for businesses that hire people currently listed on state unemployment rolls. Other just-passed legislation waives certain fees required to start a new business, which makes that process more affordable, and it cuts the costs on the sale of businesses.

"We need to get unemployment back up and the way to do that is growth," Horne said. "Revenue follows growth, not the other way around."

Horne said if tax policies were put in place to encourage growth and create jobs, added revenue would follow.

Peachtree City Mayor Harold Logsdon, who recently announced his candidacy for state insurance commissioner, attended the meeting and spoke briefly. Logsdon said he wanted to work to protect consumers, and felt his experience and leadership in business and the military qualified him for the job.

Also in attendance were representatives of two announced Republican candidates for governor.

Steve Handel, husband of Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, said his wife's background in both the public and private sectors and her experience chairing the Fulton County Commission and serving as secretary of state made her "uniquely qualified" to serve in the state's top elected office.

Kat Ballou spoke of behalf of State Insurance Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine. Ballou said Oxendine's experience in state politic made him familiar with the problems facing the state and gave him insight on how to solve them. She said Oxendine was very accessible and was always glad to give out his personal cell phone number to anyone requesting it. She said Oxendine could also be reached on Facebook or Twitter.