Category: Larry Walker III

By: Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry)

November is right around the corner, and with that come a myriad of election and ballot commercials, mail outs and information. I know that many of you have contacted my office about the five constitutional amendments that will be on the state-wide ballot in November and have asked me what exactly these amendments will do. My job as a state Senator is not only to represent you at the capitol, but to ensure that you are as informed as possible when it comes to the ballot questions. In this column, we will explore the questions you will be seeing on your ballot on November 6^th.

• Amendment One would establish the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund. If passed, upwards of 80% of state sales tax revenue collected from sporting goods would be dedicated to land conservation throughout the state. This would lead to more than $20 million annually spent on conservation projects such as improving Georgia’s lakes, maintaining and creating hunting and fishing areas, and constructing additional outdoor recreational facilities for the public to enjoy.
• Amendment Two would create a statewide business court designed to handle cases specifically related to business matters. If passed, the statewide business court would remove complex business cases from the general docket of traditional courtrooms. This would increase the efficiency of Georgia’s judicial process, and lead to a uniform system for dealing with commercial disputes.
• Amendment Three is also referred to as the Forest Land Conservation and Timberland Properties Amendment. If passed, the legislature would create a new class of property, known as timberland property, through which a singular valuation process on timberland would be used to calculate property tax throughout the state as opposed to 159 different county tax assessments.
• Amendment Four, also known as Marsy’s Law, would require the judicial system to provide crime victims and their families timely notices of criminal court proceedings, release dates, and the opportunity to appear before the court at any scheduled proceedings dealing with the case of which they or their family member was a victim.
• Amendment Five would authorize fair allocation of sales tax proceeds to local school districts. Impacting counties with independent school districts, Amendment 5 would allow for E-SPLOSTS to be called where the systems representing a majority of the students have a revenue sharing agreement or the proposed E-SPLOST outlines revenue distribution proportional to the number of students in each system. The funds generated from this sales tax would be used exclusively for education purposes and will be distributed on a per student basis among all school systems within the county. However, if the school systems come to an agreement on an alternative distribution method, that provision in this resolution would not take effect.

In addition to this, you can find details on where and when you can vote, look at a sample ballot before you vote, and see information on your elected officials on the Secretary of State’s website: https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do

If you have any further questions about these amendments, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office. As always, it is a pleasure to serve you!