By: Sen. Cecil Staton
ATLANTA (February 20, 2009) – This week was truly a great week for Georgia homeowners. The Georgia State Senate is being forced to make some difficult choices during the course of the 2009 General Assembly. Tough budget cuts will have to be made as we work towards balancing the revenue shortfall. But in doing so I urged my fellow Senators to be mindful of making these decisions without placing an additional burden on our taxpayers. Every person across the state is feeling the effects of our economic recession and the last thing anyone needs is the government taking away more money from families already burdened by this crisis. I was extremely concerned when the announcement was made that the amended 2009 budget would not be able to support the already funded $428 million Homeowners Tax Relief Grant (HTRG). I urged my fellow Senators and House colleagues that we cannot retreat from a promise made to our constituents whom we ultimately answer to. Thankfully I was able to join Senators and House members alike to make funding the 2009 HTRG their top legislative priority and not have over 3 million Georgia homeowners forced to pay an additional $200 to $300 in property taxes at a time when every dollar counts to these hard-working families. I helped guide House Bill 143, the measure that guarantees the HTRG to be honored this year and sets up a system to where any future year grants would be based on available funds from a revenue surplus, through the Senate Finance Committee and onto the Senate floor where it was passed last week. On Tuesday I was pleased to join the Lt. Governor and Senate leadership in thanking Governor Sonny Perdue for signing HB 143 into law. Unlike our friends in Washington who seem to think it’s a good idea to place trillions of dollars of taxpayer burden on our children and grandchildren, I am glad to help be a part of delivering real taxpayer relief to Georgia’s citizens.
Senate Bill 86, my legislation that will require proof of United States citizenship when registering to vote in Georgia, has passed favorably out of the Senate Ethics Committee and will head to the floor next week for a vote. I have worked extremely hard during my tenure in the Senate to protect voter integrity and combat election fraud in our state with legislation requiring a voter to present valid identification before entering the polls and revisions to our absentee ballot system that make voter fraud a serious offense. The next step in preserving voter confidence is to make sure that people who participate in Georgia’s electoral process are U.S. citizens eligible to vote. I am looking forward to working with Senate and House members and the governor to get this important piece of legislation passed and signed into law.
Please remember to contact me in my office on the issues that are affecting you and your area.
Sen. Cecil Staton serves as Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee. He represents the 18th Senate District which includes portions of Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones and Monroe counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.5039 or via e-mail at cecil.staton@senate.state.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
February 24, 2009
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber,Director
Matt Colvin Communications Associate
matthew.colvin@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028