ATLANTA (June 1, 2023) | Yesterday, Lt. Governor Burt Jones announced that Sen. Sonya Halpern (D – Atlanta) will serve with fellow Senators and local officials as a member of the Senate Study Committee on Local Option Sales Tax (LOST).
“There are currently few guardrails in place for how local option sales tax distribution agreements should be handled in Georgia,” said Sen. Halpern. “LOST dollars are an important revenue source for city and county governments as they work to make vital improvements for residents, but often the agreements that determine how this funding is allocated are shaped by local politics in a way that does not benefit the interests of the local taxpayers. I am grateful to Lt. Governor Jones for providing me with the opportunity to explore this issue, and to Sen. Derek Mallow (D – Savannah) for bringing this issue before the Senate body. I look forward to the productive conversations we will have with officials at all levels of government as we work toward a solution that benefits the people of Georgia first.”
The Senate Study Committee on Local Option Sales Tax was created with bipartisan support pursuant to Senate Resolution 147, sponsored by Sen. Derek Mallow. Sen. Mallow has been appointed as Chairman of the study committee, and he and Sen. Halpern will serve alongside fellow state legislators and local officials: Sen. Tonya Anderson (D – Lithonia), Sen. Brandon Beach (R – Alpharetta), Sen. Clint Dixon (R – Gwinnett), Sen. Russ Goodman (R – Codgell), Sen. Sam Watson (R – Moultrie), Spalding County Commission Chair Clay Davis, and City of Savannah Manager Joseph Melder.
The study committee will hold meetings throughout the remainder of the year. The first meeting has not yet been announced but will be available to view here.
More information regarding all 2023 Study Committees can be found here.
You can read the full text of SR 147 here.
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Sen. Sonya Halpern serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. She represents Senate District 39 which includes neighborhoods across the five cities of Atlanta, College Park, City of South Fulton, East Point and Union City, all in Fulton County. She can be reached at 404.463.1351 or at sonya.halpern@senate.ga.gov.