After at least a couple of years of inaction by Georgia's elected officials, a bill has finally been introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives. Said bill is entitled the Transportation Investment Act of 2010 (HB 1218).

I had to wade through the first 11 pages of this 19-page bill to find the portion regarding the proposed referendum itself.

According to Section 48-8-244 (a) of HB 1218, "The first election shall be held on the date of the first presidential preference primary following the effective date of this article."  In layman's terms, that means we won't get to vote on this matter until the 2012 Presidential Primary. I was expecting the bill to set the date to the first Tuesday in November, 2012 (Election Day), so it is a little earlier than I thought. However, I still think that is waaaaaayyyyy too late. Why not allow Georgia's voters to decide this coming November during the "mid-term" elections?

The actual question is proposed as follows (per Section 48-8-244 (b))...

"Shall a special 1 percent sales and use tax be imposed in the special district consisting of _____Counties for a period of eight years and for the raising of not more than an estimated amount of $_____ for the purpose of transportation?"

I will give the Georgia House points on making the question as simple as possible.

While I am satisfied that a bill has been introduced this year, I do wish that the Georgia General Assembly will make a slight modification to the bill to allow us, Georgia's voters, to decide sooner, not later. As I have said time and time again over last couple of years.... let us (Georgia's voters) decide, and let us do so as soon as possible!!!

In the meantime, please feel free to track HB 1218's progress yourself via this web link. If you have any thoughts (pro or con) regarding this bill, then please feel free to post a comment (please, no name-calling or personal attacks on any individuals) on my blog.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back often.

 

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