2010 Legislative Session Update: Week Four

Senator Don Balfour’s

2010 Legislative Session Weekly Update

Week 4

Last week the Georgia Legislature completed five full days in the Chamber. We have 27 days remaining in Session. While moving forward with the business of Georgia, many issues were discussed:

Overhaul of Georgia Property Tax System

After collecting information and input from property owners, assessors and local governments, a property tax assessment and appeals reform bill, with more than 40 changes to the tax system, were presented. “The collection of taxes should be fair, transparent, and easy to understand. Property values in Georgia have fallen drastically over the past few years. Assessed values have not kept pace, resulting in property taxes for many property owners being artificially high,” says Senator Balfour.

Changes to the assessment and appeals system include year-round assessment appeals, all comparable sales including foreclosures and banks sales must be applied, and the view factor will be eliminated as a way to determine value. The proposed changes to assessments and appeals relieve burdens from property owners, but also achieve efficiency for the process and for country governments.

Deeper Look at GA Lottery

On Tuesday, the Georgia Lottery Corporation Board of Directors Bill was presented. Its purpose is to increase accountability and transparency in the Georgia Lottery Corporation and to repurpose the oversight committee in order to evaluate the qualifications for salary and bonuses. Students and parents in Georgia are the true shareholders of the corporation and they deserve a stronger voice in the salary and bonus structure of lottery officials.

Early Hope Scholarship for Foster and Military Children

The Georgia’s Early Hope Scholarship Program bill was introduced to help military, foster and special needs children receive the best education opportunities possible. It would serve students K-12 and would allow parents to choose a learning environment that best suits their child’s learning needs. In addition, the legislation would make scholarships available to Georgia’s 15,000 foster children.

2008 Legislator of the Year

On Tuesday, February 2^nd, Senator Balfour was presented with the 2008 Legislator of the Year award. In appreciation of his hard work and support for the Georgia Fire Service, the Georgia Association Fire Chief and Georgia State Firefighter Association thanked Balfour for his attempts to make fire safety a top priority. Balfour explains, “These men and women help protect us every day. It is my pleasure to help, and I am truly honored to receive this award.”

Town Hall Meetings

Senator Balfour will join Senator Unterman in hosting town hall meetings for Gwinnett County. The purpose of these meetings will be to provide legislative updates and to discuss the issues that the citizens of Gwinnett County find most important. The first meeting will be Thursday, February 25^th 2010 at 7PM at the Buford City Hall in the commission chamber. The second meeting will be held Thursday, March 11^th 2010 at Lawrenceville City Hall in the council chamber. Please plan to join us at one, or both, of these town hall meetings.

I appreciate your support throughout the 2010 legislation session. It is an honor to serve you.

Please contact me with questions or concerns.

Best Regards,

Don

This entry was posted on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 8:37 am and is filed under News & Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.