Legislative News from Georgia Conservation Voters

That's a Wrap!
Legislative Wrap-up and Inventory of Bills, Post-Session

Though only 40 days long, the 2006 Legislative Session reached productive capacity, producing thousands of bills and resolutions, many of which were environmental in scope. Clearly only a fraction of those bills that were introduced made it through the legislative process. In this legislative wrap-up Georgia Conservation Voters would like to recap some of the highlights of the session and inventory important environmental legislation that did and did not make the cut.

While a majority of the legislative battles took place behind the scenes, the conservation community celebrated a few impressive victories from the ropes at the Capitol. None was more exciting for the greens than the defeat of SB 510, the Stream Buffers Bill. Sponsored by Sen. Chip Pearson, SB 510 was opposed by the conservation community from its introduction. Poised to allow building of homes within stream buffers protecting drinking water reservoirs, the bill was fought on every level � from Senate subcommittee to full committee to Rules to the floor, and then again in the House. It came up for a vote in the House late in the day on Sine Die, after its anticipation for 5 days by the environmental lobby. Its sound defeat, 30-139, was a major bi-partisan victory, ensuring the protection of clean drinking water in Georgia.

Another major victory was on HB 1097, the billboards bill, when twice � in both the House and the Senate � the conservation community, alongside the Garden Club ladies, successfully struck sections of the bill that would allow billboard owners to cut a limitless number of trees around their signs, including trees on state-owned property. HB 1053 and its accompanying resolution, HR 1564, passed the General Assembly with dynamic support from the conservation community. This legislative pair protects the dedication of funds from sales of special motor vehicle license plates to their state purpose, thereby ensuring dedication from the sale of Nongame Wildlife license plates to the Nongame Wildlife Conservation and Habitat Acquisitions Fund.

Legislative setbacks included the downgrading of biofuels bills, HB 1412 and SB 636, from firm promotion of clean and renewable fuels in Georgia to lenient �urging� of use of said fuels, reducing the likelihood of their usage. Another environmental defeat was the passage of HR 1365, a resolution urging public utilities in Georgia to build new nuclear power plants in the state. This bill passed late on Sine Die as an �uncontested resolution,� an unfair allotment for a bill that is controversial at best.

As an organization, Georgia Conservation Voters prides itself on the passage of two bills, HB 194 and HB 1107. Both bills were championed in GCVEF�s Greening the Budget 2006 and passed in part due to the vigilance of the GCV legislative team. HB 194, introduced by Rep. Chuck Martin, is the Telework Tax Credit, implemented to provide businesses in nonattainment air quality areas with up to a $1200 tax credit per employee for the cost of setting up a home office. HB 1107, the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit, was introduced by the Governor�s floor leader, Rep. Jay Roberts, and passed early in the session. This tax credit aims to solidify the Land Conservation Act, passed in 2005, by providing a tax credit of 25% of their state income tax liability to Georgia taxpayers who donate land for conservation purposes OR enter into conservation easements.

For a bill-by-bill update on environmental legislation from the end of the 2006 Legislative Session, please access the link below.

Breakdown of Environmental Bills [pdf]...