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Dear Summer,
Welcome to the Georgia Conservation Voters
Legislative Newsletter. This letter will be
circulated frequently during the 2006 legislative
session in efforts to keep you abreast on issues of
particular interest to you
on environmental legislation.
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Stayin' Alive
Bills that Passed on Crossover Day
Monday, known as “Crossover Day,” was the deadline
for legislation originating in one chamber to pass
to the other or be eliminated from consideration.
And lawmakers were scrambling to add their bills to
the calendar into the night. As a result, Crossover
Day was as long as was anticipated.
Though the Senate wrapped up after 6 pm, lobbyists
stayed past midnight to see what bills the House
could push through before the deadline.
Of the 44 bills and resolutions heard by the Senate,
and over 60 heard by the House, several pieces of
legislation were of interest to the environmental
community. Senate Bill 604, by Senator Seth Harp,
passed the Senate along with its partner resolution,
SR 1104. These bills would provide for stream
buffers adjacent to waterways, which remain in a
natural state, to be included in the current use
assessment program for bona fide conservation use
property. SB 604 would provide for reduced property
taxes on buffer areas which may help relieve
contention over the stream buffer issue.
Other bills, like Senate Bill 550 and House Bill
1412, passed their respective chambers but were
significantly neutered. Senate Bill 550, by Senator
Don Thomas, provides for the reduction of mercury in
the environment through the collection and recovery
of mercury switches from scrapped vehicles. This
bill was amended; the bounty/incentive for
steel recyclers to remove the switches was struck
from the bills in favor of a voluntary approach to
removal of the switches.
House Bill 1412 was introduced by Representative
Tommy Smith and would require that many government
agencies, school districts, and institutions, use
clean and renewable fuel in motor vehicles when that
fuel is compatible with the technology of the
vehicle. It passed in the form of a substitute
which removed the mandate and now only "urges"
government agencies to encourage this use
of clean and renewable fuel rather having it as a
requirement.
In the wee hours of the morning, House Bill 1323 and
its partner
resolution, HR 1339, passed the House. This bill
was added late in the evening on the supplemental
rules calendar and was among the most contentious
bills to be debated that night. Sponsored by
Representative Larry O'Neal, HB 1323 provides for a
comprehensive program for the creation of
infrastructure development districts. Environmental
concerns with the bill include giving taxing powers
to developers. Further, votes to elect the
supervising board count as one vote per acre owned,
giving ultimate supervising authority to developers
and parties owning the most property. Additionally,
there is much concern over the affect this bill and
the consequent development districts will have on
promoting sprawl.
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Georgia Conservation Voters (GCV) is a non-partisan
citizens' organization dedicated to protecting
Georgia's environment and the health of all
Georgians by advocating in the legislature and in
the media for strong environmental protections;
helping to elect conservation-minded leaders to
Georgia's General Assembly and selected local races;
and by holding our elected officials accountable for
how well they worked to protect and restore
Georgia's environment.
Sincerely,
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