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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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Tag Bills Supporting Wildlife Pass House
HB 1053 and HR 1564 Move to Senate
House Bill 1053 and House Resolution 1564 both
passed the House on Wednesday. These bills will
effectively protect the appropriation of money
collected on the sale of specialized license plates
to their intended purposes. HB 1053 is an omnibus
revenue-sharing tag bill and HR 1564 is a
constitutional amendment which includes various
existing license tags that have designated funds,
such as the Nongame Wildlife, the Trout Unlimited,
and the Historic Preservation License Plates. Under
the HB 1053 substitute which passed out of the Motor
Vehicles Committee, the $25 cost of specialized
license plates will be split,
allocating $2 to the county, $1 to the state, and
$22 to the recipient fund.
These bills were introduced in contrast to House
Bill 1232, which would have fully removed funds from
the sale of tags, like the Nongame Wildlife tag, and
put them in the state treasury. This would have
broken faith with citizens who purchased the special
license plate to support wildlife conservation.
Furthermore, it would have reduced funding to the
Nongame Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat Acquisitions
Fund by 76%. While HB 1232 remains stuck in the
Motor Vehicles Committee, HB 1053 and HR 1564 pass
to the Senate.
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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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Despite tremendous opposition by environmental
organizations, lobbyists, and concerned citizens,
Senate Bill 510 passed the Senate Wednesday morning with
a 33-16 vote. The bill is considered a rollback on
stream buffers and will therefore impact the quality
of Georgia's drinking
water. Though it has been modified several times
due to consistent efforts on behalf of the
environmental community, it remains a threat to
Georgia's water resources.
