Will Voters Approve a New Tax on Motor Vehicles?

Radio Commentary, WMVV 90.7 New Life FM, May 14, 2010
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. Since tax revenues are down, drivers will be faced with a new tax, if the proposed tax increase passes a referendum on the ballot in November. Most proposed constitutional amendments are introduced the first year of the legislative term and held until the second year before they’re passed. That’s how this bill was handled.

Senator Goggans introduced S.R. 277 in 2009 and the Senate passed it March 10th last year. After that, it was held in committee until the 2010 session and, finally, passed the House April 29th of this year. S.R. 277 would amend the Constitution to allow the state to collect $10.00 extra when passenger motor vehicles are registered in Georgia. The only exemptions will be state-owned vehicles or those owned by political subdivisions of the state.

In other words, voters will decide in November, whether owners will pay ten dollars for each vehicle they register, if it’s used for transportation and can carry one to ten passengers. So, for every automobile, pickup truck, motorcycle, SUV or passenger van registered in Georgia, the state will collect a new ten-dollar tax for a license plate or revalidation decal.

The extra tax will be deposited monthly in a trust fund to pay for trauma care. If the proposed amendment passes the referendum, the General Assembly will decide how the trauma trust fund operates and specify how the money will be spent. On November 2nd you will have the opportunity to vote YES or NO on this new tax.

Speaking of driving, S.B. 67 died again this year. It was introduced in 2009 to require drivers’ license tests to be given in English only. It didn’t pass then and it didn’t pass this year. In fact, the same game was played both years. S.B. 67 passed both House and Senate in 2009, but it died at the end of the session, when the House refused to agree with the Senate change. It died again this year, because the Senate amended it again and the House refused to agree. The games they do play! Too bad the outcome of this game is so harmful to the state’s economy and so bad for the culture. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.