Sunday, January 17, 2010

Rep. Rusty Kidd starts his first session with a bang

ATLANTA — The 2010 legislative session is a week old and Milledgeville’s new legislator, state Rep. Rusty Kidd, has filed six bills, some of which would represent fairly seismic changes in state government.

One calls for a temporary 2 percent sales tax increase until state revenues recover from the current economic downturn — a difficult proposal at a state Capitol, where Republican leaders have pledged to hold the line on most taxes.

Rep. Rusty Kidd, I-Milledgeville 

Another would revamp the way governors are elected, giving them one six-year term instead of a chance at two, four-year terms. Another would force out-of-state entertainers who perform in Georgia to pay state income taxes, something they don’t have to do now.

Another would change sheriff’s elections to nonpartisan affairs. Another would make state legislators and other elected officials responsible for filing paperwork when a lobbyist takes them out to dinner or on a trip. Currently, the lobbyist is supposed to file those records.

And one other bill would make sure there’s a county-identifying decal on all state license plates.

Kidd, the only independent in the Georgia House of Representatives, acknowledges that some of these ideas are controversial. He agreed that the sales tax increase — even one that would sunset when the economy recovers — probably has a “slim” chance of passing.

But Kidd was a longtime lobbyist before winning last year’s special election to replace retired state Rep. Bobby Parham, a Democrat from Milledgeville. He has contacts all over the Capitol and will be looking to push his ideas or merge them with other bills.

For example: His lobbyist bill could be part of an ongoing effort to pass ethics reform at the Capitol. Kidd said there are people spending money on state legislators “every day” who never register as lobbyists. He said there are plenty of loopholes to exploit and that legislators can be drawn into controversy simply because a lobbyist doesn’t properly disclose things.

“Why shouldn’t I, the elected official, be the one responsible?” he asked.

Bills charging out-of-state entertainers — and possibly athletes — income taxes has passed the House and Senate several times before, he said, but were vetoed by then-Gov. Zell Miller. His measure to change gubernatorial terms to six years has been discussed with several 2010 candidates for the office, and none of them had a problem with it, he said.

 

Posted via email from Jim Nichols for GA State House

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