Athens Banner-Herald wrap up of 2010 Session

2010 Session long on time and results: 

Among the bills that passed the legislature and are awaiting Perdue's signature are laws that would:

► Call for regional referenda in 2012 on whether to ease traffic gridlock by levying a 1 percent sales tax devoted to local transportation projects.

► Permanently ban outdoor watering from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that will save millions of gallons.

► Add stricter requirements for lobbyists to report publicly the money they spend wining and dining legislators.

► Make it easier for homeowners to appeal their property tax bills.

► Get rid of the state's property tax, which will save the average homeowner about $12 per year.

► Cancel a tax credit for low-income Georgians that ranges from $5 to $20.

► Add a 1.7 percent tax on hospitals that will fund higher Medicaid reimbursements, helping hospitals with a poorer clientele like Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

► Call for a statewide referendum on whether to add $10 to car tag fees to raise about $80 million for trauma care.

► Remove taxes on retirement income.

► Bar teenagers from texting or talking on cell phones while driving.

► Require pickup-truck drivers to buckle their seat belts.

► Allow concealed-carry license-holders to come to more places armed, including in bars.

► Switch to zero-based budgeting, where legislators look at the entire budget every year, rather than just the changes from the past year.

► Increase the amount of money the state puts into a rainy-day fund during flush times.

Posted via email from Jim Nichols