ATLANTA — House members agreed Wednesday to a Senate version of tax incentives for developers of tourism-related hotels — the bill upon which hung the prospects for a hotel at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center in Dalton. The measure now goes to Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Last year, Gov. Perdue vetoed the bill because an unrelated tax incentive for the film industry was attached to it by the Senate, stalling the $40 million Trade Center hotel deal with developer John Q. Hammons.
So Rep. Roger Williams, RDalton, was concerned when he heard the Senate passed its own version of the bill Tuesday because he and House sponsors worked closely with Gov. Perdue’s office to make sure the governor would be comfortable with the language.
In fact, though, not a word was changed by the Senate except to rename it a Senate version. That was enough to anger House Speaker Glenn Richardson, who said it then wasted the House’s time in having to agree to the exact same bill it approved in the first place.
“The Senate of the state of Georgia did a Senate substitute to a bill ... so they could call it a Senate substitute,” he said.
If Gov. Perdue signs off on the incentives, which allow a developer tax breaks to recoup some of the project costs, J.Q. Hammons will begin a re-evaluation of the Trade Center hotel deal, a company spokesman said. The project was further complicated by the resignation of the executive director last month.
WINE BILLS: ALCOHOL LEGISLATION OF CHOICE
Wine was the drink of choice for legislators voting on alcoholrelated bills, with three measures that relaxed regulations on shipping and transporting wine easily passing during the last week. No word on whether Gov. Sonny Perdue will sign any or all of them.
Two, co-sponsored by Rep. Roger Williams, R-Dalton, are meant to help the state’s farm wineries, most of which are in North Georgia.
If signed into law, individual Georgians could order up to 12 cases of wine a year over the Internet. The measure requires certain age verification and isn’t limited to orders from Georgia wineries, but farm wineries said it will help them distribute their products. Georgians can even buy wine online on Sundays. But the controversial bill to allow local votes on whether to allows sale of alcohol in grocery or package stores on Sundays did not get voted on by legislators this session.
Another law pending signature would allow farm wineries to sell other alcohol besides their own.
A bill unrelated to farm wineries would make it legal for restaurant patrons to cork and reseal an unfinished bottle of wine, put in the trunk or glove compartment of a vehicle and take it home.
SEX RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS BACK
The Georgia Supreme Court last year struck down as unconstitutional the state’s residency restrictions for sex offenders, so legislators approved slightly altered ones in a bill that passed the last day of session.
“If we don’t adopt this bill today, there will be no residency restrictions,” said Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson.
The measure prohibits sex offenders to live or work within 1,000 feet schools, day-care centers, churches and other places children gather.
Removed was the requirement that a registered sex offender to move from the home he or she owns if one of those gathering places opens nearby. The restrictions were added to Sen. Johnson’s bill to make it illegal for a sex offender to take photos of a minor without the parents’ permission.
Opponents said the change only protects homeowners and not tenants, and most sex offenders released from jail don’t own homes and would still have to move, and the law would be open another court challenge.
PUBLIC DEFENDER REFORMS PASSED
House and Senate negotiators were able to agree to comprehensive reforms of Georgia’s young and struggling public defender system.
The changes were designed to create better money management and efficiency in the statewide indigent defense system funded one-third by the state and twothirds by local county governments. The program received $40 million in next year’s budget from the Legislature.
One of the sticking points was the amount of time a public defender must first see an indigent defendant, which was compromised at three business days, said Rep. David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge. The current requirement is 72 hours, which public defenders like but lawmakers worried made indigent defense too available to people who may not truly need it.
The reforms also require counties to verify income levels of people seeking public defenders.
Another sticking point was eligibility requirements, which was kept at 125 percent of federal poverty level for juvenile defendants, and for adult misdemeanor cases kept at 100 percent of the poverty level, Rep. Ralston said.
