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Greetings
everyone, I want to thank each of you who were involved in the
legislative process for your time and your leadership. This
year we saw a very important piece of legislation,
HB 214, signed by the Governor. This legislation
initiates the renewal of Jekyll Island's property lease,
extending it for another 99 year, and the creation of a
legislative oversight committee.
HB 214 is consistent with
TDAG's
mission of strengthening Georgia's economy through tourism
development. Both
HB 374 and
HB 451 were not signed into law. We will continue to
work on these issues in the interim, so that we can move
forward with solid legislation that addresses Georgia
Tourism's needs in 2008. I would like to thank Chairmen
Ron Stephens and Chip Pearson for all their hard
work and dedication, as well as our primary sponsors
Reps. Jeff Lewis and James Mills. They have
worked incredibly hard on our behalf and will continue to
work with us in the interim to insure that all of the
Governor's questions are addressed. This year
the majority of the tourism funding in the budget as passed
by the General Assembly was approved by Governor Sonny
Perdue, and we look forward to working with his team on
solutions for their unresolved questions. In addition, the
Governor has redirected funds for an additional $2.5 million
for tourism marketing and $2 million for international
marketing. Below are links to recent releases from
Governor Perdue's office that detail the signing of the
FY 2008 budget and the bills he did not pass.
Links to Governor Perdue Press
Releases
Governor
Perdue Signs FY08 Budget
Governor Sonny Perdue Vetoes Forty-One Bills
As Governor Perdue states in his
press release, "Several bills that combine unrelated tax incentives to
different organizations and sectors of the state's business
sector passed the legislature this session. Tax bills deal
with unique issues and should be considered individually.
Disparate provisions should not be logrolled together to
combine an otherwise acceptable provision with an untenable
one, as such practice often results in the total bill being
unacceptable. I support many of the provisions contained in
the bills listed below, but other provisions within the same
legislation prevent me from signing them into law. The
General Assembly has long held a policy of strictly adhering
to the single subject rule when proposing tax incentive
bills: I fully support that practice." For
these stated reasons he vetoed several bills, including
HB 374 and
HB 451. From Governor Perdue's
press release: Veto Number 4:
HB 451 - Tax credits related to
development of tourism attractions and the development of
film, video, or digital productions. Veto Number 17:
HB 374 would revise certain sections of the hotel motel tax
Article in the Official Code of Georgia. I do not believe
that these revisions achieve the intended goal of the bill
to more standardize this Article, as certain definitions
added in the Article remain defined elsewhere in the
Article. The result would likely cause confusion in
interpreting the Article. I therefore VETO HB 374.
Thanks to all of you for your efforts. They say great ideas
can take 10 years to reach fruition. We are still ahead of
schedule, and working together we will continue to
accomplish great things for Georgia tourism.
If you have any
questions, please contact me by
clicking here or by using the contact information below.
Joy Spears Walstrum
Tourism
Development Alliance of Georgia
404-223-2471 (w)
404-358-5634 (m)
404-223-2290 (fax)
joy@tourismdevelopmentalliance.org |
