Friday we voted on about 60 pieces of legislations in one day!

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Matt
As I keep telling you, session gets busier and busier as we approach sine die, the 40th and last day.

That has ramifications for all Georgians, as more and more bills that affect our lives come to a vote.

Friday we voted on about 60 pieces of legislations in one day!

Here’s the truth; between my Chief of Staff, two Legislative Interns and myself, we barely had enough time to read each and every bill.

It was a mad rush to analyze policy, decide votes, track amendments and catch on to all the political maneuvering going on late into the night.

I mention more about the good and bad bills for the week in my weekly newspaper column, but I was very excited about HB 204, which I Co-Sponsored, passing the house.

It will make sure only property taxes show up on your property tax bill, protecting private property rights.

I was also extremely excited about HB 329 passing, which changed our income tax from a progressive rate, to a flat rate, and per the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute could cut taxes by to up $154 million.

That doesn’t change my desire to repeal the income tax entirely, which is why I Co-Sponsored my friend Emory Dunahoo’s Fair Tax bill this week.

We also defeated two odious bills, HB 71 which infringed upon a doctor’s private contracting rights, and HB 302.

I was going to vote NO on HB 302 and had prepared a speech to speak against the bill in the well.

Word spread quickly and HB 302, which would’ve misinformed Georgians about property tax increase, was magically tabled, effectively killing the bill!

Here is the speech written the night before:

“Fellow colleagues, this is the first time I come to the well to speak against a bill. As you know, I am not a fan of government mandates nor am I a fan of property taxes, but as long as property taxes exist I think it’s important that taxpayers know of a potential tax increase.

Title 48, Chapter 5, Article 1, Section 32 of OCGA provides that a levying authority shall publish a notice of a possible tax increases and HB 302 makes changes to that notice.

The changes strike every mention of tax increase and strike an easy to understand example of what that tax increase might represent for the average home.

The new language uses the terms “proposed revenue” and “additional tax revenue” making the whole matter almost sound positive!

Property taxes are an issue that affect all Georgians, including renters through higher rates. Each dollar taken from an individual and away from the private sector hurts our economy and hurts jobs.

I believe that if a property owner faces a potential tax increase, he or she should be informed, and that notice should not be ambiguous.

I also believe that this bill will leave taxpayers less informed and possibly left feeling deceived.

For those reasons I ask you to join me in voting NO, and in doing so, protecting the current protections for taxpayers in Georgia code!”

I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t get to give my speech but I’m ecstatic we killed the bill, next step, replacing property taxes with a consumption tax.

That next step will definitely take longer.

Two other bad bills also failed late on Friday, HB 225, a tax increase on ridesharing (Uber & Lyft), as well as HB 196, a corporate welfare bill disguised as so-called economic development.

That’s where we saw the worst of politics.

These bills were immediately motioned to be reconsidered, and later that night voted on again.

Both bills passed the second time, after political arm twisting and back room deals.

My friend and journalist Jessica Szilagyi explained it quite well in an article for AllOnGeorgia. CLICK HERE to read the article…

So what happened with my bills as crossover loomed?

As you know I’ve chosen to spend a lot of my effort on two bills this year, HB 156 Constitutional Carry & the HB 364 $5 Hotel/Motel Tax Repeal.

I will go into further detail in the future, but here’s the short version.

I was basically given the run around.

On Monday morning my committee hearing on HB 364 was canceled 30mins before it was supposed to take place.

This is after a weekend spent preparing testimony and communicating with hotel owners in the district.

The owner of the beautiful Beechwood Inn in Clayton even took the time to write a two-page letter to the committee, explaining the devastation and inherent unfairness this tax has had on his business.

The lobbyist from the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association had planned on attending, and my staff came in early to print materials.

HB280
All that to be left with a last minute cancellation because of “scheduling conflicts”.

Constitutional Carry was also under attack last week, from leadership no less, going so far as to “embargo” this pro-Second Amendment legislation that has now passed in 14 other states.

None of this is surprising, limited government conservative ideas are met with a cold welcome down here, I’ve seen it all before.

This only fuels my passion for our shared values and principles.

I’ll leave you with three rhetorical questions.

Should our Constitutional rights be used as political tools?

Should political games come before the well-being of all Georgians?

And, why is there such a disparity between campaign rhetoric and what happens under the gold dome?

Thank you for your support, it is an absolute honor.

Freedom & Prosperity,

Matt Gurtler
(706) 490-2285

Thank you to Banks for finding the perfect quote of the week:

“The patriot, like the Christian, must learn to bear revilings and persecutions as a part of his duty; and in proportion as the trial is severe, firmness under it becomes more requisite and praiseworthy.

It requires, indeed, self-command. But that will be fortified in proportion as the calls for its exercise are repeated.”

– Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of Independence & 3RD President of these United States

Copyright © 2017 Matt Gurtler for State Representative, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:

Matt Gurtler for State Representative

115 Sawmill Lane

Tiger, GA 30576

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