UPDATE: Gov's office says no special session — at least not yet. More coverage in tomorrow's paper and at www.macon.com.
State Rep. DuBose Porter, D-Dublin, has sent us a copy of the letter he sent Gov. Sonny Perdue, calling for a special legislative session to lower the state's gas tax. You might remember Perdue called one of those for a similar reason in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
I've got a call into the governor's office to see if there's a chance this will happen. The gas tax has recently gone up, though it's obviously not the only reason you're seeing high prices at the pumps. That, of course, comes from some combination of supply and demand / an evil liberal conspiracy / an evil conservative conspiracy / aliens.
Hard to say if this is just a publicity stunt. I mean, who wouldn't be for lower gas prices? But I'm excerpting the letter below. Expect to see some coverage of this in tomorrow's papers.
June 1, 2007
Dear Governor Perdue:
As I know you are all aware, Georgia‚s gasoline tax was automatically raised today. Beginning today, Georgians will have to pay an additional 2.1 cents per gallon, and that tax may rise again in less than one month.
We are not doing our job as public servants if we allow this to continue unaddressed. Too many Georgians are already feeling the sting of high gas prices. More gas tax increases will only hurt our working families. ...
I am writing to you to let you know that I am instructing the members of the House Democratic Caucus to stand ready to return to the Capitol for a special session to address this issue. We must act decisively and we must act now. Democrats are ready to act. I suspect Republicans would be too. We must make this a true bipartisan effort, for the good of all Georgians. ...
The House Democrats stand ready to return to our posts and work across party lines to resolve this growing gas crisis. We await only your decision and call.
Sincerely,
DuBose Porter
Minority Leader
7 comments:
Right, who would not be for lowering the gas tax? The question is, why is it Porter, not Perdue making the call for this to happen? He seemed to have no trouble calling for such a session post-Katrina.
Simple answer. Perdue is not running for anything anymore.
And GDOT needs the money to build more roads through Historic Burial Grounds, host champagne & strawberry events for road contractors & politicians & hire ex elected officials to lobby for the road contractors that get the contracts... As you can tell, i love Harold Linnenkohl, Tom Moreland and our very own Elmo Richardson...
You can review the latest facts and information regarding the Fall Line Freeway project via our web site at
http://www.dot.state.ga.us/DOT/preconstruction/preconstruction-office/grip/doc/Fall-Line-Freeway-factsheet.pdf
Rep Porter is one of the leading Democrats in the state since, Terry Coleman stepped down. He will be the democratic nominee for Governor in the next race, which will be helped because he owns about 6 newspapers in the state.
That having been said it was populist stunt designed to get his name before the people.
Didnt' see a more appropriate topic to post this under, so here goes:
"Old story, new chapter: Georgia Power pollutes"
-John Sugg - Creative Loafing
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/johnsugg
Excerpts:
"NPR reporter Nell Boyce went on a quest to find the biggest producer of greenhouse gases in the United States."
Boyce found: “[T]he EPA says that for the past three years, the company at the top of that list has been the Robert W. Scherer Power Plant near Macon, Ga.”
Victor Jones
Macon, Ga
Guess this is the Enviornmental Awareness Blog-River for now:
http://www.garivers.org/ paddle_georgia/pghome.html
June 23-29, 2007 Ocmulgee River
This summer, join fellow paddling enthusiasts for the Third Annual Paddle Georgia Adventure, a week-long, 115-mile canoe/kayak adventure on the Ocmulgee River from Monticello to Hawkinsville and experience Georgia as you never have before.
yes, you will be paddling by Plant Scherer, Monroe County, Macon, & Bibb County, Georgia
please send pics,
Vic
p.s. too funny, this is sponsored by Georgia Power, don't eat the fish until you read these documents:
Page 22
http://www.ucriverkeeper.org/ documents/fgc-2005.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/region4/ mercury/ documents/ OcmulgeeHgFinalTMDL.pdf
Jackson Lake and Ocmulgee River are included on the State of Georgia’s 2000 Section 303(d) list of impaired waters because mercury in certain species of fish tissue exceeds the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) Fish Consumption Guidelines.
Meeting Details:
http://www.georgiaair.org/ airpermit/downloads/ meetings/BibbCoSIP061207pr.pdf
What: Macon Area Ozone maintenance plan (State Implementation Plan) meeting tomorrow
When: Tuesday 6/12/07
Where: Macon State College, 100 Station Drive.
Park in the West Campus Parking lot off Ivey Drive. Coming off Eishenhower and onto Ivey Drive it will be just before the lake on your right.
The meeting, according to the information received, is to be held in the Continuing Education Center, (Learning Support- long building) next to the Auditorium
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