SWINE FLU INFOMATION
THIS WEEK’S LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

• Governor Still Undecided on Bills
• Bills Passed
• Bills Awaiting Gubernatorial Action

FEDERAL ISSUES

• Plastic Bag And Plastic Bottle Deposits

QUOTE TO PONDER


Swine Flu Information

Information on influenza, which includes information on the swine flu and levels of pandemic alert is available at the following links:
   U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: www.pandemicflu.gov
   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/flu
   World Health Organization: www.who.int
   Food Marketing Institute: http://www.fmi.org/docs/foodsafety/SwineFluBroBW.pdf

Governor Still Undecided on Bills – Please Help

With the state’s $2 billion plus shortfall, threats of vetoes over three important pieces of legislation are worrisome. Please fax your support for HB 120 (Sales Tax Holiday), HB 481 (Jobs Act) and HB 482 (Eliminating the Inventory Tax) to Governor Sonny Perdue at 404-657-7332. For details on these bills please link to: http://www.georgiaretail.org/governmentaffairs/documents/16CRRDetail_May_1_2009.pdf

This year the Georgia Retail Association tracked nearly 140 bills that would, if enacted into law, have some impact on the retail sector. Please remember, bills introduced in 2009 remain alive for the 2010 session.

HR 334 - Urging Resolution on the Employee Free Choice Act, urges Georgia’s congressional delegation to vote against the Employee Free Choice Act (introduced in both houses of Congress), passed in the Georgia House 92 to 55 on March 18th.
Status: Passed by the House, this resolution required neither Senate nor gubernatorial approval

BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW

SB 31 - Georgia Nuclear Energy Financing Act, sponsored by senators Don Balfour, (R) 9th, Ed Tarver (D) 22nd, Chip Rogers (R) 21st, JD Powell (R) 23rd, Ross Tolleson (R) 20th and Mitch Seabaugh, (R) 28th allows a utility to recover from its customers the costs of financing associated with the construction of a nuclear generating plant in advance of the final construction.
Status: Signed into law by the governor on April 21, 200; effective date 4/21/09

HB 59 - Sales Tax Exclusion for Some Controlled Substances, sponsored by representatives Larry O`Neal, (R) 146th, Jim Cole, (R) 125th, Jimmy Pruett, (R) 144th, Rich Golich, (R) 34th, and Buddy Harden (R) 147th, exempts from sales and use taxes those controlled substances and dangerous drugs, which are either sold or are distributed without charge to physicians, dentists, clinics, hospitals, or any other person or entity located in Georgia by a pharmaceutical manufacturer or distributor; and would exempt from sales and use taxes controlled substances which are lawfully dispensed without charge for the purposes of a clinical trial approved by an institutional review board which has been accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs.
Status: Signed into law by the governor on April 21, 2009; effective date 7/1/09

HB 74 – Defining Revenue and Taxation, sponsored by Representative Larry O’Neal, (R) 146th, provides definitions of revenue and taxation.
Status: Signed into law by the governor on April 8, 2009; effective date 1/1/09

HB 308 - Defining Liability for Limited Liability Companies, sponsored by representatives David Ralston, (R) 7th, Wendell Willard, (R) 49th, Mary Margaret Oliver, (D) 83rd, and Elly Dobbs, (D) 53rd, redefines liability for a LLC.
Status: Signed into law by the governor on April 21, 2009; effective 4/21/09

House Bill 330 - Relating To Workers' Compensation, sponsored by Mike Coan, (R) 101st, Bobby
Reese, (R) 98th, Mark Hamilton, (R) 23rd, Tom Knox, (R) 24th, Pedro Marin, (D) 96th, clarifies the address of record for the plaintiff, define notice, set appeal timeline, and provide for a waiver of the employee's medical history confidentiality, was passed by the House on March 4th and out of the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee on March 18, 2009.
Status: Signed into law by the governor on April 21, 2009; effective 4/21/09

HB 368 – Annual Bill for Schedule II, III, and IV Controlled Substances, sponsored by representatives Ron Stephens, (R) 164th, Butch Parrish, (R) 156th, Buddy Carter, (R) 159th, Buddy Harden, (R) 147th, and Bobby Parham, (D) 141st , amends Chapter 13 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to controlled substances, so as to change certain provisions relating to Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances.
Status: Signed into law by the governor on April 21, 2009; effective 4/21/09

HB 427 – Redefining an Enterprise Zone, sponsored by representatives Ron Stephens, (R) 164th, Wendell Willard, (R) 49th, Al Williams, (R) 165th, Cecily Hill, (R) 180th, and Craig Gordan, (D) 162nd, defines a poverty zone for the identification of an enterprise zone as parcels within or adjacent to a census block group where the ratio of income to poverty level for at least 15 percent of the residents shall be less than 1.0.
Status: Signed into law by the governor on April 21, 2009; effective 4/21/09

HB 581 – Job Creation Act, sponsored by representatives Mike Coan, (R) 101st, Jeff May, (R) 111th, Billy Horne, (R) 71st, Pedro Marin, (D) 96th, Bobby Reese, (R) 98th and Buddy Carter, (R) 159th, provides incentives to employers for complying with the Employment Security Law and establish a credit to employers for hiring unemployment claimants.
Status: Signed into law by the governor on April 21, 2009; effective 4/21/09

BILLS AWAITING GUBERNATORIAL ACTION

HB 57 – Establishing Rules for Common Carriers, sponsored by representatives Alan Powell, (D) 29th and Tom Rice, (R) 51st, would set rules for common freight carriers operating in Georgia.

HB 80 – Redefining Group for Insurance Purposes, sponsored by Howard Maxwell, (R) 17th, Jerry Keen, (R) 179th, John Meadows, (R) 5th, Richard Smith, (R)131st, Bill Hembree, (R) 67th and Quincy Murphy (D) 120th, would redefine group insurance contracts or contracts to cover as those that cover two rather than 100 employees. This bill was passed by the House on February 5th and by the Senate on March 18th.

SB 80 - Food Standards, Labeling, and Adulteration, sponsored by senators, John Bulloch (R) 11th, John Crosby, (R) 13th, George Hooks, (R) 14th, Ross Tolleson, (R) 20th, Ralph Hudgens, (R) 47th and Freddie Sims, (D) 12th, would provide requirements for the testing of samples or specimens of foods by food sales establishments for the presence of poisonous or deleterious substances.

HB 120 – Sales Tax Holiday, sponsored by representatives Lynn Smith (R) 70th, Katie Dempsey (R) 13th, Willie Talton (R) 145th, Michael Harden (R) 147th, and Alan Powell (D) 171st, would provide an exemption from sales tax on articles of clothing and footwear with a sales price of $100.00 or less; personal computers and personal computer related accessories with a sales price of $1,500 or less; and general school supplies with a sales price of $20.00 per item including pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, book bags, dictionaries, calculators and thesauruses from at 12:01 A.M. July 30, 2009, and concluding at 12:00 midnight on August 2, 2009.

It also provides a sales tax holiday on the purchase of energy efficient products and water efficient products with a sales price of $1,500.00 or less per product purchased for noncommercial home or personal use from 12:01 A.M. on October 1, 2009, and concluding at 12:00 midnight on October 4, 2009.


HB 126 - Electronic Contracts and Signatures, sponsored by representatives Ed Lindsey, (R) 54th and Wendell Willard, (R) 49th, would legitimize electronic contracts and signatures as legal devices.

SB 123 – Defining and Licensing Pharmacy Benefit Managers, sponsored by Lee Hawkins, (R) 49th, Jack Murphy, (R)27th, Ralph Hudgens, (R) 47th, Don Thomas, (R) 54th and Tommie Williams, (R) 19th, would define and provide for the regulation and licensure of pharmacy benefits managers by the Commissioner of Insurance.

HB 173 – Illegal and Void Contracts, Restraint of Trade, sponsored by Kevin Levitas, (D) 82nd, Mike Coan, (R) 101st, Richard Smith, (R) 131st, Butch Parrish, (R) 156th, and Tim Bearden, (R) 68th, would define certain legal means of providing for restraint of trade in work contracts, restrictive covenants, and more.

HB 186 – Teleworking Tax Credits, sponsored by representatives Chuck Martin, (R) 47th, Karla Drenner, (D) 86th and Clay Cox, (R) 102nd, would allow tax credits for teleworking arrangements.

HB 217 – Provision of Flu Shots, sponsored by representatives Jimmy Pruett, (R) 144th, Mickey Channell, (R) 116th, Buddy Carter, (R) 159th, Sharon Cooper, (R) 41st, and Ron Stephens, (R) 164th, would establish the protocol for providing flu shots in retail establishments and other locations.

HB 233 – Freeze on Property Taxes, sponsored by Representative Edward Lindsey, (R) 54th, would provide for a two-year moratorium on increasing the assessed value of real estate.

HB 302 - Charging A Customer For Any Third Party Service Provided By A Telecommunications Company, sponsored by representatives Mark Hamilton, (R) 23rd, Doug Collins, (R) 27th, Barry Loudermilk, (R) 14th, Amos Amerson, (R) 9th, and Carl Rogers, (R) 26th, would require any telecommunications company that charges a customer for a service which is provided to the customer by a nonaffiliated third party must provide to such customer the ability to block the nonaffiliated third-party service and any charges associated with such service.

HB 334 – Lowering the Threshold for Electronic Payment of Sales Taxes, sponsored by representatives David Knight, (R) 126th, Allen Peake, (R) 137th, Larry O`Neal, (R) 146th, and Jay Roberts, (R) 154th, would lower the threshold for requiring electronic funds transfer of sales tax revenue to the Department of Revenue from $5,000 per month to $1,000 on January 1, 2010 and $500 per month on January 1, 2011.

HB 379 – Disallowing Income Tax Expenses Paid For Real Estate Investment Trusts, sponsored by Representative Larry O’Neal, (R) 146th, would disallow the shielding of income received through a real estate investment trust.

HB 438 - Income Tax Credits For Qualified Jobs And Projects, sponsored by representatives Larry O’Neal, (R) 146th and Ron Stephens, (R) 164th, would have excluded retailers from receiving job-retraining tax credits; would eliminate the existing headquarters tax credit and in its place would establish a tax credit for any job created that pays a higher wage than the average wage in the county in which the job is created and Finally, provide a Mega Tax Credit for qualifying companies that agree to create a minimum of 1,800 jobs and either invests a minimum of $450 million in a project or brings an annual payroll of $150 million to the state.

Over the objections of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, GRA was successful in having language inserted that specifically included retailers.

HB 439 – Income Tax Credits for Employee Re-Training, sponsored by representatives Larry O`Neal, (R) 146th and Ron Stephens, (R) 164th, would provide income tax credits for retraining staff.

HB 441 – Filing for Sales Tax Refunds, sponsored by Representative Larry O`Neal, (R) 146th, would require a taxpayer who wishes to expedite the payment of a sales and use tax claim for refund to file a bond with Department of Revenue Commissioner. The commissioner, in turn, must issue the refund within 30 days of the date of the posting of the approved bond. Any assessment of tax, interest, penalties, fees, or costs related to the payment of such refund claim shall be made within three years after the date that such refund was paid by the commissioner.

HB 481 – The Jobs Act of 2009, sponsored by representatives Tom Graves, (R) 12th, Mark Burkhalter, (R) 50th, Jerry Keen, (R) 179th, Earl Ehrhart, (R) 36th, Tom Rice, (R) 51st, and Tim Bearden, (R) 68th, would:
• Create a quarterly tax credit towards the unemployment insurance tax for each eligible employee hired. This credit would be applied towards the employer’s future unemployment insurance contributions for the hiring of someone who is receiving state unemployment benefits.
• Create a $2,400 income tax credit for each eligible employee hired. This credit will be available to those who hire an employee that has been unemployed for at least 4 weeks and remains employed for at least 24 weeks. To receive the credit, the employee’s initial hire must be prior to July 2010.
• Start a “New Business Tax Holiday.” Under this legislation, the $100 fee will be waived for all new businesses formed over the next year. This component would create a 1 year “holiday” on new filings for LLC’s, Limited Partnerships, and For Profit Companies.
• Phase out of the Sales Tax Deposit. This section of the Act phases out an outdated tax on Georgia business capital. This is a fee charged to all Georgia businesses which have $5,000 or more in sales tax collections each month. Taking the average sales tax collection amount each month, the DOR requires the business to forward fund a deposit of working capital. This deposit is held for perpetuity or until the business fails, whichever comes first. Phasing out this deposit will put much needed capital back into Georgia’s businesses.
• Abolish the Net Worth Tax. This tax was originated in 1931 and charged to all businesses based on their net worth. It’s a deterrent to savings and investment in assets. Currently, even businesses that have a negative net worth are taxed.
• Cut the Capital Gains Tax in half. This tax is charged to all individuals and businesses that save and invest in assets, whether its stocks, certificate of deposits, savings accounts, collectibles or real estate. This provision would provide a deduction of 50% of all Long Term Capital Gains from an individual’s taxable income.

HB 482 – Removing The Tax On Business Inventory, sponsored by representatives Tom Graves, (R) 12th, Mark Burkhalter, (R) 50th, Jerry Keen, (R) 179th, Earl Ehrhart, (R) 36th, Tom Rice, (R) 51st, and Tim Bearden, (R) 68th, would exempt all the inventory of a business from state ad valorem taxation.

HB 485 – Jobs Tax Credit for Retailers Increasing Port Traffic, sponsored by Representative Larry O’Neal, (R) 146th, would grant any business enterprise located in a tier two or tier three county which has a distribution facility of greater than 650,000 square feet, and which was in operation in this state prior to December 31, 2008; and which distributes product to retail stores owned by the same legal entity or its subsidiaries as such distribution facility; and has a minimum of 8 retail stores in this state in the first year of operations; and has increased its port traffic of products during the previous 12 month period by more than 10 percent above its base year port traffic is qualified to claim a job tax credit for jobs created before January 1, 2015.

HB 529 – Preventing Local Regulation Of Regulating Farm Products, sponsored by representatives Tom McCall, (R) 30th, Jay Roberts, (R) 154th, John Burns, (R) 157th, Bob Hanner, (D) 148th, and Lee Anderson, (R) 117th, would preclude any municipality or other political subdivision from adopting or continuing any ordinance, rule, or regulation, which would regulate the production of agricultural or farm products on any parcel of land five acres in size or greater.

Bills Failing on Day 40
The three bills below, while passed by both houses, contained language that did not agree, so the bills failed.

SB 39 - 1% Sales Tax for Transportation Projects, sponsored by senators Jeff Mullis, (R) 53rd, Doug Stoner, (R) 6th, Tommie Williams, (R) 19th, Kasim Reed, (D) 35th, Chip Rogers, (R) 21st, and Tim Golden, (D) 8th, would provide for a 1 percent sales tax to be used to fund transportation projects in special transportation districts within the state.

SB 56 - Georgia StopMeth Log, sponsored by senators Gloria Butler, (D) 55th, Valencia Seay, (D) 34th, David Adelman, (D) 42nd, Robert Brown, (D) 26th, Kasim Reed, (D) 35th and Horacena Tate, (D) 38th, would require the state to establish and retailers to participate in a real-time, on-line pseudoephedrine reporting log. This bill was passed by the Senate on March 12th and referred to the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee.

SB 162 – Requiring Training And Authorizing Security Guards/Detectives To Obtain Individual Licensure, sponsored by senators Johnny Grant, (R) 25th and Tommie Williams, (R) 19th, would require board mandating training within 180 days of hiring for all armed security guards and detectives.

FEDERAL ISSUES

Democrats Introduce Bills For Plastic-Bag, Plastic-Bottle Deposit Fees

House Democrats introduced two bills on Thursday, April 23rd; the Plastic Bag Reduction Act of 2009, which would put a 5-cent fee on plastic grocery, dry-cleaning, takeout, retail and service-station bags, and the Bottle Recycling Climate Protection Act, which would require a 5-cent deposit on plastic water bottles and other containers.
The Democrats claim that both bills will cut greenhouse gas emissions and curb toxic pollution. The bills would require a 5-cent deposit on beverage containers and imposing a 5-cent tax on single-use plastic bags from grocery stores and other retailers.
However plastic water bottles are only one-third of 1 percent of the waste stream and are the single most recycled product in the plastic waste stream (as measured by curbside recycling).
Eleven states, but not Georgia, currently have deposit programs that require consumers to return containers to claim their refund. They boast recycling rates that are twice those of states without deposit programs, and the legislation exempts them from the national deposit for three years or as long as they maintain their high recycling rates.
Under the Plastic Bag Reduction Act of 2009, the 5-cent tax would begin January 1, 2010, and increase to 25 cents per bag on Jan. 1, 2015. The legislation would apply to grocery sacks, dry-cleaning bags, take-out food bags, retail bags and service station bags.
One-cent tax credit would be directed toward retailers implementing the program, another cent would go to the Land and Water Conservation Fund to clean up pollution, another cent would be dedicated to state and local trash reduction and watershed protection programs, and the remaining 2 cents would go toward paying off the national debt.
A number of countries in Europe, Africa and Asia already have imposed a plastic bag tax or banned plastic bags. In the United States, San Francisco banned plastic bags in 2007.
The American Chemistry Council announced a program called the Full Circle Recycling Initiative, which will attempt to ensure all plastic bags contain 40 percent recycled content by 2015.

QUOTE TO PONDER

We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. ... We have never made good on our promises. .. I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. ... And an enormous debt to boot!" - Henry Morgenthau, Treasury Secretary under FDR, in May 1939

Thank you,

John C. Heavener, MSM, CAE
President, Georgia Retail Association

For More Information Contact:
johnh@georgiaretail.org
Telephone – 770-484-3449, ext. 21
Toll Free - (877) 427-3824
Fax – 770-484-5727
www.georgiaretail.org

About GRA: The Georgia Retail Association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, and grocery stores has been serving the state’s business community since 1961. The Georgia Retail Association represents an industry with more than 71,300 retail establishments, and more than 715,000 employees - about one in five of Georgia’s workers – with annual sales of more than $115 billion.

Printer Friendly CRR May 1, 2009