The pre-filing period for legislation to be considered in the 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly began Monday. Georgia’s two-year legislative cycle means bills introduced but not passed in 2011 are still officially on the agenda.
Some good legislation either failed or didn’t get introduced in this waning year, and some bad legislation got tabled but will no doubt resurface.
As taxes are expected to be a prominent topic, somebody will no doubt resurrect the economically flawed and morally repugnant plan to re-impose a state tax on food. Removing a tax that takes the cruelest toll on the poorest working families was one of the most enlightened legacies of Zell Miller’s distinguished tenure as governor.
Putting that burden back on those with the least political and economic clout, just to fund further tax breaks for those who already have the most, would be an especially cynical bit of lawmaking – especially if it is sold, as it almost surely will be, as “tax relief.”
Pre-filing is a way for lawmakers to get an early start before the actual session starts to heat up. So it’s hardly an inappropriate time for pre-emptive strikes against bad ideas that just won’t go away.