Politically, we have spent time with all eyes focused on the national elections and not as much on us at the state level. Our goal was to increase voter participation, which evidently was accomplished. Every vote does count, and I hope people will continue to use this privilege.
A few months ago, we all were shocked and saddened by a senseless and tragic school shooting, this time in Georgia. There is still plenty to learn, but it is distressing to see that a parent would allow a 14-year-old access to an AR-15, a gun which he cannot by law buy, nor can he by law buy the ammunition for the gun. It seems that many red flags were ignored, but I’ll leave that to the investigators at this point.
We passed a bill from my finance committee this year that would allow a tax credit for those who buy a safe to secure their guns. It did not make it out on the final day, but I hope to reintroduce it. We know that there is not one single solution to the gun problem, but I am hopeful the legislature will join in reasonable discussion in our effort to help prevent such tragedies in the future.
On another note, the State of Georgia continues to do well financially. We ended the fiscal year July 1st with a surplus of funds despite a tax cut. And the new fiscal year is ahead by 3% as the first quarter closes. This is despite a tax cut of about 8% of our income tax—even with a lower tax rate, we are bringing in more revenue. It is good to know that Georgia is well-positioned to weather economic uncertainties that will certainly come at some point in the future.
Chuck Hufstetler
State Senate Committee Memberships:
Appropriations, Ex-Officio
Finance, Chairman
Health and Human Services, Member
Higher Education, Member
Rules, Member
