By D.L. Bennett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — An Atlanta state senator and mayoral candidate said he will continue to push legislation that would empower city residents to tax themselves to pay for public safety despite a lawsuit challenging his bill.
“On the legal merits and on the substance, we are right,” said state Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta). “They are going to fail. This is outrageous and politically driven.”
Reed was referring to a suit filed in Fulton County Superior Court seeking an injunction to block the Legislature from passing Senate Bill 77. The suit by the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation, a local anti-tax group, alleges the legislation is illegal because it is a revenue-generating bill that originated in the Senate.
“This bill is not in the best interest of taxpayers,” said John Sherman, president of FCTA.
The bill would authorize a referendum on a $1 million tax increase for police and firefighters. The money would generate about $18 million a year, just about enough to relieve public safety workers from furloughs.
Reed’s bill sailed through the Senate with little opposition. He said Tuesday he hoped the legal action didn’t stop it from moving in the Georgia House, where it sits in the Ways and Means Committee.
Copyright 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution