Georgia Legislature Passes Hurricane Aid, $40M Airline Perk

Georgia lawmakers ended their special legislative session Saturday with the state Senate giving final approval to $470 million in emergency aid and tax incentives to victims of Hurricane Michael while also passing a $40 million tax break for airlines.

The Senate voted unanimously to approve the two hurricane relief bills, which had previously cleared the House. They include $69 million to help state and local agencies cover emergency response costs, $55 million to assist farmers suffering crop losses and $20 million for cleanup efforts on commercial timberland.

Meanwhile, commercial timber growers in 28 Georgia counties declared disaster areas by the governor will able to claim $200 million in tax credits aimed at encouraging them to replant acreage scarred by trees snapped and uprooted by the October storm. The credits will also be available to pecan farmers whose groves were damaged or destroyed.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill, a Republican from Reidsville, said the money would “begin the process of rebuilding this part of our state.”

“Oct. 10 seems like a long time ago in some respects,” Hill said. “But for the people affected, it seems like eons.”

The measures were sent to Gov. Nathan Deal, who quickly signed them into law.

Saturday marked the fifth day of the special legislative session Deal called, citing an immediate need to assist recovery efforts after the powerful storm struck southwest Georgia.

The Senate also voted 43-9 to exempt jet fuel from sales taxes, a perk expected to save Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and other carriers $40 million before it expires next summer.

State law required lawmakers to vote on Deal’s summer executive order that suspended collection of the 4 percent tax. The governor acted on his own after the Senate in February stripped the tax break out of a larger tax bill. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who presides over the Senate, said the move was to punish Delta for ending fare discounts to members of the National Rifle Association.

The gun-rights debate didn’t resurface during this week’s special session, though opponents questioned whether lawmakers should be passing tax breaks to benefit corporations during a session otherwise devoted to hurricane relief.

Legislators may have to revisit the jet fuel tax issue next year. The version that passed Saturday expires at the end of the fiscal year June 30.

The House didn’t convene Saturday, when many lawmakers attended the funeral of Rep. John Meadows of Calhoun. The powerful Rules Committee chairman died Tuesday.

A resolution the House adopted Friday allowed for any bills passed Saturday by the Senate to be sent immediately to the governor’s desk if senators don’t amend them. No amendments were made, and lawmakers gaveled the session to a close immediately after the final Senate floor vote.