Stoner wants citizens to better know how taxes are spent

State Sen. Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna) will host a town hall meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. at .

Join Sen. Stoner at the bank, located at 4135 Atlanta Road in Smyrna, for a discussion of the issues being addressed by the Georgia General Assembly, and the impact of those issues on the local community.

If you have not done so already, Sen. Stoner asks people to take a few moments to complete a short online survey on the issues that will be addressed. Sen. Stoner can be reached at the Capitol at 121 State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334; phone 404-463-2518; email doug.stoner@senate.ga.gov

On Thursday, Stoner and Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta) unveiled a legislative measure aimed at giving taxpayers at better look at how their state taxes are spent.

According to a press release, for many Georgians, the amount they pay in taxes is larger than any other purchase they make during the year, but studies show they may not know exactly how their tax dollars are used.

The purpose of this legislation is to provide the ability for every Georgian who files a tax return to receive a tax performance. This tax estimate will break down the amount of taxes paid into the areas the tax money flows.

The Georgia Taxpayer Receipt Act will be a user-friendly online mechanism for taxpayers to see how the state is spending money. Specifically, the measure would allow any taxpayer to use an online tool to break out the taxes into the government departments or agencies where the money is being spent.

"Our goal is to provide greater transparency in government that we hope will lead to greater trust. This bill would allow citizens to see exactly how their state tax dollars are spent," said Stoner in a released statement.

The state senators said that citizen frustration with government operations remains at an all time high and their legislation will take a step toward transparent government.

"In order to restore trust in government, we believe that more, not less, accountability and transparency in government is needed. Most people understand taxation is necessary in order to properly run government; however, when money is moved around like a shell game, distrust often follows," Stoner said in the press release.

The Georgia Taxpayer's Receipt will be formally introduced in the State Senate next week.

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On Wednesday, Stoner, the Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, proposed having control of the state ethics commissions taken away from the governor and lawmakers.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that it was suggested that the state Supreme Court and state Appeals Court chief justices would instead appoint panel members, and proposed funding for the commission come at .01 percent of the total state budget. The idea is to reduce the ethics commission’s exposure to political pressure.

According to Democrats, such a funding formula would cost around $800,000 annually, which is a slight uptick from its current funding. This past summer, House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) verbalized reservations about such a funding arrangement.

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Speaking of Ralston, he was the featured luncheon speaker at Vinings Bank in Smyrna Wednesday and told those in attendance that county residents would likely be saddled with the project list that County Chairman Tim Lee drafted for this summer’s transportation referendum.

According to a story in The Marietta Daily Journal, the house speaker said he was “not inclined” to permit changes to the Transportation Investment Act list before the vote. Read more from The MDJ’s story here.

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Also at that meeting, Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren urged caution about prison reform after listening to Ralston discuss future sentencing for non-violent crime offenders.

The MDJ quote Warren saying, “I would say 65 to 75 percent of the 2,100/2,200 inmates that are in the Cobb County jail this morning … are there because they have some drug or alcohol or substance abuse. So my question is if they’re not out working, and they can’t work, if they’re not able to work or don’t want to work, how are they going to get their money? And I think that’s an issue that we’re seeing when they put them out on probation they’re still committing the crimes of burglary to sell drugs or whatever.”

Read The MDJ’s full story here.

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And finally, in keeping with crime, a Smyrna tattoo artist is being investigated for administering a tattoo to a 10-year-old boy, albeit with the youth’s mother’s permission.

An Acworth woman was arrested this week and is facing child cruelty charges after allowing her son to get the jersey number of his fallen brother, who was hit and killed by a driver two years ago, tattooed on his arm.

Acworth police arrested the woman based on a 2010 law that says it is illegal for any person to tattoo the body of any person under the age of 18, except for a physician or osteopath.

According to this news report, police officials are investigating the tattoo artist, whose name has not been released.