Legislature adopts 911 tax increase

For those worried the Legislature hasn't done anything this week, you can now rest easy. Yesterday the Senate adopted SB 6846 by a vote of 29-12. Today the House gave its approval with a 56-34 vote. The bill increases taxes to pay for an enhanced 911 system. We've previously written about the proposal here and here. According to the Office of Financial Management the tax increase is expected to collect nearly $79 million over the next ten years.  Surprisingly, on March 19 the House rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Bailey to the capital budget that would have re-prioritized capital projects to free up $25 million for enhanced 911 projects. The vote against the amendment was 60-35. Here is the video of the brief floor debate on that amendment . . . READ MORE