Ralston: Tax reform will be back, immigration reform 'complex' issue

GAINESVILLE - Echoing a promise he made toward the end of this year's state Legislative session, Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said in Gainesville Tuesday tax reform will be back.

Ralston, speaking at the weekly meeting of the Gainesville Kwianis Club, said a special council presented a long list of tax reform proposals, some of them "bold" ones. But, he added, in the waning hours of the session questions were raised about how "credible" some of the data was "and so we had to pull the plug on at the end and that disappointed me."

But, he says he's been assuring people it was not the "death" of tax reform, it was just a "delay," adding this is "fundamental change" which is often "hard to get accomplished."

IMMIGRATION

Ralston said the immigration issue was the the most "complex thing" that came before the legislature this year.

He said the bill that finally passed and was signed by Gov. Nathan Deal was thoroughly vetted, even with some of the groups that have been most vocal in their criticism of it.

"We talked with the agribusiness community, we talked to the hospitality industry, we talked to the education community and many, many others."

But, Ralston says they also heard from local governments, pleading for something to help with the rising costs of taking care of the thousands of illegal immigrants in Georgia.