Georgia State House District 31 Representative Emory Dunahoo says there are multiple pieces of legislation he's hoping to see pass in this year's state legislative session that starts Monday.
Dunahoo (R-Gillsville), who represents a district that includes most of Jackson County as well as an area of eastern Hall County, spoke on WDUN's "The Drive at 5" Wednesday. He said he began working on a tax exemption bill after being approached by Jackson County residents.
"In Jackson County, it's been 30 years since we had a senior tax exemption, and the tax laws have stayed the same with property taxes," Dunahoo said. "I started having people come up to me, and they're like 'taxes are killing us, we moved here, we are retired, we cannot afford the increase.'"
Dunahoo said his bill would modify the current tax exemptions to allow residents ages 62-65 to have their taxes levied against $10,000 to $40,000 below the current tax evaluation of their home. For residents ages 65 to 70 it would be $50,000 to $75,000, and for residents age 70 and above it would be from $50,000 to $125,000.
Dunahoo said the bill would also allow residents age 65 and over to freeze their tax bill. He said he's received positive feedback on the proposal from residents.
"I've had a lot of people that seem to be happy," Dunahoo said. "We've crafted that for our senior citizens, and I'm excited about moving that along."
The other bill Dunahoo spoke on Wednesday was one that was dropped a year ago. The Georgia Prenatal Equal Protection Act was presented by Dunahoo last year, along with District 3 Representative Mitchell Horner (R-Ringgold), District 18 Representative Tyler Paul Smith (R-Bremen), District 20 Representative Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock) and District 149 Representative Danny Mathis (R-Cochran).
Dunahoo said the bill would stiffen the penalties against women who elect to have an abortion, and would extend protections for the unborn to earlier in prenatal development than currently covered by the state's recently passed Heartbeat Bill.
"We have buzzwords we use all the time, like the heartbeat. I supported that (Heartbeat Bill)...but if you believe in God's word, God's word says that life starts at conception," Dunahoo said. "We're looking at saying if you're going to go ahead and abort this child, there will be consequences. That means that the female can be charged with murder, however that doesn't mean that every one will be charged with murder. Every case will stand up on its own."
He said the bill is again sitting in committee going into this year's legislative session.
Dunahoo also spoke to comments made by State Senator Clint Dixon (R-Buford) on WDUN's "The Martha Zoller Show" earlier in the week regarding increasing numbers of "swatting" incidents against state officials. Dixon said that he is looking to introduce legislation that would stiffen penalties for such crimes.
Dunahoo agreed that the incidents are becoming a larger problem.
"You really don't think about how dangerous this is until you're sitting at home and then people come crowding up your driveway with blue lights, and they're prepared for something bad," Dunahoo said. "One mistake by a child or anybody could lead to death, so it is serious. I would definitely be willing to help (Dixon) any way I can to eliminate this type of threat or put stronger penalties on it."
