Cherokee Tribune – Politicians residents talk Fair Tax Obamacare at town hall

CANTON — Touching on topics such as state income tax and “Obamacare,” state Rep. Scot Turner (R-Holly Springs) held two town hall meetings for constituents Saturday in preparation for the first day of the 2014 legislative session Monday.

During the first meeting, held jointly by Turner and state Sen. Bruce Thompson (R-Cartersville), Turner told residents and political players in attendance that he had been told this year’s session would be “non-controversial.”

“We’re playing defense right now, because we’re afraid of the state turning purple, we’re playing defense right now, because we’re afraid the Democrats are going to come in and somehow beat one of our Republican candidates for Senate, and beat our governor,” Turner said. “For me, I think that were missing a major opportunity. As conservatives we have 119 members in the House … We have the opportunity right now to do something and be bold.”

“I will second what he’s saying,” Thompson said during the meeting at the BridgeMill Fire Station. “They didn’t send us down there so we could just sit and watch and play defense.”

The second meeting Saturday was set for Turner and state Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) at the Hickory Flat Library, but had to be moved to a Cherokee County fire station nearby because of a power outage at the library.

During the first meeting, Canton resident Susie Tlacil asked if the legislature would be considering any sort of “fair tax” system to replace state income tax in 2014.

Turner said that was one of the bold actions he’d like to see.

“I will try to push that as hard as I can,” he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to fight for real tax reform.”

But although he said he planned to try to push that, Turner didn’t appear optimistic that it would be an easy task to tackle in 2014, because of the nature of this year’s session.

Health care reform

One action Turner said he and other House members are considering this session is the Health Care Freedom and Affordable Care Act Non-Compliance Act. Turner worked on the bill over the summer with other state reps, including Rep. Michael Caldwell (R-Woodstock).

The bill aims to bar state agencies from taking part in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Turner, who regards the health care law as a tax on being alive, said one activity the bill would eliminate was the University of Georgia’s Affordable Care Act navigators program.