GOP flexes muscle, blocks local bills

Monday, House Republicans used their legislative muscle — nearly two-thirds of the membership — to scuttle a number of local-level bills sponsored by Democrats, four days after they originally passed the House.

House Republicans are holding up the bills until Democrats vote in favor of House Bill 541 — a proposal that Fulton voters should decide whether to double the county’s property tax homestead exemption. The bill fell at least one Democratic vote short of passage last week. Fulton government leaders say doubling the homestead exemption would cripple county finances.