Georgia House gives 2nd chance to $40M jet fuel tax break

The Georgia House voted Thursday to give a second chance to a $40m tax exemption on jet fuel that lawmakers defeated months earlier in a spat over gun rights with Delta. The tax break for airlines passed the House 141-18 on the third day of a special legislative otherwise focused on aid to the large swath of southern Georgia devastated by Hurricane Michael. The fuel tax got added to the agenda because Gov. Nathan Deal had salvaged it with an executive order over the summer. The law requires legislators to ratify that order now that they have been called back into session. Deal and other supporters say Georgia needs to exempt jet fuel from sales taxes for its airports — including busy Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta — to remain competitive with other states that have eliminated the tax. But Republican lawmakers in February cut the jet fuel exemption from a broader tax bill. That happened when Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle called on legislators to punish Delta for ended fare discounts to members of the National Rifle Association. The version passed Thursday by the House still must be approved by the Senate. "Let this be a symbolic measure that we are closing the door on a dark chapter," Turner said. "And as a legislature we are not going to punish an entire industry because we don't agree with one player's political points."<br/>