MOULTRIE, Ga. — Two legislators who share Colquitt County as part of their House districts are in leadership of the chamber’s Rural Development Council, from which they expect major legislation to emerge.

They expect to either introduce or shepherd through constitutional amendments relating to work of the council, which has been holding public hearings in small towns throughout the state.

Rep. Jay Powell, a Camilla Republican who is chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, expects the council’s work will spawn a handful of legislation in the upcoming General Assembly.

“I will probably be carrying the bills that are tax-related,” said Powell, who co-chairs the council with Rep. Terry England (R-Auburn).

One of these is a tax credit for repair and maintenance on shortline railroads. A second is a measure to expand broadband internet through a communication services tax.

“(Also) a bill dealing with enticing people to move into rural areas by giving them increased tax deductions,” Powell said. “Anything that is tax- or broadband-related, I will probably be carrying it.”

Powell also is eyeing a constitutional amendment that would require that money collected for a specified purpose be used for that intended purpose.

While that concept seems reasonably simple, under current state law money raised through a surcharge for, say, tire disposal could be spent elsewhere. The state has dozens of such fees that are legislatively earmarked  to specific purposes, Powell said, such as some landfill tipping fees that are intended to be used in disposing of hazardous wastes.

“That money is dedicated — but not constitutionally dedicated — so it can be spent on other things,” he said. Two fees, a $5 per-night hotel/motel levy and $200 fee for electric cars, “are dedicated in statute, but not constitutionally dedicated to transportation.”

It is not so much that money earmarked for a specific purpose is being spent elsewhere, but that taxpayers should know that when they pay a user fee the proceeds are going where they are told they are going.

Moultrie Republican Rep. Sam Watson is a vice chair of the Rural Development Council and his focus from that effort will deal with quality of life as it applies to the outdoors.

A constitutional amendment for the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act would “create dedicated funds for conservation, natural resources, parks and land acquisition,” he said.

It would not increase taxes, but instead would dedicate three-quarters of 1 percent to those purposes. Watson predicts that, if passed into law and approved by voters, it would raise about $40 million each year.

The legislation moved through committee in 2017, but because it is a constitutional amendment required an extended period of scrutiny.

Access to outdoor recreation is a component that companies look for when developing a site for a new facility, he said.

“We need to make sure we protect that quality of life,” Watson said. “We’ll be ready to run with that one. We feel the governor will be behind it. We’re not going to be taxing any more, we’ll just say that’s where we’re going to dedicate it.”

The council’s meetings around the state have been fruitful, he said, as they have discussed topics of health care, job creation and labor, broadband internet and economic development in towns including Bainbridge, Dalton, Elijay, Metter, Thomasville, Warm Springs and Waycross.

“It’s been good for us to get on someone else’s turf and hear from them,” Watson said. “Just nobody’s gone around and asked them questions about this stuff in over 20 years.”

Watson chairs the chamber’s Small Business Development Committee, and Powell chairs the Ways & Means Committee.