State

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland seemed genuinely pleased

with results from this year's General Assembly.

"I

thought it went very well, especially for the

consumers," he said.

With

several tax cuts in place, Westmoreland believes

the taxpayers should be fairly happy as well. One

bill that was passed is a revaluation of

automobiles, which could cause many residents'

tag bills to decrease.

"This

was something that needed to be done. We'll just

have to wait and see how the local governments

react with less revenue," he said.

The

biggest item on this year's agenda was Gov. Roy

Barnes' education reform package. Westmoreland

doesn't doubt that everybody wants the best

education possible for their children, but was

not happy with how the bill got passed.

"We've

got the number one educational system in the

state in Fayette County and nobody came down to

observe how we're doing it," he said.

The

educational reform package adds another layer of

government to oversee the reforms, which

Westmoreland questions, since he would like to

see the size of government trimmed. But the

measure passed and now everyone will have to

evaluate how successful it will be, he said.

"If

it works, he [Barnes] will be a hero. If it

doesn't, he'll be a zero," he added.

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