A grass-roots advocacy group has begun a petition drive to persuade the state not to spend the $142 million it saved when Gov. Sonny Perdue vetoed a property tax rebate in May.

The group wants the money returned to taxpayers.

"We are here to try to protect this money and let legislators know we're watching it, and we're not going away," Jared Thomas, Georgia director of Americans for Prosperity, said at a Statehouse press conference Tuesday.

"This is the first time in modern Georgia history we had dollars sitting on the table and we didn't spend it," he added.

Thomas said the state has enough money in reserves to return the $142 million to taxpayers. Lawmakers approved a $142 million property tax rebate, but Gov. Sonny Perdue rejected the idea.

House leaders aren't ruling out a rebate in the future.

"I would like to see us give the $142 million back plus some," said House Rules Chairman Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs). "I think you can count on us to continuing to look for ways to return money to the people who earn it."

Chris Schrimpf, Perdue's deputy press secretary, called the petition "clearly more about publicity than policy.

"Gov. Perdue has provided billions of dollars in tax relief and maintained a balanced budget throughout his administration," Schrimpf said. "He analyzes the needs of a rapidly growing state and considers the future costs of education, natural disasters, PeachCare and health care for retirees, as well as other obligations we may leave to future generations."

Thomas said Americans for Prosperity will ask the group's 6,000 volunteers to seek signatures across Georgia. The petition may also be filled out at www.savethesurplus.org. The group will collect signatures until Labor Day, and then present them to Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram).

House leaders pushed the tax rebate plan in April, and the Senate signed on. But Perdue never liked the idea. He wanted lawmakers instead to pass his legislation exempting upper-income retirees from state income taxes, a measure House leaders said was inequitable.

When Perdue vetoed the $142 million rebate in May, he questioned whether the state could afford it since state tax collections were down in March and April. In May, income tax collections soared 45 percent, leading lawmakers to argue that Perdue used misleading collection figures to justify vetoing the tax cut.

The $142 million is now in reserves, where it could be used for costs associated with school enrollment growth.

Despite the Americans for Prosperity petition, returning the money to taxpayers is an iffy proposition.

Lawmakers won't meet again until January. When they do, Richardson has promised to focus on major changes in the state tax code, including possibly eliminating local property taxes. Richardson has said his plan would be "revenue neutral," meaning the state would take in the same amount of taxes as before. That overall tax reform package may preclude a specific $142 million tax rebate like the one lawmakers approved this year.

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