Tax Hike for Trauma Hospitals Rejected
ATLANTA - Georgia voters have rejected a plan that would have added an extra $10 fee to their annual car registration to help boost the state's struggling network of trauma hospitals.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday, the measure failed 53 percent to 47 percent.
The constitutional amendment would have funneled an extra $80 million a year to a special fund to bolster the state's 16 trauma centers and encourage more hospitals to offer trauma care.
The measure was a tough sell in a recession when many voters were in a sour mood over govement spending.
Hospitals and their advocates launched a statewide ad campaign in support of the trauma tax. They argued Georgia needs to nearly double its existing trauma hospitals, and said the money would save as many as 700 lives per year.
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