NEWS . . . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, April 3, 2008
From: Martin Hawley, the Office of State Representative Calvin Hill

Daily View From The Hill:

Calvin Hill

Climbing Gasoline Prices: What You Can Do

How do you like the higher gas prices?  Do you think they are going down in the future?  Well – don’t count on it! As long as we are dependent on foreign oil and we do not build new refineries, then oil prices will continue to climb.

So what can we do about it? At the State, we addressed that concern a couple of years ago and started the Work Away program. This program encourages all state departments and agencies to use telecommuting and other scheduling options whenever possible. It got off to a slow start, but this year, in the month of February alone, the employees of the State of Georgia saved four million eight hundred forty thousand miles of commuting!

Now that is an impressive savings in gas!  Don’t you wish you could do the same?  Then ask your employer.  The State of Georgia even provides tax breaks for companies that promote telecommuting. You can save time, wear and tear on you and your car as well as gas money by working from home occasionally.

If you want to do something about your climbing gas bills, then take the initiative and ask your employer about it. If you are and employer, then you take a progressive step and investigate how you can provide telecommuting for your employees and get a great tax credit from the state.

Just contact me through my web site, www.calvinhill.org or call my capitol office at 404-656-0129.