Democrats in the Legislature on Monday closed the door on Republican proposals to implement new local sales taxes to offset homeowner property tax bills.

On the fourth day of their special session, Republicans got a redo of a vote Saturday that nixed the tax swap.

Republicans have a majority in the House and Senate, but the sales tax legislation required a two-thirds majority for passage, which would have put the question to voters in local referendums.

The House handled scores of local bills together in one vote. The Senate voted on several similar bills of its own with the same result.

House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said the failure to pass the bills on a motion to reconsider meant the legislation would not be brought up again and was dead for this session.

Gov. Brian Kemp called lawmakers to the Capitol to address the sales tax issue and to consider redistricting, ratification of a previous gas tax suspension and resolution of a pending deadline that will make Georgia’s current voting machines illegal effective July 1.

Republican lawmakers said as the special session was starting last week that they would not be redistricting. The latter two issues — the gas tax and the voting machines — remained unresolved as of Monday evening.

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