ATLANTA --- Lawmakers holding the first formal hearing on a plan to swap school property taxes with a tax on services and groceries heard lots of opposition from groups and local politicians, with just a few people favoring it.

The proposal, in the form of a constitutional amendment and 40-page bill, would end the tax school boards impose on residential property and replace those funds by expanding the state's 4-percent sales tax.

The expanded tax would remove the exemption on fresh foods and begin taxing services such as house painting and banking.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Larry O'Neal, R-Bonaire, presided over Tuesday's hearing but admitted that even he wasn't clear on all of the details in the latest version of the bill, which had just been released Monday.

Lori Brady, a Savannah school board member, and several other witnesses recommended delaying action until a neutral organization could conduct a thorough study.

"What is the hurry to pass legislation that could negatively impact the children of Georgia?" she asked.

Economist Alan Essig of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, a private think tank, warned that the plan would shift the tax burden from the wealthy to the poor.

Mr. Richardson, R-Hiram, spent time touring the state talking up his tax plan, making many revisions as criticism mounted.

Local officials object because they say it would be inefficient for the state to collect the taxes and then distribute it to individual school systems. They also argue it would give the Legislature too much control over local spending decisions.

Mr. Richardson will get to address the objections today, when he is scheduled to testify.

Lobbyists with groups ranging from educators to retirees to county tax officials lined up to oppose his measure. Their arguments ranged from the loss of property-tax breaks for seniors to complaints that metro areas with more retail activity would subsidize rural areas.

But Larry Morey, a real-estate developer from Henry County, commended Mr. Richardson for his political courage.

"We've got to get a handle on the tax situation in this state and country. If we don't, we're all going down," he said.

Education advocates argue that reliance on sales-tax revenues could jeopardize some school programs during recessions, when fewer goods and service are bought and sold.

Mr. Richardson's latest version addresses those fluctuations by having the state guarantee local school systems get the amount they would be due based on their property valuations, though property valuations could only grow at the rate of inflation.