Former Gov. Roy Barnes took a break from swimming in gold coins today to release 25 years worth of income tax returns; oddly, at the same time Democratic opponent Thurbert Baker was holding a press conference to announce his jobs plan.

Barnes reported $5.1 million in income to the IRS in 2009 and $27.5 million since 1984. He paid $7.7 million in taxes and gave $2.7 million to charity. The returns are online here.

“Today, I am disclosing all of my financial information for the past 25 years,” Barnes said in a statement. “This 1,500 page report is online and available to friends, opponents, voters, and the press. I expect my fellow candidates to do the same and release at least ten years of tax returns. Georgians deserve nothing less.”

And campaign staffers everywhere are recoiling in horror as their plans for the weekend evaporate.

Meanwhile, Public Service Commission candidate Tim Echols was on the Tim Bryant showTuesday to announce hearings outside of the PSC’s Atlanta headquarters and take a shot renewable energy. Sayeth the news release:

Tim Echols, candidate for Public Service Commission announced that he will conduct a series of public meetings on the proposed Atlanta Gas Light $54 million rate hike and the pending Georgia Power Co. June rate hike request. These sessions will be held across Georgia this summer, prior to the primary election on July 20th.

“Georgia’s Public Service Commission needs to follow the lead of other states and conduct hearings throughout the state,” said Echols. “The rate hikes of these two utility giants will affect all Georgians, and citizens from across the state should have input.”

Echols said he will conduct public meetings this summer in communities around Georgia regarding the pending rate requests. He is especially sensitive to south Georgia because of recent media stories about the region’s lack of “voice” on these issues.

“The Brunswick News editorial on May 3 taking Georgia’s PSC to task for limiting the hearings to just Atlanta was right on target,” said Echols. “Hearings from other parts of the state give more people a chance to comment and I believe will give the Commission a broader picture of the impact that increased utility costs have on consumers statewide.”

Echols believes the Obama administration will soon take up “Cap and Trade,” and this could be devastating for Georgia. He says that if Obama’s Cap and Trade legislation passes, Georgia’s renewable energy portfolio standard will be set by the federal government—and it could be as high as 20 percent. “If Cap and Trade passes, the electric bill for everyone in this state will jump drastically,” said Echols.

I’m guessing that Barnes will have no trouble paying his light bill.

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