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June 16, 2009

Legislators expect special session on budget

Bryant Steele, Rome News-Tribune

The General Assembly will likely meet in special session this fall to address the state’s budget woes, area legislators said Monday.

“We’re going to have to go back down and make more cuts,” Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome, said at a post-legislative assessment of the session that ended in April.

Smith said the state “will effectively zero out” its rainy day fund when fiscal year 2009 ends June 30. “We will end up with effectively nothing in reserve” and will go into fiscal year 2010 on July 1 with a $462.7-million deficit “if there are no further declines” in revenue collections.

Rep. Rick Crawford, D-Cedartown, said the situation would be worse if not for $1.4 billion in federal stimulus money the state received. “No matter how you feel about (stimulus programs), we would be in a stark situation without (the $1.4 billion).”

Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, said the General Assembly “did a very good job in balancing the budget.” “To do what we did with the budget without raising taxes” was the key accomplishment of the past session. “Just like families in these times, (state government) has to cut back.”

Dempsey held up a copy of the budget to give an idea of its size and complexity.

Finishing 50th on a list is a good thing for once, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, told the audience. Georgia moved from 49th to 50th on taxes levied per capita. “We tax less than any other state,” he said. That makes Georgia attractive to business and will position the state “to be first out of the gate in (an economic) recovery.

“We will recover without any debt because of the balanced budget.”

Rep. Barbara Massey Reece, D-Menlo, said the legislature budgeted $18.6 billion for fiscal year 2010. “We already know it’s not going to be there,” she said. Further cuts will likely affect each department of state government, she said.

Ninety percent of the state’s budget goes to the critical areas of education, health care, social services, public safety and transportation, Reece said.

The legislators spoke at a luncheon sponsored by the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce at The Palladium.

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