Legislative News

            The 2010 legislative session is passing rapidly. By law, each session can last only forty legislative days beginning the second Monday in January. In some years the legislature concludes the session quickly, while in other years the session winds on until the middle of April or later. It is too early to tell how long we will go this year, but we are quickly approaching the half-way point. This past week, over ten bills passed the House and many more await consideration on the general calendar.

            On Thursday, February 11, the General Assembly concluded the seventeenth legislative day with the House's passing the amended budget for the 2010 fiscal year. Each session the legislature must approve budgets for the current and following fiscal years. Because both state revenues and expenditure requests usually fluctuate between the time the budget is approved and when the fiscal year closes, the legislature must adjust the budget to account for those changes. These revenue shortfalls have been particularly severe since the 2010 budget passed last session. State revenues are down 12.9 percent over this time last year. January revenue figures showed that total state collections to date were $8,690,134.00, approximately $1,285,938.00 less than this time last year and $1,784,841.00 from January 2008. It is a safe assumption that revenues will not miraculously surge to pre-recession levels within the next six months, and the House version of the adjusted 2010 budget makes this assumption. House Bill 947 cuts the FY 2010 budget by $1.15 billion to bring the total to $17.4 billion in state funds. This measure represents about a month of budget hearings and public testimony as to what state departments and Georgia taxpayers can tolerate with regard to cuts in programs and services. Most agencies, including the General Assembly, continues to see cuts between six and eight percent along with additional furlough days. It is possible that before the Senate and Conference Committee are finished with this bill and next year's budget, a few programs may be completely eliminated. The House has already fought back against a proposal to cut the Tuition Equalization Grant, a payment made to students who attend private colleges in-state or colleges within 50 miles of the state. I have no doubt the budget will change in many ways before it is finally approved, and the same process awaits the FY2011 budget.