FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 19, 2010

Contact: Sen. Tim Golden, 404-656-7580 or tim.golden@senate.ga.gov

Senate approves further cuts to local schools

By Sen. Tim Golden

A majority of the Georgia Senate voted Thursday to approve a $17.4 billion amended state budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2010, which ends June 30. The revised budget is reduced by $1.2 billion from the original budget for this year and reflects a 23 percent decline in state revenues over the past two years.

The Senate version of HB 947 rejects an attempt by Gov. Sonny Perdue to take $33 million in lottery revenues out of the HOPE Scholarship program to pay for other scholarships currently funded by general revenues and restores $17.4 million in state equalization grants to low-wealth school districts, which the governor had proposed to eliminate.

The Senate also added $1.8 million to the Department of Revenue budget for the hiring of more employees to process income tax returns and avoid repeating last years severe delays in refunds to taxpayers and delays until next year the payment of $14 million to private "disproportionate share" hospitals to compensate them for medical treatment of indigent patients.

I voted against HB 947 because it cuts another $281 million in Quality Basic Education funding to local school systems, bringing the total school cuts under the Perdue administration to almost $2.5 billion. These cuts short-change our public school students and force property owners to make up the difference in higher local school taxes. The budget also forces teachers and other state employees to take three additional unpaid furlough days between now and June 30.

While balancing the budget is difficult in tight economic times, thankfully the Georgia Constitution requires us to do so. The state cannot simply print more money and run up huge budget deficits like they do in Washington, D.C. Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn was correct a few years back when he warned that the national deficit is a national security issue with our nation in so much debt to China and other foreign countries. Congress is leaving a legacy of red ink that future generations will have to pay back somehow.

Here in Georgia, the governor and the legislative majority continue to put too much of the burden on public schools and local property owners. I cannot support further deep cuts to education when the state is failing to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in sales tax revenue. Valdosta and other Georgia cities participated in a pilot program for the local collection of sales taxes and showed that the state was failing to collect millions of dollars in revenues that consumers were paying but was going unreported. Allowing some businesses to avoid paying sales tax not only hurts the state in loss revenues but penalizes honest business people who faithfully pay their taxes.

HB 947 now goes to a conference committee to resolve differences in the Senate and House of Representatives versions of the budget.

Long Adjournment: Immediately after adopting the 2010 supplemental budget, the Senate voted 35-17 to take an 18-day recess for the stated purpose of allowing Appropriations Committee members to give undivided attention to the fiscal year 2011 budget. Continued declines in revenues have lawmakers genuinely concerned over Gov. Perdue's rosy forecast of a 4.2 percent budget increase for next year. I voted against the adjournment resolution because, in addition to the budget, the state has major problems to be addressed. The legislature should remain in session and work overtime on a daily basis, if necessary, to do the people's business. But a majority went along with the proposal, and the full Senate and House are now in official recess until March 8.

Transportation Leadership: Congratulations to state Rep. Jay Shaw (D-Lakeland), who represents part of Lowndes County in House District 176, on his election as the new 1st Congressional District representative on the Georgia Department of Transportation Board. Rep. Shaw is an outstanding colleague whose 17 years of legislative experience will be sorely missed, but I am confident that he will continue to do a great job on behalf of our part of the state by standing up for our interests in the important decisions on highways and other transportation issues in the years ahead.

Sen. Tim Golden represents District 8 (Brooks, Cook, Lowndes and Thomas counties) in the Georgia State Senate. Contact him at 121-A State Capitol, Atlanta, Ga. 30334; by phone at 404-656-7580 or by e-mail at tim.golden@senate.ga.gov.