Latest In State Government Week ending
February 15, 2008
Seems like all the big news has been happening at
the end of the week this session. This past Friday
it was the House of Representatives voting 159-6 to
adopt the “supplemental” state budget for the
current fiscal year. The bill, which added $300
million in spending through June 30, largely tracks
what Gov. Sonny Perdue initially proposed, but with
some important additions in funding for education
and healthcare. The House Appropriations Committee
restored $30.7 million that Perdue tried to cut for
equalization grants to the less affluent school
systems and included $65 million more for school
buses and technology.
The House budget writers agreed with Perdue’s
request to put in $53 million to get the program
underway for an improved statewide system of trauma
care hospitals and medical care. The House version
of the budget adds $6.5 million for the indigent
care trust fund that reimburses hospitals for the
medical care they provide to uninsured and
low-income patients. It also pumps in an additional
$15.9 million to keep the PeachCare health insurance
program for working-class families operating at full
speed. And, the House added $300,000 to provide
funds to Meals on Wheels and congregate meals for at
risk seniors to replace the loss of federal funds in
the Nutrition Services Incentive Program.
In the area of environmental spending, the budget
allocates $6.3 million to the Hazardous Waste Trust
Fund to continue cleanup efforts of landfills and
abandoned hazardous sites. More than $40 million has
been added to finance the development of new
reservoirs.
However, just as the supplemental budget was being
passed, it was learned that state tax collections
continued to plummet last month, indicating that the
economic downturn may have hit Georgia. Although
cumulative collections are up 2% since the start of
the fiscal year last July, January 2008 collections
were $140 million less than in January 2007, a 7.1%
drop.
In transportation news, with the backing of Lt. Gov.
Cagle, a constitutional amendment was introduced in
the Senate this week that would allow counties to
seek voter approval for a 1-cent local option sales
tax for transportation. Counties could work alone or
in tandem with neighboring counties to undertake
regional transportation projects.
The so-called T-SPLOST (for Transportation Special
Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) would work just as
other local option sales taxes do. Voters would have
to be told what projects would be included and how
long the tax would last. And, as with other local
option taxes, it would apply to food and to gasoline
sales.
Under the Senate resolution, counties would keep 80
percent of the money raised by the T-SPLOST. The
remaining 20 percent would go to the state, which
would use up to half its share for mass transit
programs and the other half for traditional
transportation needs around the state.
Meanwhile, a counter-proposal was introduced in the
House on Friday that would impose a statewide 1
percent sales tax increase dedicated to
transportation funding. The bill is sponsored by
House Transportation Chairman Vance Smith and House
Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin is a co-sponsor.
In other news, Governor Perdue announced a study
committee to recommend a restructuring plan for the
Department of Human Resources. Reps. Ben Harbin and
Mark Butler, Sens. Jack Hill and Renee Unterman were
named to the committee. The Governor also appointed
Archer Rose, former chairman of the Georgia Hospital
Assn. Board of Trustees and currently a health care
consultant, to the state Board of Community Health.
This Week
The legislature returned to work on Monday for the
15th legislative day and was in session through
Thursday, the 18th day. The General Assembly is in
recess today (Friday.)
