Perdue, Sears Compromise on Budget

Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears and Gov. Sonny Perdue have reached a compromise on his demand to reduce the judicial branch’s budget by 25 percent.

The Governor has agreed to withdraw his demand, while the Chief Justice and the state’s judges have agreed to withhold 25 percent from their June budget allotment by deferring some current obligations and expenses until the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The understanding is that some of those expenses would then be requested during the Fiscal Year 2010 Amended Budget process.

"I know that we are both confident in the strength of our legal positions," the Chief Justice wrote in a letter delivered today to the Governor. "But I also know that as public servants our primary mandate is to do all we can on behalf of this state we both love so much."

In her letter, Chief Justice Sears thanks the governor “for your willingness to work with me in a way that constructively addresses a very real fiscal problem while avoiding an equally important constitutional dilemma. It is my hope that our state will be better off with this compromise.”

(Source: GA Supreme Court)

Sine Die 2009 - Budget: Pass Transportation: FAIL

Last night, just before midnight, the 40th day of the Constitutionally mandated session came to a close.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate agreed to next year's budget by around two in the afternoon.

But for transportation - there just wasn't enough time to come to a consesus.

Lawmakers from both chambers held conference committee talks late into the night; but they failed to come up with agreement on how to fund the state's transportation network.

Leading talks in the House was Republican Vance Smith. His team of negotiators proposed a plan that would let voters decide if they wanted a statewide penny sales tax. If that vote failed, then the Senate's regional plan would take effect.

"The Senate just for some reason wouldn't along with that, so..."

House Democrats like Dubose Porter say they're disappointed with their Republican colleagues.

"Transportation's the #1 economic development issue facing the state and for the 2nd year in a row it failed because of a lack of leadership from this administration."

Both chambers did approve a bill that would overhaul the DOT and let the governor appoint a planning director. That bill now heads to Governor Sonny Perdue's desk.

Perdue: FY 09 Budget Focuses on 'Core Services'

Governor Sonny Perdue's signing of an $18.9 billion budget that includes property tax break funding already promised to Georgia homeowners, slashes about two billion dollars in state spending to close a huge budget hole.

"This is a budget that focuses on the core services of government," Governor Perdue said in a statement released from the Governor's Office Friday.

"We have made effective use of federal stimulus dollars and the state’s rainy day fund, which we worked so hard to build up, to lessen the impact of this economic downturn and plan for next year’s budget. Through sound management by our agency leaders and wise decisions by lawmakers, Georgia will endure a challenging economy and emerge ready to prosper."

The budget contains $625 million in federal stimulus dollars for Medicaid and education. That federal cash helped the state fund some $428 million in homeowner tax relief grants, which translates into about $200 to $300 per household. That money was already included in property tax bills. But the relief could disappear next year because a new law will link future grants to the state's economy.

The budget covers the fiscal year that ends June 30th.

Click here for more details on the budget: www.legis.ga.gov

(AP)