Georgia Tax Revenues Way Down

Governor Sonny Perdue says revenue figures for June dropped 16 percent from the same month last year. June ends the fiscal year—the overall decline is 10.5 percent.

The news threatens to leave state reserves dangerously low. A spokesperson for the governor says when the books are closed in the next few weeks Perdue will likely have to transfer $350 million from the state’s rainy day fund to cover the budget shortfall.

Worsening revenues have forced state agencies to make substantial budget cuts already and to furlough workers. The governor has suggested agencies set aside 3 percent of their July budget to prepare for more cuts.

(The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

June State Revenues Down

Gov. Sonny Perdue says net revenue collections for the month of June dropped by 15.7 percent from the same month a year ago. The governor says that for the fiscal year, the decline was 10.5 percent. Figures released by the governor's office show revenues for last month of $1,364,350,000 compared with 1,618,879,000 for June 2008, a decrease of more than $250 million. Declines were seen in collections from income tax, sales tax and motor fuel tax. Worsening revenues have forced state agencies to make substantial budget cuts and to furlough workers.

(Associated Press)

New License Tamper Proof

Georgia driver's licenses and ID cards will change this fall, as state officials add new features designed to combat document fraud.
New cards will feature ghost photos, a laser-engraved signature
over the primary photo to minimize alterations and a tamper
resistant coating placed over the card. The cards will get
machine-readable barcodes that can be used by banks, retailers and
other businesses to verify the information printed on the front.
All state customer service center locations will feature the new cards by November.
Previously issued Georgia licenses and IDs will remain valid
until the expiration date.
Gov. Sonny Perdue says the change will protect identities of
Georgia's citizens.

(Associated Press)

Attorney General Leading Fundraiser in Governor's Race

Attorney General Thurbert Baker is the leading fundraiser in the crowded Democratic field for the governor's race, raking in about $700,000 since he announced he would run.

But the numbers don't tell the complete story, as former Gov. Roy Barnes raised no money because he didn't formally enter the race until July. Baker submitted the numbers just before the midnight deadline late Tuesday night.

Two other Democratic candidates said they were pleased with their fundraising hauls. House Minority Leader DuBose Porter raised about $230,000 and former Georgia National Guard commander David Poythress raised about $150,000. At least six Republican candidates have also entered the race to replace Gov. Sonny Perdue.

(AP)

Perdue Clears Way for Road Projects

Gov. Sonny Perdue has cleared the way for 11 road projects funded by the federal stimulus package to move forward. The projects cost $51 million and span Georgia, from metro Atlanta to Washington County. They include a $14.4 million project to build auxiliary lanes along a busy Macon highway and $10.1 million to refurbish a stretch of Interstate 85 from Franklin to the South Carolina border. Another $9 million will be spent to replace and refurbish bridges in Coffee County, Colquitt County, DeKalb County and Douglas County. Some $7.6 million will improve a main road in DeKalb County. Perdue said the state is "using these federal dollars wisely to improve our transportation network and to put Georgians to work."

(Associated Press)

Nine Candidates for Top Court

A state judicial nominating commission has submitted a list of nine candidates for an open seat on the Georgia Supreme Court. Gov. Sonny Perdue will appoint the replacement to former Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, who stepped down on Tuesday. He is not required to pick a name from the list, but said he would meet with each of the candidates. Among the candidates are U.S. Attorney David Nahmias, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall and Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley. Also on the list is Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge William M. Ray II, Alcovy Circuit Superior Court Judge Samuel D. Ozburn, Henry County State Court Judge Benjamin W. Studdard, Macon attorney Stephen Louis A. Dillard and Atlanta attorneys James P. Kelly III and Rocco E. Testani.

(Associated Press)

Hunstein Sworn in As New Supreme Court Chief Justice

Justices Carol Hunstein and George Carley await investiture
as Chief Justice and Presiding Justice, respectively. (Photo: V Edwards)

Investiture of Chief Justice Carol Hunstein by
former Governor Zell Miller. (Photo: V Edwards)

Former DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Carol Hunstein was sworn in today as Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Former Governor Zell Miller presided over the investiture.

Hunstein was chosen by Miller in 1992 to become the second woman to serve on Georgia's Supreme Court. She succeeds outgoing Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, who retired in June.

As the state's revenues continue to decline, and following a recent move by Governor Sonny Perdue to slash the judiciary's budget, the new chief justice says she will make funding the state's courts one of her top priorities.

"I plan to sit down with the Governor and with other leaders very, very soon and explain the constitutional duty of our court system. The citizens of this state deserve to have access to their courts. I am very, very confident that we will be able to work amiably together to resolve the problems."

The Chief Justice presides over Georgia's judicial branch, just as the governor heads the executive branch of government. The Presiding Justice serves in her absence.

And, associate justice George Carley was also sworn in today to succeed Hunstein as presiding judge. Former Governor Miller appointed Carley to the state’s highest court in 1993.

July Opens With Bevy of New Georgia Laws

89 new laws take effect today, or ahead on January 1st. They include the massive overhaul of Georgia’s health and social service agencies. Identified by lawmakers and Governor Sonny Perdue as lacking in several areas, especially mental health, the restructuring begins today. Essentially three agencies will now handle the work previously done by two--adding one dedicated to mental health delivery.

Among some of the other laws ushered-in with the arrival of July:
-A pair of laws in the courtroom to strengthen victim’s rights.

-Embryos can now be adopted. The legal custodian of the embryos will decide how and where they are stored, along with whether they can be disposed of. Some medical doctors, researchers and biotech financers opposed the legislation, saying it could hinder reproductive treatments and innovations in the state.

-A new measure now designates April as Confederate History Month.

New Fiscal Year Continues Budget Pain

Governor Sonny Perdue warns of more pain as the state flips the page into a new fiscal year today. The continued weak revenue stream forced constant cuts to the budget through fiscal 2009. Now for the new month, Perdue has already asked state agencies to voluntarily cut spending by another 3-percent.

Now into fiscal 2010, Perdue says moving forward the operative phrase is "right-sizing expenditures.":

"The budget act gives the Governor the right to withhold allotments to meet up with revenue expectations. I'm going to meet with Legislative leadership after the end of the year and determine if we want to take that route or if they would like to come back for a special session where we readjust the budget."

Concerning the end of fiscal 2009, Perdue earlier had mentioned the possibility to perhaps tap the state's rainy day fund for up to $400 million to make ends meet.

DHR Re-organization Begins Today

Governor Sonny Perdue has high hopes for the restructuring of health and social service agencies in the state. That begins today with the arrival of the new fiscal year.

Basically, the sweeping changes will spread the services previously handled by two agencies—Department of Human Resources and the Department of Community Health—to three. The main reason is to help Georgia to get a better handle on its failings in mental health, which has been under the federal microscope over the past year.

Governor Perdue says he’s confident of future success for the newly-created Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities:

"I firmly believe by separating these functions organizationally, the resulting standalone department focused on mental health will be a nimble, flexible and responsive unit…better able to fully implement the commission’s recommendations."

Advocates are hopeful, yet worried about whether the state’s continued budget crisis will cripple the effort.

Perdue says other areas of concern, like access to vital records, should be better handled in the new set-up.

Officials Get First Road Stimulus Project Rolling

The first of hundreds of road projects injected by federal stimulus dollars got rolling today in Georgia.

A four-mile stretch of highway in Hapeville near Atlanta’s airport is the inaugural project. The resurfacing work represents more than $900,000 of the state’s transportation stimulus share. Once all projects are allocated, over $900-million will be used in work across the state.

State and federal transportation officials at Tuesday’s press conference trumpeted the creation or preservation of hundreds of jobs with the stimulus. But Governor Sonny Perdue says the state needs to have a long-view plan on managing budget issues once the well of stimulus money runs dry:

"If you become dependent on them, there are going to be tough decisions in the future. So we’re trying to manage state government in a way of transition—using these federal stimulus funds, but hopeful that our state economy will recover soon."

The rollout of additional road projects continues over the next few weeks and into the fall. Thus far, a combined $119-million in work has been awarded.
State officials say another $250 million will soon be certified to round-out Phase One of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. By fall, it's expected Phase Two money to be awarded will total $370 million.

High-Tech Fund Raises $18M

The Georgia Research Alliance's venture fund has raised more than $18 million in its first year. The fund was started by Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2008 as a way to finance high-tech startup companies borne out of university research. It takes state dollars and leverages them with a 3-to-1 match from private investors. The Georgia Research Alliance is a partnership between Georgia universities, businesses and state government designed to bring top researchers to the state and increase the number of high-tech companies. The alliance has helped 85 new companies get off the ground in Georgia since it was founded in 2002.

(Associated Press)

Transpo Fed Dollars Now At Work In GA

According to a report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 4.2 miles of Georgia 3, which runs through parts of Clayton and Fulton counties, is the state’s first federally funded road improvement project to get underway. Governor Sonny Perdue and newly appointed Department of Transportation Chair Vance Smith will be on hand Tuesday as the project breaks ground. Also expected to attend the celebration in Hapeville is U-S Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Porcari. The project was awarded to C.W. Matthews Contracting Company for $941,000.

New Appointee to Top Commission

Gov. Sonny Perdue has appointed a former federal prosecutor to the panel that vets judicial nominees after another member recused himself because he is a candidate for Georgia's top court. Perdue appointed Spence Pryor to the Judicial Nominating Commission. He replaces James P. Kelly III, who recused himself from the proceedings because he is a candidate for the Georgia Supreme Court appointment. Perdue will soon nominate a replacement for Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, who is stepping down at the end of the month. Presiding Justice Carol Hunstein will take her spot as the court's chief judge. Pryor is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. He is now a partner with the Alston & Bird law firm.

(Associated Press)

38 People Apply for Georgia Supreme Court

Some 38 of the 48 judges and attorneys nominated for Georgia's top court have applied for the job.

Former Attorney General Mike Bowers will next conduct interviews with each of the candidates for the Georgia Supreme Court on June 29 and June 30. The commission will then send Gov. Sonny Perdue a short list of its recommendations.

Perdue, a Republican, is set to appoint a judge to succeed Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears. She is retiring from the court at the end of the month.

(AP)

Perdue Asks For More Budget Cuts In July

Governor Sonny Perdue is calling on state agencies to continue tightening their belts into the next fiscal year.

State revenue numbers are not expected to show much—if any—improvement into July. Because of that, Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley says a letter sent to agencies today is asking for voluntary cutbacks in budgets next month:

"The check they receive so to speak from the state for their July operations will be the full amount. We’re just asking them to continue doing the things they’ve been doing...hold back spending where possible. The hope is we will achieve a 3-percent reduction in July."

Brantley says in order to balance the end of this fiscal year, officials may have to tap up to $400-million of the state’s rainy day funds. That would leave little into going into fiscal 2010.

He says additional state budget cuts through 2010 are likely.

Reactions to Voting Rights Act Ruling

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue says he's disappointed by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that keeps alive the Voting Rights Act. Perdue, a Republican, filed a brief to join a Texas case that challenged a section of the statute as an outdated provision that was crucial to protect voting rights during the civil rights era but is now unnecessary. The section requires all or parts of 16 states to get Justice Department approval before making changes in the way elections are conducted. It was designed in the 1960s to prevent racial discrimination at polling places. Perdue says he looks forward to the day when the provision is declared unconstitutional or "applied to all 50 states rather than singling out a few."

(Associated Press)

State Water, Sewer Projects Ready To Roll

State and federal officials have signed off on multiple sewer and water projects designed to improve infrastructure systems throughout Georgia. The 11 projects have a price tag of $91-million. Governor Sonny Perdue says more than $40-million in federal stimulus dollars will help fund five of those projects.

The projects are located in Cobb, Colquitt, and Gwinnett counties, along with the cities of Camilla, Hiawassee, Port Wentworth, Portal, Sparta, Stillmore, Valdosta and West Point.

State Senator: CRCT Cheating Should Be Crime

The head of Georgia’s Senate education committee says it should be a crime for educators to change answers on students’ standardized tests. Dunwoody Republican Senator Dan Weber wants the new law in the wake of an audit last week that showed answers had been changed on some fifth-grade CRCT’s at a handful of elementary schools. The Governor’s office says Sonny Perdue may be open to supporting such a measure if prosecutors feel current statutes are not enough. A Perdue spokesman tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution those found cheating could be charged under an existing law prohibits tampering with state documents.

Perdue to Attend Southern Energy Conference

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is scheduled to appear at a conference next week to discuss the future of energy needs in the South. He will be in attendance with four other Southern governors and oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens.

Governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Mike Beebe of Arkansas, Phil Bredesen of Tennessee and Joe Manchin of West Virginia are also on the agenda to speak during a meeting of the Southern Growth Policies Board.

The board's annual conference is Monday and Tuesday at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi.

Executives from Nucor Steel, Kansas City Southern railroad and Duke Energy also are scheduled to speak.

Pickens has been pushing for the expansion of wind power.

(Associated Press)