Politics & Government

Braddock Outlines General Assembly's Start

State Rep. Paulette Braddock says the first weeks of the Georgia General Assembly's 2012 session have been a great start.

Dear Editor,

Week one of the 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly was off to a great start. The U.S. Department of Justice approved three new district maps on Dec. 23, 2011. The need for new district maps came after the 2010 Census, which showed that Georgia’s population has increased by about 1.5 million people in the last 10 years. This increase provided us with a new congressional district and the responsibility of drawing new congressional, state Senate, and state House district maps that are fair and representative of the most up-to-date population data. In August 2011, we met for a special session to fulfill this responsibility, and in just three weeks we managed to pass maps that received federal approval on the first submission, a major accomplishment that has never been achieved in the history of Georgia since the implementation of the Voting Rights Act.

On Tuesday, Jan. 10, Gov. Nathan Deal approached the issues of job creation and tax reform when he delivered his State of the State Address. He highlighted his goals for 2012, explaining that education, transportation, security and jobs are “the stars that we must follow to expand opportunity.” Job creation is a vital part of creating a bright future for all Georgians. In an effort to combat unemployment, Gov. Deal outlined a three-part plan for strategic tax reform that will make Georgia a beacon for jobs.

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Gov. Deal’s plan includes an elimination of sales tax on energy used in manufacturing, a sales and use tax exemption for construction materials used in projects of regional significance, and a modernized restructuring of Georgia’s Job Tax Credits and Quality Jobs Tax Credit programs. With these changes, Georgia will become more competitive in attracting job creators, and we will foster an ideal environment for small businesses to flourish.

Week two of the 2012 session also got off to a great start. Each year the Georgia Constitution requires us to balance the budget, and week two began an essential part of that process by holding a series of joint House and Senate appropriation committee meetings. These meetings serve as an opportunity for us to hear budget request explanations from leaders of state agencies. They also give us a chance to better analyze the requests and help ensure tax dollars are utilized efficiently. The meetings began on Tuesday with a budget briefing from Gov. Nathan Deal, where he reviewed the highlights of his budget proposals.

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In his budget remarks, Gov. Deal provided us with positive news. Before December 2011, we saw 18 consecutive months of year-over-year revenue growth. This puts the Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) estimated revenue at $19.2 billion, a slight increase from the $18.3 billion estimate that we used to pass the FY 2012 budget. With this increase, Gov. Deal hopes to invest in schools and infrastructure projects, fill holes in Medicaid, and ensure our prisons are fully equipped to keep dangerous criminals off the street. Even with this additional spending, when adjusted for inflation, per-capita spending in the budget recommendation for FY 2013 is 20.5 percent less than FY 2012 spending levels.

With increased funds available for education, the governor recommends we expand our pre-K program by 10 days, which will advance early learning and increase salaries for pre-K teachers. Additionally, Gov. Deal designated $55.8 million in training and experience pay increases for K-12 teachers. The governor also recommends fully funding enrollment growth for K-12 and budgeting $3.7 million for school nurses. Since Gov. Deal has made early reading a priority, he set aside $1.6 million for reading mentors. To support our state’s higher education investments, the governor chose to designate specific funding for enrollment growth in the technical college and university systems and an increase in medical residency slots for doctors and nursing faculty positions.

Like education, infrastructure is also a priority in the governor’s proposed budget. He designated $46.7 million for the Savannah Harbor Deepening Project, which brings our total contribution near the state’s required 40 percent share. Gov. Deal also designated $45.7 million for water supply projects in an effort to continue our four-year plan to boost water security. Both of these projects are essential to ensuring Georgia’s infrastructure is prepared for continued state growth.

While investments are needed in education and infrastructure, my colleagues and I are committed to maintaining a lean state government. Despite a 1.5-million-person increase in population between 2000 and 2010, Georgia’s state government workforce has decreased by 7.7 percent between FY 2001 and FY 2011. This means that we are providing more services with fewer resources, and that is a habit that we intend to keep. In our joint appropriation meetings, we were able to see how state agencies are cutting back. For example, Brian Owens, Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, outlined how the state’s criminal justice program has decreased the number of prison facilities while expanding the state’s capacity to hold criminals. Cost effective measures like this are expected to continue, as Gov. Deal designated funds for smart-on-crime initiatives like accountability courts and the conversion of three pre-release centers into residential substance abuse treatment centers.

Now that this week’s joint appropriations committee meetings have ended, my fellow state representatives and I will spend the next few days reviewing the finer details of the amended FY 2012 and FY 2013 state budgets. Then, since all fiscal bills are required to originate in the House of Representatives, the House Appropriations subcommittees will begin to delve even further into the governor’s budget proposals. Once the subcommittees pass their respective portions of the budget, the whole House Appropriations Committee will review and pass balanced budgets for both the remainder of Fiscal Year 2012 and upcoming Fiscal Year 2013.

After the House Appropriations Committee passes a budget, it will go to the House Rules Committee and be placed on the House calendar. It will then go to the House floor, where every member of the House will have the opportunity to voice their opinions on how the state is spending taxpayer dollars. We will then vote to approve or reject the state budget.

Once a budget passes the House, it will go the state Senate and repeat this same committee process. After making its way through the Senate Appropriations subcommittees, the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the Senate floor vote, the budget will then come back to the House. At this point in the process, the Speaker of the House and Lt. Governor will both appoint a conference committee to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the state budget.

The House and Senate will then vote on the conference committee’s version of the budget. This is key because the House and Senate must completely agree on all contents of the legislation before it can be sent to the governor’s desk for consideration. Once signed by Gov. Deal, the budget becomes law. Though complicated, all legislation must go through this process before becoming law.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at my Capitol Office, or email me at paulette.braddock@house.ga.gov. You may also leave a comment by going to my Legislative Facebook Page: State Rep. Paulette Braddock (R-19). If you would like to receive my newsletter, sign up at www.paulettehouserep.com/contact.html. To schedule a visit to the Capitol, please contact Marsha Barnes at 404-656-0177.


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