Lawmakers see ‘hopeful’ ‘aggressive,’ budget
♦ Local legislators are preparing to delve into the details of the governor’s proposed state spending plan.
State lawmakers set their schedule through Feb. 8 and the next week in Atlanta will be another short one.
“We’ll meet Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome. “We’re letting out early because of the Super Bowl crowd coming in. We’ll also be off the following Monday.”
The Georgia General Assembly meets each year for 40 days, although only the days the chambers are gaveled into session count toward the total. After four official days during the Jan. 14 opening week, this one — dedicated to joint budget hearings — was “down time.”
Lawmakers are slated to get a presentation today on federal block grants, which wraps up the series of overviews on funding and spending requests. Committee and subcommittee meetings could start as early as Monday, Day 5.
“There will be a lot to take up, but the only thing we’re constitutionally required to do is pass the budgets,” said Rep. Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee.
Lumsden, Hufstetler and Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, were among the relatively small group of legislators who sat through Wednesday’s budget presentations from department heads. All three are members of their chamber’s Appropriations Committee.
Gov. Brian Kemp closed out Wednesday’s hearings with more details on his funding priorities.
“It’s an aggressive budget,” Hufstetler said. “But it’s built on growth of 3.3 percent and, year-to-date, we’re running 4.6 percent ... so it looks reasonable.”
Lumsden said his Appropriations public safety subcommittee also met Wednesday and has another series of presentations scheduled today from entities including the GBI and Department of Public Safety.
“In the main hearings you get the overall presentation. In the subcommittees you get to drill down deeper and find out the details, to see if there are any adjustments we feel need to be made,” he said.
Dempsey called Kemp’s budget proposal “hopeful,” because it funds initiatives aimed at addressing the multi-faceted “crisis in access to quality healthcare.”
“But, as Gov. Kemp said at the end, it’s time for us to put our stamp on it,” she said. “We’ll go to work and try to include some things the House thinks is possible and the Senate will do the same. In the end, we’ll all come together on what’s best for Georgia.”
After next week, the legislature will be in session Feb. 5 through 8, taking lawmakers through Day 11.