SEN. WILLIAMS THANKS ALL SENATORS FOR TAKING ADDITIONAL VOLUNTARY FURLOUGH DAYS
ATLANTA (Jan. 27, 2010) – President Pro Tempore Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) spoke to the entire Senate body today thanking each senator who volunteered to take six additional furlough days through the end of the fiscal year. Those who took the voluntary days in the fall will have taken a total of eleven furlough days for this years budget. The money will be returned to the State Treasury to help fill additional budget gaps.
“At a time when Americans throughout our nation are concerned with the national debt, I’m proud of the Georgia state senators that have worked so hard to keep Georgia out of debt. I want to personally thank every member of the senate for volunteering to take additional furlough days to help mitigate our budget gaps. Senators are participating in making difficult decisions and are leading by example using fiscal constraint by forfeiting their own salaries,” said Williams. (More)
THE START OF THE 2010 SESSION
As we begin a new session under the Gold Dome, there are many issues on the minds of lawmakers that will have a significant impact on you, your families and all of Georgia.
Obviously the first and most important issue is balancing the budget. The only Constitutional requirement we have each legislative session is to pass a balanced budget and this will not be an easy task. Since the economic decline, our state revenues have dropped significantly. Our budget has gone from $20 billion to $14 billion. Our state’s revenue estimate is close to 2005 levels, and since then our population has grown by 600,000. Without question, this will require lawmakers to make some very difficult decisions. While many states have full-time, year-round legislatures, Georgia is a part-time legislature with the smallest budget in the country. We have taken every route possible to reduce budget gaps, even furloughing lawmakers.
Although we have significantly reduced government spending, we have continued to make education a priority. Including the university system, education is nearly 70% of the entire state budget. (More)
