The Gold Domeosphere is ripe with speculation that the General Assembly will be reconvening sometime between April 3 and January 2010 to cut more from the state budget in order to overcome the state's economic freefall.
“People aren’t making any money, and they aren’t paying any taxes, and they don’t have any money to pay taxes,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson, R-Hiram, as saying yesterday during discussion on the FY2010 budget.
“It’s getting worse every day. The cuts you see today are the tip of the iceberg of what we’re going to have to do.
“I’m afraid this won’t be our last visit to this building this year,” he said. “I am afraid we’re coming apart at the seams.”
Legislators threatened to go back into session last summer when news about the faltering economy was still news to people. But Gov. Sonny Perdue told Georgians that a special session would be a waste of money that would offer few solutions. Perdue tried to handle it himself using executive prerogative to withhold funding in the FY2009 budget, including funding promised to local government through the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant. (Yes I've finally learned what it's called.)
But with February revenue figures down 26 percent from a year ago and speculation that March ain't gonna be much betta, legislators may have to think about rethinking the budget they are just about to sign off on.
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