Georgia County Government - December 2008 - (Page 10)

Feature Legislative Outlook 2009 By Deborah Dewberry, Editor Because the economic challenges facing Georgia now are expected to result in shortfalls of over $2 billion in state revenues in the coming year, difficult decisions for lawmakers loom across the spending spectrum. House or Senate during the 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly. Even though the conditions were right for it, much like a hurricane arising swiftly out of the stormy Gulf or Atlantic Ocean, a state budget crisis of major proportions gathered force to dominate the news – alongside higher-profile national economic woes – as ACCG’s Fall Policy Conference convened in mid-October. This is the annual ACCG event which sees officials of all 159 county governing authorities in Georgia finalize the County Platform, detailing ACCG’s legislative goals for the next session of the Georgia General Assembly. Predicting what is sure to remain a tenuous and unfriendly “cli10 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT W ith predictions of a state budget shortfall of more than $2 billion in the coming year, legislators are certain to be faced with hard spending decisions. However, critical legislative goals identified by counties can still be expected on the front burner, and many are anticipated to see action on the floor of the mate” for legislative initiatives of many kinds, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle delivered a keynote address before commissioners, emphasizing the uncertainty surrounding many of the state’s own legislative priorities when January comes. He emphasized his personal commitment, as leader of the State Senate, to the “core missions” Georgia must hold to if the state is to continue to prosper, and especially, remain competitive in attracting business and industry, which he espoused is directly connected to solving another “crisis” acknowledged by state and local government leaders – the crisis pertaining to Georgia’s transportation funding needs. While state and county officials and most legislators may agree tentatively on these needs, however, all agree unanimously that the outcome is uncertain for many state legislative goals, and for local government legislative goals too. Because the economic challenges facing Georgia now are expected to result in shortfalls of over $2 billion in state revenues in the coming year, difficult decisions for lawmakers definitely loom across the spending spectrum. However, many of ACCG’s own legislative priorities remain critical enough to warrant attention and key initiatives can still be expected to be on the “front burner” during the 2009 legislature – particularly those aligned with keeping Georgia economically viable, like transportation funding. Legislators are predicted to approach funding decisions more conservatively in the coming session than in many years, and to allocate funding in a manner that guarantees Georgians a sure return on their tax dollar investment.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - December 2008

Georgia County Government - December 2008 Contents President's Message County Matters 2009 Legislative Forecast: ACCG's Platform for the Coming Legislative Session ACCG Policy Staff 2008 Legislative Awards Honor Georgia Lawmakers Cell Towers and Local Governments Oglethorpe Power Plans Biomass Electric Facilities Georgia's Grand Old Courthouses: Dawson County Extension News: Biofuels Development Research Corner: Implementing a Record Retention Policy County Parade Index of Advertisers/Advertiser.com

Georgia County Government - December 2008

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