The Georgia Legislature reconvenes next week, and though there will be exciting talk about guns and cell phone usage, the primary focus will be on the state budget. As always, there will be those who want to solve the state’s $2.5 billion budget crisis by raising taxes and those who would rather cut expenses.

We at Americans for Prosperity-Georgia favor the latter. Since our Georgia organization was formed, we have supported legislation aimed at reducing the size and cost of government. One of those bills is Sen. David Shafer’s Zero Based Budgeting Bill, introduced early in the 2007 Session, passed by the State Senate, but stalled in the House. Senator Shafer intends to reintroduce the bill this Session.  It was a good bill when the state wasn’t in a financial crisis; now it’s a vital bill.

I can assure you that all of the voices down at the Capitol will be moaning about how Georgia has never been in a budget situation like we find ourselves in now.  Zero Based  Budgeting will force our legislators and agency heads to examine ever dollar that is being spent in our state budget and evaluate its value and effect. 

We will continue monitoring the Department of Community Health’s attempt to raise taxes on private insurance companies.  This would increase health care costs for everyone and we urge DCH to adopt Governor Perdue’s request to cut spending rather than looking to raise taxes.

The Republican legislative leadership has claimed they will not support any tax increase – that’s the word from the Lt. Governor and the Speaker. However, that isn’t stopping individual legislators from pre-filing bills to raise “sin taxes” on items from cigarettes to strip clubs.

One could argue that cigarette taxes disproportionately affect the poor, as AFP National Policy Director Phil Kerpen recently did in regards to a proposed federal tax increase. Add to that competing prices in bordering states and the decreasing cigarette market overall, and you’ve got one very unstable source of income.

Every proposed tax increase could be argued down similarly, but it would be more productive to concentrate efforts on cutting expenses. The current budget shortfall is less than the total budget increase in the past 2 years, so it’s quite possible to return to that spending level.

So far Governor Perdue has done a commendable job of encouraging belt tightening in state agencies. But intense pressure will be on him to consider tax increases as well.

The state budget has always been of keen interest to AFP members. This year is different though, in that what happens with our budget in the current economic crisis will affect the prosperity of Georgia for many years to come.

We’ll keep you posted on what’s coming up in the Session. We ask that you, our members, be ready to act quickly in opposition to upcoming legislation that raises taxes and expands government.

Need help finding your State Senator or Representative? Find them here and bookmark their pages. And watch for an announcement soon for AFPGA Day at the Capitol.

Jared Thomas
State Director
Americans For Prosperity