Legislative Update Week Two

2012 Legislative Update

Week Two

Legislature in Budget Week Recess

The Georgia General Assembly recognized Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s holiday last week and held joint House and Senate budget hearings for the amended fiscal year 2012 budget and the proposed fiscal year 2013 budget during the remainder of the week.

While Georgia continues to recover from the Great Recession the governor is proposing only modest increases overall in state spending.  The legislature can only pass a budget that is equal to, or less than, the revenue estimates provided by the governor.

During GDOT’s hearings, the interim commissioner indicated that 2012 state motor fuel tax receipts are expected to increase by about $60 million over last year’s receipts, to just under $1 billion annually.

GDOT expects to use these additional funds to both reduce existing debt and invest in more capital construction.  Debt service already constitutes about 40% of all state motor fuel receipts and GDOT plans to re-finance some existing higher-interest debt to lower-interest paying bonds.

During the Department of Natural Resources presentations the commissioner and new director of the Environmental Protection Division focused on the continued challenges facing their agencies.  Legislators asked questions concerning the slow removal of abandoned tires and the reduced number of DNR law enforcement officers statewide.