ATLANTA — Lawmakers worked down to the wire on the legislative session’s 40th day Friday to reach compromises on priorities Republican leaders had laid out from the beginning.
They did accomplish their one constitutional requirement — overwhelmingly passing a $21.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2009, which begins July 1.
The rest of the session’s aspirations remained just that as the clock was running out on the chance for tax cuts or for a fee to fund the state’s trauma hospitals.
The Legislature faced an extra challenge in balancing the state budget this year when Gov. Sonny Perdue reduced revenue projections by $245 million in March.
Both House and Senate refused Gov. Perdue’s request to trim a state employee pay raise and kept it at a 2.5 percent cost of living increase.
A main sticking point between the two chambers was how much to restore of cuts made by Gov. Perdue to the school funding formula.
Leaders by Friday afternoon reached a compromise, which included $50 million toward restoring $141 million in austerity cuts Gov. Perdue made for all schools, and putting back $10 million in grants meant to equalize per-student funding for 16 metro Atlanta school districts.
“The little downturn in economy has hurt some of the funding,” said Sen. Don Thomas, R-Dalton. “I hope it’s very temporary.”
The House originally wanted to fully restore all school funding cuts, but that was before the revenue reductions.
“We can’t look back and say we didn’t achieve the goal we set out … we started the process,” House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin, R-Evans, said.
As far as the three “T’s” — taxes, transportation and trauma — outlined by House Speaker Glenn Richardson as the session was beginning in January, they all hinged on each other.
“A tax deal is so critical to TSPLOST (transportation special purpose local option sales tax) and trauma,” Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson said. “It breaks everything loose.”
Tax cut negotiations intensified Friday evening as Senate leaders wanted to sign off on a limit on property value assessments but House leaders refused to do so without the House preferred car tag tax elimination included — or some form of tax cut compromise.
“I think it’s a package deal,” said House Speaker Glenn Richardson. He blamed Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle for preventing the Senate from voting on the car tag tax elimination, an estimated $500 million a year cut when fully implemented after in two years.
“This will squarely lay at the feet of Casey Cagle,” Rep. Richardson told Senate negotiators. “What hurts so much is I know you agree with me” on the tag tax cut.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, replied, “I’d vote for just about any tax cut.”
The Senate pushed for a 10 percent reduction in the state income tax in five years, which would amount to a $1.2 billion cut at full implementation.
Gov. Perdue and fiscal analysts have said both plans would hurt the state during the economic downturn.
Legislative leaders argue tax cuts are a stimulus.
“Tax cuts do increase revenue,” Sen. Johnson said. “As Republicans and conservatives, we all buy into that philosophy.”
House and Senate leaders continued to negotiate on a the regional sales tax for transportation, but the fee to provide funds for trauma centers was still uncertain late into the night as House and Senate members bargained for their favorite measures.
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