By Ashley Speagle
Correspondent
Facing a budget crisis, water issues and ethics legislation, Gov. Sonny Perdue focused his final State of the State address on America’s war history.
“Our nation’s story, unfolding through the centuries, gives us some much-needed perspective,” Gov. Perdue said Wednesday to a joint session of the House and Senate.
The governor, starting with the Revolutionary War and going all the way through the Vietnam War, used phrases such as “in muddy trenches along the western front” and “conflict of lethal artillery and machine guns, trench warfare and poison gas.”
“What stands out most is each generation’s willingness to pick up the yoke and move our nation forward,” Gov. Perdue said.
“I think he certainly gave us a history lesson,” said Rep. Roger Williams, R-Dalton. “It was really general as far as the budget is concerned.”
Gov. Perdue, who cannot run for re-election under Georgia law because he has served two terms, did not present the budget or outline it in his address, but he did announce an additional $20 million investment in the 2010 budget and more than $50 million added to the 2011 budget. He was not specific about where the extra money would go in the budget or where it would come from.
“You’re probably wondering why there isn’t a budget lying on your desk this morning. It’s there but it’s very thin,” Gov. Perdue jokingly said.
He also again mentioned tying teachers’ pay to their performances in the classroom and funding mental health care.
Last year, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities was created as a result of the Department of Human Resources’ reorganization.
Gov. Perdue said he will fund the disability agency’s plan to ensure quality care and adequate staffing, which became a priority after the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of mental health care in Georgia blasted the state for having “critically deficient” conditions in some hospitals. As a result, Georgia officials had to create a plan to improve its mental health system.
“My interest is not driven purely by legal mandates, but from my own personal belief that we have a moral obligation to serve those with disabilities,” Gov. Perdue said.
Rep. Jay Neal, R-LaFayette, said the additional money in the 2010 and 2011 budgets likely will fund mental health care, which he said took some of the most severe cuts in the past.
Unlike Gov. Perdue’s rather non-specific address, Georgia Department of Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond gave a detailed Democratic reply on the need for a comprehensive transportation plan, education reform and jobs.
Emphasizing the importance of job creation, he recalled a moment with an unemployed man from Dalton, which he called “the center of economic recession in Georgia.” The man was teary eyed and asking if the government could help him get a job and support his family, Mr. Thurmond said.
In his address, Gov. Perdue also said all departments across the state need to practice conservation and sacrifice and “that means drilling down in every area of government to redefine our responsibilities.”
“I would like to have heard a little bit more substance,” Rep. Neal said. “I felt like, with this being the last address, that he touched on some things that are important to him.”
“I think he’s done a commendable job, especially on the water issue,” Rep. Williams said. “I give him credit for what he’s done, and I think he’s going to be a team player this session.”
The governor will present his budget recommendations for the amended 2009 fiscal year and the 2010 budget on Friday.
Ashley Speagle covers the Georgia Legislature. E-mail her at speagle.ashley@gmail.com.