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Purdue's State of the State Click
here for Govenor's Proposed Budget Recommendations Gov. Sonny Perdue delivered his annual State of the State address before a joint session of the General Assembly last week touting Georgia's growth and presenting new initiatives for Georgia's future. Outlining his priorities for the 2008 session of the Georgia General Assembly, he proposed a constitutional amendment to eliminate the state portion of property taxes on homes and automobiles. This would eliminate the state's quarter mill ad valorem tax, providing approximately $94 million in tax relief to Georgia property owners, beginning in fiscal year 2010. The governor also reaffirmed his commitment to the Senior Income Tax Credit to help keep Georgia families together and to spur economic development by attracting new retirees to the state. In his FY 2008 and FY 2009 budget recommendations, Gov. Perdue proposed funding for a statewide trauma care network, a transportation infrastructure bank, reservoirs and additional funding for the Georgia State Patrol. Gov. Perdue put forth the recommendation of the IE2 task force to grant public schools some of the flexibility that charter schools enjoy through new contracts between the state and the local school systems. These contracts would require clear and measurable accountability standards, and would link flexibility with student achievement. Gov. Perdue is also proposing $65 million in his amended FY 2008 budget proposal to fund two priority needs for schools - transportation and technology. Sound management of Georgia's water resources remains a key focus for Gov. Perdue. "We will conserve and use this precious and vital resource wisely," said Gov. Perdue. "We will reuse it so we consume as little as we need. We will respect the resources that we share with our neighbors. But hear me now - we will not allow others outside this state to hamper our progress by limiting our access to the waters that fall on our land. That will not happen on this governor's watch." Gov. Perdue is proposing a total of $120 million in funding for water infrastructure and reservoirs. He is proposing an initial $11 million to fund the resource assessments and regional planning components of the Statewide Water Plan. He proposed a Transportation Infrastructure Bank - a $50 million revolving loan fund - to provide low interest loans to complete essential transportation projects for local governments, public transit agencies and community improvement districts. The Transportation Infrastructure Bank will be administered by the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA). Dr. Gena Abraham, commissioner of the Department of Transportation will be director of SRTA. Gov. Perdue announced his Health Insurance Partnership last summer as a way to harness the power of the free-market so that small business owners in Georgia can provide private health insurance to their employees. Under the partnership, the cost of the coverage would be shared between the employee, the employer and the government. This partnership allows the state to pay a portion of these health insurance costs in premiums on the front end, instead of paying the uninsured claims on the back end. He also announced the state is finalizing a new partnership between the state and the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Shriners will provide expensive orthopedic care for young Georgians on PeachCare, free of charge, in the Shriners Hospital in Greenville, S.C. Gov. Perdue's budget will have $53 million in appropriations to strengthen Georgia's trauma system. Slowing speeding drivers down is a key part of maintaining safe highways and Governor Perdue proposed "Super Speeder" legislation that will force those speeding to pay more expensive fines. The revenue from these increased penalties would contribute to the state's trauma network. He also proposed funding recruitment and training initiatives to add an additional 200 troopers to the ranks of the Georgia State Patrol by 2010. To see Gov. Purdue's FY 2008 legislative agenda and FY2009 budget proposal visit www.earlycountynews. com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
