Senate Passes SB 33 – Waste Reduction Act of 2011

ATLANTA – (March 2, 2011) Senate Bill 33, the Waste Reduction Act of 2011, passed the Senate Tuesday with overwhelming bi-partisan support. The measure authored by Senator David Shafer (R-Duluth) and co-sponsored by Senator Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody) will implement a system of zero-based budgeting for state government.

 “Zero-based budgeting continues the Republican initiative to eliminate wasteful spending in government,” Senator Millar said. “I will continue to look for new opportunities to gain efficiencies in how government provides necessary services.”

 Georgia currently prepares its budget on a “continuation” basis, which assumes that all current spending will be carried forward, and legislators only examine proposed increases.  This bill would require that one-fourth of the budget be zero-based each year, so that over a four year term, the entire budget is scrutinized by the General Assembly.

The Waste Reduction Act of 2011 ends the system of “continuation” budgeting under which appropriations approved one year are automatically rolled over into next year’s budget under a single line item labeled “continuation.”  This system, which effectively hides 95% or more of each year’s budget from public view and makes it difficult to identify spending programs that are no longer needed.

 Under zero-based budgeting, within four years, every line of the Georgia state budget would be scrutinized. Any waste and doubling of efforts could be eliminated, saving taxpayers untold dollars.

 The Senate has passed a version of zero-based budgeting four times in the last eight years, the last three times unanimously.  During the 2010 session, Senate Bill 1: The Zero Based Budgeting Act passed the Senate and House unanimously, with the support of both Democrats and Republicans. The bill was then vetoed by then Governor Sonny Perdue. On January 27, 2011, the Senate voted to override the former governor’s veto in an effort to increase openness and fairness in government and further benefit the taxpayers of Georgia.

Sen. Fran Millar serves as Chairman of the Education and Youth Committee.  He represents the 40th Senate District, which includes portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.  He may be reached by phone at 404.463.2260 or by e-mail at fran.millar@senate.ga.gov.

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
February 28, 2011
For Information Contact:
Kallarin Richards, Deputy Director
Katie Wright, Communications Manager
katie.wright@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028