Senate Bill 1 Would put Georgia State Government on a Zero Based Budget
ATLANTA (January 26, 2009) – Senator David Shafer (R-Duluth) today presented Senate Bill 1, the “Waste Reduction Act,” which will implement a system of zero-based budgeting for state government.
“The fundamental problem with Georgia’s budget process is that rather than starting from zero, it begins with the assumption that all current state spending should automatically be carried over,” said Shafer. “The General Assembly spends the entire session debating how much extra to spend in the upcoming year and not looking at programs that were approved years or decades earlier.”
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. Shafer’s legislation 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.
“If we are serious about cutting the waste in state government, we need to adopt a budget process that allows us to do so, and ‘zero-based budgeting’ is a common sense first step,” Shafer added.
Since his election in 2002, Shafer has introduced a similar bill every term. In 2008, both the Senate and House passed Shafer’s bill but the session ended before minor differences between the the Senate and House versions could be reconciled. Shafer has developed a reputation as a budget reformer who strongly opposes tax increases.
Sen. David Shafer serves as Chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee. He represents the 48th Senate District which includes portions of Fulton and Gwinnett counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.0048 or by e-mail at david.shafer@senate.ga.gov.
Press Release
For Immediate Release:
January 26, 2009
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber,Director
Ravae Graham, Communications Specialist
ravae.graham@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028