By State Sen. Greg Goggans
ATLANTA (Jan. 14, 2010) – As we near completion of the 2010 General Assembly’s first week, it is a pleasure to continue working on behalf of my constituents in the 7th District and the entire state of Georgia. With the start of each new session, I look forward to seeing my friends and colleagues in the Senate as we share a common bond of working diligently for the citizens of Georgia.
Throughout this past week, there have been exciting events highlighting the beginning of session. The annual Okefenokee Night was held Wednesday at the Historic Georgia Freight Depot. It is a wondeful opporunity to display what this area has to offer the state and I am extremely proud to help host the event and give my colleagues a taste of what south Georgia does best.
Our top priority during these next few months must be Georgia’s economy and making sure the policy we enact here in Atlanta is focused on job creation and economic growth for the entire state. Thousands of Georgians are looking for work amid one of the most severe recessions our state has seen. I believe permanent job creation is one of, if not, the main catalyst for Georgia’s economic recovery. A clear focus is needed on improving the tools and resources that businesses across this state have to invest in new jobs and grow their companies. I will continue to fight for pro-business ideas in the Senate. It will be the key to creating the jobs needed to bring us out of this recession and lead to future prosperity.
As Vice-Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have been working all year long with members of my committee in how we will go forward with this year’s budget shortfalls. Like last year we are faced with some very tough decisions as we have felt the effects of another year of revenue shortfalls. Governor Perdue is expected to announce his budget recommendations at the end of the week and it is looking likely the General Assembly will be forced to cut an estimated $1.5 billion from the current Fiscal Year 2010 budget. To make matters worse, legislators are anticipating a budget recommendation for FY 2011 well below the last several years. That means lawmakers must work together to find the most efficient use of state dollars to make targeted cuts in government while maintaining critical services such as education, state health care and public service.
I joined with Lt. Governor Cagle and Senate leadership in forming a Budget Task Force for this session seeking private sector expertise to help find solutions for this year’s shortfall and chart future state spending practices. While fixing these budget shortfalls is something we must address now, we must also have the foresight to seek better and more effective ways to manage taxpayer dollars for the long-term. With the Senate joining forces with some of our state’s most successful financial experts we hope to utilize their years of experience and innovative ideas to “right-size” state government so Georgia continues to serve our state’s most essential needs and have a fiscally responsible spending model for the 21st Century.
I am confident when revenues begin to rebound, the efforts we have made to cut waste in government, reduce spending, and avoid tax increases will benefit our state and pay great dividends Georgia is the economic force of the south and stands to gain the most during the eventual economic recovery. We must continue to stay true to our conservative Georgia values and make strategic investments for our future.
Please remember to contact me in my office on the issues that are affecting you and your area. I am here to represent you and it is an honor for me to work on your behalf. As always, I’d like to thank members of the Senate staff, who contribute regularly to my column.
Sen. Greg Goggans represents the 7th Senate District, which includes Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Lanier, Pierce and Ware counties and a portion of Cook County.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
January 14, 2010
For Information Contact:
Matt Colvin, Broadcast Specialist
matthew.colvin@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028