New Session of the Georgia General Assembly begins January 9

One week from Monday, the 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly will convene. This will be my eighth regular session representing Georgia’s 18th district. A new session always brings excitement, but also trepidation. And it brings considerable responsibility for representing the values, views, and needs of constituents.

What will the new session bring? Certainly the number one issue will continue to be the state’s budget. Georgia is big business. Prior to the recession, our budget had grown to more than 20 billion dollars annually. Since 2008, we have cut the budget to reflect declining state revenues. Fortunately the leadership of your state does not share the values of our counterparts in Washington, or even some in local government, where spending more and taxing more are often the answer to declining revenues.

We have cut billions from our state’s budget, which now stands closer to 18 billion for the current fiscal year. Although revenues have increased this year, state agencies have been asked to submit budgets that are two percent less than the current fiscal year. Revenues are up modestly, but so are pressures related to such items as health care costs for state employees and the state’s responsibilities regarding the education of our children and our technical colleges and universities.

As long as I have the honor of serving in the Senate, I will continue to be a voice for fiscal responsibility and conservatism. This is no time for more spending or higher taxes. Georgians are still feeling the effects of the current economic downturn. We must keep our financial house in order and position Georgia for a strong economy and more jobs when a recovery comes.

Other issues we will surely face include the need for jobs and the possibility of tax reform. My goal in these discussions will be to create a Georgia where businesses want to locate and to help current businesses. One way to do this is to eliminate Georgia’s tax on the energy used in manufacturing. Surrounding states do not have this tax and it is a deterrent to manufacturing businesses that might otherwise wish to locate in Georgia. Generally, I am also in favor of consumption taxes rather than income taxes. I think it would be great if we could eliminate the state’s income tax, as our neighbors in Florida and Tennessee already do quite well without the income tax.

Georgians expect good government that is fiscally responsible. We don’t need any more government than Georgian’s can afford. That means no tax increases and living within our means, a lesson Georgia’s families have had to learn in this recession and one we must make sure state Government continues to embrace.

Please call on me with your ideas or concerns throughout the session by calling 404-656-5039 or sending an email to: cecil.staton@senate.ga.gov.