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During the 2012 Session, the General Assembly will pass two budgets: the first will amend the Fiscal Year 2012 budget, and the second will create a new budget of Fiscal Year 2013. Georgia's Fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends June 30 , so we are about half way through this year's budget.
Budget Overview. Both the FY 2012 and FY 2013 budgets may be reviewed online at the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget Web site. Analysis of Georgia's budget may also be examined on the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute Web site.
Georgia must pass a balanced budget, and state laws require maintenance of specific reserves or a "rainy day fund," and a limit on state incurred debt at no more than 10 percent of revenues. The current debt carried by Georgia is 7.8 percent, the highest it has been in my legislative career. Georgia is one of only eight states that has a Triple A bond rating by all three rating agencies.
Budget Cutbacks in Recent Years. Since 2001, the number of state employees has been reduced by over 14,000 positions, from a high of just more than 100,000. In FY 2009, passed before the beginning of the recession, the state budget was $21.4 billion, and by amended FY 2010, it had dropped to $17 billion. The 2013 FY budget is based on projected revenues of $19.2 billion, so the economy has begun a recovery from its recession low mark.
Each year, the governor sets a revenue estimate for the next fiscal year, with the assistance of the state economist, and this week the estimate of total tax revenues was set at 4.9 percent over 2012 revenues. Our mid-year FY 2012 revenue growth is 5.9 percent through December 2011.
The overall budget cuts have been more 25 percent, and in terms of dollars, education funding has been reduced by more than $1 billion. Some state agencies, like Department of Natural Resource which includes parks, have been cut more than 40 percent.
Check back for infomation on the budget as it evolves during the coming weeks.
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