Georgia legislature hits pause button over budget battle

ATLANTA - The fight over how to trim the state's budget has gotten so messy that lawmakers voted Wednesday to adjourn the session until things can be hammered out.

In a memo to members of the Georgia House of Representatives, Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, asked them to approve a new adjournment resolution that puts them in recess until February 18 so that they can hold additional budget hearings.

This comes after a request from Governor Brian Kemp that state agencies reduce their budgets by four percent this fiscal year and another six percent next year.  

"The $28 billion state budget is of paramount importance," Speaker Ralston wrote.  "The [Kemp] administration's budget proposal contains a number of recommended cuts that could have serious policy ramifications and impact thousands of our fellow Georgians.  As such, I have asked the Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees to meet as needed between now and Tuesday, February 18, to wok on the Amended FY20 and FY21 budgets."  

Both the House and Senate agreed to the new adjournment resolution and Speaker Ralston asked committees not to hold any other hearings during the break.

"When you're being asked to make cuts, I mean, those require painful and difficult choices," said Speaker Ralston.  "It naturally is a more deliberative process than maybe in good times."  

He said House members have concerns about several budget areas including mental health, public safety and accountability courts.  The Speaker also lamented that some agency heads have not been particularly forthcoming with lawmakers during the budget process.

"We started asking for this information as far back as last September and were assured that we would have it and frankly, some of the information we still don't have," said Ralston.  "I tried to make the case to people that it makes it easier to understand proposals and reach a consensus when we have a sharing of information within the process and I've been disappointed in that, frankly."  

The Governor's Office defended the process.  

"The Governor’s budget proposals are conservative and balanced, reflecting our values and vision as a state. His budgets fully fund public basic education and provide long overdue pay raises for teachers. They invest in community safety with anti-gang and anti-human trafficking measures, and they fund initiatives to lower healthcare costs and improve quality of care for Georgia families," said Candice Broce, Kemp's communications director in a statement to FOX 5.  "The Governor does not need a lesson in conservatism from a man who brokered a deal with Democrats just last week for political gamesmanship. Governor Kemp will continue to put hardworking Georgians first and prioritize people over toxic politics."

Broce's comments refer to a recent House proposal that would have added a primary to the race for U.S. Senate. 

Last week, Congressman Doug Collins, a friend of Speaker Ralston's, announced he would challenge fellow Republican and Kemp appointee, Sen. Kelly Loeffler.  

The legislative session will resume on Tuesday, February 18.