Special session needed to address state's budget crisis

With Georgia approaching a $2 billion deficit and August state revenue figures down 7 percent from last year, I am urging Governor Perdue to call a special session of the General Assembly.

To deal with this budget crisis, Governor Perdue has instructed state agency heads to prepare plans that include 6, 8, and 10 percent budget reductions for their respective departments with no input from the house or the senate. He has also proposed eliminating the $428 million homeowner tax relief grants that could cause a $300 property tax hike from the state.

When drastic cuts in essential state services such as education, healthcare and public safety are proposed, the citizens of House District 56 deserve to have their voices heard. This is why we must have a special session now..

Some of the cuts garnering the most attention include $2.7 million to eliminate the War Veterans Home in Milledgeville, the furloughing of state employees and the closing of a Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab.

The time is now for lawmakers to roll up their sleeves and get to work on the state budget deficit because the longer we wait the bigger the hole we are digging ourselves into and we could see a large increase in property taxes.