State Sen. Blake Tillery
State Sen. Blake Tillery has been tapped for a powerful position overseeing budget negotiations in the Georgia Senate, replacing the late Sen. Jack Hill as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Now in his second term, Tillery, R-Vidalia, will head up one of the General Assembly’s most influential committees that is tasked with crafting a state budget each year before sending it to Gov. Brian Kemp.
Hill, R-Reidsville, was one of the legislature’s longest-serving members before his death earlier this month at age 75. He had chaired the budget-wrangling committee since 2003.
Tillery’s district shares a border with Hill’s in Southeast Georgia. In a statement Monday, Tillery highlighted how the coveted appropriations chairmanship will stay in Hill’s region. He also praised Hill as “a mentor, teacher and friend.”
“No one can fill the shoes he leaves behind,” Tillery said. “I’m humbled and proud his position as chairman will remain in our region.”
Tillery steps into the role at a time when coronavirus is causing economic havoc in Georgia and across the country, driving unemployment numbers sky-high and hammering state revenues.
Last week, Georgia State University researchers estimated the state could lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues in the coming months as businesses stay shuttered and people keep their distance from each other.
Then on Monday, an analysis from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute warned the state budget for this fiscal year and next could be in the hole between $3 and $4 billion.
Tillery is poised to play a major role in the coming weeks once the General Assembly reconvenes to pass a coronavirus-impacted budget for the 2021 fiscal year. State lawmakers have not met since mid-March after suspending the 2020 legislative session as concerns mounted over the virus.
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who presides over the Senate and picked Tillery for the post, said Tillery is well-equipped to help lead budget talks as the appropriations committee’s former vice chairman.
“Coupled with his thoughtful wisdom, he is perfectly poised to lead the Senate Appropriations Committee – especially as we prepare to tackle serious budgetary issues,” Duncan said in a statement. “I am confident that he will succeed in this new role, because of his dedication to thoroughly understanding fiscal issues and his unbridled care for the people of this state.”
Beau Evans writes for the Capitol Beat News Service
