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This week Gov. Brian Kemp surprised the General Assembly and most Georgians by taking a scalpel to the $32.4 billion state budget approved by state legislators. His 33 pages of vetoes included $26 million for retiree raises, $6 million for bonuses for school custodians, $4 million to boost the pay of psychiatric hospital workers and $1 million for agriculture positions to help peach, blueberry and citrus farmers.
Also vetoed was $6.3 million for free meals for school children. That was on top of the $66 million cut to Georgia’s university system, which the General Assembly passed and the governor left alone.
The state’s budget director Kelly Farr said the continuing economic downturn is a big factor in the decision. Another factor, critics tell InsiderAdvantage, is that the governor wanted to show lawmakers who ultimately “is in charge.”
For example, another veto included $6 million in borrowing for a technical college building in Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery’s district. And Kemp vetoed another $6 million allocation for a Georgia Southern University dental school building that’s in House Speaker Jon Burns’ district.
InsiderAdvantage is told by several upset state House and Senate leaders that they were never warned beforehand by the governor that these reductions would occur.
Farr said the governor approved 99.3 percent of the budget the lawmakers passed, including teacher pay raises and more money for dozens of state agencies. But it was those missing funds that is causing a stir. There were $236 million in cuts or “budget disregards.” There are 236 House and Senate members. That totals $1 million per lawmaker.
The big question now asked by Republican and Democratic General Assembly members is this: How does this help the governor politically he if wants to run for another office in the future?
