Governor Perdue Vetoes Unconstitutional Budget

ATLANTA -- Governor Sonny Perdue tonight vetoed HB 94, the Amended Fiscal Year 2007 Budget, saying it does not meet constitutional requirements or the needs of Georgia.

Governor Perdue's remarks are below:

Our situation today reminds me of a Chinese proverb: “A man who cannot feed himself has one problem. A man who is full has many.”

And that's where I think we find ourselves with the '07 budget.

Budgets are important. We have tightened our belts over the past four years, lived within our means and stacked the kids three-to-a-room as we refilled our state's coffers.

Now, we have an opportunity to plan for the future, save for the children's college funds, as well as our retirement, maybe fix that leaky roof, maybe add on a bedroom for the baby to come.

Our team has spent literally thousands of man-hours carefully balancing priorities for the state of Georgia and our people.

That is not to say that our ideas are the only ideas. We've been open-palmed and outreaching in seeking ideas to meet the needs of Georgians, understanding the Legislature is a full partner in this process. Every year we work with them to get the best product, and in years past I have been impressed with the seriousness and conscientiousness with which they have approached this task, bringing ingenuity, creativity and new ideas to the table.

But, this year, we have a problem. It is a sad day when we come together having managed for four years, in lean times, and having done the people's business so admirably – and then, when we come to the time when we can invest for the future, we can't come to a mutual agreement on how to allocate Georgia's resources. While the Legislature was considering this budget, I'm afraid politics got in the way of doing the right thing. I believe the House and Senate got into a bit of a brawl and realized too late that they were nearly out of time and had to come up with a compromise quickly. The budget process became more of a war than a respectful discussion.

Unfortunately, the late night quick fix they came up with was the wrong solution for Georgia. I think many of the legislators realize that by now.

The Georgia Constitution requires that the Legislature pass, and I sign, a budget “which shall provide for the appropriation of the funds necessary to operate all the various departments and agencies and to meet the current expenses of the state for the next fiscal year.” It is my belief, that the FY07 amended budget that was transmitted to me today does not meet these constitutional requirements.

It does not fund necessary operations.

It does not meet the current expenses of the state.

It does not meet the needs of Georgians.

This budget would lead to furloughs of literacy instructors and prosecutors, stopping cleanup of hazardous waste sites, halting health screening of newborns, letting up on internet predators, leaving us unprepared for a pandemic flu outbreak, and turning a blind eye to meth labs. That is not going to happen on my watch.

This budget does not meet the requirements of the Constitution, and that is why I am going to veto it. Right here, right now.

I met with House and Senate leaders earlier this week and offered them an opportunity to fix this. We could have taken a few days off, taken a deep breath, cooled off and gotten our wits about us, and addressed the ‘07 needs that were not met, as well as the '08 budget in one joint appropriations bill that is before us still. There still may be an opportunity to accomplish this tomorrow, and I hope they will continue to work toward that. I am skeptical, but it may be possible, and that would be the best solution.

The Senate agrees with me and has committed to continue to work to that end. I hope the House leadership will again come to the table and address the needs of Georgians in the most appropriate way. There is still time if they want to take that approach. If not, I will call the House and Senate to a special session to get a Constitutional budget that meets the needs of our citizens.

I don't want that. I don't think they want that. So we have a lot of work to do with one day left in this budget cycle to do the right thing for Georgians.