Well, the Georgia legislature’s 2013 session has begun, and it might be hard for voters down here on the coast to pay attention.
Gov. Nathan Deal has set a relatively modest agenda amidst ongoing budget constraints.
Deal’s state of the state address last week was upbeat and pragmatic, but the state still faces some big questions.
Deal emphasized the importance of the Savannah port, noting the inclusion of an additional $50 million for port funding as part of a proposed bond package.
That additional debt would bring the state’s contribution to the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project to $231 million, just shy of the $250 million the state has pledged.
Deal emphasized that the rest of the funding — the other $400 million — should come from the federal government.
But federal spending will be constrained this year, too. And Georgia has a Republican delegation in D.C. committed to finding offsetting cuts for any additional spending.
It’s going to be interesting to see how effectively Georgia’s elected officials lobby for that remaining port funding.
And there sure doesn’t seem to be any serious plan under the Gold Dome in Atlanta for transportation funding.
The vast majority of the state — including the Atlanta and Savannah regions — rejected TSPLOST in 2012. That referendum would have added an additional 1 percent to local sales taxes to fund a specific, transparent list of infrastructure projects.
I think a lot of voters rejected TSPLOST under the illusion that state and federal funding would still cover some highly popular projects.
And some of those projects will in fact move ahead, but many won’t.
The Georgia legislature doesn’t seem prepared to find new funding streams for transportation, and there seems little likelihood that state leaders will push for a fresh TSPLOST vote in 2014 in the regions that rejected it, as detailed in the original bill.
The HOPE scholarship program is in better shape than it was, but it still faces long-term problems. State funding of education — pre-kindergarten through college — is not expected to keep pace with population growth.
Deal noted the deep cuts in the state budget in recent years: “Using 2012 dollars, our per capita spending of government money is 17 percent less than it was a decade ago. And we currently have more than 9,000 fewer state employees than we had five years ago.”
The governor’s main goal is “to make Georgia the No. 1 place in the country in which to do business.”
The state’s low tax rates are no doubt lures to some businesses.
But many businesses are also going to be taking a hard look at the state’s commitment to education, transportation and other key spending before making investments here.
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net and http://www.billdawers.com. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.