Legislature passes budget with homeowners’ tax grants

The Georgia House of Representatives and Senate gave overwhelming final approval Tuesday to a slimmed-down $18.9 billion mid-year budget that includes money to pay for homeowners’ tax relief grants.

Lawmakers approved about $2 billion in spending cuts from the budget for the rest of fiscal 2009, which runs through June 30. A downturn in tax collections during the recession forced the cuts.

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State agencies already have been trimming costs and, for many, budgets are down 10 percent or more this year.

But the final mid-year spending plan heading to Gov. Sonny Perdue for his signature includes $428 million needed for the homeowner grants, which reduce homeowners’ tax bills by about $200 to $300 per residence. If the money hadn’t been included in the budget, counties would have had to send out supplemental tax bills asking homeowners for the money.

The state was able to fund the grants because of money it received as part of the federal stimulus package.

Lawmakers also included $145 million in federal stimulus money to mitigate cuts to school funding, although Perdue has said that money would be used in fiscal 2010, which begins July 1.

Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) praised the final package while down-playing the federal stimulus plan’s role.

“The Georgia General Assembly passed a balanced budget that meets the essential needs of our state during these challenging times in our economy,” Rogers said in a release. “We accomplished this without raising taxes. We prioritized the needs of Georgians and cut wasteful spending. While Washington D.C. saddles us with over $1 trillion in debt, the [General] Assembly worked together and passed this budget without a single pork-barrel project.”

Lawmakers are already working on a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. That plan will include about $1.1 billion in federal stimulus money meant to help stabilize state budgets during the recession.