Deal urges caution on HOPE, TSPLOST changes

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gov. Nathan Deal is not in favor of tweaking the HOPE scholarship program right now. And reopening the TSPLOST list could create more problems, he said Tuesday.

Enlarge photo

Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.com Governor Nathan Deal speaks to members of the media after addressing the House and Senate Appropriations Committee meets for the 2012 Session Joint Budget Briefings at the State Capitol Tuesday morning in Atlanta, Ga., January 17, 2012.

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Deal spoke to a crowd of local leaders during lunch at the Association County Commissioners of Georgia’s annual legislative conference held in downtown Atlanta.

The governor repeated his commitment to education, improving Georgia’s water situation and economic development, including his recently released competitive edge initiatives to boost Georgia’s business base. He also touted the state’s fiscal policies under his leadership.

After his speech, Deal told reporters that he is working with the ACCG and lawmakers to find ways to offset some of the loss in revenue that could come with some of the tax changes he has proposed as part of his business plan.

As lawmakers discuss the HOPE scholarship this week, Deal said it is “dangerous” to tamper with the program without knowing the full impact of the changes that were made to HOPE last year. He also urged caution on requests by lawmakers to make changes to the proposed regional transportation referendum.

Last week, Cobb County's local and state leaders proposed reopening the project list for the transportation referendum and reallocating millions of dollars designated for a transit line in the county to reversible toll lanes along I-75/575. Residents in the 10-county region will vote in July on the $6.14 billion in projects, and a 10-year 1-cent sales tax to fund them.

“It was not a perfect process," Deal said, "but trying to reopen it may create more problems than it actually solves.”