The effects of a struggling economy are beginning to hit state government, with Gov. Sonny Perdue announcing that he will be forced to dip into reserves to offset a $600 million shortfall.

In fact, at the rate revenues are falling, the state's entire $1.5 billion rainy day fund may be drained long before the fiscal year runs its course next June. Significant cutbacks in state spending seem almost certain.

JAY BOOKMAN MY OPINION • E-mail Bookman Recent columns: Familiar Georgia may melt away  Slowly, green shoots of optimism appear  Inciting fears in hard times dangerous  Georgia Senate endorses radical idea  'Socialist' charge has lost its power to sting  Legislature, we've got your number  Baseball in spring a metaphor for life

Dire as that sounds, though, things could be worse. Last spring, House Speaker Glenn Richardson tried to raid Georgia's rainy day fund to finance election-year tax cuts. Had he succeeded, the state's reserves would have been cut in half, and today we'd be a lot closer to a budgetary crisis.

Richardson pushed that plan even though an economic slowdown already loomed on the horizon. He was more intent on getting his proposal passed — and in claiming credit for the feat — than in the impact his proposal might actually have on the people of Georgia. And when he lost, his petulant and angry reaction — striking out at Perdue and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle — proved an embarrassment to his party if not to himself.

He is, after all, not a man easily embarrassed.

His party, though, may finally have had enough. A small group of GOP legislators has come out to oppose Richardson's re-election as speaker, rallying behind state Rep. David Ralston of Blue Ridge as a candidate to replace him.

Ralston, an attorney and chair of the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee, is a respected legislator, and he has taken a courageous and necessary step in agreeing to lead the rebellion against Richardson.

However, Ralston has had some embarrassing personal tax problems, and the small coalition of GOP legislators rallying around him seems motivated more by anger and disgust with Richardson than by fervent support for Ralston as speaker.

Given the way these things work, it's possible that neither Ralston nor Richardson will be the speaker when the House reconvenes in January. Ralston is taking the early risk, but should the intraparty rebellion against Richardson gather support over the summer, a more prominent member of the House Republican leadership — say, Mark Burkhalter of Alpharetta — could step into the fray, bringing enough votes to put the effort over the top and crown himself speaker.

If that happens, Richardson would have no one to blame but himself. Some speakers see themselves as defenders of the House, wielding immense power behind the scenes but seldom using the post to push major initiatives or give themselves a high profile. That's the type who tend to last a long time in the job, as the late Tom Murphy did.

Murphy certainly had an ego, and he liked to wield power, but he always treated the House as more important than he was, and his members appreciated it.

Richardson, by contrast, is closer to the Newt Gingrich model. He has treated the House and the Republican caucus as tools to satisfy his own ego and ambitions. He doesn't see himself serving the needs of the House; he believes the House should serve the needs of Glenn Richardson.

That attitude was on full display last session in the tax-reform fight. Richardson proposed to abolish local property taxes and replace them with revenue from a new state sales tax, a move that would have stripped local officials of control over their own budgets.

By pushing the idea so hard, Richardson forced House members to take a stance against their mayors, county commissioners and school boards back home.

And why? For no apparent reason other than Richardson's own glory. The idea itself was terrible policy.

At the end of the session, after it had become clear that he had lost, Richardson made a promise that he wouldn't be giving up.

"I'm going to start again with it next year, the very first thing out of the gate," he said.

The 2009 General Assembly convenes in less than five months. If I had to bet, I'd bet Richardson will once again be wielding the gavel in the House. But it's far from guaranteed.

• Jay Bookman is the deputy editorial page editor. His column appears Mondays and Thursdays.