Food safety inspectors included in 2009 budget

The House Appropriations Committee approved an $18.9 billion budget for the rest of fiscal 2009 on Wednesday that uses $145 million in federal stimulus money to limit school cutbacks and demands no further agency furloughs.

It also includes extra money to hire a food safety specialist and three food safety inspectors after the South Georgia Salmonella peanut-butter scare.

GEORGIA POLITICS
[an error occurred while processing this directive] Political Insider:
Gone fishing.

Gold Dome Live:

• Inspector finds DNR gave ‘excessive’ raise to employee

2009 Legislature Guide:
• Track bills & more!
• Issues | Players | Links

Related Links:
• More Georgia politics
• Metro News
• National News

The mid-year budget for fiscal 2009, which ends June 30, now heads to the full House for a vote Thursday.

State lawmakers are putting together a budget containing about $2.5 billion in spending cuts in the midst of the worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression.

State documents show about 25,000 state employees have either taken or will be required to take days off without pay through the end of the fiscal year to help the government balance its budget.

House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans) said the budget plan the House has written will add about $1.3 million so the state’s tax collectors at the Department of Revenue won’t have to furlough employees as planned.

He said if approved by the Senate and signed into law, the budget would not require any additional agencies to furlough employees. However, agencies may decide on their own to furlough more employees to deal with spending cuts.

The budget plan makes few changes to the recommendations Gov. Sonny Perdue sent to lawmakers in January.

Federal stimulus money will help mitigate school spending cuts.

Schools had been anticipating a 2 percent reduction in state funding for months. However, Perdue recommended $50 million in additional cuts in January, and then tacked on $95 million more last week because of the continued slowdown in state tax collections.

The House budget plan uses $145 million in stimulus money to cover those additional cuts.

The Senate is expected to move quickly on the budget because, unlike in past years, the chamber’s leaders have been meeting with House leaders to get a deal settled.

Perdue is expected to address agency directors later today to talk about how the federal stimulus package will impact the state budget in the upcoming year.