The overarching theme of the Georgia General Assembly’s 2014 session may well prove to be speed.
The rush is a byproduct of an election year and an early primary that’re likely to motivate lawmakers to quickly move through the basics and little more so that they can return to campaigning as soon as possible.
A fast-moving session may not be a bad thing. It leaves less time for grandstanding, gamesmanship and fire-up-the-base antics. Such legislative rah-rah’s can contribute to needed work going undone year after year. It can also come at the expense of the best solutions for Georgians. In the worst cases, legislative action, inaction or distractions can even contradict the desires of voters.
Georgians deserve better. And we stand a greater chance of getting it this year, perhaps, because the long-running crisis of budget shortfalls is beginning to ease and the economic shocks of the Great Recession continue to fade away.
In considering the state budget this year, lawmakers will be factoring in a 2013 that saw consistent, if not spectacular, increases in tax collections.
The revenue uptick puts the General Assembly and Gov. Nathan Deal in the position of actually having a bit more money to begin patching some of the budgetary holes torn by the long-running economic downturn that hammered state and local government budgets year after year.
With a modest increase comes an obligation to apportion it in the most-prudent manner possible. Investments that improve Georgia’s future prospects best fit that mission, we believe. In that vein, here are some broad areas where we believe the General Assembly should concentrate its efforts and funding in 2014:
Education
Through the recession, Gov. Deal made public education funding a priority. That certainly did not prevent big cuts, but things could have been significantly worse. Even given Deal’s sentiment, austerity cuts to K-12 school systems statewide total more than $7 billion since 2003. Those cuts predate the recession and came even as Georgia devoted a bit more than half of state spending to education.
Now that things are improving, elected officials should begin the process of rebuilding education funding in Georgia. Deal has said that his forthcoming state budget will see a rise in money allocated toward education. That increase would be in line with sentiments from a poll by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution detailed elsewhere in today’s newspaper. When asked to consider Georgia’s improving finances, a total 88 percent of poll respondents said that increasing funding for public schools was a “high” or “highest” priority.
Deal has hinted strongly that teachers, and perhaps other state employees, may receive pay raises for the first time in several years. After years of pay freezes and furlough days, we don’t doubt that raises are warranted. Yet, we believe the state should begin addressing the larger issue of overall education funding before parceling out salary hikes.
Lawmakers should allocate any funding increases to school districts and give them the flexibility to use the proceeds where local officials deem best. Doing that will be a good initial step toward moving schools back toward solid financial footing.
Child Welfare
This year’s General Assembly is expected to consider reforms to improve Georgia’s woeful performance in keeping children safe. Reporting by this newspaper has pointed out problems in a child welfare system where too many kids already on the state’s radar have died of horrific abuse.
Lawmakers should this year provide solid consideration followed by action on changes and resources needed to fix well-documented problems.
Legislators should also recognize that increased transparency within the child welfare system could be a powerful tool to keep bureaucrats accountable in a way that could save lives of Georgia’s innocents. Protecting the privacy of deceased victims should not trump the sunlight of visibility that can provide valuable insights into how well the state is protecting children. In the AJC’s poll last week, 64 percent of respondents favored expanding public access to child welfare information. Lawmakers should heed that sentiment.
Transportation
One important topic that’s unlikely to make waves at the Gold Dome this year is transportation. Two years after the ill-fated T-SPLOST votes around the state, gridlock will be with us for awhile longer.
In this regard, the General Assembly seems intent on proving the point that there really was no Plan B if the T-SPLOST failed. That is a sad, unacceptable situation for a growing Georgia that’s staked a big part of its economic future on becoming even more of a logistics crossroads. That can’t very well happen in a metro area plagued by ever-congested roads.
Atlanta, and Georgia, needed transportation solutions years ago. Waiting longer only makes the inevitable years of reckoning even more costly.
