April 19, 2004
VAldosta - Governor Sonny Perdue kicked off his statewide post-legislative bus tour in Valdosta Monday. He's sharing the successes and failures of the legislative session, and seeking input from Georgians. "We're going to 20 cities to check in, find our what got done, what didn't get done, and what we need to do better," said Perdue.
Overall, the Governor says this session was a productive one, especially for Georgia's children. "We were able to sign into law a tough child protection legislation that will make a difference in the life of Georgia's children and protect them from reckless and abusive caregivers," said Perdue.
And steps were taken to bring more jobs to Georgia. "The best thing we did was live within our means and no tax increase for our jobs, and we're being very competitive internationally in seeking foreign direct investment here as well as growing our own," said Perdue.
But the Governor is disappointed that legislators weren't able to balance the budget. "I sent the message very early that unless the funding was there to fund this budget that was already spent, then I was not going to sign the budget," said Perdue.
He also hoped an ethics reform bill would've passed. "For two years the senate has passed ethics reform legislation that went to the House and didn't come out," said Perdue.
Governor Perdue has not yet set a date for the special session but feels sure the issues that weren't passed in the regular session will be resolved when legislators reconvene.
posted at 2:50 P.M. by ashley.harper@walb.com
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