A day before the start of the new fiscal year, Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday signed a $26 billion budget that cuts $2.2 billion in spending amid an uncertain financial future for the state.
[…]Danny Kanso, a budget analyst for one of the groups promoting the cigarette tax hike — the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute — said that was a mistake.
“If the lessons learned over the past decade from the Great Recession hold true, the $2.2 billion in budget cuts that will be implemented on July 1 are likely to further slow down the state’s economic recovery,” Kanso said. “And, unless Georgia’s leaders make an effort to raise revenue to close the gap between the growing demands on state government and underperforming tax collections, lawmakers may likely find themselves debating even deeper cuts when they reconvene in January.”
