End of 2010 Session

May 13, 2010 | News

Finally, the 2010 Georgia General Assembly is over.  What began on the second Monday of January ended its 40 day journey on April 29.  This end date is the latest the Legislatures has closed business in many decades.

The biggest achievement this year is the finalization of a balanced budget for FY 2011 which begins in just a few weeks on July 1.  The $17.8 billion appropriated reflects over a 17% reduction of recent budget levels and the painful struggle connected with cutting programs and increasing fees and taxes was a major reason this session lasted as long as it did.

This current group of representatives and senators will not be the same group to meet for another session in 2011.  This is an election year and there is an unusally large number of new people to be in Atlanta next January, as quite a few members of both chambers either are retiring from public office, seeking another position in government, or opting to run for a seat in the other chamber.  In any event, next year will be a year of transition for legislators and a new governor and other constitutional officers.