ATLANTA - Even in the toughest economic times of past years, there were some programs lawmakers felt they couldn't touch. Now, some of those ``sacred cows'' are being re-examined by lawmakers and Georgia's new governor to see how untouchable they really are. <br>
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School and university funding and health care for the poor already are set to take hits and could take more as the state struggles to regain its financial footing during a painful recession. <br>
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To offset a $620 million drop in tax collections, Gov. Sonny Perdue wants to cut programs, dip into the reserve fund and raise taxes. Fearing the political fallout from tax hikes, lawmakers, instead, are looking to broaden the cuts. <br>
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``We're all going to have to bleed,'' said Rep. Tom Buck, D-Columbus, who is the new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee but a veteran budget negotiator. <br>
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In the past, few lawmakers enjoyed more success than Buck in finding ways to add programs to the budget. Now he's looking for ways to cut. <br>
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``We're all human and we certainly have our favorite departments,'' he said. ``Some people want to say, `Well, that's sacred. We don't want to touch that.' But I think they're going to have to share some of this.'' <br>
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Even Republicans, who don't want to appear too much out of step with the new Republican governor, say there are no untouchable programs. <br>
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``In this economic environment, everything is on the table and needs to be looked at,'' said Senate Republican Leader Tom Price of Roswell. <br>
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But finding new cuts will be tougher than it sounds, warned Henry Huckaby, the governor's interim budget adviser. <br>
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More than half the state budget - 55 percent - is earmarked for education, a category that includes grades K-12, the university system and the technical schools. And most of the funding is dictated by established formulas. <br>
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Nearly a quarter of the budget - 23 percent - goes to human services, including welfare and Medicaid, the costly health care program for the poor. Much of the major spending for those program is dictated by federal rules. <br>
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Despite formulas and mandates, Perdue already has found ways to lop more than $140 million from educational spending this year and to reduce health care costs. <br>
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He's passing along a 2.1 percent cut to local school systems and proposing to cut reimbursement rates for doctors, hospitals and nursing homes that treat Medicaid patients. <br>
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With school budgets already set for the year, the cuts could hit many school systems hard. Perdue hopes to soften the blow by relaxing the rules that dictate how state grants must be spent. The idea is to allow school systems to shift money as needed. <br>
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Perdue is showering the health care category with over a half billion dollars in new money, even at a time when he proposes to trim provider reimbursement rates and restrict the growth of programs such as PeachCare for Kids. <br>
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Most of the new money is to shore up the Medicaid program to ensure the state can pay bills when they came due. For the past several years, the state has short-funded the program, counting on the fact that health care providers have up to six months to submit their claims and that many won't be received until the next fiscal year. <br>
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A state health officials warned lawmakers last week the cuts could mean some doctors stop treating Medicaid patients, some nursing homes close and children are turned away from PeachCare, which provides low-cost medical coverage for children in low-income families who do not qualify for Medicaid. <br>
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But no one is ruling out those or even deeper cuts. <br>
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``I don't think there are any sacred cows,'' said Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, chairman of the state Democratic Party. ``I think everything is on the table, even ... the PeachCare program. I think we have to take a look at the entire budget. I think you'll see a lot of re-evaluation.''
