Ga. lawmakers kick off 2009 promising to cooperate

ATLANTA - Georgia's legislative leaders sought to project a unified front as they opened the 2009 session Monday at the Capitol.

Facing a huge budget shortfall that's likely to mean billions of dollars in spending cuts, this year's session opened with none of the animosity that dominated the start of 2008.

The House kicked off that bitter session with a revolt against fellow Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue by quickly voting to override a dozen of his vetoes. Relations further deteriorated from there.

This year, the sobering economic news set the tone. State lawmakers many with their spouses and children in tow were on their best behavior in a day heavy on ceremony and light on substance.

``We must settle the past,'' said Benny Tate, pastor of the Rock Springs Church in Milner, has he offered the invocation in the state Senate.

In the House, Democrats decided against offering their own candidate to run against House Speaker Glenn Richardson, whose very name riles up many House Democrats. Instead, the 180-member chamber voted by acclamation to re-elect the Republican.

House Minority Leader DuBose Porter said he decided to support Richardson to ``put aside partisan rancor.''

``We need to see if we can put partisanship aside and take a page from what our new president is doing,'' said Porter, the chamber's top Democrat.

Minutes after the session was banged to a close, Republican House Majority Leader Jerry Keen lingered alongside Porter to speak with reporters. The two political rivals are often on opposite sides under the Gold Dome, but Monday's scripted political theater aimed to show a bipartisan spirit at least for now.
``At the end of the day, I'm hopeful we can agree to these difficult choices in a bipartisan manner,'' Keen said.

In the Senate, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle sought to put a positive spin on the bleak economic news, which has lawmakers facing their largest budget hole since the Great Depression.

Cagle said the budget challenges ``create wonderful, wonderful opportunity'' to trim Georgia's bloated government. He offered a warning to those proposing tax increases to fill the budget hole: ``Make no mistake I will come down on the side of downsizing state government.''

Gov. Sonny Perdue will unveil his budget plan Wednesday and address a joint session of the Senate and the House. Slumping state revenues are expected to mean a $2 billion budget gap for the current fiscal year. Things could get even worse in the fiscal year set to begin July 1.

Cagle and Richardson clashed repeatedly last year, and as the session wound to a close, Richardson called for Cagle's ouster, accusing the lieutenant governor of blocking his attempts to eliminate the car tag tax.

But on Monday, the two men had something to celebrate together their birthdays. Each was serenaded by legislators in violation of House and Senate rules.
``We have a lot in common,'' Cagle said with a laugh.

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