GA Legislature To Re-Convene June 15th

The House and Senate have agreed to return to finish the 2020 session on June 15th. Legislators have 11 business days remaining in the session, and a budget must be passed before the end of the fiscal year which is June 30th. An adjournment resolution spelling out specific session days following the 15th remains a work in progress.

Of note, Georgia’s primary is June 9th, so we will know if some additional legislators are returning, if some are not, and some will likely still be in runoffs. Incumbents for state offices have not been able to raise funds since the legislature gaveled in last January, and this will remain status quo until Sine Die is declared.

On a brighter note, budget guidance at this point has been adjusted from a 14% across the board cut to an 11% cut. While DC is still in Gridlock (and the U.S. House not even in DC), there’s still time for consensus to form on a federal relief package for state and local governments.

While bailing out Illinois pension plans (that were virtually insolvent pre-covid) likely won’t happen, there are a lot of red and blue states in worse fiscal shape than Georgia that will also be leaning on DC hard for cash. Most states have the same June 30th budget pressure, so the 11% cuts must be taken seriously, but there is a reasonable glimmer of hope that deficit financed federal money may cushion some of that blow.