Has Deal been frugal with state budget?

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal made a claim on his Twitter page that initially had us stumped.

"Spending of government money is 17 percent less than it was a decade ago," the message said as Deal delivered his State of the State address.

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Jay Rothman

stated on December 1, 2024 in TV interview

“The Universities of Wisconsin are 43rd out of 50 states in the nation, in terms of public support for our universities. The $855 million (budget request) gets us up to average.”

Isn’t the state budget larger than it was a decade ago?

In fiscal year 2003, which began July 1, 2002, and ended June 30, 2003, then-Gov. Sonny Perdue and the Legislature approved a $16.2 billion general fund spending plan. In the proposed fiscal year 2014 budget, Deal wants to spend about $17.4 billion for the state’s general fund. The entire proposed state budget would be about $19.8 billion.

Deal explained the decrease in his speech.

"Using 2012 dollars, our per capita spending of government money is 17 percent less that it was a decade ago," the governor said.

Adjusted for inflation, the fiscal year 2003 budget would now be $20.15 billion. The difference between that budget and Deal’s proposed budget is about $3 billion, a 17 percent decrease.

We rate this statement True.