Georgia Legislative Watch

Sonny Perdue has been wielding his pen over the last few days:

Gov. Sonny Perdue used his veto pen Wednesday to slash about $141 million in spending and kill 41 bills passed during the legislative session.

Perdue signed the $20.2 billion budget for fiscal 2008, which begins July 1, into law. It includes 3 percent cost-of-living raises for about 200,000 teachers and state workers, $40 million for land conservation and $19 million for the governor’s fishing tourism program called “Go Fish Georgia.”

But before doing that, he cut out $123 million in construction debt and $18 million in local projects.

Among the veto victims was the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in Augusta, a pet project of House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans). The state has spent about $7 million on the project during the past decade, but a Hall of Fame was never built.

Today was the last day for the Governor to veto any legislation. In Georgia when if the Governor fails to veto a bill within 40 days of legislature’s adjournment, it automatically becomes law. There is no pocket veto in Georgia.