Spending of government money is 17 percent less than it was a decade ago.
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. 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.
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