In his last state of the state address Governor Perdue had few details on the budget and warned Georgians of tough times ahead.

The Governor's speech was more of a farewell than a policy outline.

He recalled past wars and even the depression to drive home the point that Georgian may have to make sacrifices in these tough economic times.

He said his goal is to "hand off our state our home to the next generation in better shape than we found it."

He added, "we now find ourselves at a moment in history in which we must do the hard thing now to ensure that the future is bright for them.

Perdue says he will present budget details on Friday. That budget is expected to include $1.5 billion dollars in cuts. Only mental health services are iexpected to get a 70 million dollar boost over two years. That’s because Georgia is under a federal court order to do so.

“Yes it will cost money," Perdue said. " But I am confident that the additional investment will result in better outcomes for patients and enable all of us to sleep better at night. “

Perdue also reiterated his proposal to base teacher pay on performance rather than on advanced degrees.

Perdue broke with years of tradition by not unveiling his budget proposal on the day of his address.

Perdue made no mention in his speech of issues concerning water, transportation, or ethics.

Contributors: Edgar Treiguts

Tags: Georgia, legislature, education, lawmakers, Governor Sonny Perdue, state budget, state Capitol, State of the State address, 2010 session