Georgia’s Oxendine Sees Politics in Insurance Department Budget Cut

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine blasted his Republican rival for governor, accusing Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle of putting politics ahead of consumers.

Oxendine said that the state Senate budget slashes his office’s $1.9 million consumer services division. He blamed Cagle and accused him of playing nasty politics.

The Senate’s $18.6 billion budget moves the 33-person consumer division to the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs. Oxendine said his division has retrieved $200 million for consumers over the last 14 years.

But Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Jack Hill said the transfer saves the state about $200,000 by consolidating duplicate efforts.

Cagle and Oxendine are running for governor in 2010.

Topics Georgia