A new year brings a new General Assembly session, and as state legislators prepare for the 90-day session that starts Jan. 11, their primary focus remains on reducing the state's projected $1 billion deficit.

"Fundamentally, the budget is the most significant issue because we set a goal that we would get rid of our deficit in three years," said Sen. Ed Kasemeyer, a Columbia Democrat who chairs the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.

Last year, when the legislature set a goal, the deficit was projected to be $1.7 million, Kasemeyer said. The legislature reduced the deficit to $1 billion last session and wants to cut that number in half in the upcoming 2012 session.

Del. Guy Guzzone, a Columbia Democrat who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, agreed the legislature's commitment to solving its long-term projected deficit problem is a top priority. In making cuts, he said the legislature must "do a good job of projecting things we value most, like public education, public health and public safety."

Public schools (kindergarten through 12th grade) and Medicaid are the biggest budget appropriations, Kasemeyer said. "And I don't envision us cutting either one of those," he said.