The Georgia Senate supports changes to the state budget that would add $5 billion in spending, including bonuses already paid to state employees and teachers, additional road construction, new dental and medical schools, and partial repayment of state debt. are doing.
The Senate voted 54-1 Thursday to pass House Bill 915, which would add funding to the current budget through June 30. The House and Senate will now reconcile their differences and once a consensus is reached, the bill will be sent to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. agree.
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Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, told senators there are relatively few differences between Kemp’s proposal and the House and Senate proposals. “We have agreement on 95% of the budget,” Tillery said.
Kemp proposed increasing state funding to $37.5 billion from the $32.5 billion approved by lawmakers last year.Total spending, including federal aid, college tuition, fines and fees, increases to $67.5 billion
Even though tax collection growth has slowed, Kemp has set revenue estimates far lower than what the state will actually collect this year, and Georgia has a $5.4 billion rainy day fund. With a cash surplus of $10.7 billion, the state can spend even more. Kemp plans to spend up to $2 billion of his surplus.
Lawmakers cannot spend more than Kemp’s revenue estimates, so all they can do is cut or rebalance the governor’s proposed spending.
The governor ordered state and university employees and public school teachers to receive $1,000 bonuses before Christmas. The House plan includes $315 million in bonus payments. Kemp has also proposed a raise for employees starting July 1, which lawmakers are expected to finalize when they vote on next year’s budget in March. Kemp is calling for a 4% across-the-board cost-of-living increase for state and university employees, and a roughly equivalent $2,500 annual increase for teachers.
Georgia’s proposed budget includes a $5 billion spending increase, primarily for infrastructure and worker benefits. (Fox News)
The Senate has given its stamp of approval to Mr. Kemp’s plan to spend an additional $1.5 billion to accelerate planned road construction and establish a freight infrastructure plan. The Senate plans to spend an additional $50 million on road resurfacing to cover rising costs for asphalt and concrete, and a federal match argues the $100 million proposed by the House is too much. . The Senate will cut Mr. Kemp’s proposed increase in spending on freight infrastructure to $500 million and increase spending on large state Department of Transportation projects to $593 million.
The Senate plans to use the savings to increase aid to local governments. This would increase road and bridge aid to cities and counties to $250 million. Aid to local airports would jump from $27 million proposed by the House of Representatives to $98 million. The Senate would also increase aid to state-owned railroads from $4.25 million proposed by the House to $8.5 million.
The focus on local interests is reflected in the Senate budget, which includes an additional $14.1 million for construction of state parks, historic sites and recreational facilities, and plans to provide $5 million in community development grants, up from the House proposal’s $2.5 million. It extends to
The Senate agreed to a plan to spend $451 million to complete a new jail in Washington County and $135 million to renovate other jails. The Senate budget would spend $15.3 million to install technology to prevent the use of contraband cellphones by inmates in state prisons, more than the $9.8 million proposed by the House.
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It also approved $500 million to repay debt for the state’s Employees’ Pension Fund, $250 million to finance water and wastewater projects, and $200 million for grants and land to attract industry.
