Georgia Criminal Justice System Budget Guide for State Fiscal Year 2025

Georgia Criminal Justice System Budget Guide for State Fiscal Year 2025

The 20-year view

Over the past 20 years, the cost of operating Georgia's prisons has increased by nearly 70%. Despite years of promises of reform, the number of people in Georgia Department of Corrections custody has remained largely flat and will be about 51,000 in 2023. During that time, GBPI has continued to work on important issues, such as reducing local reliance on fines and fees that entangle communities of color in the criminal justice system and contribute to the incarceration of Georgians in poverty.

Georgia Department of Corrections 2025 Budget

The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) budget for fiscal year 2025 is $1.5 billion. This year's budget continues a three-year trend in prison spending. This increase is due to efforts to improve employee retention through salary increases and to address increased spending on health care contracts in response to issues such as rising prison violence, chronic health care needs, and an aging prison population.

The GDC guidelines contradict health and safety requirements and perpetuate the exploitation of the workforce

GDC spending for fiscal year 2025 is $166 million higher than fiscal year 2024 and over $214 million higher than fiscal year 2023. This includes nearly $52 million for prison security and infrastructure. This approach appears designed to expand incarceration through increased spending, and it perpetuates unsafe prison dynamics and repeats unsuccessful approaches that undermine moves toward humane, rehabilitative measures for successful reintegration.

Despite a nearly $72 million increase in health and pharmacy contract spending in fiscal year 2025 and a nearly 40% increase in prison health spending since fiscal year 2022, the mental and physical health of incarcerated Georgians often depends on their ability to pay GDC's medical copayments, prescription, phone, and cafeteria fees. Over the past three years, incarcerated Georgians and their dependents have been billed over $10 million in fees by GDC.[1] which they often cannot afford but must pay for living expenses. GDC has yet to apply for federal funds to help close the gaps in health insurance for Georgians released from prison.[2]

Lawmakers have approved nearly $43 million to increase GDC staff salaries, but incarcerated Georgians continue to be used as a source of unpaid and unprotected labor.[3] Lawmakers allocated nearly $52 million for prison security and infrastructure in fiscal year 2025, but undermined those efforts by maintaining unfair prison labor practices and fees that contribute to toxic stress, illness and injury, continuing to create an unsafe environment for those incarcerated in Georgia.[4]

Endnotes

[1] Governor's Budget Report for FY 2025. GA Department of Corrections annual revenue data from FY 2021 through FY 2023.

[2] Hinton, E., Pillai, A., & Diana, A. (April 16, 2024). Section 1115 Waiver Watch: Medicaid pre-release services for people who are incarcerated. KFF. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/ section-1115-waiver-watch-medicaid-pre-release-services-for-people-who-are-incarcerated/

[3] Lyons, B. (June 30, 2022). California lawmakers reject ballot proposal to end forced labor in prisons. Cal Matters. https://calmatters.org/justice/2022/06/california-prisoners- work-involuntary-servitude/

[4] Christman, A., & Lu, H. (2024, April). Workers serving time must be protected by workplace safety laws. National Employment Law Project.