(The Center Square) – The Georgia House Budget Committee on Thursday approved its proposal to spend $2.6 billion more in fiscal 2022 than previously planned.
The spending amount is in line with Governor Brian Kemp’s policy for additional spending through June 30. Some of the key spending lines in the House budget were pay rises and bonuses for government employees, government vehicles, and maintenance and repair and modernization of government buildings.
The budget writers of the House of Representatives also followed Kemp’s wish to reintroduce the cuts in the education sector.
The heads of budget appropriations in the Georgia General Assembly must review and approve spending changes for the remainder of fiscal year 2022 and approve a budget for fiscal year 2023 beginning July 1. The governor released his budget proposal last month, which reflected a $3 billion increase in overall spending.
Much of the updated plan 2022 follows Kemp’s big spending priorities. In line with Kemp’s spending plan, House Budget Leaders propose spending $29.8 billion in fiscal 2022 and $30.2 billion in fiscal 2023. The current spending plan for fiscal 2022 is $27.2 billion.
The amended proposal restores more than $382 million in cuts for K-12 education and provides $93 million for K-12 schools to handle enrollment growth. House leaders proposed spending $500 million on pay rises of $5,000 for employees and $2,000 in bonuses for teachers.
House Budget Clerks agreed to spend millions of dollars on state vehicles, mostly for law enforcement agencies. The Department of Public Safety will replace more than 300 vehicles. The state would also spend $188 million to replace 1,747 school buses over the next three years.
The proposal provides additional funds for the repair and modernization of state buildings. It includes $432 million to implement Kemp’s $600 million plan to purchase a newer prison and build a new 3,000-bed prison, and $45 million to move state agencies from a Peachtree building to Capitol Hill.
Budget writers also provided money to fill new government positions. They have also been able to save or redirect millions of dollars through job vacancies, delayed program implementation, and unused federal funds. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn, said they had set aside $150 million to pay off state employees’ compensation claims, which date back to 1982.
The proposal increases state Medicaid spending by $250 million, including $8 million to create the state health care exchange as part of Kemp’s limited Medicaid expansion.
Georgia residents could receive more than $1.6 billion in tax refunds if revised budget passes. Kemp announced a plan Jan. 11 to provide a $250 rebate to single taxpayers, $375 to heads of households, and $500 to couples filing together. Refunds will not come from the same pot of money that is earmarked for the budget. Instead, they would result from an increase in government tax revenues, resulting in a surplus at the end of the 2021 tax year.
The plenary session must agree to the grants committee’s proposal. The Senate must also propose an amended plan for fiscal 2022. Both chambers of the General Assembly must then agree on a financial budget before the spending plan is sent to Kemp for final approval.
