Lawmakers signed into law a $32.4 billion spending plan for next year as the clock ticked down in the 2023 legislative session, despite Gov. Brian Kemp warning of “significant holes” in the budget.
“I think it’s important for me to say tonight that recent news from the Federal Reserve and others suggests that storm clouds may be gathering on our nation’s economic horizon,” Kemp told members of the Senate on the final day of the session . “Also, there are significant gaps in this year’s final budget that my office will need to address closely with all of you, the House of Representatives and the Office of Planning and Budget, over the coming months.
“As in years past, our job is to make the difficult decisions necessary to keep this state’s financial health on solid footing, and I believe there is still much work to be done after the meeting to make that happen.” to complete and achieve the goal. ‘ Kemp said.
MP Matt Hatchett, a Republican from Dublin, receives a standing ovation as he unveils next year’s spending plan late on the last day of the 2023 legislature. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
As with all bills that pass through the legislature, the governor has the power of the pen and can veto lines in the budget that he deems problematic. The end of the session marks the start of the usual 40-day bill signing period, and Kemp has already signed a number of bills, including one controversial measure ban most gender-affirming care for minors. Invoice signatures can be tracked Here.
Kemp also urged the senators to sign the treaty renovation a tax break for major economic development projects, and threatened to call the legislature to a special session if they didn’t. The current discount ends this summer.
The Senate finally approved the measure just before midnight by a vote of 43 to 6, extending the tax break through 2026.
“In the history of Georgia there were only 18 of them. These are used very selectively,” said Senator Chuck Hufstetler, a Republican from Rome who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and is the sponsor of the bill. “About 75% of them are outside of the greater Atlanta area that have been conducted. It has created thousands upon thousands of jobs.”
Kemp was less fortunate this year with his push to expand Georgia’s school voucher program. This measure came up short in the House of Representatives on Wednesday in one of the more dramatic votes of the 2023 legislative session.
The governor and the state’s senior budget writers framed the process of developing next year’s spending plan as an exercise in restraint in anticipation of a possible economic downturn. The revenue will also be needed to fund future priorities, such as the plan to gradually lower the income tax rate passed last year that should start in 2024.
Government revenues have been on the up in recent years, but economists have forecast a slowdown in tax receipts, which has led budget hawks to be cautious about new spending. But rising revenues have also increased pressure to increase funding for government services.
“I would like to point out that balancing existing revenues with national needs is not an easy task. Certainly we could have done more things with more money, and I would have liked that,” said House Speaker Matt Hatchett.
Asked about the governor’s comment about “significant holes” in the budget, House Speaker Jon Burns told reporters that there are always some funding plans that fall short. Lawmakers usually close the gaps when they return in January when they change the budget.
“I think we have a very broad budget, but I’m sure there are some issues that maybe we could have addressed in other ways that may need to be refilled in the future,” Burns told reporters.
The new budget, which goes into effect in July, includes a $6,000 pay rise for some state law enforcement agencies and a $2,000 pay rise for teachers and other state employees, and provides 100% funding for the state HOPE grant.
The raise for educators is part of a multi-year effort to increase those salaries, and will bring the median teacher salary in Georgia to $61,000, according to Hatchett. The budget also includes a $1,000 surcharge for school administrators.
The final spending plan mitigated some of the cuts made in the Senate, but the cuts remained, including a $1.4 million cut to Georgia Public Broadcasting and a $66 million cut to Georgia’s university system.
Lead drafters of the legislative budget said the Board of Regents has about $500 million in reserves to absorb the cut, and Senate leader Blake Tillery told senators GPB’s news rivals had long been at odds over the state subsidy complained.
“I think that’s actually a very valid point: why do we pick winners and losers?” Tillery said of that session.
State Assemblyman Al Williams, a Midway Democrat, celebrates the end of the 2023 legislative session. Aaleah McConnell/Georgia Recorder
Lawmakers also provided $9.4 million to pay 500 people who will be removed from the waiting list for services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This is close 2,400 a Senate panel recommended last year.
But this year’s budget process also seemed to be entangled with it tension at the end of the session between the House of Representatives and the Senate. Hatchett received a standing ovation as he opened his nightly budget presentation with this declaration: “This House does not play politics with the budget.”
Some Democrat priorities — such as $6.3 million for free breakfast and lunch for schoolchildren — were also restored after being unseated in the Senate.
“Children can’t learn when they’re hungry,” Hatchett said, to applause from some lawmakers. “This funding will provide more than 17 million free meals for low-income students in Georgia public schools. Seventeen million meals.”
