Governor signs $36.1 billion state budget

Local projects, pay raises for teacher, state workers included in spending plan

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a $36.1 billion spending plan this week that includes significant pay increases for teachers and other state employees and funding for local projects. 

“It’s good budget. We worked really close with the governor’s office and there were no surprises this year,” said State Rep. Matt Hatchett. “It turned out really well.” 

Hatchett, who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee, was present at Tuesday’s signing ceremony in Atlanta. Included in the spending plan is $1.3 million for the Dublin-Laurens Development Authority for improvements at the Ga. 257 site to help prepare for the construction of the Hwashin auto part manufacturing facility. 

He said he will announce other local projects later. 

Highlighting the FY25 budget, which takes effect July 1, is additional pay raises for educators. Teachers will see another $2,500 next year, while state employees will receive an across-the-board 4 percent increase, with an additional $3,000 for law enforcement personnel, corrections officers and some family and children’s services workers. 

“We’re trying to get our employees up to a competitive rate,” Hatchett said. “We still have a lot of turnover in some of these positions.” 

About $200 million has been earmarked for school districts to purchase and maintain buses and another $6.3 million to fully fund meals for students currently in the state’s reduced-cost lunch program. Over $100 million has been designated for school security measures. The state will put an additional $50 million in the pre-K program, funded through the Georgia Lottery. That money will help make pre-K teacher’s pay more comparable with other teacher salaries, Hatchett said. Meanwhile, class sizes will be reduced from 22 students to 20. 

Healthcare spending, particularly $20 million in adjustments in Medicaid rates, are also included in the budget. Hatchett said the adjustments would increase doctor payments for primary care, OB/GYN and therapy services. Medicaid, the government-funded healthcare plan for low-income residents, will now cover routine dental care and not just emergencies. 

“We’re making a concerted effort to increase what we pay to providers,” Hatchett said. “It’s part of our job to make sure we have a healthy population and that means access to health care. You have to have the providers out there.” 

Another $16.5 million will go toward behavioral health crisis centers across the state. 

Including federal and other funding, the state will spend about $66.8 billion overall in the next fiscal year. Georgia maintains $5.4 billion rainy day fund and, after the end of the current fiscal year, will have about $8 billion in cash surplus.