Reports

Adding Up the Fiscal Notes: Closing the Books on 2013
Tax revisions passed by the Georgia Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal this year will cost an estimated  $168 million over five years, draining more scarce resources on top of years of damaging cuts to schools, job… [Read more]

Relatively Minor Differences with Georgia House’s Proposal
The Georgia State Senate made relatively minor adjustments to the House of Representatives version of House Bill 106 (HB 106). New in the Senate version are additional funds for the Technical College System, restored from cuts the governor proposes; money for a new… [Read more]

Crossover Day Report: Tax Revisions Worsen Georgia’s Short-Term Finances
Georgia revenues are expected to drop by about $80 million during the current and upcoming budget years and that number could grow if legislators act on bills that are still pending as the 2013 session of the General Assembly nears an… [Read more]

Small Improvements Welcome, but Major Course Correction Needed
The Georgia House of Representatives made small, positive changes to the governor’s proposed 2014 budget. But with limited revenues to meet the needs of Georgians, lawmakers are able to do little more than rearrange deck chairs on the proverbial Titanic.  Download… [Read more]

Senate Bill 243 (SB 243), unlike the related House Bill 140 (HB 140) introduced earlier in 2013 legislative session, would bring overdue focus, transparency and accountability to the private school scholarship tax credit program. But it does not end its annual expansion. The proposed changes would encourage making students with… [Read more]

House Bill 395 (HB 395) would create a complicated new tax break, the Georgia New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC), intended to increase private investment in businesses within low income communities. However, the proposed program’s design is a flawed method for helping low income communities. It would be expensive, overly complex… [Read more]

Two bills under consideration by the General Assembly would create an ambitious new economic development program, “Invest Georgia.” It would direct $100 million in state money over five years to improve Georgia businesses’ access to venture capital – an important form of financing for new companies and entrepreneurs. Senate Bill… [Read more]

Championed as a quasi-voucher bill by its author, House Bill 140 would expand Georgia’s private school scholarship tax credit program from $50 million to $80 million, diverting an additional $30 million in potential state revenue from the general fund. The program provides dollar for dollar tax credits to taxpayers who… [Read more]

Dubbed the Georgia Renaissance Act, House Bill 128 would create $30 million worth of new tax credits aimed at revitalizing local downtowns, making it one of Georgia’s costliest economic development programs. The proposal calls for a mix of tax incentives to entice Georgia businesses and real estate developers to renovate… [Read more]

Georgia’s Investment Does Not Keep Pace With Growing Needs
The governor’s proposed budget includes about as much general fund support for Georgia’s public health programs as it did in 2001. Meanwhile, Georgia’s population grew by 21.2 percent from 2000 to 2012, a rate nearly twice that of the country as… [Read more]