Budget and Taxes Budget Primer Cash and Safety Net Health Justice K-12 Education Reports Worker Justice Georgia Budget Primer 2019 June 26, 2018 / October 13, 2026 by Taifa Smith Butler Download PDF Click on the links below to learn about different policy areas of the 2019 budget. State Budget K-12 Education Higher Education Health Human Services Welcome to GBPI’s 2019 Budget Primer Georgia plans to spend $26.2 billion in state funds raised through taxes and fees for the 2019 fiscal year. The budget plan […] Read more »
Alex Camardelle Cash and Safety Net Reports Food Assistance for 1.7 million Georgians at Risk in Federal Proposals May 16, 2018 / May 19, 2020 by Alex Camardelle Lawmakers in Congress and the Trump administration are staging a multi-prong assault on the nation’s primary tool for helping families keep enough food on the table, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). While SNAP recipients depend on food assistance for nutrition, it also comes with a package of other benefits related to health, household finances, […] Read more » SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Budget and Taxes Reports Wesley Tharpe Lawmakers Slash Income Taxes, Approve Miscellaneous Tax Changes May 15, 2018 / May 19, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Adding Up the Fiscal Notes: Session Recap 2018 Georgia legislators and Gov. Nathan Deal approved 11 tax measures during the 2018 legislative session that will affect state revenues in coming years. Ten bills with immediate revenue implications will cost an estimated $862 million over the next five years, compared to Georgia’s past collections. This cost […] Read more » Budget & Taxes general-assembly HB 918 Income Tax Legislature Sales Tax tax breaks
Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Shifting Public Funds to Private Schools: High Costs, Poor Track Record April 26, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Claire Suggs Georgia lawmakers created multiple pathways to shift public funds to private schools in recent years. These schemes risk reducing money available to invest in public schools and critical state services including early learning, higher education, and community health. Little is known about the academic outcomes of Georgia students participating in these programs or the private […] Read more » 529 plans Claire Suggs Education K-12 private schools public-schools school vouchers student scholarship organizations tax credit
Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Valuable Progress, More Work Ahead for Public School Funding April 18, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Claire Suggs Georgia lawmakers reached a critical milestone during the 2018 legislative session: They ended 16 years of shortchanging the state’s formula for funding K-12 schools. The General Assembly added $167 million to the 2019 state budget to send school districts across Georgia the full amount promised under the formula for the first time since 2002. It […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Reports Wesley Tharpe Lawmakers Approve Major Tax Plan, Still Reviewing Several Tax Breaks March 14, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Adding Up the Fiscal Notes: Post Crossover Day 2018 A range of tax bills are still in the pipeline at the General Assembly after lawmakers already approved a sweeping package of income tax cuts. Georgia’s 2018 General Assembly advanced 11 pieces of tax legislation by the Feb. 28 Crossover Day milestone that affect state revenues […] Read more »
Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Private School Savings Accounts Lack Oversight, Could Prove Costly February 22, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Claire Suggs Bill Analysis: House Bill 482 (LC 33 7253S) Georgia lawmakers are considering a plan to allow parents to take state money to pay for private schools and educational services. House Bill 482 creates an individual Education Savings Account, or ESA, program. The program would allow parents to redirect state money to pay for tuition and […] Read more » Claire Suggs Education Education Savings Account ESA HB 482 K-12 private schools
Budget and Taxes Reports Wesley Tharpe Lawmakers Might Come to Regret Georgia’s Risky Tax Plan February 22, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 1 Comment on Lawmakers Might Come to Regret Georgia’s Risky Tax Plan Bill Analysis: House Bill 918 Substitute (LC 34 5383-ECS); Feb. 22, 2018 Georgia leaders are now rushing a massive tax package through the state’s General Assembly with limited debate and without a clear tally of the plan’s true cost. Gov. Nathan Deal and legislative leaders introduced a revised tax package Feb. 20, 2018, designed to […] Read more » Budget & Taxes general-assembly Gov. Nathan Deal HB 918 Income Tax State Budget State Taxes tax cuts taxes
Cash and Safety Net Reports Taifa Smith Butler Overview: 2019 Fiscal Year Budget for Human Services February 13, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Taifa Smith Butler Foster Care Services Get Increases for Foster Parents, Child Placement Agencies Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed $788 million Department of Human Services budget for the 2019 fiscal year includes new support to meet the growing needs in the state’s foster care system and to help ensure the safety and protection of Georgia’s most vulnerable children. The […] Read more » Budget Department of Human Services Division of Family and Children Services foster-care Safety Net Taifa Smith Butler
Health Justice Laura Harker Reports Overview: 2019 Fiscal Year Budget for Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities February 13, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Laura Harker Gov. Nathan Deal’s budget proposal for the 2019 fiscal year adds $50.6 million more than last year’s budget in state general funds for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. The budget directs $14.9 million in state funds toward waiver programs and community support services. This helps continue implementation of a 2010 settlement with […] Read more » Budget Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities health opioids substance abuse
