Health Justice Leah Chan Reports Overview: 2027 Fiscal Year Budget for the Georgia Department of Community Health February 5, 2026 / February 5, 2026 by Leah Chan Introduction Among a range of duties, the Department of Community Health administers the state’s healthcare safety net, reimburses hospitals for services provided to uninsured and underinsured Georgians, manages health insurance coverage for state and school system employees and regulates health care and long-term care facilities. Governor Kemp’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 provides […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Health Justice Leah Chan Reports Overview: 2027 Fiscal Year Budget for the Georgia Department of Public Health February 5, 2026 / February 19, 2026 by Leah Chan Introduction The Department of Public Health’s (DPH) programs focus on health promotion and health-related disaster response and preparedness, as well as disease and injury prevention. Over 5,000 state and county public health workers fill a range of critical roles in their communities, from inspecting restaurants to prevent foodborne illness to providing vision and hearing, screening so children […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Health Justice Leah Chan Reports Overview: 2027 Fiscal Year Budget for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities February 5, 2026 / February 5, 2026 by Leah Chan Introduction Among a range of duties, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) operates five state psychiatric hospitals, provides evaluation and treatment for individuals under the jurisdiction of the court system to determine their competency to stand trial and provides community-based services to Georgians living with mental health conditions, substance use disorders and […] Read more »
Bill Analysis Budget and Taxes Daniel Kanso, PhD Reports Overview of Georgia’s Budget for Amended Fiscal Year 2026 and the Full 2027 Fiscal Year January 23, 2026 / January 27, 2026 by Daniel Kanso, PhD Introduction Between Gov. Brian P. Kemp’s first full fiscal year (FY) budget as governor and his eighth and final budget for FY 2027, state spending has increased by nearly $11 billion to $38.5 billion. However, when accounting for the 774,000 new residents added to Georgia’s population (+7%) as well as the 29% cumulative increase in […] Read more »
Briefs Budget and Taxes Daniel Kanso, PhD Reports It’s Time to Modernize Georgia’s Tobacco User Fee and Add Commonsense Safeguards for a Healthier State December 15, 2025 / December 15, 2025 by Daniel Kanso, PhD Overview Georgia has the nation’s second lowest state cigarette user fee and lags most other states in adding common sense safeguards on the sale and use of tobacco products. With Georgia falling far short of recouping the costs of smoking through Medicaid alone, residents are effectively subsidizing the leading cause of preventable disease, death and […] Read more »
Budget and Taxes Daniel Kanso, PhD Reports Breaking the Bank: Eliminating the State Income Tax Harms Most Georgians and Increases the Cost of Living November 17, 2025 / November 14, 2025 by Daniel Kanso, PhD Introduction Eliminating Georgia’s income tax would represent the largest transfer of wealth from working and middle-class families to high income individuals and corporations in state history. Doing so would dramatically push Georgia’s budget out of balance, given that the income tax has been the state’s single largest source of revenue since 1982. With Georgia already […] Read more »
Ashley Young Education Higher Education Reports Intergenerational Student Loan Debt in Georgia: Who it Impacts and How to Mitigate it November 12, 2025 / November 12, 2025 by Ashley Young Executive Summary This report explores the complexity of student loan debt in Georgia. It details the magnitude of the student loan debt crisis and explains how the costs of college affect students. To understand how the student loan debt crisis affects Georgians specifically, this report analyzes quantitative data from the University System of Georgia (USG) […] Read more »
Briefs Health Justice Leah Chan Reports Pathways to Coverage: Looking Back Two Years and Into the Future October 13, 2025 / October 14, 2025 by Leah Chan In July 2023 Georgia launched the Pathways to Coverage program, which provides a new Medicaid option to uninsured, low-income adults who can report working, going to school, or engaging in other qualifying activities for at least 80 hours per month. The program covers many of the same medical services as traditional Medicaid, including doctor visits, […] Read more »
Cash and Safety Net Economic Justice Ife Finch Floyd Reports Beyond Flexible Funding: TANF Can Help Support Families with Emergency Assistance in the Face of Federal Cuts August 28, 2025 / August 28, 2025 by Ife Finch Floyd Strong and financially stable families are essential to a thriving Georgia. How Georgia’s state leaders use the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to respond to the massive federal changes to our economic support programs will demonstrate their commitment to families with low income and the well-being of the state. TANF, a program meant […] Read more »
Bill Analysis Budget and Taxes Economic Justice Education Federal Policy Health Justice Higher Education Reports Historic Federal Tax Shift Benefits Wealthiest, Grows Deficit and Exacerbates Georgia’s Rural Challenges July 17, 2025 / July 31, 2025 by GBPI Staff The role of government in society is to enact policies that are needed to advance towards economic justice. Those policies include supporting Georgians’ basic needs (food shelter, healthcare, education), improving their household financial stability (living wages/stable resources to pay bills) and promoting their long-term economic security (ability to absorb shocks and plan for the future). […] Read more »
