After a three-month hiatus due to COVID-19, the 2020 legislative session ended Friday, June 26. When lawmakers returned in mid-June, the world had shifted. A steep revenue shortfall, high levels of unemployment, an ongoing public health crisis and a global anti-racist movement underscored the long-standing truth that the status quo could
On Sine Die, the last day of the legislative session, the Georgia House and Senate approved the state’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget, which begins on July 1. The Senate passed an updated budget proposal yesterday evening, and the House approved
Poverty alleviation efforts such as TANF, as well as investments in mental health, education and other critical programs, can help reduce crime, and therefore the state’s reliance on the police. However, from 1977 to 2017, Georgia saw a 122 percent increase in spending on
Key Takeaways: The Supreme Court ruled against ending the DACA program, which provides temporary relief from deportation to undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. By keeping the program intact, DACA recipients will continue to benefit from resources that
Georgia is facing an economic and fiscal crisis that threatens the state’s ability to fund critically-needed programs and services in health, education and more. A state revenue shortfall of nearly $3 billion is projected in fiscal year 2021, and the
The Georgia Senate Appropriations Committee met Wednesday morning to discuss changes to House Bill 793, which details the state’s budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. While the committee made some changes and reductions to previously proposed budget cuts, this new proposal
Key Takeaways Agency budget proposals for lottery-funded programs included no cuts to HOPE and $53 million in cuts to pre-K. This would mean the elimination of 4,000 slots for Pre-K students, 13 fewer instructional days for children and six fewer
Dear Governor Kemp and Members of the Georgia General Assembly, Thank you for your work in service of our state during this very difficult time. As partners in the effort to help our state recover, we are asking you to
Key Points: The current COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic decline have underscored the problems of disinvestment in Georgia’s safety net programs, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food assistance), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, or cash assistance),
The state of Georgia plans to spend about $4 billion in state funds on health care programs in Fiscal Year 2021. Most of this spending flows to health care services through Medicaid, the state’s health insurance program serving almost 2
The budget primer outlines the state budget for the year, recognizes substantial changes from the preceding year and provides a clear-eyed view on what lawmakers have prioritized for our state. This year, there will also be a focus on budget trends over the full eight years of Gov. Kemp’s tenure as we prepare for Georgia’s next leaders to take office.
Our budget primer is slated to be published the first day of the fiscal year, July 1. Join us for our virtual town hall to discuss our data, or request a physical copy of the primer to be sent to your address.
Submit public comment on Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program extension by February 20th – just complete this easily fillable form:
