Still in the money: Georgia government will pocket another $5 billion budget surplus

Georgia will collect another $5 billion in surplus revenue after the just-concluded budget year, which could leave lawmakers and Gov. Brian Kemp with more than $10 billion in extra cash to spend, invest or give back to taxpayers. That’s about $1,000 for every Georgia resident.

It’s the third year of huge surpluses, after $3.7 billion in 2021 and $6.4 billion in 2022, and critics say Republicans are purposefully holding down spending while cutting university budgets, refusing to fully expand Medicaid health insurance to poorer adults and watching state employees flee.

Danny Kanso, senior fiscal analyst with the liberal-leaning Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, said leaders “are actively choosing to leave billions on the table to accrue increasingly large reserves for no clear purpose.”

Read the full article from the Associated Press.

Support GBPI Today

The Georgia Budget & Policy Institute is a 501(c)3 organization. We depend on the support of donors like you. Your contribution makes the work that we do possible.

Related Posts

2026 Budget Primer Released

The Georgia Budget Primer is GBPI’s signature annual examination of state revenues and investments. It outlines Georgia’s budget changes, trends and impacts regarding taxes, education, health care, human services and criminal legal systems. This year we are taking special care to describe how federal funding contributes to Georgia’s budget.

Submit your comment on the Georgia Pathways to Coverage Program

Submit public comment on Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program extension by February 20th – just complete this easily fillable form: