State lawmakers introduced several bills in the 2019 legislative session that could significantly alter the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) if passed in 2020. There are 390,000 current and former Georgia educators participating in the pension system as either
The video above is narrated by Dr. Stephen Owens, GBPI Senior Policy Analyst. Below is a full transcript. The decades-old law that dictates how the state of Georgia disperses money to schools sits at the heart of most education policy
In the 2019 legislative session Georgia lawmakers committed more than half a billion dollars to increase pay for teachers from Pre-K through 12th grade. Legislators intend for the allotment to increase salaries for certified teachers by $3,000 beginning July 1,
Georgia lawmakers gave final passage to the state’s $27.5 billion budget for the 2020 fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2019. Built on the state’s lowest estimate of revenue growth in a decade, the FY 2020 budget projects a conservative 3.2
The first legislative session under Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan ended on Tuesday, April 2. Because Georgia’s General Assembly operates on a biennial legislative session, any bills that failed to advance this year will be reassigned to
March 28, 2019 Update – The original voucher expansion bill, SB 173, failed on the Senate floor before Crossover Day. This week, as session winds down, the language was added as an amendment to HB 68 (LC 46 0162S), which had
Georgia has been shifting more of the cost of student transportation, including bus driver health insurance, to school districts, many of which are still suffering from the recession. GBPI’s Stephen Owens offered his thoughts on how the state should reconsider
This week lawmakers hit a legislative session milestone. Thursday, March 7 marked Crossover Day, the day a bill originating in one chamber must pass to the other to have a chance at becoming law during the remainder of the legislative
After a two-hour fiery debate, the Georgia Senate rejected a bill that would have essentially created a school voucher program. Senate Bill 173 would let parents put money the state allocates for their child in public school into an Education
The Georgia Lottery is intended to support a more educated Georgia where everyone gets a good early start to their education and an affordable path to a college degree. Too many lottery dollars sit idle. The state averages more than
The Georgia Budget & Policy Institute works to advance lasting solutions that expand economic opportunity and well-being for all Georgians.
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute
GBPI is committed to tracking how the state of Georgia raises and spends fiscal resources. As the federal government has promised and provided some of these, cuts to programs and funding on the federal level could have deep and lasting impacts on Georgians and on the state’s ability to meet the needs of all its residents.
Submit public comment on Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program extension by February 20th – just complete this easily fillable form:
