Blog Budget and Taxes K-12 Education Stephen Owens A Half-Billion Steps in the Right Direction for Public Schools April 9, 2019 / February 26, 2021 by Stephen Owens 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, 2019. This significant investment acts as a down payment toward a $5,000 raise that Gov. […] Read more » Budget Budget & Taxes Education Higher Education K-12 Legislature pay raises public school State Budget teacher
Blog Budget and Taxes Cash and Safety Net Daniel Kanso, PhD Health Justice Higher Education K-12 Education Worker Justice Georgia’s FY 2020 Budget: Majority of New Spending Dedicated to $530 Million Teacher Pay Raise April 4, 2019 / May 26, 2020 by Daniel Kanso, PhD | 1 Comment on Georgia’s FY 2020 Budget: Majority of New Spending Dedicated to $530 Million Teacher Pay Raise 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 percent increase in tax and fee collections above the previous fiscal year. The vast majority […] Read more » Budget & Taxes Education Higher Education K-12 Legislature State Budget
Blog Budget and Taxes Cash and Safety Net Health Justice Higher Education Jennifer Lee K-12 Education Worker Justice Sine Die 2019: Progress and Missed Opportunities for a People-First Agenda April 4, 2019 / May 26, 2020 by Jennifer Lee | 2 Comments on Sine Die 2019: Progress and Missed Opportunities for a People-First Agenda 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 committee and available for consideration when legislators reconvene in 2020. Here are some highlights as […] Read more » Budget & Taxes Education Higher Education K-12 Legislature State Budget
Blog Budget and Taxes Higher Education Jennifer Owens K-12 Education Georgia Legislative Session Update: Crossover Day Recap March 8, 2019 / May 26, 2020 by Jennifer Owens 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 session. Several bills crossed over on or before the deadline and now careen toward the […] Read more » Budget & Taxes Crossover Day Education Georgia General Assembly Higher Education HOPE Scholarship K-12 Legislature private schools State Taxes
Blog Past Events Georgia Women’s Lobby Day 2019 January 16, 2019 / January 14, 2020 by Jennifer Owens In 2018, women all over the country – including here in Georgia – turned out in record numbers to vote. But elections are not the end of civic engagement, they are the beginning! As a next step, we invite you to join women from across Georgia to come together for Georgia Women’s Lobby Day on […] Read more » Georgia women Legislature YWCA of Greater Atlanta
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
Blog Budget and Taxes Taifa Smith Butler New State Budget Marks Progress, Leaves Important Work Undone May 7, 2018 / May 19, 2020 by Taifa Smith Butler Georgia’s new annual budget signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal last week marks a positive step forward on education and a few other crucial issues, yet also falls short of addressing some of the state’s most pressing needs. The approved spending plan for the 2019 budget year that begins July 1, 2018 includes a […] Read more » Budget & Taxes Education FY 2019 Governor Deal K-12 Legislature medicaid Medicaid Expansion State Budget
Blog Higher Education Jennifer Lee Lawmakers Pass Need-Based Aid Bill, What’s Next? April 10, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Jennifer Lee On the last day of Georgia’s 2018 legislative session, the Senate passed a bill that aims to help more students go to college and complete their degrees. The bill creates a need-based aid program for university system students in Georgia, primarily focusing on their financial need. This legislation represents a critical first step to help […] Read more » Financial Aid Higher Education HOPE Scholarship Legislature need-based aid tuition University System of Georgia
Blog Budget and Taxes Higher Education Inclusive Economy for Immigrants K-12 Education Wesley Tharpe Sine Die 2018: Education Gets its Due March 29, 2018 / April 2, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe A fully funded K-12 education formula. Hasty and sweeping tax changes. Georgia’s first foray into need-based financial aid for college students. A harmful anti-immigrant measure left on the cutting room floor. Georgia lawmakers left those legacies from the just-ended 2018 General Assembly. March entered with a controversial income tax cut and went out with the […] Read more » Budget & Taxes Education Higher Education K-12 Legislature State Budget
Blog Budget and Taxes Higher Education John McCosh K-12 Education Legislative Watch Day 39: State Budget, Education Vouchers and More March 27, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by John McCosh | 1 Comment on Legislative Watch Day 39: State Budget, Education Vouchers and More As the 2018 General Assembly nears the closing gavel, Georgia lawmakers are trying to find a path to use public dollars to boost private schools, provide need-based aid for college students and impose rules that target immigrants in counterproductive ways. They’re also putting the finishing touches on Georgia’s spending plan for the upcoming 2019 budget […] Read more » Budget & Taxes Financial Aid HB 217 HB 664 HB 713 Higher Education immigration K-12 Legislature private schools SB 405 SB 452 tax breaks
