Georgia governor signs amended fiscal 2024 budget with $5B boost

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed the state’s $37.5 billion amended fiscal 2024 budget, $5 billion more than the original plan passed last year.

“I am proud to sign a budget that further invests in our priorities of public safety, education and workforce development, and strengthened infrastructure to keep Georgia the best state to live, work and a raise a family,” Kemp said at a ceremony at the state Capitol in Atlanta.

The amended budget includes:

• $102.5 million in additional funding for K-12 classrooms;
• $1.5 billion for Georgia Department of Transportation Projects;
• $100 million for rural economic development projects by the OneGeorgia Authority;
• $250 million by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority for water and sewer projects;
• $591 million for facility and security improvements at the Department of Corrections;
• $50 million to expand the rural workforce housing program;
• $70 million in additional funding for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities;
• $5.9 million to upgrade the Georgia Public Safety Training Center; and
• $1 million to expand the Veterans Mental Health Services Program.

“When you add everything in this document up, it demonstrates you can make smart investments when you budget wisely, trust the market rather than try to dictate it, and empower your citizens more than you empower the government,” Kemp said.

The governor’s amended fiscal 2024 and proposed fiscal 2025 budgets include spending some of the state’s surplus revenue on capital projects rather than issuing bonds this year.

The fiscal 2025 budget proposal furthers efforts “to keep Georgia competitive by investing in our economy and our workforce while maintaining the same fiscally conservative approach to governance that has enabled us to remain one of the few states to have a triple-A bond rating from all three rating agencies,” according to Kemp.

The state is estimated to have about $11 billion in surplus cash in its coffers, according to the state Department of Economic Development.

Georgia carries gilt-edged credit, being rated triple-A by Moody’s Investors Service, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.

“Georgia’s status as a triple-A rated state government is also an important economic development tool that signals to investors Georgia is efficient, fiscally conservative and a safe bet for investment,” Kemp said in January.