(The Center Square) – The Georgia Senate has signed off on a fiscal year 2023 state budget that increases spending by 10.8% over last year.
The Senate voted 56-0 in favor of an amended House Bill 911, a more than $30 billion spending plan that includes pay raises for many state employees and largely returns spending to pre-COVID-19-pandemic spending levels.
The budget proposal includes pay raises for certified teachers and other school workers, including nutrition workers, bus drivers and school nurses. It also increases funding for law enforcement, including for the Georgia Department of Public Safety to hire state troopers and expand crisis intervention training for officers across the Peach State.
“Specifically, this budget approved a $5,000 salary increase for all state employees, along with an additional $2,000 pay raise for our teachers to bring their total raise over the last two years to $5,000,” state Sen. Larry Walker, R-Perry, wrote in his Capitol Recap. “Incentivizing quality was also essential in this budget, with $5 million being added to increase capacity for our state’s skilled nursing programs and $28 million to fund an aggressive campaign to improve third grade reading levels.”
Georgia Republicans have credited their response to the COVID-19 pandemic for putting the state in a favorable financial position. However, Democrats said the spending does not go far enough.
“Many agencies are seeing funding return to pre-pandemic levels (good) but we are failing to take advantage of an unprecedented opportunity to shore up systems that are broken after years – decades – of under-funding (bad),” Georgia Senate Democrats said on Twitter.
Inclusive of other funds, including more than $17 billion in federal money and grants, the House budget exceeds $57 billion. A new budget takes effect July 1.
Lawmakers from the House and Senate likely will spend the coming days reconciling the differences between each chamber’s version. They are expected to sign off on a final version before the state Legislature adjourns April 4.
By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor
