Kemp signs amended FY 2019 budget

ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp signed the state’s amended Fiscal Year 2019 budget, House Bill 30, at North Atlanta High School here Tuesday. Accompanied by Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, House Speaker David Ralston, Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, North Atlanta Principal Curtis Douglass, and legislative leaders, Kemp outlined Georgia’s budget priorities to strengthen school security, invest in health care and public safety, and spur job growth in every corner of the state.

“Budgets are reflections of your values – your priorities for today and vision for tomorrow,” Kemp said. “In Georgia, we value education, health care, public safety, and economic development. We have a heart for safer schools, better health care options, safer communities, and more jobs for hard-working Georgians. I am proud to sign the amended budget for Fiscal Year 2019 and have confidence these investments will yield big dividends for Georgians, young and old. Together, we will continue to ensure that Georgia’s best days are ahead.”

Duncan said the amended budget keeps campaign promises made.

“On the campaign trail, we told Georgians that we would prioritize education, economic development, and health care,” the lieutenant governor said. “Today’s amended FY 2019 budget honors those commitments while investing in relief efforts for southwest Georgia and funding programs that will set our state up for long-term success. I’m appreciative of the work done by Gov. Kemp, Speaker Ralston, and the Appropriations chairmen in both chambers.”

Ralston said the spending plan keeps Georgians first in the state.

“This amended budget maintains our conservative, responsible approach to providing for the needs of a growing state,” the House speaker said. “Whether it is securing our school campuses to protect students and teachers or lending a hand to farmers in southwest Georgia recovering from Hurricane Michael, this budget delivers on Gov. Kemp’s promise to ‘put Georgians first.’ I want to thank Gov. Kemp as well as Lt. Gov. Duncan and my colleagues in the House and Senate for their work on this 2019 amended budget.”

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