GERALD GREENE: House turns its focus to state’s budget

On Jan. 18, my colleagues and I returned to the State Capitol for a highly anticipated “budget week.” Each year, the Georgia General Assembly is required by the state’s Constitution to pass a balanced budget, and the House and Senate typically devote the second week of the legislative session to this very important process. During budget week, the House and Senate Appropriations committees hold a series of joint budget hearings over the course of three days.

This session, the House will first consider legislation for the Amended Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which will adjust the state’s current budget based on changes in revenue. Next, we will consider the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, which will go into effect on July 1 and end on June 30 of the next calendar year.

The FY 2023 budget is set at a record revenue estimate of $30.2 billion and includes approximately $3 billion more than the FY 2022 budget. As a result of some difficult yet proactive spending decisions that were made over the last two years, the governor and the state economist reported that revenue projections have soared since we first passed the original Fiscal Year 2022 budget. In December 2021, Georgia broke records when unemployment dropped to 2.6 percent and experienced an all-time high of employed individuals.

Now, 20 months out from the beginning of the pandemic, more than 97 percent of Georgia jobs lost during the pandemic have been regained, while other states, unfortunately, continue to experience higher unemployment rates.

Education spending remains a top priority for the governor, and this is certainly reflected in each of his budget proposals. In 2019, the General Assembly provided a $3,000 pay increase to Georgia’s public school teachers, and Gov. Brian Kemp’s AFY 2022 and FY 2023 budget proposals include an appropriation to complete his initial goal of providing a $5,000 pay raise to K-12 teachers, assistant teachers and pre-K teachers. To ensure our school systems and teachers have the necessary resources to provide quality education to students, the governor’s proposal restores $388 million in both fiscal years to eliminate the austerity cuts that were made at the start of the pandemic.

The governor’s budget proposals also reinforce efforts to support Medicaid and vital health care services for vulnerable populations. First, the FY 2023 budget proposal includes $139 million to implement the state’s reinsurance program and online health insurance portal in an effort to keep insurance plans and premiums more affordable. His FY 2023 budget proposal also allocates an additional $85 million for improved provider rates to stabilize the state’s Medicaid system. These funds would allow physicians to serve Medicaid patients without operating at a loss.

As we continue to address the state’s maternal mortality rates, the governor’s FY 2023 budget proposal adds new funding that would extend Medicaid coverage for new mothers for a full year postpartum. The FY 2023 proposal appropriates $39.5 million to automatically enroll children in Medicaid services if they enroll in food assistance or TANF benefits, which would ensure that these children receive health benefits in a more efficient and timely manner. The current and upcoming fiscal year proposals also include a combined $33.5 million to fund the state’s mental health crisis networks and services that benefit individuals with behavioral and developmental disabilities.

The governor’s recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year include approximately $1.6 million to establish a gang prosecution unit in the attorney general’s office and expand the state’s human trafficking unit. His proposal also includes several million dollars for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s medical examiners and forensic services, which have experienced backlogs in processing criminal evidence.

While Georgia’s judicial system has focused on reducing recidivism and rehabilitating low-level, nonviolent offenders when appropriate, the state’s aging correctional infrastructure was not intended to house the number of dangerous offenders that are currently in our prisons.

Now that the joint budget hearings have concluded, the House Appropriations subcommittees will begin to meet separately to review specific portions of the budget and delve deeper into the state agencies’ budget needs. Since the Georgia Constitution requires the budget bills to originate in the House, each House Appropriations subcommittee will pass their respective portions of the current and upcoming fiscal year state budgets, which will collectively result in two complete budget bills to be approved by the full House Appropriations Committee. Then, each budget bill will go to the House Rules Committee to be scheduled for a vote on the House floor.

After the budget bills make their way through the House, these bills will be transmitted to our counterparts in the Senate, where they will undergo the same process. As the House and Senate continue to work through the budget process, there will likely be changes to the governor’s original proposals, and I will keep you updated as these bills are finalized.

The House reconvened on Monday. In the coming weeks, our focus will be turned toward the state budget process. House committees also will begin to meet more frequently to consider legislation that best serves you, your community and our state. As your voice at the Capitol, I always appreciate hearing directly from my constituents back home, especially about issues or policies that could impact our county/counties. My Capitol office number is (404) 656-9210, and my direct email is [email protected].

As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.

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