Beyond Teacher Pay Raise, Agency Cuts Lurk In Georgia Budget

After budget cuts hit Georgia state finances this year, Gov. Brian Kemp’s budget proposal for the upcoming year projects that happy days are here again — for some.

Teachers and state employees making less than $40,000 a year would get a raise. Schools, colleges, universities and Medicaid would get budget increases to meet growing populations or rising costs. New prosecutors and judges would be funded, and Kemp would spend $20 million on a new outdoor stewardship grant program.

But other state agencies would be in line for cuts, sometimes sharp ones. Crucially, Kemp’s budget also doesn’t include the second phase of an income tax cut supported by many fellow Republicans.