Georgia senators are supporting a 2022 budget that seeks money for after-school care and domestic violence shelters as well as more pay raises for state troopers, leaving House and Senate negotiators to work out relatively minor differences in their spending plans before they can send it to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto.
The Senate voted 54-0 on Tuesday to pass House Bill 81, which calls for Georgia to spend $27.3 billion in the year starting July 1. That puts back a fraction of the $2.2 billion lawmakers cut last year when they feared a big drop in tax revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic, although billions of incoming federal aid may hide some remaining gaps.
“That will far dwarf any additions and it will wipe out any reductions we made during the pandemic when our budgets were in a little bit of a crisis mode,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery, a Vidalia Republican.
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