Georgia has more money in the bank than ever before, creating a chance for an election-year spending or tax-cutting spree — if that’s what Gov. Brian Kemp and Republican lawmakers want.
Figures released Monday show the state ended the 2021 budget with a nearly $2.2 billion surplus even after the state’s rainy day fund was filled to the legal limit of $4.3 billion. That’s a big turnabout from cuts imposed by state lawmakers who cobbled together the 2021 budget amid pandemic uncertainty in June 2020.
It’s the first time the state has filled its rainy day fund, meant for budget emergencies, since lawmakers raised the limit from 10% of yearly revenue to 15% in 2010. That move aimed to provide more cushion after the Great Recession devastated state tax collections, forcing steep spending cuts. Georgia hasn’t run a surplus on top of a filled rainy day fund since before the recession, officials said earlier this year.
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