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Lawmakers working on final negotiations on tax refunds
The proposed spending plan would include property tax rebates to homeowners and would divert state revenue to the Department of Transportation to make up for fuel tax revenue that the state didn’t collect while gas and diesel taxes were suspended
ATLANTA - Georgia lawmakers are working to make changes to the state budget after the state ended up with a surplus last year.
Thursday, the Senate voted 54-1 to approve House Bill 18, which includes $2.4 billion in additional spending after Gov. Brian Kemp raised projected revenue.
The plan includes $1 billion for property tax rebates to homeowners. It would also divert $1.1 billion in state revenue to the Department of Transportation to make up for fuel tax revenue that the state didn’t collect during the months that Georgia's gas and diesel taxes were suspended.
The House also overwhelmingly voted to approve House Bill 162, which would give income tax refunds projected to be anywhere from $250 to $500. The payments will only go to those who paid Georgia state income tax in both 2021 and 2022.
The House also voted 170-0 for House Resolution 66, which ratified the governor's decision to keep extending what had originally been legislated as a six-week holiday on gasoline and diesel taxes last spring.
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Kemp, a Republican, now calls for spending $32.6 billion in state tax money in the budget ending June 30, up 7.3% from original projections last year. Including federal and other money, total spending would rise to $61.6 billion.
The Senate proposes spending $24.5 million for one-time bonuses for 55,000 retirees in the state Employees Retirement System. That should equal $500 per employee - almost twice what the House proposed.
The House and Senate must resolve differences between their spending proposals. One key disagreement is over how quickly school districts must cover an increase in health insurance premiums for employees including maintenance workers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and others.
The State Health Benefit Plan had planned to increase premiums by 67% in January 2024, raising the amount charged per employee per month from $945 to $1,580, a total increase projected at $457 million a year.
The House proposed giving the benefit plan another $100 million in state money and stretching the premium increase over three years. The Senate proposes giving the plan only $34 million for a two-year phase-in, with school districts owing the full amount beginning on Jan. 1, 2025.
The state plans to spend $846 million a year to cover the insurance premium increase for certified employees including teachers. The premiums that employees directly pay wouldn’t change.
House lawmakers had proposed spending $138.8 million on school security grants, but the Senate shifted back to Kemp’s original plan of $115.7 million, or $50,000 per school. Senators instead supported Kemp’s plan for $25 million in learning loss grants to improve student achievement.
The Senate would use the money to provide grants to districts based on shares of students performing at or above grade level on tests from the 2021-2022 school year. Tillery said that would reward districts best using federal COVID-19 money to improve academic performance.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.