ATLANTA (AP) – After a $2 billion bloodletting last year because of the economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Georgia’s budget picture is looking better.
But it’s still unclear how much better, which state budget writers say will drive caution.
Through November, Georgia’s tax collections are running nearly 6% ahead of last year’s numbers, meaning the state is more than $550 million ahead of projections on its $26 billion spending plan.
“”With the money, I think we’re in a different situation that we thought we were going to be in,” said Rep. David Wilkerson, a Powder Springs Democrat and the minority whip. “Most people thought the pandemic was going to cause a huge hole in the budget.”
Lawmakers are likely to try to add back some but not all of the money they cut from K-12 schools, and Gov. Brian Kemp has asked for $400 million more for Medicaid, in part to fund his partial expansion of the program. But no teacher pay raises or major tax cuts are likely to be in the offing, and it’s unclear how much budgets for other state services will rebound.