Rep. Alan Powell Legislative Report

This second week of session is known as “Budget Week”.

The joint House and Senate appropriations committees and subcommittees held hearings to begin the budget process.

These joint budget hearings were to review Governor Nathan Deal’s budget proposals and begin crafting two budget bills: the Fiscal Year 2017 (FY2017) budget and the Amended Fiscal Year 2016 (AFY2016) budget.

The full fiscal year budget uses a projected state revenue estimate to guide state spending from July 1 to June 30 of the following fiscal year. The amended budget uses a more accurate estimate of state revenue and accounts for any discrepancies between the projected estimate and actual revenue obtained.

This past week’s joint budget hearings allowed us to closely examine the governor’s recommendations, while also hearing testimony from the various state agencies vying for state funding.

We have seen substantial economic growth in state revenues each of the past three years. Another area where we have seen growth is in our population.

Between 2000 and 2015, Georgia’s population grew by more than two million, making us the eighth largest state. Due to this revenue and population growth, we are able to allow for “new” funding to account for adjustments in the AFY2016 budget, including $109,913,685 for K-12 education for a mid-term adjustment growth.

Additionally, the AFY2016 budget proposes an increase of $1,651,892 to support the information technology applications utilized by local school systems. The governor also proposed an adjustment of $14.9 million in this year’s amended budget to provide grants to local school systems to improve internet connectivity and for live online instruction and other digital resources for students and teachers.

The AFY2016 budget proposal also makes funding adjustments in education, impacting students planning to attend our colleges and universities. Since 2012, the number of Zell Miller Scholars at both public and private universities increased by more than forty percent. To account for this increase in eligible individuals, the governor has allocated an additional $30.3 million for AFY2016 and $59.1 million for FY2017 for Zell Miller and HOPE Scholarship recipients.

The governor’s FY2017 budget proposal is the largest budget Georgia’s history at $23.7 billion, approximately one billion dollars more than the total FY2016 budget.

The governor listed his funding priorities and education remained a top priority for 2017. He recommended an investment of$300 million for K-12 education to allow local school districts to give salary increases, eliminate furlough days or increase instruction days. The budget recommendation also includes an additional $26.2 million in funding for Pre-K teachers for salary increases up to three percent, as well as increasing salaries for assistant teachers. I believe Georgia’s future depends on attracting and retaining high-quality educators.

The state has also made noteworthy progress in other key areas as well, especially in criminal justice reform system. State juvenile justice facilities have seen a twenty-five percent decrease in population since the implementation of reforms, and Gov. Deal’s FY2017 budget calls for an additional $3.8 million towards the accountability courts to rehabilitate offenders and juvenile incentive grants aimed at providing community alternatives, as a proven alternative to sentencing. Gov. Deal has also allocated an additional $4.3 million in FY2017 to support educational initiatives in the state prison system. This includes operational costs for two charter high schools and expansion of GED fast track, vocational, and general education programs. These programs will give individuals the tools they need to succeed and transition into re-entry with a skill set and a purpose.

The last portion of the FY2017 proposal that I would like to highlight is the inclusion of new transportation dollars. As a result of legislation passed last session, Gov. Deal’s budget proposal for FY2017 appropriates over $800 million to help maintain and improve the state’s roads and bridges to keep freight and commuters moving safely and efficiently.

Finally this week, the House and Senate voted on an adjournment resolution that set the legislative calendar for the remainder of the 40-day session. Day 40, the final day of the 2016 legislative session, or “sine die,” will be Thursday, March 24. We have a very aggressive and busy schedule from now until then, and as we continue through this legislative session.