Senate leaders gave their okay to a $27.5 billion budget proposal in an early morning meeting Thursday – a proposal which Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill (R-Reidsville) described as a “progressive budget that meets many of the human needs of the citizens of this state — the human needs of the elderly, of children, of those in need.”
The budget also upped the Governor’s proposed teacher pay raise back to $3,000, but delayed starting the pay raise until July 1. In an effort to address teacher recruitment and retainment, Gov. Brian Kemp proposed a $3,000 per teacher raise and called it a “down payment on a promise.”
The House had cut the increase to $2,775. But in his presentation today, Chairman Hill said the state could save about $50 million by delaying the start of the pay raise until July — and by doing so, it would have the money — more than $400 million — to give K-12 educators the full raise Kemp proposed.
The Senate proposal includes the pay raise for educators, including certified staffers such as counselors and school psychologists.
Like the House version of the FY 2020 budget, the Senate proposal includes a 2 percent raises for state and University System of Georgia employees. The Senate budget also includes $150 million for a new voting system in Georgia.
The Senate is expected to vote on their version of the budget in the next few days. The two Chambers must approve a budget before April 2, the final day of the session.
