Legislative Update – Week 1

Due to the Appropriations meetings next week, the General Assembly will not convene. They will reconvene Monday, January 22 for Legislative Day 6 and meet through Friday, January 26, Legislative Day 10. The legislative pace will continue to increase as new bills are introduced and committees begin reviewing legislation in both chambers. The full legislative schedule can be found on the Georgia General Assembly’s website.

One issue at the top of the Governor’s list was education and workforce development. Governor Kemp touted a $1.4 billion increase to K-12 education in Georgia, supplementing funding for school safety, and the launch of the Georgia MATCH program. Thus far, Georgia MATCH has aided 10,000 high school students in their pursuit of higher education, and Georgia’s K-12 schools are in lockstep to continue the Governor’s mission of fostering a skilled workforce. On school safety, Governor Kemp is proposing solidifying school safety funding into the budget permanently. He has put forward a $104 million school safety budget item which schools and districts can use to enhance school safety tools, technology, or personnel. The Governor applauded the efforts of state legislators who have advanced efforts to pass school choice legislation in the past. He fortified his support for school choice initiatives and urged lawmakers to seek a path forward on this issue that he stated could no longer wait.

Governor Kemp reasserted his firm support for public safety and those who serve in Georgia.  Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and wounded State Trooper Jerry Parrish were in attendance and further asserted the Governor’s strong backing of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. Trooper Parrish was injured by gunfire in an exchange with demonstrators over the training center early last year. In recognizing him, the Governor also announced an additional $3000 pay raise for law enforcement personnel in addition to last year’s budgeted $6000 pay raise. He further recognized the continued efforts of First Lady Marty Kemp and the GRACE Commission to combat human trafficking as well as the GBI’s Anti-Gang Task Force and HEAT Unit.

Regarding healthcare, Governor Kemp looks to build on the Mental Health Parity Act of 2022, as well as a continued focus on lowering healthcare costs and expanding access to care. He is requesting an additional $205 million for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and other state entities addressing mental health. If passed, Georgia could potentially spend $1.6 billion on mental healthcare, which he asserts is an unprecedented investment. He asserted that the Patients First Act of 2019 has laid the foundation for the current state of the system in Georgia. Governor Kemp further credited Georgia Access with increased enrollment in private health insurance, reduced premiums, and the increase in insurance carriers across Georgia counties.