Here’s where your Georgia state taxes are going in 2025

Georgia lawmakers have many responsibilities when they assemble beneath the state's gold dome each year for the legislative session, but none are more important than passing the state's budget.

The budget, dubbed House Bill 916, allocates funding for all state departments, programs and employees from July 1 to June 30, 2025, and totaled $36.1 billion this year. Passing the budget is the only thing legislators are constitutionally required to complete during a legislative session, and Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign the document into law in early May.

This year, the final version of the budget emerged from a conference committee on the final day of the legislative session, with new amendments that sought to strike a balance between the priorities of the House, the Senate and the governor. Here are some of the highlights.

Education

Perhaps the most notable change to the state's education budget is a $48.4 million grant in state lottery revenue that will fund Georgia's pre-K program.

The budget also includes $6.3 million to cover the cost of breakfast and lunch for an estimated 64,000 low-income students, $1.6 million to increase literacy rates by providing a universal reading screener for all students between kindergarten and third grade, and $108.9 million for schools to improve school security through safety infrastructure and POST-certified peace officers.

Georgia educators can also expect to receive a raise, with the budget including $2,500 cost-of-living adjustments for all public school teachers.

Health

The FY25 budget included funds to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates, which legislators say will ensure that those on Medicare will be better able to access necessary healthcare services.

The changes includes a $4.9 million grant to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for speech-language pathology, audiology, physical therapy, and occupational therapy providers, as well as $12.7 million in funding for certain primary care and OB/GYN services throughout the state.

Criminal Justice

As part of sweeping cost-of-living adjustments for state employees, the budget includes $17.9 million to state prisons to provide $3,000 salary increases for law enforcement officers. It also includes nearly $17,000 to increase salaries for judges in the Court of Appeals, bringing them in line with the Judicial Compensation Committee's recommendation.

HB 916 also allocated $10.7 million towards technology upgrades inside state prisons to combat a rise in cellphones being smuggled in to inmates.

Transportation

The 2025 budget includes a whopping $1 billion for various capital construction projects, along with an additional $159 million for capital maintenance projects.

Georgia's ports and waterways will receive $1.4 million in the upcoming fiscal year, and Savannah-area transit received a last-minute boost, with the Conference Committee report allocating $500,000 in one-time funds for Chatham area transit infrastructure.

Fine a copy of the state budget by visiting www.legis.ga.gov.