ATLANTA — The tax cuts signed by Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday put the state into a $1 billion budget hole. A hole the governor took steps to climb out of Tuesday.
It was Kemp’s eighth and final budget, and likely one of his most challenging.
He wanted to include those tax cuts…but tax cuts aren’t free.
The budget totals $36.6 billion.
The legislature sent him a bigger one, but with the tax cuts signed into being on Monday, Kemp’s team had to find ways to pay that $1.3 billion price tag.
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“That’s money that has to be accounted for in a balanced budget, because as long as I’m governor, Georgia will not follow in the steps of Washington, DC, where too many politicians refuse to make tough decisions necessary to keep spending in check,” Kemp said.
Kemp intends to fill that billion-dollar hole by telling state agencies to cut a combined $300 million in proposed new spending.
The rest will come through projected revenue growth in next year’s amended budget and through the reserve fund.
But the budget also contains some things, including $17 million to restore and fix some of Georgia’s state parks like Sweetwater Creek.
“I think it’s fantastic. I wish that they would do more,” Dr. Suzy Manely said.
Channel 2’s Richard Elliot found Manely and her friends walking their dogs. She loves Georgia’s state parks and is thankful there’s money in the budget to keep them looking good.
“I think we need more green spaces and more places where people can go that are affordable and not super expensive, where they can go as a family and spend time outside and away from electronics,” Manely said.
The governor also planned to finish signing or vetoing bills by later Tuesday afternoon.