Georgia lawmakers agree on pay raises in upcoming budget, but must resolve differences by Thursday

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia Senate on Tuesday approved a budget that would include pay raises for public school teachers and state employees, as well as boost spending on education, health care and mental health.

Senators and representatives now must work out their differences on House Bill 916 before 2024’s legislative session ends Thursday. The budget, which passed 53-1, spends $36.1 billion in state money and $61 billion overall in the year beginning July 1.

Spending would fall from this year’s budget after Gov. Brian Kemp and lawmakers supplemented that budget will billions in one-time cash, boosting state spending to $38 billion in the year ending June 30.

Public school teachers would get a $2,500 raise starting July 1, boosting average teacher pay in Georgia above $65,000 annually, as the Republican governor proposed in January. That is in addition to a $1,000 bonus Kemp sent out in December. Prekindergarten teachers would also get a $2,500 raise.

State and university employees also would get a 4% pay increase, up to $70,000 in salary. The typical state employee makes $50,400.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery, a Vidalia Republican, said those pay raises are among “big things we agree on.”

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