Senate Convenes
Your Georgia Senate has convened once again under the Gold Dome to commence the 154th Georgia General Assembly. Over the next few months, your senators will be hard at work to make lives better in Georgia.
We had a busy first week back and the Senate has moved forward with due diligence. First, we re-elected Sen. David Shafer (R – Duluth) as our President Pro Tempore and passed Senate Resolutions 1 through 4, which set the rules for the Georgia Senate. These rules are in place so that your Senate doesn’t waste any time in improving our great state.
On Wednesday during our first week, Governor Nathan Deal spoke to the General Assembly and the people of Georgia for his State of the State address. During this address, Governor Deal emphasized his goals for this year’s session and highlighted parts of his budget for the next fiscal year.
He addressed topics like education, in which he proposed a pay increase for teachers and a funding increase for K-12 education. In order to retain talent and ensure a competitive salary for those who protect our most vulnerable population, our children, Governor Deal announced an average 19 percent pay raise for caseworkers with the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).
He also announced a new Cyber Innovation and Training Center to be built in Augusta. This center will be designed to attract young people who are interested in cyber security as well as companies interested in protecting their cyber infrastructure. This center will be a state-wide initiative that will further cement Georgia as the Silicon Valley of the South.
On Tuesday of this week, we kicked off our joint budget hearings. Governor Deal gave an overview of his Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) amended budget and Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) general budget. He re-introduced some ideas from his State of the State Address, such as the cyber security center in Augusta and the two percent pay increase specifically for K-12 public school teachers.
He also introduced some new ideas like a $3.9 million state funding increase in per diem reimbursements for foster parents. With the federal contribution of $8.4 million, the total funding increase will be $12.3 million which is an increase of 57 percent.
Governor Deal also gave an overview of his proposal in the FY17 amended budget to add $108.7 million (state motor fuel funds) for projected revenues resulting from House Bill 170, which was passed during the 2015 session, to agencies and programs aligned with transportation. In the FY18 general budget, the amount will increase to $171.1 million in additional funds making a total allocation of $2 billion for transportation needs.
After his address, we began budget hearings in full. Representatives from Georgia’s government agencies, such as the University System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Transportation, walked us through their individual proposed budgets. During these hearings and moving forward, I look forward to passing a balanced budget that promotes the economic growth that Georgia has been experiencing over the past few years.
It remains a pleasure to serve you, the constituents of the 25th Senate District. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 404.656.0082 or via email at burt.jones@senate.ga.gov.
Sen. Burt Jones is the Chairman of the Insurance and Labor Committee. He represents the 25th Senate District which includes Baldwin, Butts, Greene, Jasper, Morgan and Putnam counties and portions of Bibb, Jones and Walton counties.