Business incentive funds take a hit in budget
AJC reporter J. Scott Trubey contributed to this report.
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Highlights of the fiscal 2014 budget
Education
- $147.4 million addition to pay for enrollment growth in K-12 schools
- $41 million extra to help low-wealth K-12 schools
- $3.9 million more for school nurses, training, and school technology
- $42 million more in the teaching budget for the University System, although more than half of that goes to employee retirement and health benefits.
- $24.6 million cut in funding for the state's technical college system
- $193 million in new university construction projects, including nearly $59 million for a new law school/humanities building in downtown Atlanta for Georgia State University
- $238 million for K12 school construction and upgrades
- 3 percent increase in awards to HOPE scholars who qualify for the awards
- $22 million cut in technical school HOPE grants, based on fewer students qualifying
- $6.5 million in grants for high-demand programs, such as nursing and commercial truck drivers.
- $12.9 million to restore pre-kindergarten instruction to 180 days
Health care and social services
- $50 million more for cancer research and a cancer research building at Georgia Regents University
- $2 million cut for Cancer Clinicians and Scientists program
- $246 million more to fund the Medicaid and PeachCare health care programs
- $35 million to fund the fourth year of the state's mental health settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice
- $670,000 cut in child support services, $500,000 cut in funding for elder abuse investigations and prevention.
- Prisons and law enforcement
- $16.4 million to replace 175 Department of Corrections vehicles and for other prison repairs and improvements
- $4.78 million to open the new Rockdale Regional Youth Detention Center and renovate and open another juvenile justice campus
- $9.5 million to replace 106 state patrol cars, a helicopter, 10 motor carrier compliance vehicles, and for public safety repairs and renovations
- $741,000 for information technology upgrades needed for implementation of the Real ID initiative
Other
- $86 million reduction in two programs designed to help attract and create businesses.
- $2.6 million in cuts to the Department of Natural Resources operations
- $22 million for the annual interest payment on the state's Unemployment Trust Fund debt.
- $70 million for water and sewer projects
- $50 million to continue the Savannah Harbor deepening project
- $11.75 million for the College Football Hall of Fame
- $18 million for land acquisition for wildlife management areas and parks and historic preservation
Georgia spends tens of millions of dollars each year to lure new business to the state, or to help companies already here to grow and hire more Georgians.
But the state’s tightening budget has forced Gov. Nathan Deal to rethink some of the programs. Deal proposed to cut nearly $185 million out of funds the state uses to attract new business.
The cuts, which affect the current year’s budget and also the plan for fiscal 2014, represent a nearly 75 percent reduction in economic development funding. And while state officials say Georgia still has sufficient incentive money in spite of the reductions, Democrats are raising concerns.
Check out Sunday’s print or tablet AJC edition for an in-depth report on what the proposed cuts mean to Georgia’s economic development efforts.
About the Author
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
