The Georgia House and Senate approved a $19.3 billion midyear budget Tuesday that will send an extra $167 million to local school districts, mostly for costs of increased student enrollment.
The budget now goes to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature.
The midyear spending plan passed by lawmakers Tuesday also allows Georgia Gwinnett College to avoid $2.7 million in spending cuts proposed by Deal. The money would have been cut from special startup funding the school has received in recent years.
Still, House Appropriations Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn, told colleagues that sluggish state tax collections required more spending cuts this year in some areas of the budget.
“It looks like things are looking a little better, but at the same time, revenues are not where they need to be,” he said.
The midyear budget, which runs through June 30, does not include any cuts tied to new federal spending reductions, which could top $150 million.
State officials say they will look at addressing the federal cuts, if they have an impact on the budget, during next year’s legislative session.
Besides the extra money for local school districts, the midyear spending plan fills a hole of more than $200 million in the state’s health care program for the poor, elderly and disabled.
It would cut $73 million in basic funding for the University System of Georgia and nearly $40 million budgeted for economic development programs. Most agencies would take midyear cuts because state leaders aren’t sure tax collections will meet expectations if the economy slows during the first half of 2013.
The midyear budget makes changes to the fiscal 2013 spending plan lawmakers approved last year. The House is expected to vote next week on a $19.8 billion budget for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1.
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