House Passes Its AFY 21 Budget
The House of Representatives passed its version of the Amended FY 21 Budget on Thursday and transmitted the bill to the Senate. Items of note that were added by the House to the Governor’s Budget Recommendations include:
- Georgia Bureau of Investigation - $430K for the recruitment of medical examiners for the Crime Labs
- OneGeorgia Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program - language was added to provide for a grant administrator position and ongoing maintenance of mapping to better assist communities with obtaining grant funds to expand rural broadband. A total of $20 million remained for AFY21
- Georgia Department of Public Health - $18 million for the modernization of the Public Health Surveillance System to better track COVID-19 cases and vaccinations. An additional $15 million was added to the public health budget for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.
The Senate began appropriations hearings on the AFY21 budget on Friday and is scheduled to complete hearings on Monday, February 1. ACCG anticipates the amended budget will be completed next week. Once the budget is finalized, an updated version of the full budget summary will be provided. To view the summary of the Governor’s Budget Recommendations, click here.