00:00Good morning and welcome. Honored to be with you all today and just want to thank everybody for joining us. It's great to see you. We've enjoyed your time away since session ended.
00:13I'm also honored to be with our great First Lady Marty Kemp.
00:18We're both very thankful for the great legislative partners that you see beside me and behind me and certainly want to acknowledge Lieutenant Governor Burke Jones. Thank you very much for your work this session, Lieutenant Governor. Chairman Matt Hatchett, the House Appropriations Chairman.
00:43Chairman Hatchett has done a lot of great work with this budget and certainly want to thank all the members of the General Assembly that you see behind us and those that are not with us today.
00:54But we just appreciate the bipartisan support that overwhelmingly voted for this common sense and proud to say balanced budget.
01:03I also want to thank Speaker John Burns and Chairman Blake Tillery.
01:08Obviously, Speaker Burns was a great partner in this process and Chairman Tillery of the House Appropriations Committee couldn't be with us today.
01:16He had a family commitment, but I was texting with him earlier and thanked him for his work on the budget.
01:22And I know Speaker Burns is out of town, but we had several days last week where we were on the road together working with some of our federal partners,
01:32but also signed a lot of legislative bills down on the coast.
01:37And I just appreciate his partnership so much.
01:39I want to thank our constitutional officers who are with us today that are great partners in our business environment and making government work every day in our state,
01:48safeguarding taxpayer money and keeping our government lean and efficient.
01:53I also want to thank all the agency heads that are with us that have just done an incredible job being good stewards of the resources that the General Assembly is appropriating.
02:03And also just want to acknowledge OPB Director Rick Dunn and his team as well as the House and Senate budget staff.
02:12They did a great job this year. Thank you all.
02:14The budget that we will sign represents our state's priorities and is a direct result of all these individuals' hard work and certainly dedication.
02:35Today I'll sign the budget for fiscal year 2026, a budget that makes important investments
02:41to meet the needs of our growing state without growing government or adding to our long-term liabilities.
02:48It represents an impact across so many different areas of our state,
02:53including investments in education, public safety, health care, infrastructure, and much, much more.
03:00Through this budget, we're again fully funding our schools.
03:04We're also committing over $300 million additional dollars for enrollment and expense growth.
03:10Almost $50 million to promote our students' mental health and well-being.
03:19$13 million in new funding to improve literacy for our elementary students.
03:25$267 million to fund higher education growth at the university and technical college systems,
03:33furthering their ability to provide the workforce that we need to meet the demand that we have.
03:39$20 million to replace 227 school buses.
03:43Over $141 million to fund the Promise Scholarship Program,
03:48delivering on the promise we made last year to students and families who deserve an education that is right for them.
03:56We're also working to promote the health and well-being of all Georgians,
04:01with $257 million additional dollars in support for Medicaid and Peach Care for Kids expense and enrollment growth.
04:09Just in case anyone out there continues to try to tell people we are not spending more on Medicaid every single year.
04:17$10 million for significant capital repairs at our state hospitals.
04:23Over $5 million for salary enhancements for social service eligibility case workers,
04:29which is building on previous pay raises for these critical employees.
04:34Over $4.5 million to improve maternal health.
04:38In fiscal year 2026, we're also building on our past work to make Georgia safer,
04:45to keep our communities and businesses secure, and to take criminals off the streets.
04:51This budget includes $200 million for the Department of Corrections to increase corrections officer salaries
04:57and number of positions, to increase salaries of non-security staff,
05:03and to meet other operational needs that will make our prisons safer.
05:07This was a priority both for my administration, but also the leaders in the legislature,
05:13and I am proud that we worked together to deliver these results.
05:17Other key investments in public safety within the budget include over $1.7 million for additional positions in technology
05:30at the GBI crime labs across the state.
05:33Over $1 million for two crime scene technical leaders and three digital forensic investigators.
05:40$1 million for a gang case management system and gang enforcement efforts statewide.
05:46Over $268,000 for Attorney General Chris Carr to expand the gang prosecution unit in the Savannah region.
05:54And over $748,000 to expand the human trafficking prosecution unit to the Macon and Augusta regions.
06:03And over $421,000 to improve operations of the 24-7 hotline to report human trafficking and serve victims through the CJCC,
06:14a measure that was championed by our First Lady Marty Kemp.
06:18Last but not least, this budget makes considerable investments in infrastructure statewide.
06:24An important factor in keeping us the best place for business and opportunity.
06:29With $290 million in additional funding going toward transportation projects,
06:35and $715 million going to capital projects, including some for K-12 schools,
06:42we are using funds we have had from years of growth to build stronger communities
06:48and encourage further investments and success.
06:51I am especially proud we are doing so for the second straight year with cash,
06:57meaning two straight years that we have not added any new debt.
07:01That brings our state's debt service to revenue ratio to the lowest in state history.
07:08And ultimately, it means we'll save taxpayers $150 million per year for the next 20 years
07:28in future debt service costs that we won't have to pay.
07:32On top of the billions saved in tax refunds and tax cuts that we've implemented
07:37over the last several years.
07:40We're able to take these steps because of our conservative approach to budgeting.
07:45We don't follow the paths of states like California, New York, Illinois, Maryland, and others.
07:53They're growing government and raising taxes to cover budget deficits.
07:58Here in Georgia, we're keeping government in check, cutting taxes and returning money
08:03to where it belongs, back to hard-working Georgians.
08:08We balance our budgets and encourage economic growth statewide without growing government.
08:22That's thanks to this team that you see up here that is committed to being good stewards of what Georgians have entrusted us with.
08:30So thank you all again for helping us keep Georgia the best place to live, work, and raise a family through budgets like this.
08:38Now it is an honor to turn it over to a person that worked very hard this legislative session
08:45on a lot of things that we've got done, including this budget, our Lieutenant Governor, the Honorable Burke Jones.
08:54Good morning, and number one, I want to thank the Governor.
09:00Thank you, Governor Kemp, for all your leadership.
09:03During this process, it goes without saying that in order to get anything done, it always takes strong leadership.
09:12And as we continue to grow as a state, our budget continues to grow.
09:16I think we have done a fantastic job of approaching it with a common sense approach, a very conservative approach.
09:25And it's easy when you have like-minded people who are working on this, like Speaker Burns, like Chairman Hatchett, and Chairman Tillery.
09:35I think we address a lot of things pertaining to, number one, being fiscally conservative,
09:40but also on the health care front, the transportation front, and the education as well, which I was very proud of,
09:48that we were funding our Promise Scholarship, which we worked very hard on in the Senate, and that was a priority for us,
09:54as well as fully funding QBE for K-12 public school systems.
09:59So the work that was done by Chairman Hatchett and Chairman Tillery, really, I can't say enough about how well these two work together,
10:09and the group that they, the team that they have around them, who put in countless hours to make this budget possible,
10:17we just want to thank them. We want to thank the legislatures in both the House and the Senate for all their hard work.
10:24We do our best to try to accommodate each and every legislator and their needs and their districts,
10:31but we always try to prioritize what is in the best interest for the whole state and our citizens.
10:39So thank you very much, Governor Kemp. Thank you, Speaker Burns. Chairman Hatchett, I know, is here on his behalf,
10:46and I can tell you Senator Tillery, Chairman Tillery, and his team have done a fantastic job.
10:53Can't say enough about the leadership in these two chambers, and it's just been a pleasure to work with them this year,
10:59and happy to sign this into law. So congratulations, Governor, and congratulations, Chairman Hatchett.
11:06I know you're here on behalf of the Speaker and your chamber, so y'all put in all the hard work,
11:13so I'll let you get into the details of it. So thank y'all very much.
11:16Well, good morning. Good morning. On behalf of Speaker Burns and the entire House of Representatives,
11:30may y'all get ready for this, you know what I know, it's a great day to be a Georgia.
11:37We're incredibly proud to celebrate yet another year of passing historic tax cuts
11:49and returning over a billion dollars back to hardworking Jordans,
11:53all while making strategic, fiscally responsible investments
11:57in the areas that matter most to keep our state in the best place to live, work, and raise a family.
12:03Thank you, Governor Kemp, for your leadership and unwavering dedication to the people of our state.
12:09I also want to thank all the staff in the House Budget and Research Office
12:13and our partners in the Senate for working tirelessly with the House to deliver a budget
12:18that reflects our commitment to championing every Georgian in every corner of the state.
12:24Chairman Tiller is where he should be this morning. He's with his son at the final day of school
12:30before summer break, and I thank him for his cooperation on this budget also.
12:36This year, Speaker Burns and the House made school safety and student mental health our top priorities,
12:42and we're proud to include funding for both of these initiatives.
12:46HB 68 includes over $6.9 million for qualified student advocacy specialists to identify and facilitate resources for students in crisis,
12:57connecting them to the services they need when they need it the most.
13:02Additionally, the budget includes $19.5 million to establish student mental health support grants for middle and high schools.
13:11We're also proud of Bill and our work to provide school security funding to every school across the state
13:17by including $108 million in this year's budget in addition to the $50 million for school security grants
13:23and $1.5 million for GEMA's school threat assessment system included in the amended fiscal year 2025 budget.
13:31We've also continued to deliver on our commitment to strengthen literacy resources
13:36and ensure that every child in Georgia can read on level by the third grade by investing $22.7 million to improve literacy outcomes in every public school.
13:48Improving access to health care also continues to be a top priority for Speaker Burns and the House,
13:54especially for Georgia's growing families and new mothers.
13:58That's why we're proud to include nearly $3 million to expand Georgia's home visiting program from 50 to 75 counties
14:06and $1.3 million for six perinatal regional centers to increase access to maternal and neonatal health care.
14:15We also made significant investments in our state prison system to strengthen security and make improvements to our facilities,
14:22keep our corrections officers safe on the job, and ensure inmates have continued access to quality physical, dental, and mental health care services.
14:32Last year, Speaker Burns announced the creation of the Special Subcommittee on Appropriations on State Prisons.
14:39That committee will continue to monitor our investments in our prison facilities
14:44and ensure we're taking the necessary steps to keep Georgians and our heroes in law enforcement safe.
14:52From education and health care to infrastructure, economic development, and public safety,
14:58this budget uplifts every Georgian and every community across our state,
15:03making a real difference in the lives of our citizens and securing a brighter future for our great state.
15:10Thank you, Governor Kemp and Speaker Burns, for allowing me to say a few words on the Speaker's behalf this morning.
15:16And now, Governor, let's get this budget signed.
15:19I'm with you, Governor. Thank you.
15:21All right. Great remarks, Chairman Hatchett. Thank you for that.
15:33Lieutenant Governor Jones, thank you again for your leadership, the rest of the House and Senate leadership that is here,
15:39the members and the executive branch agencies.
15:43Just thank you all so much for all that you have done to make us have a great legislative session.
15:48And I think this budget just even furthers that sentiment.
15:53So that, we'll move to the table, get the First Lady up here.
15:56We'll sign this budget. Thank you all very much.
15:59Thank you all.
16:00Thank you all very much.
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