A new audit shows that Georgia paid workers who retired, quit, transferred or were laid off $43 million last year in unused vacation time.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sunday that the unused leave cost state taxpayers closer to $60 million when also including payroll taxes and payments to the health benefits system.

Georgia also is obligated to pay out hundreds of millions more to current employees in the coming years. The report showed that state employees have banked more than $550 million worth of unused time off as of the end of fiscal 2010.

The report comes weeks before Gov. Nathan Deal will release a 2013 budget proposal that's expected to include further spending cuts in funding to state agencies.

Tags: state employees, Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, state audit, unused leave