For Now, No Additional State Budget Cuts Projected For Next Fiscal Year

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Gov. Brian Kemp signs the FY21 budget with more than $2 billion in cuts.

The governor's budget office says state agencies should not have to make additional cuts to their spending plans for the next fiscal year, even after the coronavirus pandemic decimated revenues for much of 2020.

In budget instructions sent Thursday, Office of Planning and Budget Director Kelly Farr said that while lawmakers had to slash 10% from the budget year that ended June 30, "because of the difficult decisions made during the spring, we are well-positioned to weather any additional economic challenges we may face."

That means everything from higher education to mental health services to the state's election administration will tentatively get a reprieve from more reductions.

RELATED: In Waning Hours Of 2020 Session, Lawmakers Pass Pared-Back Budget

The current $25.9 billion budget, which began July 1, includes about $950 million cut from the state's K-12 education funding, although budget writers said about half of that would be supplemented by federal coronavirus relief.

“This budget fully funds enrollment growth and training for public school education,” Kemp said at the signing. “It recognizes a 7.8% increase in enrollment at state charter schools, and this budget provides over $55 million in additional lottery funds for hope scholarships and grant programs to meet projected demand.”

Lawmakers estimate about $1 billion of the state's $2.7 billion rainy day fund will need to be used to close out last fiscal year, but the governor's message to state agency heads said the foundation of Georgia's fiscally conservative budgeting would avoid "kicking the can down the road."

"Throughout the spring and summer, we have been waging a war on two fronts," Farr wrote. "One for the physical health of our citizens and one for the economic health of our families and communities."

While the budget plan saved thousands of state employees from furloughs, budget cuts in multiple agencies included eliminating positions, including 200 employees with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.