ATLANTA – Georgia taxpayers could be in for a third round of income tax rebates next year now that the state is reporting another hefty budget surplus.
But a progressive-leaning think tank that keeps a close eye on Georgia fiscal policies is arguing the tax rebates Gov. Brian Kemp and his fellow Republicans in the General Assembly adopted during the last two legislative sessions came at the expense of critical government services that have been underfunded since the Great Recession more than a decade ago.
The state completed fiscal 2023 at the end of last month with a surplus estimated at nearly $4.8 billion, not as much black ink as the $6.6 billion surplus at the end of the previous year but still hefty and far above the revenue estimate the Georgia Department of Revenue put out in January.
Kemp and lawmakers used the last two budget surpluses to fund state income tax rebates of $1 billion last year and $1.6 billion in 2021. That translated into tax rebates of $250 for single taxpayers in each of the last two years and $500 for married taxpayers filing jointly.
Those rebates are the result of conservative budgeting by the governor, said state Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“We’re elected to be good stewards of other people’s money,” he said. “That’s why we are where we are.”
But Danny Kanso, senior fiscal analyst for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, said the fiscal 2023 surplus represents part of a three-year pattern of flat spending that is failing to meet the needs of Georgians in such vital areas as health care and public education.
“Despite the massive amount of cash on hand, our leaders continue to stand by as conditions worsen across state government, with record employee turnover and understaffing in critical areas such as human services,” Kanso said. “In the absence of a strategy to deploy these funds, a decade-plus of austerity still looms over state agencies and core functions of government.”
Case in point: When Kemp signed the $32.4 billion fiscal 2024 state budget in May, he vetoed nine spending line items and instructed state agencies to ignore an astounding 134 others.
Among the casualties was a pay raise of $6 an hour the General Assembly had earmarked for direct care workers serving Georgians with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At the time, Kemp argued the legislature failed to provide the estimated $105 million that would be required to pay for the raises.
The governor and lawmakers also slashed the University System of Georgia’s budget by $66 million, drawing fire from system Chancellor and former Gov. Sonny Perdue.
On the other hand, the spending plan also included pay raises of $4,000 to $6,000 for law enforcement officers and $2,000 increases for other state workers, teachers, and university system employees.
The budget fully funds Georgia’s Quality Basic Education (QBE) k-12 student funding formula with a record $13.1 billion in state dollars and covers 100% of tuition for Georgia’s HOPE scholars for the first time since 2011.
But Kemp said he’s reluctant to commit the unexpectedly large surplus to recurring spending on government services because of the uncertain nature of tax revenues.
Up to a point, Tillery agreed.
“I’m always going to be leery of adding to base budgets when revenues are unpredictable,” he said. “We’ve got a piggybank right now, but we can’t make next year’s budget with that. We have to make it on what’s going to come in.”
However, Tillery said some new spending may be in order.
“Some one-time expenses we need to invest in, particularly infrastructure,” he said. “We don’t have as many [state] workers anymore. We may have to do some things from a capital [spending] standpoint.”
The exact size of the surplus at this point is unknown. The state will release a more complete accounting this fall that details actual spending and total tax collections, including other sources of revenue that have not yet been reported.
ATLANTA – The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation into conditions at the Fulton County Jail following the death of an inmate covered in lice and filth.
“People held in jails and prisons do not surrender their constitutional and civil rights at the jailhouse door,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said during a news conference Thursday.
“Civil rights protections are particularly important for the vulnerable, including those who are in the control and custody of the government,” added Ryan Buchanan, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
Clarke said the Justice Department also will look into credible allegations that the jail is structurally unsafe, that violence resulted in three homicides last year as well as serious injuries, and that correctional officers are facing criminal charges for using excessive force against prisoners.
Clarke noted that 87% of the facility’s inmates are Black.
“This is a racial justice issue,” she said.
Because the inmate who died was being housed in the jail’s mental-health unit, the investigation will also examine whether Fulton County and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office discriminate against inmates with psychiatric disabilities, Clarke said.
Both Clarke and Buchanan promised a thorough and fair investigation that is being opened with no pre-determined conclusions.
If the investigation finds systemic violations, the Justice Department will notify Fulton County of corrective actions it should take, Clarke said.
Individuals with information relevant to the investigation are encouraged to contact the Justice Department at 888-473-4092 or by email at [email protected].
The state has launched an ad campaign to raise awareness of Medicaid eligibility redetermination.
ATLANTA – Nearly 100,000 Georgians have lost Medicaid coverage since the federal public health emergency brought on by the pandemic expired in April, the state Department of Community Health (DCH) reported Thursday.
The federal government prohibited disenrolling any Medicaid recipients for three years after COVID-19 struck the nation in March 2020. With the public health emergency at an end, states began a year-long process of reassessing eligibility for those on Medicaid this spring.
Georgia began processing renewal applications for 216,991 Georgians in June for Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids. At the close of the month, 64,423 of these Georgians were renewed while 95,578 lost coverage.
Nearly 57,000 renewal applications remain pending and will retain coverage while those recipients’ eligibility is determined.
The vast majority of those who lost coverage – 89,168 – were procedurally terminated due to lack of information received by the DCH to make an eligibility determination.
In April, the state agency estimated that about half a million Georgians were newly enrolled in Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids during the pandemic, bringing the total number of enrollees to about 2.7 million, about a quarter of the state’s population.
The state was able to automatically renew 50,607 Georgia Medicaid enrollees last month by using available data on those recipients, including data from programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – commonly known as food stamps – or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Those who could not be renewed automatically received renewal packets from the DCH. As of June 30, the agency had received more than 46,000 completed packets.
The state also contacted affected Medicaid enrollees through other means, including phone calls and text messages at 30 and 15 days before their “redetermination” deadline.
Working with other state agencies, the DCH launched a statewide public information campaign including TV and radio ads in English and Spanish, social media outreach, digital advertising, bus shelter signs, billboards, and media outreach.
The DCH plans to complete the redetermination process for all of Georgia’s Medicaid enrollees by the end of May 2024.
However, the State has data that over 20,000 of the individuals procedurally terminated would no longer have been eligible due to increased income, aging out of coverage, moving out of state, or other factors. The Medicaid redetermination process is the result of Congress passing a December 2022 federal spending bill officially requiring all states to review Medicaid and CHIP eligibility between April 2023 and May 2024. Ex Parte Renewals: The State was able to automatically renew 50,607 of the individuals with June renewal dates through the ex parte process of using the members’ available data, including data from programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This process requires no action from members and these members did not receive a renewal packet. Pre-Populated Form Renewals: For those who were not automatically renewed, Georgia sent redetermination packets to 169,442 individuals in May. These individuals had until the end of June to provide the State with updated information to retain their coverage. As of June 30, the State received over 46,000 completed packets. The Georgia Department of Human Services sends all Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids® members a renewal notice via mail and/or electronic method based on an individual’s preference about 45 days before their redetermination deadline. Individuals also receive a reminder letter 15 days before their redetermination deadline. The State has also undertaken efforts to contact individuals through other means, including phone calls and SMS text messages at 30 and 15 days before their redetermination deadline. Care Management Organizations (CMOs) are also partnering with the State to conduct additional outreach. Any individual who had their renewal packet returned to the State due to a bad address is held as pending until additional outreach can be completed. In addition to these ongoing efforts, since September 2022, the Georgia Department of Community Health, Georgia Department of Human Services, and State of Georgia partners have been working to educate and mobilize Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids® members through a statewide public information campaign that includes TV and radio ads in English and Spanish, social media outreach, digital advertising, bus shelter signage, billboards, media outreach, regular partner briefings, informational videos, and resources in seven languages.
2 Continuity of Coverage: Medicaid coverage continues while renewals are processed, even if processing continues beyond the renewal date. Members can submit updated proof of eligibility up to 90 days after their termination date. If they are determined eligible, their coverage will be retroactively reinstated. Members who feel they have been denied due to incorrect information, or for another reason, can appeal a denial up to 30 days after they receive their redetermination decision and elect to retain their coverage during the appeals process. Unwinding To Date: Since the beginning of the Medicaid redetermination process in April 2023, approximately 71,000 Georgians have renewed Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids® coverage. Nearly 63,000 individuals have pending decisions and will retain coverage while their eligibility is determined. More information on all options available to members can be found on the State’s official microsite for Medicaid redetermination www.staycovered.ga.gov.
ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections fell slightly last month compared to June of last year, but the state closed out fiscal 2023 with a huge surplus for the third year in a row.
The Georgia Department of Revenue brought in $2.84 billion in taxes in June, down 0.4% from the same month a year ago. However, the $33.13 billion in receipts into the state’s coffers for the full 12 months of the last fiscal year far exceeded the $28.4 billion revenue estimate Gov. Brian Kemp made in January, generating a surplus of nearly $4.8 billion.
Individual income taxes last month were down 12.6% compared to June of last year, largely due to a 53.6% increase in refunds issued to Georgia taxpayers.
Net sales tax collections went the other way, increasing by 4%, not enough to offset the decrease in income taxes.
Corporate income tax receipts declined by 14.7%, as refunds issued to Georgia businesses soared by 458.6%.
Still, the year-end budget surplus is sure to touch off a debate over what to do with the money. Kemp pledged to take a conservative approach.
“The governor looks forward to working closely with the General Assembly on priorities for how the state’s one-time funds will be utilized in a strategic, fiscally responsible way that does not commit short-term revenue gains to long-term obligations,” Kemp’s office wrote Wednesday in a statement emailed to Capitol Beat.
Kemp has used budget surpluses the last two years to fund state income tax cuts that were enthusiastically supported by legislative Republicans.
But opponents have argued that most of those cuts have gone to benefit upper-income Georgians, while the state continues to inadequately fund government services for those who are less well off.
“State leaders have an obligation to respond to long-standing deficits across public education, access to health care and economic mobility, yet they are actively choosing to leave billions on the table to accrue increasingly large reserves for no clear purpose,” said Danny Kanso, senior fiscal analyst for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
Georgia voters reelected Kemp to a second term last November after the governor pledged on the campaign trail to back a $1 billion state income tax rebate and pay raises for teachers and state employees. The General Assembly’s Republican majority approved both measures during this year’s legislative session.
ATLANTA – Kia will invest more than $200 million and create nearly 200 jobs at its West Point plant to produce the Korean automaker’s new electric vehicle sports-utility model, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday.
The EV9 will become the fifth model to be assembled at the Georgia plant since it opened in 2009, joining the Telluride, the Sorento and Sportage SUVs, and the K5 mid-size sedan. More than 40% of Kia vehicles sold in the U.S. are manufactured in West Point.
“Georgia’s longstanding partnership with Kia has led to generational job creation and growth for the West Point area,” Kemp said. “This project will both bring more opportunity to hardworking Georgians and help propel the state toward our goal of becoming the e-mobility capital.”
“Like Telluride, EV9 has the potential to be another change catalyst for Kia,” added Sean Yoon, president & CEO of Kia Motors North America and Kia Motors America. “This will be the most innovative vehicle that we have ever built and will be a standout in the EV market and on the road.”
To date, Kia has invested more than $1.9 billion in the Peach State, and Kia Georgia is responsible for more than 14,000 plant and supplier jobs in the region.
Meanwhile, two larger electric vehicle investments are taking shape elsewhere in Georgia. Hyundai is building a $5.5 billion plant west of Savannah – the biggest economic development project in the state’s history – that will generate 8,100 jobs.
Rivian has under construction a $5 billion EV plant in the Covington area that is expected to create 7,500 jobs.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Global Commerce team worked on the Kia EV project with the West Point Development Authority, the city of West Point, Troup County, the Georgia Center of Innovation’s manufacturing and energy teams, and the Technical College System of Georgia’s Quick Start program.
The EV9 plant is expected to begin operations in the second quarter of next year.
