Enacted Budget – Fiscal Year 2026
On May 9, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed the state’s fiscal 2026 budget after several vetoes. Total appropriations from all funds are $73.1 billion in fiscal 2026. Appropriations from state funds total $37.76 billion, an increase of $1.6 billion, or 4.5 percent, over the original fiscal 2025 budget. State general fund appropriations are allocated $32.5 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion, or 3.8 percent, over the original fiscal 2025 budget. The fiscal 2026 budget is set by a revenue estimate of $37.76 billion, an increase of 4.5 percent over the original fiscal 2025 budget. The state’s rainy day fund, the Revenue Shortfall Reserve, was filled at $5.5 billion in fiscal 2024. Current law provides that the reserve cannot exceed 15 percent of the previous fiscal year’s net revenue.
The budget makes important investments to meet the needs of the growing state across multiple areas including education, public safety, and health and human services. Under Educated Georgia, the budget funds early education investments to reduce Pre-K classroom size and provide 500 additional state funded slots in the Childcare and Parent Services Program. K-12 schools received additional funds for enrollment growth and training, growth in the State Commission Charter Schools supplement, new student support services including mental health support grants, pupil transportation, and statewide literacy initiatives. Under Healthy Georgia, the budget annualizes funding for provider rates and increases slots for services for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, funds a new behavioral health crisis center, allocates additional funds for Medicaid and PeachCare (including funds for new high-cost drugs), and increases certain reimbursement rates. Under Safe Georgia, the budget increases funds to reflect increased retention of community supervision officers, adds correctional officer positions to improve staff to offender ratios, addresses correctional officer salary compression and recruitment/retention, provides a 4 percent salary increase for juvenile correctional officer staff, funds an 8 percent salary increase for behavioral health counselors, and increases private prison beds and per diem rates at private prison facilities. The budget also allocates additional funds for utilization growth and increased costs of care in Out-of-Home care, a $3,000 salary enhancement for human services eligibility caseworkers, an expansion of the maternal health pilot, and additional positions at the Central Crime Lab.