Georgia Senate passes budget with funding boost for services for people with disabilities

The Georgia Senate has passed its version of a $38.5 billion state budget for next fiscal year, although the spending plan is destined to now be hashed out behind the scenes by leaders of both chambers.

Senate Appropriations Chair Blake Tillery, a Vidalia Republican running for lieutenant governor, presented the budget on the Senate floor Friday, where it passed unanimously. Tillery said the budget makes several “investments” in health care and public safety, and that it provides funding for future cost-of-living adjustments for state retirees. The budget also provides $70 million for literacy coaches and boosts spending for Medicaid waivers for Georgians with disabilities with urgent needs who are currently on a waiting list.

“There are over 265 pages in the budget on your desk, and each line matters not just to the employees who work at that agency, but to the citizens across our state who receive benefits, assistance, help, aid, just an answer to a question at each one of those departments,” Tillery said before presenting the budget.

The Senate’s proposed budget would fund approximately 1,200 NOW and COMP waivers, which are Medicaid waivers aimed at helping people with disabilities find services in their communities and avoid care in a facility that may be far from home. It includes $20.9 million for the approximately 1,200 waivers. The House proposal, in contrast, funds 200 waivers with $4.6 million.

The proposed budget also includes several increases in some billing codes for Medicaid services, increasing reimbursement rates for dental care and primary care.

Georgia House passes budget with nearly $61 million for literacy coaches

“That’s a substantial increase, but what we’ve seen is that (for) many of our dental providers, the rates are so low that they simply will not provide the service, leaving many who are in our foster care and also on Medicaid at a position where they cannot receive dental care,” Tillery said.

The budget included a $100 million allocation to the employees’ retirement system to “trigger more reasonable, effective and consistent” cost-of-living adjustments, Tillery said.

“The retirement of many of our state’s retirees has been eroded by inflation for decades, and a change we made in the budget during the Great Recession has not helped them in that process,” Tillery said, adding that the fund is about 80% funded currently. “By putting $100 million into the base, we hope that we build this consistently for many, many years to come.”

Atlanta Democratic state Sen. Nan Orrock praised the change, saying “many of us here have worked and advocated over the years, and you heard and understood and saw the necessity, and you rose to the occasion.”

The Senate’s proposal also restructures funding for online classes for students in Georgia public colleges. Tillery said that online classes require fewer resources than in-person instruction and should not be funded in the same manner. The Senate’s budget proposes changing the funding formula to make 1.1 hours of online instruction equivalent to 1 hour of in-person instruction.

“This is not a drastic move. It simply requires 10% more online hours to earn the same pay for a credit hour as an hour in person,” Tillery said.

The House did not agree to the Senate changes, and both chambers will likely go into a conference committee to settle the differences. 

“This is the first step to hopefully get us together in a room and work it out,” said Rep. Matt Hatchett, a Dublin Republican who chairs the House’s budget-writing committee. 

Friday’s budget maneuvering also involved some friendly banter between the two chambers, with House lawmakers chanting “send it back, send it back.” Senators then booed when Tillery delivered the news that the House rejected their changes to the budget.

Lawmakers have until Thursday to finalize the budget, which will take effect July 1. 

Georgia Recorder Editor Jill Nolin contributed to this report.