The General Assembly passed a record $40.5 billion mid-year budget on Monday, prioritizing hurricane relief and prisons.
The mid-year budget, which covers state spending through June 30, passed the Georgia House of Representatives 168-5 and the state Senate 55-1.
It increases state spending by $4.4 billion over the fiscal 2025 budget lawmakers adopted last spring, including a disaster relief package of $862 million for victims of Hurricane Helene, up from $615 million Gov. Brian Kemp requested in January.
“We know there’s pent-up demand for these funds,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin, told his House colleagues before Monday’s vote. “People are still hurting.”
Another big-ticket item is $345 million for additional staffing for Georgia prisons as well as safety and security improvements. Of that amount, $50.9 million will go toward hiring additional correctional officers.
After reducing Kemp’s request for four new modular units to temporarily house inmates while the crumbling infrastructure inside existing prisons is replaced, the House and Senate returned to the governor’s original recommendation of $80 million. Each unit holds 126 inmates.
The mid-year budget also includes $18 million for body cameras, tasers, and surveillance technology upgrades and $17 million for drone detection equipment. Prison officials have become concerned that drones are smuggling cellphones and other contraband into state prisons.