Tweaks to Georgia budget include law enforcement raises and funding for HOPE

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Lawmakers are required to pass a budget before the General Assembly can convene.

State Representative Matt Hatchett and Senator Blake Tillery worked together on the budget document. in a meeting on Monday, Hatchett highlighted that the effort was a compromise between priorities in both the Senate and the House.

“Compromise is not a bad thing. If you dont get 100% of what you want, if you get 10%, you’ve succeeded, The only people who get 100% of what they want is our students on HOPE” said Hatchett.

The budget bill presented to lawmakers on Wednesday would fully fund the HOPE scholarship for the students who qualify. The measure is something that Governor Brian Kemp included in his initial plan. Currently, the scholarship is closer to 90% of tuition. The House originally wanted to increase it to 95% of tuition. education is the largest chunk of the budget- the state would spend a record 13 billion dollars in k-12 education.

The Senate favored increasing pay boosts for law enforcement. Governor Kemp proposed $2,000 raises and the House included $4,000 raises, but the lastest budget includes $6,000 raises or several agencies.

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