Georgia House members approve $37.7B budget for FY2026

Georgia House members approve $37.7B budget

Georgia House members approved their proposed state budget for next year. The $37.7 billion includes money for education, healthcare, public safety and state prisons.

ATLANTA - Georgia House members passed their FY2026 Budget by a near-unanimous vote Tuesday. Here's where the $37.7 billion will go:

Significant funding for public safety, infrastructure

What we know:

Atlanta is set to host several major sporting events in coming years.

State lawmakers have allocated $7 million for public safety and infrastructure costs for future sporting events, like Super Bowl 62 and the 2031 NCAA Men's Final Four.

The House budget earmarks $250 million for the Dept. of Corrections, which includes $45 million to hire more than 700 correctional officers, and funds to renovate the state's aging prison facilities.

Homelessness in Georgia

What we know:

Lawmakers have also allotted $6 million for homelessness initiatives and an additional $2.7 million in new funding for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities for a community action team and mental health outreach services for those with severe mental illness.

RELATED: Man arrested for destroying homeless tents near historic church in Atlanta

Education, school safety top issues for Georgia lawmakers

What we know:

The House allocated $25 million for the new statewide school and safety database, which will be used to track Georgia public school students when they transfer schools, and earmarked money for mental health school grants.

I-Team: Schools were never warned about Colt Gray, they claim

By Johnny Edwards Published September 24, 2024 Local schools claimed they were never given the early warning about suspected Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray after he and his father were questioned about violent school threats made on a Discord server in 2023. A captain with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office told the FBI that the message had been passed along. FOX 5 I-Team's Johnny Edwards dug deeper. In brief: Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum acknowledges no early warning was conveyed to schools about Colt Gray, who later became a suspect in a school shooting. The sheriff's investigation, including a review of records and communications, found no proof that warnings about Gray's threat to "shoot up a school" were forwarded by former captain Dale Dillow's team. Captain Dillow, no longer with the department following his dismissal for unrelated misconduct, had reported to the FBI that Colt Gray denied making threats but claimed that schools were notified of the potential danger. Sheriff Mangum expresses regret over the failure to inform schools about Colt Gray’s threat and is uncertain about the effectiveness of a warning, had it been issued. Despite Captain Dillow's claim that "area schools aware" after a disturbing threat by Gray was investigated, no supporting evidence of such warnings communicated to schools has been uncovered. JACKSON COUNTY, Ga. - The Jackson County sheriff says that what could have been an early warning about the 14-year-old suspected Apalachee High School shooter, Colt Gray, never reached area schools. FULL STORY: https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/sheriff-no-evidence-schools-were-notified-about-colt-gray

RELATED: Sheriff: No evidence schools were notified about Colt Gray

The budget also includes a new program called "Student Support Services" which will provide academic and mental health support for students.

What's next:

The budget now goes to the State Senate for review.