House adopts Senate substitute to HB 67, approving supplemental budget with more than $1 billion in storm relief

The House on the motion of Chairman Hatchett agreed to the Senate substitute for House Bill 67 as amended by the House and immediately ordered the measure transmitted to the Senate. The vote on the motion was 170 yeas and 3 nays.

Chairman Hatchett told colleagues the document on their desks shows the differences between the House and Senate versions and said the measure provides a supplemental infusion of roughly $4.4 billion into the FY2025 budget, with a storm relief package and other targeted appropriations as central elements.

Why it matters: The bill is a supplemental appropriations measure the chamber described as required and urgent; it contains a multi-part package of hurricane relief and discrete allocations for transportation, corrections, health care and rural economic infrastructure that lawmakers said are intended to address immediate recovery needs and operational shortfalls created or revealed by recent storms.

The substance: Chairman Hatchett summarized the relief elements included in the Senate substitute. He said the House and Senate together are delivering a total hurricane relief package of $862,000,000 and combined actions this session “well over $1,000,000,000.” He described specific line items included in the amended bill:

- $145,000,000 from the governor’s emergency fund and an additional $18,000,000 added by the legislature to help meet the state and local match for debris removal; - $299,000,000 in the Department of Transportation to backfill revenue lost by the motor fuel suspension, pay for debris cleanup on state roads and repair or replace damaged infrastructure such as signs and traffic signals; - $100,000,000 for direct agricultural and timber relief, with an additional $185,000,000 added by the General Assembly for farmers and timber producers (for a total cited in the debate of $285,000,000) that lawmakers said will be used for loans and to continue debris cleanup; - $25,000,000 allocated to the Georgia Authority to engage nonprofits in community rebuilding work; - $22,000,000 to assist 27 hospitals and 8 federally qualified health centers in the major disaster declaration area with financial stabilization and recovery;

Hatchett also highlighted non-storm items included in the substitute: an increase of $4,500,000 to cover personnel service expenses in the Department of Community Supervision tied to improved recruitment and retention; a roughly $345,000,000 package for the Department of Corrections that includes $50,900,000 for new correctional officer positions, funding for four prefabricated maximum-security modular units at a cost of $80,000,000, $17,000,000 for managed-access and drone detection systems, and nearly $18,000,000 for new body-worn cameras and stun-device equipment intended to improve surveillance and response inside correctional facilities.

Hatchett also flagged investments in economic development and infrastructure: $266,000,000 for sewer and water infrastructure in communities not covered by the surface water resources expansion, $5,000,000 to recapitalize a downtown development revolving loan fund at the Department of Community Affairs, $90,000 to buy two PCR machines at the poultry veterinary diagnostic lab, $2,800,000 in Medicaid for quality incentive payments at skilled nursing facilities, $21,500,000 for graduate medical education expansion, $38,500,000 for foster care growth and utilization in the Department of Human Services, $2,000,000 to support a subacute unit at the War Veterans Nursing Home in Milledgeville, $7,800,000 for airport aid, $12,900,000 for rail upgrades, and $265,000,000 for local road projects.

Questions from members addressed scope and targeting. Representative Yoo asked about the reduction from an initial House figure of $35,000,000 for hospital grants to the agreed $21.9 million and whether the smaller amount would be added to the larger budget; Hatchett explained the Senate narrowed assistance to hospitals inside designated disaster zones and said the final number reflected those calculations. On Department of Corrections funding, members pressed about reductions in some line items and increases in staffing; Hatchett said later data from the governor’s office changed the department’s projected needs and that recruiting successes had created a need to fund additional positions through the end of the fiscal year.

The House adopted the House amendment without objection and then voted on the motion that the House agree to the Senate substitute for HB 67 as amended by the House (moved by Chairman Hatchett). The clerk reported yeas 170, nays 3. Representative Hatchett then moved that the bill be immediately transmitted to the Senate; the motion was ordered without objection.

Ending note: The amended Senate substitute for HB 67 now heads to the Senate for consideration following the House’s agreement and immediate transmission. The measure contains a mix of disaster relief and supplemental appropriations affecting transportation, corrections, health care, agriculture and local infrastructure.