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Senate appropriations panel passes $38.5 billion FY27 budget with investments in retirees, waivers and education
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Summary
The Appropriations Committee approved the Senate version of the FY27 budget (House Bill 974), a $38.5 billion package that includes $100 million to the state employee retirement system, funding for 1,217 NOWCOMP waivers, a Lake Lanier study and changes to university online funding.
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to advance the Senate’s FY27 budget proposal, House Bill 974, a $38.5 billion package that the chair described as prioritizing education, public safety, retirees and targeted program investments.
The chair said the $38.5 billion figure represents about a $600 million increase over the previous year, which becomes roughly $400 million after the governor’s adjustments to the state health benefit plan. Notable allocations described in committee remarks include:
- A $100 million recurring addition to the state employees’ retirement system (ERS) base designed to help trigger more regular cost-of-living adjustments for retirees.
- Funding for 1,217 additional NOWCOMP waivers (the transcript places "over $20,000,000" toward that effort), combined with expected attrition to serve roughly 1,678 individuals on the planning list; committee members said the package includes 26 additional positions at the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to manage implementation.
- A $2,000,000 state contribution (expected to combine with local funds to total about $5,000,000) for a study of Lake Lanier to investigate water-quality and odor problems affecting residents and commerce.
- Medicaid-related rate changes including raising primary care codes to Medicare levels, a 20% increase for dental codes, and increases in reimbursement for ABA and home care codes; a one-time $6.8 million adjustment for skilled nursing facilities was also included.
- Higher education adjustments, including a change to how online credit hours are funded (the Senate’s formula equates 1.1 online hours to 1 in-person hour, which the chair said reduced online funding by about $123,000,000); the chair said roughly $100,000,000 of the savings was redirected to ERS and about $20,000,000 to the NOWCOMP waivers.
- Targeted capital and research investments, including $42.8 million for a Savannah State University facility, more than $8 million for a cancer center in Augusta, and support for technical school projects and dual-enrollment programs.
Committee members asked questions about specific items (for example, how the online-hour reduction was calculated); the chair said the central office was consulted and the change was designed both to save money and incentivize further study of online delivery. After a brief exchange, a motion was made and seconded, the committee recorded a unanimous 'aye' vote and adjourned.
The budget now proceeds through the Senate’s next legislative steps.
