In his final state-of-the-state speech Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp said he wants to spend $1.17 billion from Georgia’s surplus to give income tax rebates of $500 per family or $250 per person, the fourth time he’s issued such rebates. And he called for speeding up the state’s planned income tax cuts to get the state’s flat tax rate down to 4.99%.
“We must continue doing everything in our power to allow the hardworking men and women of our state to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pocket in the years to come,” Kemp told state lawmakers.
It’s the same version of an affordability agenda that Kemp has pushed for years, with a few new bells and whistles. He’s calling for $2,000 one-time bonuses for teachers and university and state employees. That’s a throwback to the signature promise from his first term that he delivered — $5,000 raises for every teacher. And he wants to increase retirement payments to law enforcement and endow $325 million for Georgia’s first comprehensive need-based college aid program
“Refusing to grow government, budgeting conservatively and paying off debt aren’t flashy,” Kemp said.
Kemp is in the fourth year of his second four-year term in office. Georgia’s governors are limited to just two terms in office.