Irwin Co. senator gives budget update
ATLANTA, GA (WALB) - As we reach the halfway point of the 2017 legislative session, Senator Tyler Harper, an Ocilla Republican, says the work days are getting longer, with more bills added each day.
"We wrapped up our sixth week of session, and we only have eight legislative days remaining until crossover day," said Sen. Harper.
"Last Tuesday, we passed a substitute version of House Bill 43, better known as 'The Amended fiscal year 2017 budget.'
The budget anticipates $24 billion in revenue, and will include appropriations for $109 million for increased Quality Basic Education (QBE) growth for K-12 schools, $50 million for the new Georgia Cyber Innovation Center in Augusta, $36.5 million for Move on When Ready, and $27.3 million for a 20 percent pay raise for our state's law enforcement officers.
South Georgia received a victory in the ruling on the "water wars" case. South Georgia has been threatened by caps on the amount of water we can use to irrigate our farms. This would have cost the state's economy an estimated $18 billion in revenue.
However, with this recent ruling, our farmers are free to continue being the stewards, and use water from the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers as necessary, meaning our agriculture industry can continue to be grow and bring in revenue.
Copyright 2017 WALB. All rights reserved.
