Summary: budget overviews for the of Week of February 2 – February 6
Gov. Kemp’s agency budget proposals for FY 2027 available here
SB 476 & SB 477 (HB 134 & HB 463) threatens a $6 + billion deficit
The Senate voted to pass a partial income tax elimination package that includes Senate Bill 476 and Senate Bill 477. The same measures were also passed through the Senate as House Bill 134 and House Bill 463 to satisfy potential constitutional constraints. The legislative package would cut the personal income tax rate from 5.19% to 3.99% (Senate Bill 477), cut the corporate income tax rate from 5.19% to 4.99% (Senate Bill 476) and increase the state standard deduction from $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married couples to $50,000 and $100,000, respectively (Senate Bill 476). Now, all four bills go to the House.
HB 947 — SNAP Restrictions Heard in House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee
HB 947 was initially a bill to restrict what can be purchased with SNAP benefits. Those provisions would have been confusing for retailers and customers. Some retailers may have lost their ability to accept SNAP EBT if a restricted product was purchased by an EBT card on their premises. After some great advocacy, those restrictions were eliminated from the bill.
However, the bill is now seeking to curb waste, fraud, and abuse with layers upon layers of verification. These would not only be burdensome to SNAP clients but to SNAP case managers as well. Additional administrative processes may also negatively impact the state’s efforts to lower error rates. This is critical as error rates above 6% will determine if the state must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in the future because of federal cost sharing provisions enacted through H.R. 1. The bill remains pending before the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee.
Status:
The bill remains pending before the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee.
For more details visit here