Roughly 57,000 Georgia state employees could receive a $1,000 bonus. Here’s how
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, House Speaker David Ralston and other top lawmakers announced plans Wednesday to give one-time, $1,000 bonuses to most state employees making less than $80,000.
The bonuses would come from $59.6 million in the state’s amended budget for the 2021 fiscal year, which ends June 30. Roughly 57,000 state employees would receive the bonus.
Employees at most state departments are eligible for the bonuses, including the Georgia Department of Public Health, the Georgia State Patrol and other state law enforcement. Some agencies like The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia are not, Ralston said.
“When Governor Kemp announced in his State of the State address that he wanted to give a $1,000 bonus to our teachers, my colleagues and I were proud to support that proposal. We wanted to see if we could do more,” Ralston said during the Wednesday news conference. “We wanted to extend that $1,000 bonus beyond our teachers to many of our front-line state employees who have also served our citizens through the worst days of this pandemic.”
The same version of the budget must be approved by both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly before the bonuses could be issued. The Georgia Senate on Tuesday signed off on a revised spending plan for this year that includes adding $500,000 for new staffing at the state’s public health department. New staffing would include a deputy commissioner and a chief medical officer, reports the Georgia Recorder.
“There’s no doubt that we as a state have been through more in this past year than we could ever imagine,” Kemp said. “But I believe together we have all risen to that challenge, and I’m thankful for those individuals that are a part of this great team.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 3:02 PM.