(The Center Square) – Georgia Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms will inherit a budget that Gov. Brian Kemp said, when he signed the fiscal year 2027 budget, will have a nearly $1 billion revenue reduction.
The state’s reserve fund is also dwindling, according to a report by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
“In total, the state reported spending down $6.3 billion in General Fund Reserves, including $4.5 billion on Amended Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations, $1.4 billion on one-time tax credits and $372 million on the mid-year adjustment for K-12 education,” according to the report. “These expenditures reduced the balance of General Fund Reserves from $14.9 billion to $8.7 billion, after adjusting for $141.5 million in additional revenues raised and in unspent funds during FY 2026.”
Bottoms said at a Friday news conference that when she started her campaign for governor, reserves were about $15 billion and estimated a much lower figure for the reserve fund when she takes office in January.
“I believe it is on track to be between $1 billion and $2 billion by the time January comes … but I do know the budget surplus is a lot less than it was when we launched our campaign,” Bottoms said. “So we will take what’s left and we will prioritize accordingly.”
Kemp slashed $300 million from the fiscal year 2027 budget passed by the General Assembly in April and said lawmakers would need to address a nearly $1 billion revenue shortfall when they returned to Atlanta in 2027.
Bottoms said she met with Kemp and said he would be open to a special session to address some of the budgetary priorities.
“He didn’t say that he would, but he was leaving the door open to calling a special session to address some of those budgetary priorities, but he didn’t commit to doing that,” Bottoms said.
The governor said in a statement provided by his office that he is monitoring and evaluating the state’s fiscal outlook.
“I will not be calling a special session of the Georgia General Assembly in order to curtail executive branch powers or debate redistricting changes,” Kemp said in the statement. “There are, however, budgetary issues that may need to be addressed before the convening of the regular session in January.”
Bottoms repeated a statement she made in an August interview with The Center Square when asked about her budget priorities during her news conference.
“Show me your budget, I’ll show you your priorities,” Bottoms said in the televised news conference. “And the priorities that I believe will be consistent relate to all things related to the cost of living and how we can help relieve that burden for people, especially in the midst of cuts that have come from the Trump administration.”
The cuts include a total of $187 billion nationwide over the next 10 years, according to a report to Congress citing the Congressional Budget Office.
Georgia is one of 10 states that did not fully expand Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act.
“We know that 300,000 Georgians didn’t have access to Medicaid because we’ve not expanded Medicaid,” Bottoms said. “And then at the beginning of this year, more than 600,000 Georgians dropped their coverage because their ACA subsidies were not extended.”
Bottoms said she would eliminate the Georgia Pathways program.
Second-term Republican Gov. Brian Kemp led the development of Georgia Pathways, a program for low-income Georgians who don’t qualify for traditional Medicaid. It requires recipients to complete 80 hours per month of qualified activities, including work, education or community service.
Bottoms announced her transition team on Friday, calling the process “Georgia’s Promise.” John King, chief operating officer when Bottoms was Atlanta mayor, will serve in the same role in the transition team.
“Governing begins with the people and the decisions that we make over the next few weeks about who will lead our agencies will shape how we will deliver for all of Georgians over the next four years,” Bottoms said.
Incoming Labor Commissioner Nikki Porcher also announced Friday that Michael Thurmond, labor commissioner from 1999 to 2011, will lead the transition team for Labor Commissioner-elect Nikki Porcher.
Porcher, who defeated incumbent Labor Commissioner Barbara Rivera Holmes, said Georgia voters wanted change.
“But change doesn’t happen simply because someone new takes office,” Porcher said in a statement. “It takes preparation, accountability, and people who understand the work. Commissioner Thurmond has led this very department. He knows what has worked, what hasn’t, and what it takes to build an agency that puts people first.”