Governor Brian Kemp delivered the annual State of the State Address to members of the General Assembly in Atlanta Thursday morning.
During the address, Kemp highlighted several legislative and budgetary projects he will pursue this year.
He urged legislators to support the passage of school vouchers, which would help fund the education of some students who attend private schools.
A bipartisan coalition defeated school voucher legislation last year. Also in the sector of education, Governor Kemp promised 104 million dollars for school safety enhancements. Individual school districts will determine how their share of the funds will be spent.
In addition, Kemp advocated for a 4 percent increase in state workers’ pay.
Kemp also underlined his efforts to support mental healthcare expansion and noted that this year’s budget will allocate 205 million dollars to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
This will be bring the state’s total spending on mental healthcare to 1.6 billion dollars.