Progress Newsletter (Spring 2023)

Your support stopped harmful voucher bills from draining millions from public schools

Discover the impact of your support during the 2023 Legislative Session and what lies ahead.

Public K-12 Education

The decisions legislators make during each Legislative Session affect you and every Georgian. During the 2023 Legislative Session, the GBPI team invested in deep partnership work – namely through the Fund Georgia’s Future coalition to pull back the curtain on the impact of Senate Bill 233 and other voucher bills. GBPI’s in-depth bill analysis and data map helped defeat these bills, which threatened to funnel millions of dollars away from public schools.

With no fiscal note to help estimate cost, SB 233 needlessly risked precious public school funding at a moment when school districts are wrestling with an aging bus fleet, staff turnover and skyrocketing State Health Benefit Plan costs.

Georgia’s students have urgent needs, and private school vouchers will only make it harder to meet them. The state cannot fund a separate, discriminatory system of private education while it has underfunded necessary grants for student transportation and rural education.

Impact of Senate Bill 233: Public School Funding Loss by County

Your support ensured that other positive commitments were made to public education, including securing $27 million to recruit school counselors, as well as $229 million to help school districts pay for an increase in benefit premiums. In 2023 and beyond, your support will guarantee that GBPI can continue to call out legislation that puts public education at risk and threatens equitable school funding.

BOARD

Susan Neugent Chair

Fernbank Museum of Natural History (retired)

Sachin Varghese

Vice Chair

Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore LLP

James McCoy Treasurer

Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce

Teresa Tomlinson Secretary

Former Mayor of Columbus, Georgia; Hall Smith Booth

Thomas Boller Stateside Investment (retired)

Carla Cartwright AKQA

Robiaun Charles ECG

Ann Duffy Education First

Lois Frank Mazon (retired)

Norelie Garcia

AT&T Marketing & Growth

Charles Johnson Tuskegee University (retired)

Glenda Minkin Consultant

Yasmine Murray

H.J. Russell & Company

Natosha Reid Rice

Habitat for Humanity International

Maria del Rosario Palacios Palacios Contigo LLC

Robert Sills

Amazon

David Sjoquist

Georgia State University

Jim Stokes Alston & Bird (retired)

College Completion Grants

In higher education, HB 249 passed but was unfortunately vetoed by the Governor after session. This legislation would have lowered the threshold of courses that students need in order to access completion grants and finish their degree. Under HB 1435, which passed last year, individuals must have completed 80 percent of their degree requirements. HB 249 would have lowered that threshold to 70 percent for individuals in a four-year program and 45 percent for individuals in a two-year program. HB 249 would have also raised the maximum award per eligible student to $3,500. This bill would have reduced financial barriers to Georgia students completing degrees, thus enhancing their economic opportunities. GBPI will continue advocating for expanded opportunity for Georgia students in the 2024 Legislative Session and beyond.

Medicaid Five-Year Wait for Immigrants Lifted

HB 19, the FY24 budget legislation, directs the Department of Community Health to amend the Medicaid state plan and remove the five-year waiting period for Medicaideligible pregnant women and children who are lawful permanent residents (LPRs). Removing this waiting period will help more of Georgia’s vulnerable children and families access health care and decrease the number of uninsured children. During a time when Georgia faces staggering maternal mortality rates and a recent upswing in infant mortality rates, this small investment will have a critical impact. Non-U.S. citizens are much more likely to lack health insurance, and often delay or go without needed care. This phenomenon can worsen health outcomes and result in more expensive and complex treatment over time.

TANF Family Cap Lifted and Eligibility Expanded

The General Assembly made some positive steps toward economic security by passing HB 129. The bill expands Temporary Aid to Needy Families

(TANF) access to pregnant women and eliminates the TANF family cap, which denied families an incremental increase in the benefit if they had another baby while enrolled in the program. This provision was one of TANF’s many features rooted in historical racism and sexism.

Stability is critical to child development. When paired with other economic supports like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) food assistance, TANF cash assistance can provide some stability to families experiencing crisis and deep poverty It also provides additional support to a relative who steps up to care for a child. While other programs like SNAP and Medicaid help families meet their nutritional and health care needs, cash assistance through TANF helps very low-income families afford diapers, wipes, car seats and similar needs. Eliminating the TANF family cap is an important step to undo polices based on racist assumptions of Black mothers experiencing poverty

(Left to right) Danny, Staci, and Ife are sitting together and discussing the outcomes of Legislative Session during our Lunch & Learn event.

(Left to right) David, former State Representative Brenda Lopez and board member Maria del Rosario Palacios are seated together at our 2023 Insights Reception.

Letter from the President

GBPI supporter,

As I reflect on my first legislative session at GBPI, I am proud to share with you the success that the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) has achieved in advancing policies that promote equitable and sustainable economic growth for all Georgians.

Our team worked tirelessly to ensure that the budget reflects the needs of all Georgians. With your support, we were able to eliminate the five-year waiting period for legal permanent residents to receive access to Medicaid, secure millions of dollars for schools to add additional counselors, and together with partners, defeat a school voucher bill that would have set our state further back from equitable school funding.

As we look ahead, I am excited to share with you that we will be publishing our Budget Primer in the summer, which will provide a detailed analysis of the state budget and how it impacts Georgians. This is an important tool that helps to ensure accountability and transparency in the budget process, and we know that it will be a valuable resource for policymakers, advocates and the public.

Your continued support is essential to our mission of advancing policies that promote equity and opportunity for all Georgians. Every donation helps us to continue our work and make a difference in our community. Please consider making a gift today.

Thank you for your support of GBPI. Together, we can create a brighter future for all Georgians.

In this together,

In the 2024 Legislative Session and beyond, your support will power GBPI to tirelessly advocate for priorities such as:

• Fines and fees safeguards to strengthen protections for individuals with low incomes

• Full Medicaid expansion to cover nearly 500,000 Georgians

• An Opportunity Weight to provide additional money to educate students living in poverty

Learn more at gbpi.org/sine-die-2023

Brittany Collins

Executive Director, Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation

STAFF

Staci Fox

President and CEO

Dominique Derbigny Sims

Senior Vice President

Kevin Amaya

Director of Development

Leah Chan

Senior Health Analyst

Ife Finch Floyd

Director of Economic Justice

Lauren Frazier

Director of Strategic Communications

Nadia Hicks

Senior Digital & Brand Manager

Anthony Hill Communications Manager

Crystal Johnson

Director of Administration & Human Resources

Danny Kanso

Director of Legislative Strategy & Senior Fiscal Analyst

Ray Khalfani

Senior Analyst, Worker Justice & Criminal Legal Systems

Tasnim Mosabber Outreach Manager

Crystal Muñoz Immigration Analyst

Stephen Owens

Director of Education

Erin Robinson

Director of Outreach & Strategic Campaigns

David Schaefer

Vice President of Research & Policy

Rachel Stanley

Associate Director of Development

Jessica Woods

Finance Director

Ashley Young Education Analyst

“Investing in GBPI provides us with policy research and analysis to drive equitable solutions for Georgians. Their expertise strengthens our ability to strategically invest in solutions that tackle complex, systemic issues in Georgia. Supporting GBPI is critical as we work towards increasing access and opportunity for all.”

Donor Spotlight

Staci Fox (she/her)

Our Impact: By the Numbers

Your support has made GBPI a trusted voice for policy change in Georgia. But we know that our research is only effective to drive change if it is used to actively inform the debate under the Gold Dome. To further the impact of your investment, the GBPI team deploys various outreach and communications techniques. Here is a snapshot of our results during the Legislative Session:

Ways to Give

If you are interested in donating stocks or securities or making an electronic funds transfer, please contact Kevin Amaya, Director of Development, at kamaya@gbpi.org.

(Left to right) Ashley, an attendee, and Stephen are chatting during our 2023 Insights Reception.