March 18, 2020 at 8:44 AM EDT - Updated March 18 at 8:44 AM
ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed into law a midyear amended budget that includes $100 million in emergency funding to combat the new coronavirus.
The emergency money was pulled from the state’s $2.8 billion reserves for the budget that the governor signed Tuesday.
Despite that new money, the spending plan cuts $159 million from other state spending for the fiscal year ending June 30. Cuts were ordered by the Republican governor after a slowdown in state revenue collections.
Compared to Kemp’s initial proposal, state lawmakers shifted money around to restore cuts from county health departments and increase funding for state troopers, public defenders and food inspectors.
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