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State of the State: 2025 vs 2026
Governor Brian Kemp -- comparing priorities year over year
Georgia 2025 vs. 2026: Governor Kemp's Shifting Priorities
Governor Kemp's 2025 address was dominated by two major themes: Hurricane Helene recovery and tort reform. The hurricane section detailed 34 Georgia deaths, $5.5 billion in agricultural and timber damage, and the $100 million repurposed to the Georgia Development Authority for farmer relief. The tort reform discussion was by far the longest section of the speech, featuring extensive roundtable testimony from childcare companies, grocers, hospitals, and Waffle House — whose liability insurance premiums rose 235% since 2018. Kemp declared emphatically that "there will be no room for excuses, half-measures, or failure" on tort reform. By 2026, neither Hurricane Helene nor tort reform received any mention whatsoever, suggesting either the issue was resolved legislatively or the governor chose to move on.
Tax policy remained central in both years but escalated significantly in 2026. In 2025, Kemp proposed a 20-basis-point income tax rate reduction from 5.39% to 5.19%, projecting $7.5 billion in savings over ten years. In 2026, he proposed another 20-basis-point cut to bring the rate to 4.99%, fulfilling his campaign promise "three years ahead of schedule." He also proposed a fourth $1 billion one-time tax rebate ($250 per filer, $500 per couple), bringing total rebates to $7.5 billion over four years. The 2026 speech placed far greater emphasis on fiscal discipline, highlighting a $10 billion rainy-day fund, a 20% reduction in outstanding debt over three years, $4.1 billion in cash-funded capital projects saving $3.3 billion in interest, and a debt-service-to-revenue ratio of just 3% — the lowest since the 1970s.
Education and workforce investment emerged as a dominant new theme in 2026. The centerpiece was the $325 million DREAMS Scholarship — described as Georgia's first need-based scholarship endowment — designed to complement the existing HOPE merit-based program. Kemp also highlighted that teacher pay had risen by $9,500 (28%) since he took office, far exceeding his original $5,000 pledge. He touted Georgia's university tuition increasing only 5% since 2019 compared to California's 19%, $2 billion more in higher education funding, $40.7 million for healthcare education facilities, and $2.1 million for additional medical residency slots. The 2025 speech barely touched education.
Law enforcement support was present in both years but took on new, concrete policy dimensions in 2026. While 2025 focused on the Apalachee High School shooting heroes and school safety funding ($294 million allocated, $159 million proposed), the 2026 speech proposed an enhanced retirement plan for state law enforcement that would double the state's 401(k) match and raise the maximum cap from 9% to 15%. School safety funding was updated to a cumulative $511 million. The 2026 address also included a $2,000 one-time pay supplement for all state employees, educators, and public safety officers, and provided extensive new data on gang enforcement: 1,800 GBI gang cases, 2,500 arrests, $95 million in seized drugs, and 120+ Attorney General convictions across 19 counties.
The 2026 speech also introduced significant new emphasis on state workforce management and debt reduction as legacy achievements, reflecting a governor in his final years pivoting from crisis response to cementing a long-term fiscal and institutional legacy.
New Priorities in 2026
- +The $325 million DREAMS Scholarship endowment through the University System of Georgia — the state's first need-based scholarship program — aimed at students who lack financial means to access higher education.
- +Enhanced retirement plan for state law enforcement officers, doubling the state's 401(k) contribution match and raising the maximum cap from 9% to 15%, reached by year 10 of service instead of year 13.
- +A $2,000 one-time pay supplement for all state employees, including educators and public safety officers, framed as recognition for reduced turnover and maintaining workforce size at 2019 levels.
- +Extensive emphasis on debt reduction as a legacy achievement — $4.1 billion in cash-funded capital projects, 20% reduction in outstanding debt in three years, and debt-service-to-revenue ratio at 3%, the lowest since the 1970s.
- +Detailed focus on higher education affordability, contrasting Georgia's 5% tuition increase since 2019 with California's 19%, and citing $2 billion more in higher education spending since taking office.
- +The Georgia MATCH program results were highlighted for the first time, showing 5.9% USG enrollment increase and 7.1% TCSG enrollment increase in its first two years.
- +A proposed eleventh anti-human trafficking bill modeled after 'Trey's Law' focused specifically on preventing silence imposed on child victims — a more specific legislative proposal than the general tenth bill referenced in 2025.
- +Detailed gang enforcement statistics presented for the first time: 1,800 GBI gang cases, nearly 2,500 arrests, $95 million in seized drugs, and 120+ Attorney General convictions across 19 counties.
Dropped from 2025
- −Hurricane Helene recovery was the emotional centerpiece of the 2025 address — detailing 34 deaths, $5.5 billion in agricultural damage, $100 million repurposed for farmer relief, and federal disaster aid lobbying — but received zero mention in 2026.
- −Tort reform was the single largest policy focus of 2025, with extensive roundtable testimony, insurance premium data (Waffle House premiums up 235%, hospital liability up 115%), and a promise of comprehensive legislation — but was completely absent from 2026.
- −The insurance reform data-gathering initiative under HB 1114 and Commissioner John King's office, highlighted as a key 2025 effort, was not referenced in 2026.
- −Georgia's healthcare access model (Georgia Access, Georgia Pathways, State-Based Exchange) covering 1.5 million people and the comparison to traditional Medicaid expansion was a significant 2025 topic but went unmentioned in 2026.
- −Mental health services and the 988 crisis hotline promotion, including First Lady Marty Kemp's 'It's ok, to not be ok' campaign and the $1.6 billion in behavioral health funding, were not discussed in 2026.
- −The Apalachee High School shooting response and recognition of the specific SROs (Sergeant Chase Boyd, Deputy Brandon King, Sheriff Jud Smith) and mental health counselors was a major 2025 moment not revisited in 2026.
- −Georgia's ranking as number one state for business for 11 consecutive years was a repeated theme in 2025; in 2026 it was briefly updated to 12 years but received far less rhetorical emphasis.
Shifted Emphasis
- ↔Tax policy escalated: the 2025 proposal was a 20-basis-point cut to 5.19%, while 2026 proposed another 20-basis-point cut to 4.99% plus a fourth $1 billion tax rebate, with the cumulative relief figure rising from $7.6 billion to $9.7 billion.
- ↔School safety funding was updated from $294 million allocated with $159 million proposed in 2025 to a cumulative $511 million in 2026, but received less rhetorical emphasis in the newer speech.
- ↔Economic development shifted from aggregate statistics ($193,000 jobs, $90 billion investment in 2025) to updated figures ($219,700 jobs, $118 billion) with a new storytelling approach centered on the small Italian food company La Regina in Alma, Georgia rather than large corporate examples like Waffle House.
- ↔Anti-human trafficking efforts evolved from spotlighting the GRACE Commission's aggregate work (330 cases, 49 convictions, 200 victims saved in 2025) to updated figures (70+ convictions, 200+ children rescued) plus two new regional prosecution offices and a more specific eleventh bill modeled after Trey's Law.
- ↔Law enforcement support shifted from primarily recognizing heroic individuals and school safety grants in 2025 to proposing structural policy changes (enhanced retirement plans, doubled 401(k) match) and presenting comprehensive gang enforcement data in 2026.
- ↔Teacher pay was barely mentioned in 2025 but became a significant legacy highlight in 2026, with Kemp noting the $9,500 raise (28% increase) exceeded his original $5,000 campaign pledge.
- ↔Fiscal discipline messaging intensified dramatically — 2025 briefly noted conservative budgeting, while 2026 dedicated extensive passages to rainy-day fund levels ($10 billion), cash-funded capital projects ($4.1 billion), debt reduction (20%), and explicit warnings to future leaders about maintaining reserves.
Policy Topics Addressed
Affordability
Governor Kemp made cost of living the centerpiece of his address, proposing a fourth $1 billion one-time tax rebate ($250 per filer, $500 per couple) and a further 20-basis-point income tax reduction to 4.99%, fulfilling his campaign promise three years early. He noted the state has returned nearly $9.7 billion in tax relief since 2021 including property tax relief, motor fuel tax suspensions, and permanent income tax savings. He framed these as essential because "everyday costs are still too high."
Agriculture
Governor Kemp celebrated La Regina, an Italian food production company in Alma that employs 110 people and purchases local produce from over 100 Georgia farmers, including more than 40,000 pounds of onions per week. He emphasized that 64% of new jobs and 75% of investment dollars are going to communities outside metro Atlanta, including agricultural regions.
Economy & Jobs
Governor Kemp reported over 219,700 new jobs and $118 billion in investment since 2019, with 64% of jobs and 75% of investment going outside metro Atlanta. Georgia has been named the number one state for business for an unprecedented 12 consecutive years. He proposed the DREAMS Scholarship with $325 million to create need-based scholarships, and highlighted workforce investments including raising teacher pay by $9,500 and fully funding the HOPE Scholarship.
Education
Governor Kemp announced the DREAMS Scholarship — a $325 million endowment creating Georgia's first need-based scholarship — alongside celebrating a cumulative $9,500 teacher pay raise (28% increase in starting salary). He highlighted full QBE funding seven years running, over $511 million allocated to school safety, tuition increases held to just 5% since 2019, and record investments in medical residency slots and CTE programs.
Environment & Energy
Governor Kemp briefly mentioned energy in the context of economic development, noting that Georgia's future prosperity requires "abundant and affordable energy" and highlighting the PowerSC working group, the SC Nexus consortium, and the state's leadership in nuclear energy with over half its electricity from nuclear power and seven operating reactors. He declared South Carolina will lead the nation's nuclear renaissance.
Government Reform
Governor Kemp emphasized reducing state employee turnover by over 25% while keeping full-time state workforce at 2019 levels, and cash-funding $4.1 billion in capital projects to save $3.3 billion in interest payments. He highlighted reducing outstanding debt by over 20% in three years and achieving the lowest debt-service-to-revenue ratio since the 1970s, while proposing a one-time $2,000 pay supplement for all state employees.
Healthcare
Governor Kemp detailed investments of $40.7 million for healthcare education facilities and medical workforce training, plus $2.1 million more for medical residency slots, bringing total residency positions to 2,523. He highlighted the state's investments in combating human trafficking and gang activity as public health and safety measures.
Housing
Governor Kemp did not make housing a central focus of his address, instead emphasizing economic development, education investments, and public safety.
Infrastructure
Governor Kemp noted investing over $6 billion in water, sewer, and transportation projects across the state while cash-funding $4.1 billion in capital projects to save $3.3 billion in interest payments. He emphasized reducing outstanding state debt by over 20% in three years and bringing the debt service ratio to just 3% — the lowest since the state began issuing bonds in the 1970s.
Public Safety
Governor Kemp highlighted extensive anti-gang efforts through the GBI Anti-Gang Taskforce (over 1,800 gang-related cases, nearly 2,500 offenders arrested, $95 million in drugs and illegal items seized) and the Attorney General's Gang Prosecution Unit (120+ convictions in 19 counties). He announced the Crime Suppression Unit's fifth year of operation and a proposed enhanced retirement plan for state law enforcement officers that would double the state's contribution. He also highlighted the GRACE Commission's work on human trafficking, noting 70+ convictions and over 200 children rescued.
Social Services
Governor Kemp announced a $325 million investment in the DREAMS Scholarship program, the first need-based scholarship in Georgia history, to complement the HOPE Scholarship. He proposed a one-time $1 billion tax rebate and highlighted fully funding QBE education seven times. He also noted the GRACE Commission's work on anti-human trafficking, with over 70 convictions and 200 children rescued through the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
Tax & Budget
Governor Kemp proposed a fourth one-time $1 billion tax rebate ($250 per filer, $500 per couple) and a further 20-basis-point reduction in the income tax rate to 4.99%, three years ahead of schedule. He highlighted $9.7 billion in total tax relief since 2021, state reserves exceeding $10 billion, cash-funding $4.1 billion in capital projects saving $3.3 billion in interest, and reducing outstanding debt by over 20%. He also proposed a $325 million endowment for the DREAMS need-based scholarship program.
Veterans & Military
Governor Kemp proposed an enhanced retirement plan for state law enforcement officers, increasing the state's 401(k) match to 15%, and emphasized Georgia's commitment to public safety personnel. While not solely veteran-focused, his address referenced military traditions and service as foundational to Georgia's identity.