Who We Are

The GBPI is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization engaged in research and education on the fiscal and economic health of the state of Georgia. The Institute provides reliable, accessible and timely analysis to promote greater state government fiscal accountability as a way to improve services to Georgians in need and to promote quality of life for all Georgians.

Recent Reports

An Investment in Children and Working Families: Georgia’s Federal and State Subsidized Child Care for Children Ages Birth Through Four — As part of the Strengthening the Foundation series, this report examines Georgia’s subsidized child care programs, including Child Care and Parents Services (CAPS), Pre-K, and Head Start/Early Head Start.  The report examines current capacity, spending, waitlists, and need. (08/25/2008) (Press Release)

Georgia Minimum Wage Policy Brief (Update) — An increase in the Georgia minimum wage to $8.00 per hour in July 2009 would benefit hundreds of thousands of workers and their children. (08/13/2008)

Deciphering the Tax Rankings (Update) — This report puts in context recently published tax rankings as calculated by the Tax Foundation. (08/12/2008)

Deficit Reduction Step Two: Bringing Other Voices Into the Planning Process — This report provides a more detailed look at what six, eight and ten percent cuts will look like for state agencies and calls for a balanced approach to deficit reduction – an approach that prioritizes cuts and includes revenue enhancements. (8/11/2008) (Press Release)

Uncertain Times Call for Sensible Measures: FY 2009 Budget and Revenue Outlook — This report examines the current fiscal year’s revenue outlook in relation to the budget passed by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor. The report projects a FY 2009 budget gap of between $1 billion and $2 billion and includes recommendations for a balanced approach to deficit reduction. (7/29/2008) (Press Release)

FY 2008 Amended Budget and FY 2009 Budget as Passed – Analysis and highlights of the FY 2008 and FY 2009 budgets. (06/10/2008)

Adding Up the Fiscal Notes 2008: Final Tax Bills After Governor’s Vetoes — This policy brief quantifies the fiscal impact of all the tax bills passed by the General Assembly during the 2008 legislative session. (05/23/2008) (Press release)

Tightening the Belt on Georgia’s TANF Program: Doing More with Less in FY 2008 and Beyond — This report tracks the federally funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) appropriations across the Department of Human Resources. As TANF caseloads have dropped, higher funding priority has been directed toward child welfare programs rather than child care, transportation, and job training programs that would directly help families achieve economic self-sufficiency. As the TANF budget faces federal funding shortfalls in the coming years, policy makers will have to decide between further reducing work assistance programs and/or making larger investments of state funds to critical child welfare programs. (05/12/2008) (Press Release)

Budget Notes: Spring 2008 - This issue highlights the most recent research of GBPI as well as the latest state tax and budget news. (04/23/2008)

Tax Cuts for the Insurance Industry Will Do Little to Help Georgia’s Uninsured — A commentary by Timothy Sweeney (04/15/2008)

HR 1246 and HB 1244 Fact Sheet — House Amends Tax Package: Combines Massive House and Senate Cuts (04/01/2008

How to Do Tax Reform Right — A GBPI Commentary by Alan Essig and Sarah Beth Gehl (04/01/2008)

SR 845 Fact Sheet — Sales Tax for Transportation (03/27/2008)

Senate Tax Reform Proposal (HR 1246 and HB 1244) — The Senate passed HR 1246 and HB 1244, which will reduce income tax revenues by $1.2 billion when fully implemented. (03/21/2008) (Policy Brief) (One Page Overview)

Adding Up the Fiscal Notes, 2008 — This policy brief quantifies the fiscal impact of all the tax bills passed by the House of Representatives during the 2008 legislative session. (03/13/2008) (Press Release)

HR 1246 Reality Check Fact Sheet — Georgia Will not Grow Its Way out of the HR 1246 Revenue Cuts. (03/12/2008)

HR 1246 Reality Check Fact Sheet — With HR 1246, Georgia About to Pile on to Virginia Fiscal Car Wreck. (03/11/2008)

HR 1246 and HB 1158 Fact Sheet — Latest House Tax Reform Proposal (03/10/2008)

Analysis of HB 977 – High Deductible Health Plan Tax Incentives and Insurance Law Changes (03/09/2008)

Increasing Georgia's Low Cigarette Tax Would Yield Public Health Benefits — By increasing Georgia's cigarette tax by $1 per pack an estimated 62,800 adult smokers would quit and 114,100 fewer youth would start smoking. Long term health savings are estimated at $222.3 million while state revenues would increase by $500 million. (02/26/2008)

Examining the Effects of Legislation Promoting High Deductible Health Plans — This brief analyzes the effects of various bills that are working there way through the General Assembly that would promote high deductible health plans. (02/25/2006)

Property Tax Assessment Caps: Analysis of House Committee Substitute to SR 796 (02/22/2008)

Have Responsible, Not Reckless, Tax Reform (GBPI Op-Ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) (02/21/2008)

Sales and Property Tax Swap: Analysis of SR 687 (02/14/2008)

Governors Proposed FY 2008 Amended Budget and FY 2009 Budget — This report gives the highlights of the Governor's budget proposals. (01/28/2008)

A Look at the Property Tax — With every tax, there are positives and negatives. While property taxes are one of the most disliked taxes, there are several positive aspects to be considered. Lawmakers who are considering a swap of property taxes for more sales taxes should carefully weigh the benefits and drawbacks of the property tax before enacting blanket fixes. (01/15/2007)

Tough on Crime and the Budget: The Difficult Balancing Act of Public Safety and Skyrocketing Prison Costs — This report examines the growth of the Department of Corrections budget, the driving factors of the growth, and recommendations to control future growth. (01/11/2008)

Strengthening the Foundation: Investments in the Adult Workforce Build a More Prosperous Georgia — This report seeks to explore public systems in Georgia that offer the opportunity for educational and skills advancement for working adults, along with the systems that encourage job growth and remove barriers to work and economic mobility. As part of a national effort called the Working Poor Families Project, the report focuses specifically on how those public systems can better interact in order to reach the state's low-income working families. (01/09/2008)

More Reports . . .

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