Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, discusses House Bill 973 on the Senate Floor at the Georgia Capitol on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. This legislation is the amended fiscal year 2026 state budget (Ashtin Barker/Capitol Beat) ATLANTA — Taxpayers, rural drivers and the mentally ill were among the winners in the mid-year budget adopted by the Georgia Senate on Friday. Financially distressed college students and metro Atlanta drivers were not exactly the losers, but they would get less than initially proposed in the Senate’s version of the $42.3 billion amended budget for the fiscal year through June. The state House started the budget based on a blueprint from Gov. Brian Kemp. On Friday, it was the Senate’s turn to make some edits. Both the House and Senate kept Kemp’s $1.2 billion rebate to taxpayers that would break down to $250 per single filer, $375 for heads of household and $500 for couples filing jointly. But the House added more gravy with an $850 million property tax grant for homeowners, and the Senate liked that line item. Several senators are running for higher office, and voters tend to appreciate tax breaks, especially in an election year when affordability is key. The property t
