Over the past several years, we have made significant strides for Georgia students, educators and parents. With Gov. Brian Kemp leading the way, the Georgia General Assembly has funded historic pay increases for our educators, support staff and other personnel who prepare our children for a successful future.
A key priority of the Senate Republican Caucus, Senate Bill 233, was signed into law establishing the Georgia Promise Scholarship. This scholarship will allow families with students enrolled in low-preforming public schools to use a $6,500 scholarship for tuition to attend private schools and to cover other educational expenses. This monumental legislation took over a decade to pass, but it was a priority I was not willing to waver on.
While these efforts support Georgia’s students, educators and parents, I realize there is more to be done, and I am looking ahead to next year’s session to continue this work. We must address an issue we can all agree on — the need to grow Georgia’s pool of teachers and child care workers. While workforce issues impact businesses across the board, there is a critical need among our child care centers and schools.
These are the places of impact where our youngest and most vulnerable are cared for and educated at the most pivotal moments in their lives. If we wish to remain the number one state in which to do business, we must prioritize innovative ways to grow our workforce, while also providing resources, like child care, for those who are willing and able to work. This includes keeping places of learning open and properly staffed, from day cares through high school. We must do more to ensure that Georgia’s workers have access to affordable and quality child care.
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Child care is critical, not only for childhood development, but also for Georgia’s economy. Families across Georgia face the important choice of whether to have one spouse cut back on working hours or leave the workforce altogether due to the high cost of child care. We should do more to ensure more Georgians — especially moms — have access to quality and affordable child care so they can stay in the workforce if that’s what they choose to do.
To address this issue, I appointed and prioritized the Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare. I want to thank Sen. Brian Strickland, R–McDonough, each member of the committee, stakeholders and community members who were engaged with this effort. The study committee filed its final report, and I am proud to prioritize the following initiatives from the recommendations.
First, I will propose an increase in the tax credit for child and dependent care expenses to 40% of taxable income (up from 30%).
Second, I will prioritize the creation of a Georgia Child Tax Credit of $250 per child under age 7, helping families with the youngest children offset the expenses they incur as their children reach school age.
Finally, I will propose expanding eligibility for Georgia’s tax credit for employer-sponsored child care and making the amount of that credit more generous. The proposal would allow such facilities to host more children of nonemployees and would allow the sponsor to claim up to 90% of the cost of operation as a credit (up from 75%). The proposal would also allow the credit to consume up to 75% of the sponsor’s income tax liability (up from 50%).
These measures will help families who are struggling to afford the cost of child care and will encourage more businesses to offer child care as an employee benefit. Crucially, these efforts will also make day care more affordable and accessible for day care workers themselves, helping to address a critical shortage in that field.
My priorities for the upcoming session are simple; supporting Georgia’s educators, businesses who employee them and parents who are entering or already in the workforce. In Georgia, we will continue to take a strong stand to empower parents, schools and employers. This will benefit our children and state for generations to come.
Burt Jones is the lieutenant governor of Georgia.
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