ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wants to again speed up state income tax cuts and is warning lawmakers that he'll call them back into special session later this year if that's what it takes to push through his priority of limiting lawsuit verdicts.
The second-term governor made those vows in his seventh annual State of the State address on Thursday. The speech was otherwise light on policy proposals, with Kemp using much of his speech to promise full recovery from September's Hurricane Helene and make his case for limiting lawsuits.
Georgia’s flat income tax rate dropped to 5.29% on Jan. 1. A 2022 law ended the old system of tax brackets and called for annual 0.1% cuts until reaching 4.99%. Kemp and Republican lawmakers — citing consistent surpluses thanks to a strong economy and limits on spending — have pushed larger cuts ahead of the yearly schedule, and now the governor wants again to double this year’s reduction, going down to 5.19% for all income earned in 2025.
“Because at the end of the day, that’s your money — not the government’s,” Kemp said. “And here in Georgia, we believe you should keep more of it.”
State government would forgo an estimated $149 million in revenue in the budget year ending June 30, and then $744 million a year going forward, administration officials estimate. The impact would be small for most taxpayers— a single person making $44,000 a year would pay about $30 less.
That's atop a third round of income tax rebates that Kemp and legislative leaders have promised. The plan would again give refunds of up to $250 to single filers, up to $375 to single adults who head a household with dependents and up to $500 to married couples filing jointly. The $1 billion in rebates would be paid out of Georgia's $11 billion in surplus cash.
Kemp again passed up a chance to detail what he wants from changes in how courts handle civil lawsuits — what Kemp and other supporters call “tort reform." A Kemp spokesperson has said details are likely later this month. But the threat of a special session shows just how thorny the issue is.
“I know this issue is complicated and will not be easy to fix,” Kemp said. “There are many different stakeholders, with competing ideas about how to move forward. However, doing nothing is no longer an option.”
Many of Kemp's policy efforts revolve around spending, including $600 million to improve prison conditions and $50 million for school safety. But the shorter-than-usual list of proposals is also an acknowledgement of Kemp's lame-duck status. Candidates are already maneuvering to succeed Kemp in 2026, and second-term Georgia governors often spend their time trying to burnish their record and entrenching ongoing initiatives, instead of launching new ones.
Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II of Augusta said Kemp's agenda falls short and that Democrats would work to improve access to housing, education and health care.
“There is a Republican Georgia, which has only valued corporate interests and profits, and there is a Georgia where hardworking folks work two and three jobs but still struggle to pay their bills, afford good housing, afford better medical care or take care of their family members in their time of need," Jones said in the official Democratic response to Kemp's speech.
Kemp's own political future is unclear. Kemp used campaign money to project power in 2024 elections, supporting legislative candidates and eventually helping President-elect Donald Trump retake Georgia for Republicans, contributing to Trump's victory.
Kemp leads the Republican Governor's Association this year, and many are looking to him to run for U.S. Senate in 2026 against first-term Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. But Kemp hasn't announced plans and could also seek the presidency in 2028.
That could depend on how Kemp negotiates his previously fractious relationship with Trump. Thursday's speech mentioned Trump only once by name, thanking both him and Democratic President Joe Biden for supporting federal relief for Hurricane Helene.
Unlike Kemp's 2024 address, it was mostly free of partisan politics. Kemp may need Democratic votes to push through lawsuit reform.
The governor made a direct appeal to the minority party, saying “there is no reason we can't tackle tort reform together” and noting they banded together to pass an anti-hate crime law in 2020 after the killing of Ahmaud Arbery near Brunswick.
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Associated Press writer Charlotte Kramon contributed reporting.
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