Governor Brian Kemp and House Speaker David Ralston on Monday announced their latest plan to prioritize public safety by giving them $1,000 bonuses.
The state will offer the one-time pay supplement to nearly 81,000 police officers, firefighters and other emergency responders to thank them for their service.
“Our law enforcement officials and first responders answered the call of duty and bravely served on the front line of our fight against COVID-19, despite the unprecedented challenges thrown their way,” Kemp said during a press conference Monday afternoon at the state Capitol.
The bonuses will cost the state approximately $100 million. Georgia will pay for them with federal COVID relief funds, Kemp said. The state received $4.8 billion as part of the American Rescue Plan.
MORE: Habersham County Commission approves public safety bonuses
The money will go to all eligible public safety officers and first responders, including police and sheriff’s office employees, probation and parole officers, career firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, prison guards and jailers, bailiffs, fish and game wardens, 911 communications officers and dispatchers, among others.
The program will be administered by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget which will distribute the funds as grants. The governor urged local governments and public safety personnel employers to visit the GOPB’s website for more information on how to apply, receive, and distribute the funds.
Applications will be accepted from October 1 through the end of this year.
The bonuses are, in part, an answer to the defund police movement that rose up in the wake of George Floyd’s murder last year. Kemp blames that movement for what he calls a “crisis” in public safety recruitment, retention, and overall support for law enforcement, firefighters and EMTs.
Proponents of defunding the police view it as a type of reform: Divesting in law enforcement and investing in human needs. Advocates are split, though, on how far to take it and Republicans have seized on it as a political plank.
“As long as I am governor and as long as these members of the General Assembly here with me today continue to serve under this gold dome, we will stand with our public safety officials. Period.”
Speaker Ralston acted to make public safety a priority in the aftermath of a crime wave that drove up murder rates and other violent crimes in Atlanta. State House and Senate committees are holding hearings to examine what can be done to address it.
The public safety bonuses announced Monday are in addition to the $1,000 bonuses Ralston proposed back in July for local police officers and sheriff’s deputies.
Earlier this year, the General Assembly approved one-time $1,000 bonuses for teachers and state employees who earn less than $80,000 per year.
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