News Lead
Georgia’s prison budget has ballooned by nearly $500 million in four years — a 44% increase from FY2022 to proposed FY2026 — yet the state continues to extract more than $10 million annually in fees from the nearly 50,000 people it holds behind bars and the families who support them.
The Georgia Department of Corrections’ amended FY2026 budget now stands at $1,782,435,308 in state general funds, according to the Governor’s Budget Report and independent analysis by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI). Healthcare contract costs alone surged approximately 40% since FY2022, with a single physical health contract increase of $47,880,895 proposed for FY2027. Despite this massive spending escalation, the budget contains no provisions to reduce the $5 medical co-pays charged to incarcerated people, eliminate communication fees imposed on families, or compensate the forced labor that subsidizes prison operations.
The spending surge comes as Georgia’s incarcerated population grew from 42,795 at its pandemic low in early 2021 to 49,828 by January 31, 2025 — a 16.4% increase. Black Georgians continue to represent 58% of the prison population despite comprising only 33% of the state’s overall population, a disparity that GBPI Senior Analyst Ray Khalfani attributes to “the state’s legacy of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, racialized criminalization through over-policing in communities of color.”
Key Takeaway: Georgia’s prison budget increased 44% — nearly $500 million — in four years, yet incarcerated people and their families continue to bear rising financial burdens through fees, co-pays, and forced unpaid labor.
Quotable Statistics
Overall Budget Growth
– $1,782,435,308: Total GDC amended budget for FY2026 in state general funds
– $1,762,069,964: Proposed GDC budget for FY2027 in state general funds
– 44%: Total increase in prison spending from FY2022 to proposed FY2026
– Nearly $500 million: Dollar increase in annual prison spending over four years (FY2022 to FY2026)
– $153 million: Budget increase from FY2024 to FY2025 alone
– $125 million: Budget increase from FY2025 to proposed FY2026
Healthcare Costs
– 40%: Increase in prison health spending since FY2022
– $47,880,895: Physical health contract increase in FY2027, broken down as $23,627,395 for per diem increases and $24,253,500 for additional bed capacity
– $38,869,898: Physical health contract increase in amended FY2026, including $15,000,000 for outside-the-wire care
– $54,769,710: Total Health program budget increase for FY2027
– $1,917,644: Mental health contract increase for staffing ratios in FY2027
– $1,498,347: Dental health contract increase for staffing ratios in FY2027
– $3,681,328: Pharmacy contract per diem increase in FY2027
Population and Racial Disparities
– 49,828: People incarcerated in GDC facilities as of January 31, 2025
– 42,795: GDC population at its pandemic low in early 2021
– 58%: Share of Georgia’s prison population that is Black (vs. 33% of the state’s overall population)
Cost Per Person
– $86.61: Daily cost to incarcerate one person (FY2024)
– $31,612: Annual cost per incarcerated person
Financial Burdens on Incarcerated People
– More than $10 million: Annual fees collected from incarcerated individuals for each of the last 3 years
– $5: Medical co-pay charged to incarcerated people per healthcare visit or medication request
Expansion and Security
– $13,387,475: Allocated for managed access and drone detection systems in amended FY2026
– $4,227,620: Cost to add 263 private prison beds (160 at Coffee Correctional, 103 at Wheeler Correctional) in FY2027
– $6,242,030: Increase in jail subsidy payments to local jails to house state prisoners in amended FY2026
– $26,824,134: Investment in additional correctional officer positions in FY2027
– $5,521,230: Technology costs for the Over Watch and Logistics (OWL) Unit in FY2027
– $12,050,341: Cost of $2,000 one-time salary supplements for State Prisons staff in amended FY2026
Key Takeaway: Prison spending is increasing across every major category — healthcare, staffing, security technology, and private prison expansion — while the state simultaneously extracts over $10 million annually in fees from incarcerated people.
Context and Background
What’s driving the budget increase? The nearly half-billion-dollar spending surge is concentrated in four areas: healthcare contracts (which have grown approximately 40% since FY2022), staff compensation and retention, infrastructure and security technology, and bed capacity expansion through private prisons and county jail subsidies.
Healthcare is the largest cost driver. Physical health contract costs alone increased by $38,869,898 in amended FY2026 and $47,880,895 in FY2027. These increases cover per diem rate hikes, outside-the-wire care (medical treatment provided outside prison walls), and the opening of additional beds. Despite this spending, incarcerated people are still charged a $5 medical co-pay for requested health services and medications. According to the GDC handbook, the department will charge someone with a debt rather than deny care if they cannot afford the co-pay — a policy that GBPI warns deters people from seeking care and allows treatable illnesses to worsen.
Who is being incarcerated? Georgia’s prison population grew from 42,795 in early 2021 to 49,828 by January 31, 2025, as courts resumed full operations after pandemic delays. Black Georgians represent 58% of the prison population while comprising only 33% of the state’s overall population. GBPI’s analysis links this disparity to “racialized criminalization through over-policing in communities of color, racially biased school punishment and historic disinvestments in communities of color.”
Where is the money going? The state is investing heavily in containment — $13,387,475 for managed access and drone detection systems, $4,227,620 for 263 new private prison beds, $6,242,030 in increased jail subsidy payments, and $26,824,134 for additional correctional officers in FY2027. GBPI notes that the budget is “largely void of actions that address the fiscal and prison health access burdens carried by incarcerated Georgians and their loved ones.”
Hidden costs borne by families. The state collects more than $10 million annually in fees from incarcerated individuals — revenue from phone calls, mail, and other services. People in prison are also coerced to perform unpaid labor in food preparation, laundry, construction, facility maintenance, and factory work. The Governor’s own budget document states that “GDC requires offenders in its facilities to work to support the prison system and the community.”
Private prison expansion. The FY2027 budget includes $4,227,620 to add 160 beds at Coffee Correctional Institution and 103 beds at Wheeler Correctional Institution, both operated by private companies. An additional $1,054,637 is allocated to fully utilize available beds at Jenkins and Riverbend Correctional Institutions. Total private prison expenditures reached $152,648,138 in FY2025.
Source documents. This analysis draws from the Governor’s FY2026-FY2027 Budget Report for the Department of Corrections and multiple analyses by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, authored by Ray Khalfani, Senior Analyst for Worker Justice and Criminal Legal Systems.
Key Takeaway: The budget increase is driven by healthcare costs, staffing, and security spending — while the state simultaneously extracts fees from incarcerated people and their families and fails to address systemic conditions driving prison population growth.
Story Angles
1. “The $500 Million Question: Where Is Georgia’s Prison Spending Actually Going?”
Georgia has added nearly $500 million in annual prison spending over four years, yet conditions remain dire enough to require ongoing emergency measures — modular housing units, county jail overflow, and private prison expansion. An investigative piece could track where the money is actually landing: How much goes to private contractors? How much to healthcare companies vs. direct patient care? What outcomes has this spending produced? The data shows $47.9 million in a single physical health contract increase for FY2027 and $13.4 million for contraband detection technology — but no investment in reducing the co-pays, fees, and forced labor imposed on incarcerated people.
2. “The Racial Math of Georgia’s Prison Budget”
Black Georgians make up 33% of the state’s population but 58% of its prison population. With the state spending $31,612 per incarcerated person annually and collecting over $10 million in fees from incarcerated people and their families, the financial impact falls disproportionately on Black communities. A deep-dive could quantify the total economic extraction — combining incarceration costs, family fees, lost wages from forced unpaid labor, and the regressive revenue streams that GBPI has identified as perpetuating poverty.
3. “Paying to Be Sick: Medical Co-Pays Behind Georgia’s Prison Walls”
Despite the state pouring nearly $100 million in additional healthcare spending into the prison system across amended FY2025 and FY2026, incarcerated people still face a $5 co-pay for each medical visit and medication request — and those who cannot pay are saddled with debt. With prison healthcare spending up 40% since FY2022, a story could examine who profits from these contract increases while the people receiving care face financial barriers. The budget includes $1,917,644 for mental health staffing and $1,498,347 for dental health staffing in FY2027 — but nothing to eliminate co-pays that deter people from seeking care in the first place.
Read the Source Document
The full research compilation — including the Governor’s FY2026-FY2027 Budget Report for the Department of Corrections and Georgia Budget and Policy Institute analyses — is available here: [Link to PDF]
Other Versions
- Public Version: A plain-language summary of these findings for general audiences is available here: [Link to Public Version]
- Legislator Version: A policy brief with detailed budget line items and legislative recommendations is available here: [Link to Legislator Version]