Georgia AG's Office Won't Say If They Need More Funding For Gang Prosecution Unit

By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square Georgia

October 11, 2o22

(The Center Square) — Despite touting high-profile indictments against gang members, Georgia's attorney general's office will not say whether it needs more money to continue its work.

State lawmakers allocated $1.3 million in the more than $30.2 billion fiscal 2023 budget for the Gang Prosecution Unit. Lawmakers created the unit, which began its work on July 1, as part of House Bill 1134.

Last week, Attorney General Chris Carr's office announced high-profile indictments, including the first indictments the unit has secured. However, when asked if the office might need more money in next year's budget, a spokeswoman for the attorney general was noncommittal.

"The budget process will begin this fall, and those recommendations will then go through the legislative process once [the] session begins," Kara Richardson, the communications director for Carr, told The Center Square. "Any final budget determinations will be made at a later date."

Georgia officials are typically tight-lipped about their budget plans and seem even more so this election season. Additionally, the head of Georgia's budget agency is asking state agencies to keep their budgets flat for the upcoming budget process.

Sen. Jen Jordan, D-Atlanta, who is challenging Carr in November's general election, did not respond to a request for comment on the Gang Prosecution Unit and whether it might need additional funding next year. Carr's office previously said the budget for the Gang Prosecution Unit was $1.6 million.

The focus of the work of The Center Square Georgia is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.