ATLANTA — Georgia officials on Friday celebrated a new $37.8 billion state spending plan that devotes more money to schools, prisons and other priorities.

Now they must wait to see whether federal budget cuts and economic turmoil force them to rewrite that plan.

Gov. Brian Kemp signed the fiscal year 2026 budget at the Georgia Capitol surrounded by legislative leaders. The budget addresses rising school and college enrollment, increased health care costs, dangerous prison conditions and other critical needs.

But it was largely drafted before President Donald Trump began raising tariffs and slashing the federal workforce, and before congressional Republicans unveiled plans to cut Medicaid and other programs that affect state budgets.

Shelby Kerns, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, told reporters this week that states likely cannot absorb the cuts to health care and other programs that appear to be on the horizon. That will force tough choices on state officials in coming months.

“The options are to raise taxes, implement program reductions or make programmatic reductions in other areas,” Kerns said. “Or all three.”

Some Georgia leaders have said they might need to revisit the budget in a special legislative session before they meet again in regular session next January. And this week, Georgia Senate Democrats called on Kemp to convene such a special session.

But Friday, the mood was more congratulatory.

Kemp hailed “a budget that makes important investments to meet the needs of our growing state without growing government or adding to our long-term liabilities.”

The new budget goes into effect July 1.

Here are some of the highlights.

Education: The budget includes more than $300 million to address enrollment growth and other K-12 education needs. It adds $15.3 million to help students in high-poverty schools, plus $19.6 million for mental health support grants to school systems. And it spends $141 million on scholarships for private schools.

The 2026 budget also includes $169.5 million for enrollment growth at Georgia’s four-year colleges and $33 million for growth at technical college systems. It also boosts funding for dual enrollment, Hope Scholarships and other programs.

Health care: The 2026 budget adds $257 million to account for growing enrollment in the Medicaid and Peach Care health programs. The budget also includes $16.9 million to raise reimbursement rates for providers treating Medicaid patients, $8.8 million in new funding for maternal health and $2.9 million to expand the state’s home health care visits program from 50 to 75 counties.

The budget also seeks to address a shortage of doctors — especially in rural areas — adding $7.4 million for graduate medical education, $3 million for 150 new residency slots and $4 million to establish a grant program for residency programs.

Prisons: Georgia’s troubled prison system gets a $200 million boost in spending. That includes money to add more than 700 correctional officers and to acquire four modular prison units to house prisoners while regular facilities are renovated.

The budget also spends more on a variety of safety and security initiatives.

The increased spending comes after an investigative series by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution detailing out-of-control violence in the state prison system plagued by a lack of guards.

Construction: The state will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on new state buildings and other facilities. For the second year in a row, capital spending will be funded with cash instead of borrowing, a key priority of the governor. Kemp said paying with cash will save Georgians $150 million a year in debt service costs over the next 20 years.

The money will pay for such projects as a new science and technology building at the University of North Georgia ($31 million), a new law enforcement training building in Forsyth ($15.9 million) and an upgrade to the Skiles Classroom Building at Georgia Tech ($20 million).

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