ATLANTA — Governor Brian Kemp delivered his final State of the State address on Thursday and announced he will dip into Georgia’s state surplus to tackle affordability.

Acknowledging the rising cost of living and Georgians struggling with affordability, Kemp announced a fourth $1B tax rebate, amounting to $250 for single filers and $500 for couples filing jointly.

“With this rebate, my administration and this General Assembly will have returned over $7.5B in surplus revenue to the taxpayers of our state over the last four years,” Kemp said. “We must continue doing everything in our power to allow the hardworking men and women of our state to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pocket in the years to come.”

The governor also wants to further cut the personal and corporate state income tax by another 20 basis points to 4.99% from the current 5.19%. In order to offer these rebates and cut the income tax, Kemp is having to dip into the state’s $16B reserve or “rainy day fund.” According to Kemp, even with the rebates and tax cuts, the fund will still have more than $10B, which he said was four times higher than any other in history and would be enough to fund state government for three months.

“Georgia stands in a historic position to confidently face whatever the future may bring,” Kemp told lawmakers.

Under the governor’s proposal, state employees will also receive one-time $2,000 bonuses. “Their hard work does not go unnoticed,” Kemp declared. “We are truly thankful.”

State lawmakers in both the House and Senate will work over the next 40 days to craft a full state budget proposal. The state budget is the only bill that the legislature is required to pass.