ATLANTA — On the heels of his mandate for statewide budget cuts, Gov. Brian Kemp promised in his State of the State address Thursday he will keep to his campaign pledge to increase teacher pay and will funnel dollars into the foster care system.

Kemp started the address by touting the state’s historic low unemployment rate of 3.3%.

“The state of the state is strong and folks we’re just getting started,” he said.

Kemp said he will increase teacher pay raises by $2,000 in all public schools a promise he made on the campaign trail and started last session with a $3,000 raise. The combined raises complete his promise of a total $5,000 boost.

This raise is estimated to cost an extra $350 million.

During a pre-session press conference, House Speaker David Ralston said he was skeptical that the state has the funds to do so. Following the governor’s address, Ralston told press that “assuming” the legislator can find money in the budget for it, he will support it.

Lawmakers have scrutinized Kemp’s budget cuts after his staff noted during budget hearings in the summer that not just state programs but jobs, too, could be on the chopping block.

But Kemp asserted he will will forge ahead with the promised raises.

“This raise will enhance retention rates, boost recruitment numbers and improve educational outcomes in schools throughout Georgia,” he said.

To set the stage for his teacher pay raise announcement, Kemp noted advances in education this year, including fully funding the quality basic education formula and providing $69 million in security grants for all 2,314 schools across the state. Kemp said in 2020, he again intends to fully-fund the state’s QBEs.

In hand with teacher pay raises, a bump for adopting parents will triple the adoption state income tax credit from $2,000 to $6,000.

The system changes also lower the parent adoption eligibility age from 25 to 21, Kemp said, so “more qualified Georgians can adopt and more children can be placed.”

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has made reforming the foster care system in Georgia a personal project.

During his speech at the the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs and Issues breakfast he said, “Reforming our foster care system will not put a single dollar in a single person’s pocket in this room,” Duncan said, “but it is absolutely the right thing for all of us to do.”

Kemp also announced the formation of a new Families First Commission to study the state’s foster care system.

Ralston told he supported the changes to the foster care laws but wanted to know more about the commission.

“We create a lot of commissions in the state that seemingly don’t get things accomplished,” Ralston said, “and sometimes they become sort of a, an agent for special interest and so I’m very, very leery of that.”

Health care initiatives on the horizon

During the State of the State address, Kemp defended his highly criticized health care waiver proposals. He said the waivers “shake up the status quo and put patients first, not special interests.”

In additional health care legislation, Kemp pushed lawmakers to address “surprised billing” which Senate leaders noted early on it’s on their list and already filed legislation.

“Surprise” or balanced billing is when patients receive bills following medical treatment for doctors and staff that are independent contractors of a hospital, but not covered by the patient’s insurance.

“We will demand transparency, embrace empathy and insist on fairness,” Kemp said.

In honor of former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson — who joined state legislators for the annual address — Kemp announced the creation of the Johnny Isakson Professorship for Parkinson’s Research at the University of Georgia.

“While treatable, Parkinson’s disease has no cure,” Kemp said. “I don’t know about you but I want to change that.”

Kemp did not go without mentioning the state’s controversial heartbeat bill — that would make abortion illegal once a doctor can detect a fetus’ heartbeat — as a triumph for Georgia.

“During the debate on the heartbeat bill, I would always start by saying a simple statement: Georgia is a state that values life,” Kemp said. “Honestly, it’s hard to disagree with that. We live in a place where every person matters. As a pro life governor, I believe we need to protect the unborn and the born.”

The statement drew cheers from GOP legislators as Democrats sat in silence.