Funding for Albany State University and Darton College expansion are in the state budget that Georgia lawmakers approved Thursday night.  The budget gives $1.8 million to Albany State for the Ray Charles Fine Arts Center and $1.6 million for Darton’s new student center.  

Lawmakers signed off on a $17.9 billion budget for the next fiscal year that slashes education spending and balances the budget with more than $90 million in new fees and more than $200 million in taxes on hospitals.  The measure adopted Thursday also infuses about $800,000 to the Georgia Council for the Arts, which had been slated to be eliminated.  It also provides $10 million to buy land for the new College Football Hall of Fame, which is moving to Atlanta.

There are no mandated furloughs in the spending plan, but it slashes funding for Georgia's schools and colleges by more than
$600 million for the fiscal year, which begins July 1st.  The measure passed the Senate by a 47-to-two vote and the House
by 137-to-33. It goes to Governor Sonny Perdue.

Thursday was the last day of the 2010 legislative session.