ATLANTA (AP) — Gov. Nathan Deal has proposed a nearly $45 billion budget for state government as the economy improves and tax collections climb.

The Republican governor released his spending plan Friday for the financial year starting in July. Lawmakers in the General Assembly will start reviewing it next week and can change the plan.

Deal's plan would spend almost $22 billion generated from state tax collections and other Georgia sources.

State leaders deeply cut spending during the Great Recession, and the slow recovery has kept them from restoring many of those cuts. Budget officials have assumed Georgia will maintain its current growth rates this year and see growth accelerate next year.

The budget includes money intended to reverse teacher furloughs and lengthen school years that were cut during the recession.