Senator Chance to Chair Senate Economic Development Committee

State Senator Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone) has been appointed Chairman of the Senate Economic Development Committee for the 2011-2012 legislative term. Senator Chance was also named to the Banking, Ethics, Finance, Higher Education and Reapportionment and Redistricting Committees.  In addition to his committee assignments, Senator Chance is the Senate Floor Leader for Governor Nathan Deal.



The Economic Development Committee has purview over economic development, business and trade issues and any proposed measures that will affect the presence of tourism throughout the state. The committee works closely with the Georgia Department of Economic Development to recruit new businesses to the state, expand existing businesses and the implementation of job creation initiatives.  Senator Chance has served on the committee since 2005.



Senator Ronnie Chance was first elected in 2004 and formerly served as Floor Leader to Governor Sonny Perdue.  He was named “2009 Legislator of the Year” by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and “2009 Champion of Economic Development” by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.  In 2010 he was named Legislator of the Year by the Southeastern Legal Foundation.

Senator Chance Named Governor’s Floor Leader

State Senator Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone) was appointed by Governor-elect Nathan Deal to serve as Senate Administration Floor Leader for the 2011-2012 Senate term. Senator Chance will be responsible for carrying the Governor’s legislation as it moves through the legislative process and will serve as liaison between the Governor and the State Senate.

“I am truly honored by this appointment by Governor-elect Deal,” said Chance. “I look forward to working with the Senate and the Office of the Governor to pass effective policy that will create jobs for Georgians and attract businesses to the state.”

An Administration Floor Leader is responsible for introducing and carrying legislation on behalf of the governor. They also assist in the drafting process of new legislation and act as a liaison between the public, the Senate and the governor’s office. Senators Jim Butterworth (R-Clarkesville) and Bill Jackson (R-Appling) will also serve as floor leaders.

Governor-elect Deal voiced his support for the three senators joining his administration: “It is an honor to have these three men join my administration as the Senate floor leaders,” Deal said. “The respect they have earned from their peers and their proven leadership assures me they are the right men to promote my agenda in the Senate. They will be critical elements of my administration’s success in the Legislature.”

Senator Ronnie Chance was first elected in 2004 and currently serves as Chairman of the Finance Committee. He is also a member of the Economic Development, Higher Education and Reapportionment and Redistricting Committees. He formerly served as Floor Leader to Governor Sonny Perdue and was voted “2009 Legislator of the Year” by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and named “2009 Champion of Economic Development” by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. In 2010 he was named Legislator of the Year by the Southeastern Legal Foundation.

Info re: Five Constitutional Amendments on the Ballot

Our state and national constitutions are the foundations upon which our government was established. While the Constitution is a blueprint for how the government is organized, it also defines and protects the rights and liberties of individuals. That's why the process to change the Constitution was made to be so difficult. Proposed changes must pass both the House and Senate by at least a two-thirds vote. The amendments then go to the people who vote to approve or reject the changes.

As you cast your vote in this year's General Election, you will be asked to vote for or against five proposed changes to the state constitution. Each amendment was passed by the General Assembly during the 2010 legislative session, and will appear on the ballot for voter approval. The following is a breakdown of each proposed amendment. I want you as voters to have the information necessary to decide what is in the best interest of our state and our people as you fulfill your very important role in this process.

Amendment One : Allows competitive contracts to be enforced in Georgia courts (HR 178)

"Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to make Georgia more economically competitive by authorizing legislation to uphold reasonable competitive agreements?"

Under this amendment, the General Assembly could permit the courts to enforce non-compete agreements, which are commonly used to ensure departing employees refrain from competing with the employer after their employment is terminated. Other examples include agreements between distributors and manufacturers, lessors and lessees and partnerships and partners. Currently, Georgia's constitution prohibits the General Assembly from authorizing contracts that would restrict competition, leading the courts to enforce only limited non-compete agreements. The amendment also grants review powers to the courts in which they may limit the duration, geographic area and scope of prohibited activities that restrict or regulate competition to ensure the agreement is enforced only to a reasonable extent under the circumstances of the contract.

Amendment Two: Adds a $10 tag fee on private passenger vehicles to fund statewide trauma care expansion (SR 277)
"Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to impose an annual $10.00 trauma charge on certain passenger motor vehicles in this state for the purpose of funding trauma care?"

This amendment would place an additional $10 fee on license tag and vehicle registration payments, the proceeds of which would be placed in a trauma trust fund and used to maintain and expand the state's trauma care network. The fee would be imposed annually on each motor vehicle designed to carry ten or fewer passengers, including pickup trucks, motorcycles, sport utility vehicles and passenger vans. Any amount in the trust fund not expended at the end of a fiscal year would remain in the trust fund.

Amendment Three: Allows the State to execute multiyear contracts for long-term transportation projects (SR 821)

"Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to allow the Georgia Department of Transportation to enter into multiyear construction agreements without requiring appropriations in the current fiscal year for the total amount of payments that would be due under the entire agreement so as to reduce long-term construction costs paid by the state?"

This amendment would allow the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to enter into construction agreements without obligating the total amount of funds in a yearly budget. The DOT may extend a contract on a yearly basis, which allows them to dedicate only the necessary funds for that term period. These contracts would last no more than 10 years.

Amendment Four: Allows the State to enter into multiyear contracts for energy efficiency and conservation improvement projects (SR 1231)

"Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide for guaranteed cost savings for the state by authorizing a state entity to enter into multiyear contracts which obligate state funds for energy efficiency or conservation improvement projects?"

This amendment would allow state agencies to enter into multiyear contracts with private vendors for energy efficiency or conservation improvement projects. These contracts would allow state agencies to incur debt and obligate payments beyond the funds available in their fiscal year budget. These contracts would last no more than 10 years

Amendment Five: Allows owners of industrial-zoned property to choose to remove the industrial designation from their property (HR 136)

"Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to allow the owners of real property located in industrial areas to remove the property from the industrial area?"

This amendment removes the requirement that real property must be located "on an island" prior to the owner filing a certificate to remove it from an industrial area and be annexed by an adjacent city. Georgia has only two industrial areas, located in Chatham and Jeff Davis counties. Because the land was established years ago under a "local constitutional amendment," a practice the General Assembly no longer uses, a constitutional amendment is needed to annex the land parcel in question.

For additional information on the ballot questions, you can also visit the Secretary of State's website at: http://www.sos.ga.gov/

Thank you for your continued support. Please contact me if I may be of assistance at (770) 969 - 9155 or at ronnie@chanceforsenate.com.

Revenues are up!

July state revenues were up 4.7% for the month and it is hard to portray this as anything but good news. Unless there is an unknown amount of income tax refunds laying in wait, this is a solid month of growth at $1.147 billion in revenues, or about the 2006 level.

Individual Income taxes came in at $540.6 million or up 3.6%. Sales taxes in total were up 3.0% or $818.5 million. Local Sales tax distribution was off by
-5.1% but state net sales taxes were up 2.4% or a total of $454.9 million for the month.

Motor Fuel taxes were encouraging as well. Total collections were up $16.1 million or 24.8% with fuel sales taxes increasing $12.6 million or 47.2% and excise taxes up 9.2% or $3.5 million.

Corporate income taxes had a good month, up $5.5 million or 40.2% but tobacco tax collections were off $3.2 million or -26.0%. Alcohol tax collections were down slightly at -1.0%.

So, Fiscal Year 2011 is off to a good start. It is our hope that the state has turned a corner ever so slightly as the unemployment rate also improved slightly this past month. Georgia's $17.8 billion dollar budget only needs another $16.8 billion in the next 11 months to make budget.

LOTTERY REVENUES AND THE HOPE SCHOLARSHIP

Much has been written in the press recently concerning the lottery funded HOPE Scholarship, and legislative committees are beginning to consider the fact that lottery funding is essentially flat and the costs of lottery funded programs including the HOPE scholarship is growing. While there is a robust reserve approaching $1 billion, the deficit will increase dramatically over the next few years according to the Georgia Student Finance Commission.

Over the next weeks, this column will examine these issues as well - considering the operation of the lottery and the entire range of programs funded by the lottery. It is important, though, to understand the entirety of the lottery expenditures before considering reducing HOPE or making any changes. Additionally, understanding what the standards are for each program is revealing.

Here are the major lottery funded programs and their status as to how they are earned.

Program Appropriated Percent Means Test Merit Based
HOPE - Public Colleges $474.5 million 42.1% No Yes
HOPE - Private Colleges - $ 59.3 million 5.3% No Yes
HOPE- Technical Colleges $206.3 million 18.3% No No
Grants
Pre-K Program $355.0 million 31.5% No

There are about 2.8% of other scholarships including Engineering, GMC, Accel and the College Opportunity Grant in addition to the 1% Student Finance gets for the administering of HOPE.

So the HOPE Scholarship only accounts for half of the Lottery expenditures. The legislature must evaluate all lottery funded programs the way we are evaluating the HOPE Scholarship.

Thank you for your interest. Please contact me if I may be of assistance at (404) 463-1366 or at ronnie.chance@senate.ga.gov.

Last Day for Early Voting

Today is the last chance to take advantage of Early Voting. The 2010 Republican Primary General Election has come and gone, but there are few races still yet to be decided. A few important races are in the middle of runoffs, which will be decided this Tuesday, August 10th. I encourage you to not only go to the polls and vote, but to take advantage of Early Voting and avoid the congestion of Election Day. Please see below details on Early Voting for your county.

One of the important elections involves one of my good friends and former Senate colleague Senator John Douglas who is running for Public Service Commissioner. I hope you will take the time to visit both his campaign website and his Senate website to learn more about John Douglas and his candidacy. I have served with John in the Georgia State Senate and am proud to endorse his candidacy. Senator Douglas and I served together since 2004, and I know firsthand his work ethic, integrity and his values. He will make an outstanding Public Service Commissioner.

On Aug. 10th we have important decisions to make, and we must elect proven Conservative leaders we can trust. John Douglas is that type of leader, and I hope you will consider supporting him as you cast your ballot in the Republican Primary Runoff Election.

EARLY VOTING DETAILS:

Fayette County
08/02/2010 to 08/6/2010
Days: Monday through Friday
8:00AM - 5:00 PM

Fayette County Administration Complex
140 Stonewall Avenue West, Suite 209
Fayetteville, GA

Peachtree City Library
201 Willow Bend Road
Peachtree City, GA

Tyrone Public Library
143 Commerce Drive
Tyrone, GA

Lamar County
08/02/2010 to 08/6/2010
Days: Monday through Friday
8:30AM - 12:30 PM & 1:30PM - 5:00 PM

Lamar County Board of Elections and Registration Office
408 Thomaston Street, Suite D (second floor)
Barnesville, GA

Monroe County
08/02/2010 to 08/6/2010
Days: Monday through Friday
8:30AM - 4:30 PM

Board of Registrars Office
550 North Lee Street
Forsyth, GA

Pike County
08/02/2010 to 08/6/2010
Days: Monday through Friday
8:00AM - 5:00 PM

Pike County Registrars Office
16001 Barnesville Street
Zebulon, GA

Spalding County
08/02/2010 to 08/6/2010
Days: Monday through Friday
8:00AM-5:00 PM

Memorial Drive Plaza
819 Memorial Drive
Griffin, GA

Please take the time to view John Douglas's website.

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER
John Douglas
http://www.senatorjohndouglas.com/
http://www.votejohndouglas.com


Thank you for your continued support. Please contact me if I may be of assistance at (770) 969 - 9155 or at ronnie@chanceforsenate.com.

Notes from the Senate by Sen Ronnie Chance, 16th District

A reflection on the events at the end of the FY2010 shows effects into FY2011 and FY2012 as well. What this means is that the state's economy, while marginally improving, has not shown any signs of growth meeting the predictions as represented by the revenue estimate in FY2010 and therefore presents serious problems in the FY2011 Amended and FY2012 budgets as well. This spring state revenues were supposed to level out and equal the level of a year ago and set the stage for growth in FY2011. That has not happened.

Despite the revised revenue estimate during the Session, the state was short in cash by some $128 million at the end of the fiscal year in June. Meeting this shortfall has ramifications for FY2011. The Governor's announcement of a 4% withholding of allotments to state agencies (excluding K-12 ed.) is probably only the start of budget cuts in this fiscal year.

There are three separate but interrelated budget events:

The 2010 shortfall and how that was met
Issues with the FY2011 budget just begun in July
The writing of the FY2012 budget and the political and budgetary issues
The state has taken actions to squeak through the year's end. There appears to be a cash shortfall of $125 million or so; however, there are potential accounting actions that may help cover this deficit. Among the actions taken to meet the shortfall were: the state withheld year-end allotments and stopped non-critical purchases and moved Federal Stimulus Funds from the FY2011 budget in K-12 and Regents.

FY 2011 Issues

The $37 million in AARA funds moved from FY11 creates a hole because those funds were counted in the FY2011 budget.

The issue you have read about is the Federal Medicaid match differential, (FMAP). When the recession started, the federal government, as part of its efforts to assist states with budget problems, increased the federal match percentage for Medicaid from 60% to 75% which saved Georgia hundreds of millions of dollars. It also insured that states like Georgia would not cut Medicaid benefits to save money. That enhanced match runs out in December and if not renewed by Congress creates a $370 million hole in the budget we are in right now, FY11. This issue was mentioned in the Governor's 4% agency cut announced recently.

For the second year in a row, there is an unknown amount of state income tax refunds that have been pushed into July and August. That pay-out will affect the revenue picture in FY11. Last year the total was reported at about $160 million. If the amount still to be paid to Ga. taxpayers exceeds $160 million, then there is an additional hole created in FY11 compared to last year.

When a number of factors are considered, the amount of tax growth in state revenues built into the FY11 budget totals about 4.24% or over $600 million. Remember, the last months of FY10 were under predictions. If that continues and the very optimistic growth planned in this budget does not materialize, that shortfall could total several hundred million dollars.


While some of these numbers do depend on factors still unknown, the common belief among budget writers is that there is a potential shortfall in the FY11 budget of several hundreds of millions of dollars. Coming on the heels of reductions of 20% or more, this has the potential of seriously reducing state services.

FY2012 Issues

Tax cuts passed as part of the Hospital fee legislation start phasing in FY2012 and start reducing revenues. Removing the ¼ mill of property tax the state presently receives will begin phasing out in FY12 and will cost state coffers $16 million. Eliminating state income taxes for senior citizens also starts phasing out in FY12 and will cost the state $14 million in revenue.

The biggie is that Medicaid match or FMAP extension. If the enhanced match is not passed by Congress, the present day cost to the state is an entire year or about $787 million.

Estimating growth for the next fiscal year will be a huge issue and certainly hard to do in these uncertain times. To use a baseball term, revenue estimators for Georgia are below "the Mendoza line" in batting average for estimating state revenues.

Contributions to state retirement funds will need to increase to keep those funds up. Estimates are that the Employees Retirement System will require employer contributions to increase by $30 million. The Public School Employees Retirement System will need $8.3 million and the Group Term Life Insurance fund may require $15 million but would probably be funded internally. Even in these austere times, Behavioral Health has received over $70 million dollars of new funding during the FY10 and FY11 budgets in response to the state's court actions with the U.S. Justice Department. Recent developments in federal court may result in additional new funds that would be mandated for Georgia's mental hospitals and mental health delivery system.

The GEFA securitization and other one-time sources of funds will dry up in 2012 as well. GEFA alone was $287 million and the remainder could push this well over $300 million.

Also, don't forget that areas such as education, universities and Medicaid are still growing. This could run several hundred million depending on how forecasting proceeds over the next few months.

Post Script:

The FY12 budget is complicated by the fact that presumably there will be no new federal stimulus funds so the state is essentially on its on. Not listed as issues but almost surely to be fiscal issues are the health of the State Health Benefit Plan and Medicaid expenditures. There will be problems in those areas that will have to be solved.

Thank you for your interest. Please contact me if I may be of assistance at (404) 463-1366 or at ronnie.chance@senate.ga.gov.

Early Voting Reminder & Endorsements from Sen. Chance

The 2010 Republican Primary General Election is underway as Early Voting has commenced statewide. I encourage each of you to take advantage of Early Voting and avoid the congestion of Election Day on July 20th. Please see below details on Early Voting for your county.

I also hope you will please take the time to visit the campaign websites of two of my former Senate colleagues who are now pursuing statewide office. I have served with both Brian Kemp and John Douglas in the Georgia State Senate and am endorsing their respective candidacies. Secretary of State Kemp has done an outstanding job since his appointment by Governor Perdue in January and deserves a full term in office. Senator Douglas and I served together since 2004, and I know firsthand his work ethic. He will make an outstanding Public Service Commissioner.

I hope you will consider supporting both of these outstanding leaders as you cast your ballot in the Republican Primary.

EARLY VOTING DETAILS:

Fayette County
06/07/2010 to 07/16/2010

Days: Monday through Friday
Fayette County Administration Complex
140 Stonewall Avenue West, Suite 209
Fayetteville, GA
8:00AM - 5:00 PM

Lamar County
06/07/2010 to 07/16/2010

Days: Monday through Friday
Lamar County Board of Elections and Registration Office
408 Thomaston Street, Suite D (second floor)
Barnesville, GA
8:00AM - 5:00 PM

Monroe County
06/04/2010 to 07/09/2010

Days: Monday through Friday
Board of Registrars Office
550 North Lee Street
Forsyth, GA
8:30AM - 4:30 PM

Pike County
06/07/2010 to 07/16/2010

Days: Monday through Friday
Pike County Registrars Office
16001 Barnesville Street
Zebulon, GA
8:00AM - 5:00 PM

Spalding County
06/07/2010 to 07/16/2010

Days: Monday through Friday
Memorial Drive Plaza
819 Memorial Drive
Griffin, GA
8:30AM-5:30 PM

Please take the time to view these websites to learn more about the candidates.

SECRETARY OF STATE
Brian Kemp
http://votebriankemp.com/

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER
John Douglas
http://www.senatorjohndouglas.com/

Thank you for your continued support. Please contact me if I may be of assistance at (770) 969 - 9155 or at ronnie@chanceforsenate.com.