Legislative update [Jan. 9, 2006]

DTAE - Legislative Updates

2006 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education

The Week Ahead:
The General Assembly will recess for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday on Monday, January 16 and will reconvene on Monday, January 23 for day 6 of the legislative session. Weekly updates will resume the week of January 23.
Budget Hearings for state agencies will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday, January 17 and 18.
Commissioner Mike Vollmer is scheduled to address the Joint Appropriations Committees on the Fiscal Year 2006 amended and 2007 budgets at 11:05 a. m. on Wednesday, January 18, in room 341 of the State Capitol.
For a MS Word version of this update, click here.
For questions regarding information contained in this bulletin, please contact:
Laura Gammage
lgammage@dtae.org (404) 374-6557

Week of January 9, 2006
Georgia's 236 lawmakers returned to Atlanta on January 9th to kick off the second session of the 2005-2006 legislative term of the General Assembly. Highlights for the week include:
q The Governor unveiled his fiscal year 2006 amended and 2007 budgets in his annual State of the State address on Wednesday which includes a 4% pay raise for DTAE faculty and staff along with no increases in health benefit premiums. In addition, the proposal includes over $64 million in the bond package including seven high priority major and minor projects for DTAE (see page two for details). Finally, despite the drop in enrollment, the Governor recommended level funding for the technical colleges. Although the major and minor projects recommended by the Governor are included in the department's priority list, they were not in the order of priorities set by the Board. Nonetheless, the Commissioner and the State Board remain committed to the new capital outlay process and the department's priorities. Further, the department plans to address with the General Assembly the omission of an MRR and obsolete equipment allocation.
q For access to complete copies of the Governor's budget, logon to www.opb.state.ga.us and select "Budget Information and News".
q Senators Tim Golden and Sam Zamarripa introduced legislation (SB 368) that would authorize the Board of Regents to determine residency requirements for attending the state's public colleges. The intent is to counteract the effect of proposed legislation such as SB 171 that would prohibit illegal immigrants and their children from attending state colleges. SB 171, authored by Senator Chip Rogers, has subsequently been withdrawn for consideration in the current year.
q The University System announced plans to have legislation introduced for the creation of a new state authority to address construction funding needs at the state's public colleges, universities and technical colleges. The proposed Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority (GHEFA) would help keep pace with the rising demand for new facilities around the state. Membership in the new authority would consist of three individuals appointed by the Governor; a member of the DTAE board, appointed by the House of Representatives; and a member of the Board of Regents, appointed by the Senate.
q House Speaker Glenn Richardson announced the appointment of Representative Jim Cole (R-Forsyth) as Secretary to the Higher

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DTAE - Legislative Updates

Education Committee.
q Senators Carter, Harp, Hamrick and Kemp introduced the Governor's proposed constitutional amendment ensuring lottery funds can only be used to pay for HOPE scholarships and grants, the pre-k program and the required reserves for those programs.
q SB 170, which charges the Department of Motor Vehicles with the responsibility for creating procedures for verifying claims of legal domicile or residence, was introduced by Senators Rogers, Pearson, Seabaugh, Cagle and Schaefer and will be closely monitored for possible ramifications on the technical colleges.

Amended Fiscal Year 2006 Budget
1. Restore $8.6 Million in Personnel Services for the Payroll Shift correction.
Fiscal Year 2007 Budget
1. Annualize $8.6 Million in Personnel Services for the Payroll Shift correction.
2. Provide for Level Funding for Colleges in the Funding Formula.
3. Recommend a 2% reduction in DTAE Central Administration Program: -$171,380
4. Capital Outlay:
Major Projects Recommended
1. 1. Okefenokee Technical College Allied Health Building - $10,297,000 2. Savannah Technical College Technology Building - $15,326,000 3. Lanier Technical College, Forsyth Campus Classroom Building
$11,172,000 4. Chattahoochee Technical College, Paulding County Campus Classroom
Building - $11,259,000
Minor Projects Recommended
1. West Central Technical College, Douglasville Campus Classroom Building $4,999,000
2. Ogeechee Technical College CDL and Fire Science Building - $1,623,000 3. Okefenokee Technical College Renovate Alma Center - $2,115,000
New Facilities Equipment Projects Recommended - $7,660,000
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DTAE - Legislative Updates
1. Heart of Georgia Technical College Classroom Building 2. Southeastern Technical College, Glennville Campus Renovation 3. Augusta Technical College, Columbia County Campus 4. West Georgia Technical College Raytheon Building Renovation Statewide Equipment Obsolete Equipment No Recommendation Statewide Minor Repairs and Renovation No Recommendation 5. Recommendation for a 4% Pay Increase for DTAE faculty and staff and no increases in Health Benefit Premiums
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