Legislative update: a briefing for faculty and staff of the University System of Georgia, No. 1 (Jan. 21, 1997)

Legislative Update: January 21, 1997

http://WWW.PeachNet.EDU/BORWEB/legup/jan2197.html

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
. Staff of the Un.versity System of Georgia
No.1 -- January 21, 1997

"STATE OF THE STATE IS GREAT"
In his 1997 State of the State Address delivered on Tuesday, January 14, to a standing-room-only crowd, Gov. Zell Miller proclaimed the impressive gains made by Georgia in national visibility, the economic development arena and on the educational front.
"We are a place where people and businesses want to be," Miller declared, citing that Georgia is now the tenth largest state in the nation. "In the six years since January 1991, Georgia's population has grown by 13.5 percent. We have been the 7th fastest growing state by percentage, and by number of people, only Texas, California and Florida added more [people]."
The 1996 Olympic Games were a highlight ofthe past year for Georgia, according to Gov. Miller, who cited the event as "Georgia's chance for international attention and name recognition." Miller said that for the past several years the state focused on the Olympics, resulting in a major payoff.
"...The 1996 Olympics here in Georgia were indeed the largest peacetime event in world history-bigger than the prior two Olympics combined, bigger than the Games will be in the year 2000. And six of every ten people on the planet watched them on television," he said. "Our name is known."
Miller also took pride in the state's ability to provide employment for its citizens, noting that since January 1991, "the number ofjobs in Georgia grew by 22 percent" and the unemployment rate dropped during the past five years "to its lowest annual average in more than two decades."
"The pay's getting better, too," Miller pointed out. "In 1995, our per capital income reached 94 percent of the national average. And our total personal income has increased by 37 percent since 1991."
Clearly concerned about the status of wages in the educational sector, Miller reiterated his commitment "to make Georgia's teacher salaries competitive on the national market, so that we can hire and keep the best teachers possible..."
The Governor said that his goal, by way of providing a six percent merit increase for Georgia's teachers every year for four years, is to "put Georgia's teacher salaries at the top of the region and at the national average."
He proudly proclaimed to the full General Assembly convened for his 50-minute address: "With your help, we have already enacted the first two increases. We are passing other states, and we are on track to achieve our goal to be able to compete nationally for outstanding teachers. And with your support, we are going to continue."

BUDGET ADDRESS DEPICTS A "FORCED MARCH"
"A Forced March to Reality" was the title of Gov. Miller's 1997 Legislative Budget Address, delivered on Thursday, January 16, to an over-flowing crowd oflegislators, lobbyists, key supporters and

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Legislative Update: January 21, 1997

http://WWW.PeachNet.EDU/BORWEB/legup/jan2197 .html

constituents. Attention to taxpayers' desires, sound fiscal management, redirection, and results were the themes
emphasized by the Governor, as he outlined an $11.8 billion budget for Fiscal Year 1998, representing "only a 4.6 percent growth rate over the FY '97 budget."
Restating his commitment to redirection, Gov. Miller said that $350 million has been earmarked in the FY '98 budget for redirection and redistribution. Added to last year's allocation of $600 million, a total of nearly one billion dollars has been set-aside by Miller "across two budgets" for redirection purposes.
The University System of Georgia's share of the FY '98 redirection commitment totals more than $70 million.
Stating that "the most important priority for our future is education," Gov. Miller outlined key elements of his recommendations for the University System of Georgia budget which builds on past accomplishments and impending needs.
He lauded Georgia's lottery as a "significant source of revenue-to date, more than $2 billion," which supports education "on top of' general fund monies.
Specific University System of Georgia budget recommendations supported by the Governor include:
$69.1 million to fund the third year of the 6 percent merit salary increase for faculty and staff;
$23.5 million in new dollars to meet the System's funding formula for enrollment growth;
$2 million to reduce remediation, improve readiness and create academies for gifted and talented high school studentsvia the Partners in Success Special Funding Initiative;
$1.5 million to support the state's economic development goals via the System's Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP);
$8 million to continue building the System's technology infrastructure and to provide training for faculty and staff ($5million in general funds and $3 million in lottery revenues);
$121.8 million in bonds for 21 capital projects throughout the University System; and
$900,000 to develop facility master plans at the System's 34 institutions, including $200,000 in emergency funds earmarked for Savannah State University and $350,000 for Augusta State University.
Miller also outlined a historic and collaborative $6.8 million educational project, aimed at providing Internet access to all ofthe state's 1,818 K-12 schools, all public libraries, technical institutes and University System colleges and universities, via the System's Peachnet infrastructure.
In addition, Miller proposed once again expanding the state's extremely popular HOPE program to include more students.
Previously, "students who did not have a B average or did not go to college straight from high school have been able to earn a HOPE scholarship by compiling a B average over 90 quarter hours, or two years of academic work." Gov. Miller has recommended "reducing that to 45 hours, or one year."
Since 1993, HOPE has served more than 234,000 Georgia students at a cost of $291 million.
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