Legislative update: a briefing for faculty and staff of the University System of Georgia, No. 1 (Jan 12, 1998)

~.
Gill
U5() 0 . ~&.l
Pi
t,..a.f
j."Cfe!$..

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

f th~ University System of Georgia. No.1. January 12, 1998

'rllf"~";,tr~r

."...

.. <

1998 Legislative Session Begins - Gov. Miller Recommends $190 Million in Capital Projects for System

T oday marks the opening of the 1998 Legislative Session for Georgia's General Assembly, highlighted this week by two addresses from Governor Zell Miller.
Tomorrow, on Tuesday, January 13, Gov. Miller will deliver his Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Address, which will set the stage for budget appropriations to the Board of Regents and other state agencies. On Thursday, January 15, the governor will present his annual State of the State Address.
Also on Tuesday, at the January BO~lrd of Regents meeting, legislative affairs wjlfbe spotlighted by a pr~sentation from Senator Jack Hill. (D-Reidsvile), chair of the Senate's Higher Education Committee; and Representative Calvin Smyre, (D-Columbus), chair of the House's University System of Georgia Committee.
The two will provide the Board of Regents with a briefing on their strategy and plans for the upcoming session and participate in a question and answer session.
University System of Georgia Chancellor Stephen R. Portch will be

at the Georgia Capitol on Wednesday, January 21, when he comments on the Governor's recommendations.
Chancellor Portch will outline the University System's request for salaries, several Special Funding Initiatives, formula and continuation funding, and the capital budget request.
The legislative session got off to an early start prior to the holiday break, when Gov. Miller announced his intention to recommend $185 million in construction funds for the University System in his FY '99 Budget. That recommendation included funding for construction of eight major capital projects, numbers 18 on the University System's Major Capital Projects list.
It also included funding for design of seven additional projects, numbers 914 on the capital priority outlay list. In addition, the governor recommended funding in the FY '99 budget all 11 items on the Board of Regents' A and B minor capital projects list, which includes six Critical Facilities Needs on the A list and five Acute Program Needs on the B list.

The governor also included another capital project, the $4.9 million UGA Animal Science Arena from the Board of Regents' Minor Capital C List, as a priority in his Fiscal Year 1998 Amended Budget. The proposed funding for this project brought Gov. Miller's capital recommendations for the University System to a total of $190 million between the two budgets.
The $190 million in funding recommended by Gov. Miller is a record level of funding for general capital outlay projects for public higher education. During Gov. Miller's twoterm administration, the University System of Georgia has received more than $1 billion in capital funding -- the most ever allocated in Georgia history.
In addition to the minor capital project, Governor Miller also recommended funding for two of the University System's Special Funding Initiatives in his FY '98 Amended Budget. Included is SS million in general appropriations funding for the Instructional Technology Project, which will complement the $3 million allocated in FY '98 from lottery funds.

The new funds will be distributed to all 34 campuses on a quarter-credit hour basis to ensure continued maintenance of existing equipment, to provide technology training for faculty and staff, to help pay for network connections and line charges that make the equipment more effective, and to upgrade software and hardware to keep the system's technology current with industry standards.
Governor Miller also recommended $2 million in lottery funds to support the Interconnected Library System proposed in the Board of Regents FY '99 Budget Request. That project further develops and extends the resources of the University System's GALILEO initiative by prOViding a standard software for all sytem libraries, enhancing on-line access by users and maintenance of the high-tech electronic library system.
The proposed $2 million in fun9t~g)w~lil'd(~~the first sianJso4/...t>".t'-t1ff:i~.ePtl1e>J..f.l'.tJ'h&",rne1thYt\lfi:e~ces-
~ret(t~M~remJk~!?ll:irt0iL:J~L~d~~l:lred Qf. "--._~ ';<....
See "F?;?8 But!get ' P. 2 ...
, j. G!Jnt~.i''''

-.:...
No.1, January 12,1998

University System of Georgia LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

page 2

FY98 Budget
Continued from page 1... and software would be purchased for the two- and four-year schools most in need of upgraded systems possibly 13 institutions. Depending upon available resources, funding over the remaining two years would be used to add remaining institutions.
KEY DATES IN THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Tuesday, Jan. 13 Governor Miller's FY '99 Budget Address
Tuesday, Jan. 13 Legislative Presentation at Board of Regents Meeting
Thursday, Jan. 15 Governor Miller's State of the State Address
Wednesday, Jan. 21 Chancellor Stephen Portch's FY '99 Budget Address

GOV. MILLER'S PROPOSED CAPITAL BUDGET

Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Recommendations

Major Capital Projects - Construction - 8 Projects

Priority Institution 1 Augusta State

Project Classroom Replacement I

2 Georgia State

Classroom Building

3 Armstrong Atlantic 4 Gainesville College

Science Building Science Building

5 West Georgia 6 Valdosta State

Arts & Science Instructional Center Odum Library Addition

7 DeKalb

New Learning Resource Center

8 Fort Valley State

Health & Physical Education Building

Cost $18,194,000 $29,074,000 $28,001,000
$8,852,000 $19,352,000 $14,248,000
$8,685,000 $18,927,000

Major Capital Projects - Design - 6 Projects

9 Southern Polytechnic School of Arch. Bldg. Expansion

10 Gordon

Instructional Complex

11 Georgia Tech

Environmental Sciences & Technology Building

12 North Georgia

Health & Natural Science Bldg.

13 University of Georgia Student Learning Center

14 DeKalb/UGA

Gwinnett Center - Phase I

15 Clayton

Learning Center

$12,836,000 $15,050,000
$33,493,000 $19,141,000 $42,792,000 $22,000,000 $23,178,000

IJ A" and "B" Minor Capital List

Institution

Project

Georgia Southern

Ceramics/Sculpture II

Kennesaw State

Visual & Commercial Arts Classroom and Office Building

Medical College of Georgia Utility Upgrade - Hospital

Middle Georgia

Dillard Science Hall Addition

Savannah State

Renovate Drew-Griffith Science Bldg.

Special Study: Student Housing Health, Safety and Code Compliance Issues

ABAC

Renovation & Addition to Old Agricultural Engineering Bldg.

Clayton

Renovation of Lecture Hall to Multimedia Information Center

Dalton

Library Bldg. Addition/Renovation

Georgia Southwestern

Renovation of Crawford Wheatley Hall

Southern Polytechnic

Plant Operation Bldg.

Fiscal Year 1998 Amended Budget

University of Gerogia

Animal Science Arena

Cost $1,600,000
$4,700,000 $4,000,000 $4,100,000 $4,100,000
$500,000
$3,222,000
$1,675,000 $4,950,000 $2,600,000 $1,600,000
$4,900,000