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Georgia Private College Buildings Tax Exemption, Referendum 1 (2014)

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Referendum 1
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TypeState statute
OriginGeorgia Legislature
TopicTaxes on the ballot
StatusApprovedApproveda
2014 measures
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May 20
Democratic Primary AQs Approveda
November 4
Amendment A Approveda
Amendment B Approveda
Referendum 1 Approveda
Endorsements
Polls

The Georgia Private College Buildings Tax Exemption, Referendum 1 was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in Georgia as a legislatively referred state statute, where it was approved. The measure was designed to extend a "public property" ad valorem tax exemption to privately held and operated student dormitories and parking decks that are obliged by contract to serve universities within the University of Georgia system.[1]

The referendum was part of a larger legislative package related to the privatization of student dormitories. The package, taken together, was designed to:[2]

  • Lease dormitories to private firms who would collect revenues from operating the dorms.
  • Leave some control of student dorm boarding prices to administrators.
  • Give leases lifespans between 30 to 65 years, with the option of renewal.
  • Have private companies bid on contracts and be selected following the referendum's approval.

Election results

Georgia Referendum 1
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 1,839,537 73.67%
No657,36726.33%

Election results via: Georgia Secretary of State

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:[3]

“ Allows property owned by the University System of Georgia and operated by providers of student housing and other facilities to remain exempt from taxation.[4] ”

Ballot summary

The ballot text appeared as follows:[1]

“ Shall property owned by the University System of Georgia and utilized by providers of college and university student housing and other facilities continue to be exempt from taxation to keep costs affordable?

( ) YES
( ) NO [4]

”

Support

Supporters

Officials

Senate

The following state senators voted to place the amendment on the ballot:[5]

Note: A yes vote on the measure merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in Referendum 1.
House

The following state representatives voted to place the amendment on the ballot:[6]

Note: A yes vote on the measure merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in Amendment A.

Arguments

  • Rep. Lynne Riley (R-50) argued that Referendum 1 would allow private companies to offer housing and parking to students at the same or lower cost of what they were paying. She said private firms would provide more efficient services and cut costs for the university, which would allow the university to devote more money "to better education for our students."[7]
  • John Schwenn, president of Dalton State College, said, “The referendum will simply ensure that the property on which the student housing is located will remain untaxed in the future, just as it is currently. This measure keeps the cost of student housing provided by colleges and universities low.”[8]

Opposition

Opponents

Officials

Senate

The following state senators voted against placing the referendum on the ballot:[5]

House

The following state representatives voted against placing the referendum on the ballot:[6]

Arguments

  • Sen. Mike Crane (R-28) criticized the ballot title, saying, "The proposed wording for the ballot referendum includes wording that I believe would be misleading. To insinuate a ‘yes’ vote will ‘keep costs affordable’ is an exaggeration at best and certainly a promise the (Board of Regents) cannot keep.”[9]
  • Wesley Tharpe of the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute said the amendment comes with benefits and drawbacks. Referring to the drawbacks, he said, "The potential downside is that there are no restrictions explicitly spelled out in the legislation as to how much private companies will be able to charge for rent. The university system claims that it will still have the ability to regulate and limit student housing costs over time, but it is still somewhat of an open question since those rules are not laid out in the proposal."[7]

Media editorial positions

See also: Endorsements of Georgia ballot measures, 2014

Support

  • The Augusta Chronicle said, "Vote 'yes.' It will make student-housing management more efficient, and it will extend much-needed financial relief to the University System. This is part of a larger privatization plan that could rid the system of $4 billion in debt."[10]

Polls

See also: Polls, 2014 ballot measures
Georgia Private College Buildings Tax Exemption Measure (2014)
Poll Support OpposeUndecidedMargin of errorSample size
Todd Rehm
8/24/2014-8/25/2014		 59.19%23.19%17.72%+/-2.471,578
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Path to the ballot

See also: Legislatively-referred state statute

Article VII, Section II, Paragraph II(a) of the Georgia Constitution requires the legislature to pass any proposed tax exemptions by a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in each chamber. Legislative approval of a proposal refers it to the ballot, where simple majority voter approval is required.

The measure was approved by a necessary two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Georgia Legislature. HB 788 was approved by the Georgia House of Representatives on February 26, 2014. The amendment was approved by the Georgia Senate on March 18, 2014.[1] Gov. Deal (R) signed the bill on April 24, 2014, thus putting the measure on the ballot.[11]

House vote

House vote on February 26, 2014:

Georgia HB 788 House Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 166 97.08%
No52.92%

Senate vote

Senate vote on March 18, 2014:

Georgia HB 788 Senate Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 44 86.27%
No713.73%

See also

External links

Additional reading

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Georgia Legislature, "HB 788," accessed March 19, 2014
  2. ↑ Diverse, "Georgia Could Become Biggest Test of Private Dorms," April 6, 2014
  3. ↑ Glynn County Elections, "Georgia 2014 General Election Sample Ballot," accessed September 15, 2014
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Georgia Legislature, "HB 788 Senate Votes," accessed October 29, 2014
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Georgia Legislature, "HB 788 House Votes," accessed October 29, 2014
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Marietta Daily Journal, "Tax-exempt status for University System of Georgia properties backed by both sides of the aisle," October 25, 2014
  8. ↑ The Chattanoogan, "Referendum Asks For Campus Property To Remain Tax Exempt," October 16, 2014
  9. ↑ Athens Banner-Herald, "Voters to decide if privatizing dorms can be win-win-win," April 5, 2014
  10. ↑ The Augusta Chronicle, "Three 'yes' votes," October 13, 2014
  11. ↑ Greenwich Time, "Ga. governor approves referendum on dorm taxes," April 24, 2014
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