Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have restricted tuition increases at public universities and colleges in the state without the approval of the General Assembly.
House Bill 319 was amended by senators on the final day of the legislative session to prohibit the University System of Georgia’s universities and colleges from raising tuition or fees by more than 3% from the year before, which the governor called an infringement on the authority of the state Board of Regents and a violation of the state constitution.
Kemp said the proposed cap could not be implemented without Georgians voting for a constitutional amendment limiting the powers of the Board of Regents.
“The Georgia Constitution makes plain the authority to govern, control, and manage the University System and all system institutions is vested in the Board of Regents,” he wrote in a statement.
GEORGIA LAWMAKERS AGREE TO STATE BUDGET THAT WILL PAY FULL TUITION FOR COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS
The Board of Regents oversees the University System of Georgia.
“Because of the constitutional reservation of authority in the Board of Regents, the legislation cannot be adopted without the approval of Georgians through exercise of their franchise,” Kemp added.
The measure intended to address a disagreement in which senators pushed the idea of a $66 million cut to USG’s teaching budget, which comes out of a total budget of $9 billion that includes state funds and tuition and fees received from students.
Senators argued that universities should cover the deficit using some of their roughly $500 million in cash on hand.
The disagreement follows Republican Lt. Gov Burt Jones’ effort to allow hospitals to be built in rural counties without state permits. His push was opposed by Wellstar Health System, which owns a hospital in Jones’ home of Butts County that would face competition from a new facility that could be built on land owned by Jones’ father.
Wellstar has also agreed to take over Augusta…
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