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jenkinscountytimes.com
The Jenkins County Times
Wednesday, January 17, 2024 - Page 7
DENTAL SCHOOL Continued from page 1
throughout Georgia, that we remain the No. 1 state for business. We’ve seen over 171,000
new jobs come to our communities. We’ve brought in roughly 74.5 billion dollars in
investment to the state, with the majority going to rural parts of Georgia. We have more
people working than ever before in our state. And we have jobs open for anyone looking
for work or a new career.
That’s a track record everyone in this room should be proud of.
But that’s where we are today. What everyone in this room should consider is where we
need to be in five years, in ten years, in generations to come and how do we get there.
My vision for that future Georgia is one where all people have opportunity and can
succeed, where job creators and innovators choose us repeatedly because we’re the best
place to build the businesses of tomorrow, and where every community in our state benefits
from those opportunities.
If we want to maintain the incredible position, we’re in today for another generation, we
need to make smart moves right now to secure that future.
For too long, business owners and individuals alike have stmggled under the weight of
sky-high insurance costs.
The cost to do business in our state should not be so high it stalls job creation and
impedes growth because of frivolous lawsuits that drive up insurance premiums.
In Georgia, we have some of the highest premiums in the country. We can and should do
something about that.
I look forward to working with the leadership and members of both chambers of the
General Assembly on meaningful reforms that will stabilize costs for everyday Georgians,
incentivize job creators to bring more opportunity to all parts of our state, and ensure
Georgia is the best place to start, grow, and operate a business.
That’s why over the past several months, we’ve brought together representatives from a
full range of industries to leam more about those challenges.
Following those extensive conversations, my team and I have determined this issue
deserves consideration beyond one session. We will begin by taking the first step this year.
Like in every major undertaking our state has tackled in the past, we will work on a
Georgia-specific solution; one designed to make meaningful reforms in this area over the
next several years.
I look forward to introducing legislation this year that will reflect my priorities to stabilize
the market for insurers, stabilize premiums for Georgia’s families, and level the playing
field in our courtrooms so we can continue to create even more quality, good-paying jobs.
We’re also working hard to ensure the war on opportunity declared by the Biden
administration in Washington does not come to Georgia. Last year we saw just how
damaging anti-business actions are for workers and the economy.
The largest strikes of 2023 that lasted just six weeks cost the American economy over 9
billion dollars and more than 75,000 jobs.
The people orchestrating these actions are partisan activists who want nothing more than
to see the free market brought to a screeching halt, businesses both small and large go under,
and economic growth and opportunity to be dictated by the heavy hand of government -
not job creators.
This anti-job playbook has been blessed by the Biden administration and empowered by
a federal government those views businesses as an enemy - not a vital partner in reigniting
the American Dream.
I want to be clear: in Georgia, we’re proud to be a right-to-work state - and we’re going
to continue to stand for free enterprise, job creation, economic growth, and pro-business
policies as long as I’m governor.
Because what this administration fails to recognize is that the American Dream will
always provide our people greater prosperity than government ever could.
My commitment to you is that we will never cower to activists who seek to attack job
creators and undermine the countless opportunities they create in communities across
Georgia - big and small.
We will retain the right to work state, and this legislative session, we will take further
steps to protect workers and require transparency from unions.
My administration will be introducing legislation requiring businesses to utilize state
incentives to respect their employees’ rights and access to a secret ballot, if some seek to
unionize.
Georgians have a right to opportunity, and we will defend that right against the
overreaches of big government and big labor.
With these new measures added to all those we’ve already achieved; I have no doubt that
Georgia will continue to be the epicenter for historic growth and projects that will impact
our state for generations to come.
With the help of many in this room, we’re making strategic investments in our
communities and workers to keep it that way.
That includes making sure community-level infrastructure can meet the increased
demand that comes with unprecedented economic development.
That is why in the budget proposals my office will unveil tomorrow, we will invest 250
million dollars of new state funds into the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority for
local water and sewer projects across the state.
These new investments will raise the fund's capacity for new projects to 325 million
dollars, and the overall portfolio to nearly 750 million dollars.
It will also give Georgia a competitive edge in attracting even more job creation to our
state, especially in our rural communities.
As many of you know, when it comes to attracting new companies to our state... or
incentivizing existing businesses to expand, the more the state can do from a water and
sewer perspective, the more likely we are to land that project.
That means more jobs, more growth, and more opportunities in zip codes that need it
the most.
If you’ve been around metro Atlanta, or down 1-16 toward Savannah, or up 1-85 to
Commerce, or braved GA-400 northbound in rush hour, you know that Georgia is attracting
more people, more businesses, and more investment.
While the incredible win streak we’ve been on benefits Georgians from all walks of life,
in nearly every region of this state, it’s also true that there are costs to that success when it
comes to the movement of people and goods across our state.
To continue being the best state to live, work, and raise a family, our transportation
infrastructure must not only keep up with demand, but it must also look five, ten, twenty
years ahead - both for hardworking Georgia families, and businesses here in the Peach
state and around the world that rely on us to get their products to market.
That’s why my budget recommendations will also include an additional 1.5 billion
dollars in state lunds we will allocate to the Georgia Department of Transportation for
projects that directly help move commuters and freight.
With the funds provided in our amended 2024 budget, these projects will accelerate
GDOT’s existing project pipeline, enabling the agency to work further down its list of
priority projects that includes those related to Georgia’s two largest economic development
projects in state history.
This funding will also enable us to establish a new program focused on Freight
Infrastructure projects that improve efficiency, safety, and reliability for the transportation
of goods.
Lastly, 200 million dollars from this pot of money will go to the Local Maintenance
and Improvement Grant, essentially doubling the amount available to local governments
for Fiscal Year 2024 to 418 million dollars. This money will be well spent on local road
engineering, construction, paving, and maintenance.
And just as Georgia’s workers deserve to drive on safe and reliable roads, they also
deserve to be able to live in the same community where they work.
That’s why we created the Workforce Housing Fund last year with an initial investment
of 35.7 million dollars.
That money has already been put to good use, allowing local development and housing
authorities across our state to prepare land for housing projects in areas with upcoming
economic development projects.
To date, over 17 million dollars of this has been awarded to 9 projects. The approved
projects so far have been grants for water, sewer, and road construction around single and
multi-family housing developments.
This year, I’m proposing an additional 50 million dollars in the Amended 2024 budget
and 6 million dollars in base funding for the Fiscal Year 2025 budget that will go to this
Fund, ensuring these types of strategic investments continue.
I’m confident that by working together with the members of the General Assembly,
we can continue to build on the incredible success we’ve had bringing jobs, growth, and
opportunity to all parts of our state.
Just as we need to invest in the physical infrastructure of our state to keep up with growth,
we also need to invest in human capital to meet the demands of a growing population.
No sector of our economy needs qualified workers more than healthcare. Since 2019,
we’ve invested in more residency slots, incentivized healthcare professionals to stay in
Georgia and provide quality care, ensured new mothers in our state are covered, and taken
innovative steps to expand access to care, stabilize costs, and increase the number of
insurers statewide.
With that in mind, my budget proposal includes 178 million dollars for the design and
construction for a dental school at Georgia Southern University - the first school of its kind
in our state since the moon landing in 1969!
I am also proposing 50 million dollars for a medical school at our flagship institution
- the University of Georgia. This will go a long way to helping us address the medical
workforce gap Georgia has struggled with for years.
With these new assets on the way, we will further address the growing need for healthcare
professionals in our state, and ensure that we are doing everything we can to address
challenges across the healthcare spectmm - from workforce, to cost, to access, to quality.
All of these investments and measures I’ve shared with you today are strategic and
designed to keep Georgia what we have made it over these past five years, together - the
best state to live, work, and raise a family.
Tomorrow, I will share even more announcements on how we will build on these
successes.
Thank you for your partnership, God bless, and may God continue to bless the great
State of Georgia!
“1 think this little pig is tryin’
to go to market.”
UNIVERSAL
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\E S E
ACROSS
1 Cartogram
4 Read quickly
8 Masticate
12 Broadcast
13 Soft drink
flavor
14 “For
jolly good
fellow”
15 Ike’s
monogram
16 Prof.’s
employer
17 Spoken
18 Stand for
artwork
20 Undesirable
consequences
22 Weaken
23 Jerry — Lewis
24 Marine reptile
27 Hackneyed
31 The Red
Planet
32 Physicians’
org.
34 Chess piece
35 “Able was
I -...”
36 Disguise
item
37 Tater
38 The present
time
41 Witty reply
43 Pina colada
ingredient
45 Vow words
46 Food
connoisseur
50 Judge’s
mallet
53 Gaelic
54 Legal tender
56 Wrath
57 Word in
arithmetic
58 Coagulate
59 Like father,
like —
60 Categorize
61 European
range
62 Snaky shape
DOWN
1 Fashioned
2 Verdi opera
3 Goaded
4 Make art from
stone
5 Against
6 First Arabic
letter
7 Of warships
8 Anger
9 “Last
Action —”
10 Birthright
seller
11 Poet —
Whitman
19 Cup handles
21 Term in
tennis
24 Edible root
25 Ordinance
26 Middle East
VIP
28 Ad-lib
29 Stretched
tight
30 Tight —
31 Assembled
33 Era
37 Mixer for
drinks
39 Halt
40 “So tasty!”
42 Attire under a
tutu
44 Hajj
destination
46 Solidifies
47 Black-and-
white cookie
48 Cold War
initials
49 Lofty
51 Statue in
Piccadilly
Circus
52 Eye part
55 Bribe
11-18
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