Welcome to King & Spalding's economic development news bulletin,Investing in Georgia. In this edition, you will find:

News about the Georgia Supreme Court's ruling on “commission” charter schools; a Federal Reserve Bank study regarding the cost of higher education in Georgia; and, a report regarding the growing trend of extra-territorial bond issuers.

We hope you find this helpful, as we partner to keep Georgia a great place to live and work!

In This Issue:

- Recent Developments

Public Private Partnerships: With the urgent need to rebuild and revitalize America's transportation system running headlong into renewed efforts to manage public debt and reduce taxes, government providers are increasingly looking to private partners to finance and manage highway, transit, rail and aviation projects....

- In The News

Can you hear me now?

The Georgia Competitiveness Initiative, created by Governor Deal, is up and running. Regional “listening sessions” are being conducted in twelve regions across the state from June through August....

- Looking Ahead

The future of entitlements. Social Security trustees announced in May that the trust fund backing payment of Social Security benefits would be zero in 2036 (the estimate was 2041 in 2007), requiring reduction in payment of benefits to 77% of originally promised levels through 2085. The estimated Social Security shortfall (present value of future taxes collected and future benefits paid) could be eliminated by either an immediate 2.15% increase in the combined SS payrolltax rate or an immediate 13.8% reduction in SS benefits paid....