Tricky ballot questions explained

Voters have a chance to wade through five densely worded proposed amendments to the state constitution this election.

The problem with amendments is the legal wording can make it unclear why the measure is being proposed and what it accomplishes.

Amendment 1: Making non-compete agreements more binding

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to make Georgia more economically competitive by authorizing legislation to uphold reasonable competitive agreements?”

Amendment 1 actually targets non-compete agreements, which are often signed between business owners and corporations with key employees including salespeople, information technology specialists and executives.

The agreements seek to stop employees from moving to a business competitor or starting a competing business for a specific time period and in a specific geographic area.

Currently the agreements are governed by court precedent that invalidates entire agreements if part of the agreement is defective because courts contend the state constitution doesn’t permit rewriting the agreements.

If the amendment passes, it will allow a state law that permits the courts to uphold parts of the agreements while invalidating other parts.

Opponents say this will allow businesses to draft overly burdensome agreements that limit employees’ ability to improve their livelihood and start new businesses. Proponents say it will allow businesses to protect themselves from unfair competition by former employees familiar with their former company’s strengths and weaknesses and make Georgia more attractive to industries.

Amendment 2: Providing funding for trauma centers

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to impose an annual $10.00 trauma charge on certain passenger motor vehicles in this state for the purpose of funding trauma care?”

Amendment 2 would authorize a $10 fee on annual vehicle registrations. Advocates say the fee would raise about $80 million a year to improve trauma services: the emergency responders and hospitals that care for people seriously injured in car crashes, falls and workplace accidents.

Georgia has 17 hospitals designated as trauma centers, short of the 25 to 30 centers that public health officials say the state needs. Many areas of rural Georgia are more than 50 miles from the closest trauma center. Advocates say an improved trauma system will save lives.

Opponents say Georgians do not need to be hit with a new tax and the Legislature could find sources of money to pay for necessary improvements.

Amendment 3: Change in transportation funding

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to allow the Georgia Department of Transportation to enter into multiyear construction agreements without requiring appropriations in the current fiscal year for the total amount of payments that would be due under the entire agreement so as to reduce long-term construction costs paid by the state?”

Amendment 3 seeks to remove the state Transportation Department’s road projects from under the constitution, which requires the agency to fully fund projects before it enters into a contract. That means it can’t fund one part of a road project one year and fund the second part the next year without having all the money available at the beginning.

The issue came to a head under Gov. Sonny Perdue’s “Fast Forward” program when the DOT commissioned a large number of long-term projects in which it had to issue more than $1 billion in bonds up front.

Amendment 4: Allowing state multiyear contracts

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide for guaranteed cost savings for the state by authorizing a state entity to enter into multiyear contracts which obligate state funds for energy efficiency or conservation improvement projects?”

Amendment 4 also deals with the multiyear contract prohibition. In this case, it seeks to encourage state departments to increase energy conservation measures by allowing contractors to be paid over a number of years by sharing in the energy saving, said Neill Herring, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club. This requires a multiyear contract.

Amendment 5: Allowing owners of industrial area property to get city services