Georgia university system’s plan to privatize goes before voters

Update: This measure passed Tuesday with 73 percent of the vote. 

Georgia voters will decide whether private entities that run housing and parking operations for the state’s university system should get a pass on paying taxes for campus property. The bill is part of the University System of Georgia’s plans to privatize student housing and reduce a $3.8 bill debt load.

If voters sign off on the ballot question in Tuesday’s general election, the system would be able to follow a national trend toward privatizing housing, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Kentucky and Florida, for example, already use this approach with their dorms.