Secretary of State Kemp Announces Consolidation of Agency’s Securities and Business Regulation Division with Professional Licensing Boards Division

Atlanta – Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today that the agency has initiated a multi-phase process to consolidate the Securities and Business Regulation Division with the Professional Licensing Boards Division in Macon.

“This consolidation effort will achieve significant budget savings for the agency and Georgia taxpayers, and create more efficient government by streamlining the administrative support functions of these key Divisions,” said Secretary Kemp. “The Secretary of State’s Office has reduced its budget by more than 20 percent in the past two fiscal years to meet the realities and requirements of the current economic climate, and the agency will make even more reductions in the fiscal year 2011 budget.”

Secretary Kemp projected that the consolidation plan will save the agency and Georgia taxpayers in excess of $500,000 per year.

The Professional Licensing Boards Division provides administrative support services to 36 professional licensing boards that issue 197 types of licenses to more than 400,000 Georgians in various professions.

The Securities and Business Regulation Division regulates the offer for sale and sale of securities within and from the state of Georgia; registers and regulates perpetual care cemeteries, pre-need dealers, pre-need sales agents, and merchandise dealers; and registers and regulates charitable organizations, paid solicitors, and solicitor agents in the state. The securities, cemeteries, and charities functions will be absorbed by the Professional Licensing Boards Division. The Securities Division’s fraud investigation functions will remain with the agency’s Office of Inspector General in Atlanta.

Brian Kemp was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2010. Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.

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