State Senator Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone) has been appointed Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee by Lt. Governor Casey Cagle for the 2009-10 session of the Georgia General Assembly.

The committee is responsible for hearing all tax and revenue bills under consideration by the Georgia State Legislature.

“I am honored by the confidence Governor Cagle and the Senate leadership have shown in me,” Chance said of the appointment. “We have quite a challenge this year in dealing with Georgia’s budget in the midst of the recession our country and state are experiencing.”

The Senate Finance Committee works directly with the State Department of Revenue and the House Ways and Means Committee, where all tax bills must originate under Georgia law.

Senator Chance was also named Vice Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee, which he previously chaired, and Vice Chairman of the Senate Retirement Committee. He also will serve on the Economic Development, Higher Education and Reapportionment and Redistricting Committees and will work as Deputy Whip. Upon accepting the Finance Committee chairmanship, Chance resigned his post as Governor Sonny Perdue’s floor leader, a position he held since 2006.

Senator Ronnie Chance is a graduate of Fayette County High School and Georgia State University’s School of Business. He is married to the former Cressida Stevens of Gloucestershire, England. The Chances have two daughters and currently reside in Tyrone.

Senator Chance represents District 16, which includes all or portions of Fayette, Lamar, Monroe, Pike and Spalding counties.