Loading...Alert: House to Vote Thursday on Transportation Funding
It’s been more than a month since the Georgia Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a plan for new regional funding to help combat a multibillion-dollar shortfall at the Georgia Department of Transportation. Now it’s the lower chamber’s turn.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives is expected to take up its version of Senate Resolution 845. The measure would let voters across Georgia decide this November whether regions should be allowed to implement a penny sales tax for badly needed transportation projects in their area – projects that otherwise have little to no chance of seeing the light of day thanks to the funding shortfall.
If a majority of Georgia voters answer “Yes,” individual regions could then ask local voters in separate ballot questions as early as 2009 whether they want to approve the extra penny. Each region would then be able to raise tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to fix congestion and jumpstart unfinished projects.
As currently written, SR 845 guarantees that every dollar raised in a given region would be spent exclusively on projects in that region. Similar to a special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST), a model that has proven popular with voters, it also guarantees that local communities would get to decide how long the tax should run and what projects the money should be spent on – anything from local roads to highways, transit, commuter rail, ports and airports.
Because SR 845 is a constitutional amendment, it will require a minimum of 120 votes in the House in order to pass (a joint House-Senate committee would then work out any remaining differences).
We urge you to contact your local delegation today and express your support for this important measure, which is supported by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and hundreds of other business leaders, state and local officials, roadbuilders, transit groups and environmental advocates through the Get Georgia Moving coalition.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions at rmahoney@gachamber.com or visit www.GetGeorgiaMoving.com.
Ryan Mahoney
Director of Government Affairs
Georgia Chamber of Commerce
