Transportation Bill Sails Through Senate

The State Senate passed a transportation bill Tuesday that is favored by Atlanta business groups and takes a regional approach to funding projects.

It would leave a decision to raise taxes up to voters. Yet the bill is designed with Metro Atlanta in mind. The area already has a ten county region. The bill aims to let those counties charge a one percent sales tax to fund transportation projects. Other counties would vote on the measure individually or as a group of neighboring counties.

Senator Kasim Reed from Atlanta says improving the state’s roads and traffic problems is key to growing the state.

“This bill is about job creation and maintaining metro-Atlanta’s dominance and our state’s dominance as a place where business can grow, work and thrive.”

Atlanta business groups like the Senate bill because they believe the projects would ease congestion and aide the economy. The House, for its part, prefers a statewide tax that funds designated projects across Georgia. That plan would cost $25 billion over ten years.

Transportation top issue for State Senate

Transportation top issue for State Senate

The Georgia State Senate is taking another crack at passing a transportation plan endorsed
by Atlanta Business Groups.

The current plan is very similar to a proposal that failed in the Senate last year---
it would allow voters in regions to decide whether they would want a 1 cent
transportation sales tax.
Senate Republican Majority Leader, Chip Rodgers says the plan puts the power of funding
transportation projects in the voters hands.


“We are certainly open to working with the house," Rodgers says. " If they have got a better plan, we’re all ears and, we’re certainly happy to incorporate it.”


Last year The plan was criticized by some rural and conservative senators as a road to higher taxes.
Those concerns helped kill that bill in the last hour of last year's session. Rodgers says he believes those concerns have been
worked out.


Jeff Mullis agrees. The Republican state senator from Chickamauga says Senate Leadership
is committed to passing the bill this year.

“You know, transportation is also the Lieutenant Governor’s priority in the General Assembly this year. He’s made no bones about it since the last session," Mullis says. " So hopefully with the Governor’s Office we’ll find a solution.”

Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle caught a lot of heat after the bill's failure last year. For it's part, the state House is now pushing a plan that is much more statewide in scope, but could make it harder
to fund the metro atlanta projects. Rodgers says negotiations will continue through the
session.