House Committee Debates GDOT Changes

A special House Subcommittee on Transportation Funding is meeting at this hour to hear testimony on Senate Bill 200. The measure - titled the Transforming Transportation Investment Act - would abolish the State Road and Tollway Authority and create the State Transportation Authority.

Senate Speaker pro tem Tommie Williams testified in favor of the measure, telling the committee that trying to appease board members, lobbyists and politicians means little gets done by the DOT.

SB 200 would also relegate the Georgia Department of Transportation to the task of road maintenance and inspections.

The bill also forces GDOT to compete alongside private contractors for transportation construction projects.

Transportation Funding Study Committee wraps meetings

Finding money for Georgia’s transportation needs is the issue a committee of state lawmakers hopes to solve. They wrapped up two days of meetings in Atlanta today.

Members of the Joint Senate and House Transportation Funding Study Committee heard a number of proposed solutions, but it’s the bigger ideas that will be debated the next few weeks-—an additional statewide gasoline tax versus a sales tax.

Committee chair, Republican Senator Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga, says the emergence of non-taxed alternative fuels changes the equation:

"I think a sales tax maybe instead of a motor fuel tax could be the funding source".

House Speaker Glenn Richardson in his brief address to committee members says he's "willing to do anything, except do nothing" in solving Georgia's transportation woes. Richardson told reporters he would hope lawmakers in next year's General Assembly can consider a transportation sales tax, along with his own sales tax proposal.

The committee expects to come out with its recommendations in a few weeks for consideration by top lawmakers.

Ticket to ride: state lawmakers mull transit options

Columbus Deputy City Manager David Arrington
addresses the session. (Photo: Dave Bender)

State lawmakers continue a series of meetings around the state to come up with ways to improve Georgia's Transportation infrastructure. They are in Columbus this week.

Monday and Tuesday's sessions of the State Senate and House Transportation Funding Study Committee is the third of six such meetings.

Co-Chairman, Republican Senator Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga says the group is talking about a lot more than just funding:

"It's not just money; it's policywise, it's new technology that's come on-board, such as "HOT Lanes," which is "High-Occupancy-Toll-Roads" and new roads. We don't believe in tolling existing roads, but to create new lanes or new roads to do that, so that the user's paying for it -- and not just all the taxpayers."

Experts also talked to the committee about public transportation, air travel and port-facility improvement.

• Previous GPB News coverage of this issue is here.
• For more on this issue, click here.
• Detailed agenda and webcasts are here.

Presentation slide from the session illustrating
transportation modes within Georgia.
(Photo: Dave Bender)

In related news, the idea of a regional airport in northeast Georgia is gaining steam, with the re-activation of a dormant transportation commission. For more on that, click here.

Click the green arrow below to hear this report.

Powered by Podbean.com