Governor Backs Regional Transportation Tax

By Ariel Hart
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
January 14, 2010

The three-year push for transportation funding got big-time backing Thursday, as Gov. Sonny Perdue announced his support for a referendum on a regional sales tax, and said he would also ask the Legislature to approve $300 million in borrowing for transportation projects statewide.

He said he hoped future governors and Legislatures would continue to pass $300 million per year in bond funding for transportation projects, for a total of $3 billion over 10 years. The money would be paid back by general state funds, not be taken out of the transportation gas-tax budget.

“We have no choice but to invest in transportation infrastructure,” Perdue said. The governor said he will include the $300 million in bond projects in the budget he is expected to propose Friday.. That same budget, under pressure from a miserable economy, is expected to include harsh spending cuts in other areas. Perdue said the transportation "investment" was crucial now in order not to choke off future growth. A state study showed Georgia could forgo hundreds of thousands of new jobs without new transportation funding.

Lt Gov. Casey Cagle, who's president of the Senate, voiced his support: "Providing more jobs to Georgians is my top priority, and there is no question that we must improve our existing transportation infrastructure in order to attract new business. ”

For the regional taxes, the state would be divided into 12 regions.. Each region would vote in 2012 on whether to approve the tax. A region's citizens would be voting on whether to approve the 1-cent sales tax, and on the list of projects to be built with that money. If the tax is approved, shoppers would probably start paying it within the following year. All the money raised from the tax would be spent on projects in the same region, Perdue said.

The Atlanta region would consist of Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Rockdale, Henry, Fayette, Clayton, Douglas, Cobb and Cherokee counties. Different studies have produced different estimates of how much such a tax would raise, but the Atlanta Regional Commission has estimated it at $790 million a year, said ARC Government Affairs Manager Catherine Brulet.

But the House and Senate will have to pass it before Perdue can sign it. Perdue is still working out the details with legislative leaders, and details have gummed up transportation funding legislation in the past.

Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) said the $300 million in bond projects made sense. “We have the lowest debt in the country per man, woman and child,” Williams said. Combined with that, the low rates available now, and the need for funding, the time “frankly is now,” he said. As to the concept of allowing regional sales taxes, the specifics are still under negotiation, but “I think we can pass it,” Williams said.

Rep. Donna Sheldon (R-Dacula), who chairs the House Republican Caucus and is vice chair of the House Transportation Committee, said she was “very excited” about the bond funding, and that the regional funding plan “definitely” has potential. She noted that the House had supported the concept in the past.

While the money from the regional tax would stay in that region, the bond funding could apparently be spent anywhere. The $300 million statewide is not an overwhelming sum: In a dense urban area, it might fund about two interstate interchanges. However, it could fund a larger number of paving and widening projects across the state. Perdue said it would be used for routes that are particularly valuable for freight.

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/governor-backs-regional-transportation-275473.html

© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution