This entry was posted on 4/24/2010 5:13 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
After all these years of "promises, promises, promises", the Georgia General Assembly has finally passed a transportation sales tax bill.
The tax is part of a bill introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives during the 2009 session, House Bill 277 , as opposed to the the House bill introduced during this session (House Bill 1218).
HB 277 divides Georgia into "12 regions, based on regional commissions that already exist". I assume that will mean that the Atlanta region will fall along the Atlanta Regional Commission's jurisdiction (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale Counties). The Macon Telegraph's article on the sales tax states that Macon's particular region will consist of "Bibb, Jones, Twiggs, Houston, Peach, Crawford, Monroe, Putnam, Baldwin, Wilkinson and Pulaski counties".
The first referendum for any given region would be held in November, 2012. However, there is a provision that states that if a "round-table" of regional representatives cannot agree on any transportation projects to be funded by the proposed tax (1 percent), then no referendum would be held. If the referendum is held, then the voters will be asked the following "Yes-or-No" question...
Shall _______ County's transportation system and the transportation network in this region and the state be improved by providing for a 1 percent special district transportation sales and use tax for the purpose of transportation projects and programs for a period of ten years?
But wait! There's more!!! (with apologies to the late Billy Mays)
"If the ballot fails in some counties but passes in the region overall, the tax will still be charged in all of the counties." For example, if within the Atlanta region, a majority of the region's voters approved it, but the majority of voters within Cherokee County disapproved, then Cherokee County merchants would still be required to collect the addtional sales tax.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's article on the sales tax, any region that votes on a list of projects will see an increased state subsidy for small paving and local road projects. Should a region's voters approve the tax, anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of the region's new tax proceeds would stay within the local governments where said tax was collected.
While I am glad that Georgia's voters will finally get to decide on this crucial issue, I am still disappointed that the vote will be another two-and-a-half years away. There have to be plenty of state and local transportation projects that need the money now, not later, so that construction can begin. It's not to say that I would (or would not) approve of the new tax when I go to the polls, but here in the Metro Atlanta and North Georgia areas alone, we have projects that need money now, not later. One that comes to mind is the much-needed US 411 Connector to provide a much smoother link from Rome to Atlanta.
If you, as a Georgian, would like to share your thoughts (pro or con) on this proposed sales tax, then please feel free to post a comment on this blog. In the meantime, that's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back often.
4/24/2010 10:13 PMBryant wrote:
Good to see that this has passed, but bad that we have to wait until the next Presidential election to vote on transportation improvments. Reply to this
4/24/2010 10:52 PMJT wrote:
I think there should be a requirement in this bill that they should be required to use this money to bring their traffic signs, guardrails and pavement markings to state and MUTCD standards. With them getting this much money, there should no longer be an excuse for the shoddy work they do in most of these counties. Reply to this
5/3/2010 7:45 AMRJ wrote:
411 project is doomed (again) from a legal perspective and will tied up in the courts for several years. Better, cheaper routes exist with less environmental impact, but GDOT wants to burn your money on the most expensive route. Site - wwww.coalitionfortherightroad.org Reply to this
7/18/2010 9:11 PM
klkj wrote:
I think Georgia desperately needs funding, but I can't in good conscience vote for any tax that regressive. It disproportionately falls on the working poor. Georgia already strikes me as a state where the legislature does everything in its power to shift the tax burden to those least able to pay. It's an attempt to do what the legislature knows must be done (raise taxes somewhere) without doing what they were elected to do, trying to punt it to us so they can say they never voted to raise taxes. Sorry, be statesmanlike and govern. Reply to this
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