On Tuesday, Senate Bill 97 was introduced by several Georgia State Senators, including Senator John Albers (R-Roswell).

If this bill were to become law, then Georgia Code Section 32-10-65-1 would be modified as follows...

"Every toll established under this article must expire after a specified period of time and
may be extended beyond said time only by approval of the State Road and Tollway
Authority and the General Assembly through passage of a joint resolution. No toll shall
be charged on any project or portion of a project subject to a toll on January 1, 2011, that
is not obligated for any interest payments on public indebtedness. The authority shall
review all projects that are subject to tolls as of January 1, 2011, and implement a schedule
to pay off all interest due on these projects at the earliest possible date. The authority shall
deliver a report on the progress in eliminating these interest payments and tolls to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Lieutenant Governor, and the chairpersons
of the House and Senate transportation committees on or before January 1, 2012."

In layman's terms, this law would eliminate the toll on GA 400. Unlike House Bill 18, the infamous State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) would remain intact. However, SRTA would be stripped of the absolute power their board currently holds (and has wielded against the people in the case of the GA 400 toll extension).

Realistically, I would give SB 97 the best chance of passing, since it would keep SRTA but take away much of its power. Hopefully, the Georgia General Assembly will be much more sympathetic to their respective constituents and be able to keep SRTA in check as a result.

As for current SRTA leadership, here's what I'd do if were in Governor Nathan Deal's position...

• Remove the current SRTA director, Dr. Gena Evans.
• Work with the General Assembly across party lines to replace those SRTA board members who acted with Dr. Evans and then-Governor Perdue in giving us "the finger".
• Work with the State Attorney General to draft a legally binding "work for the people" pledge that the SRTA director and all appointed SRTA board members must sign. Said document would contain a clause stating that failure to adhere to the will of the people (insofar as the Governor is concerned) would result in the removal and replacement of said individual(s).
• Finally, I would issue an executive proclamation against former Governor Sonny Perdue to admonish him for his arrogant and careless handling of the GA 400 toll extension situation. (Maybe such a thing would be deemed unconstitutional by the State Attorney General, but it would be nice to do so if I could.)

In the meantime, I urge my fellow Georgians to please show your support of either SB 97 or HB 18 by contacting your State Senator or Representative. To find out who your elected officials are, please visit the Project Vote Smart website.

If you have any thoughts (pro or con) regarding the future of GA 400 tolls, then please feel free to respectfully post them as comments.

To borrow from Abraham Lincoln's famous "Gettysburg Address", may every American, regardless of political party affiliation, race, creed, color, religion, or any other difference, work together so that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from this earth.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back often.

SOURCES:
- "Bill Would End GA 400 Tolls", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 15, 2011.
- Senate Bill 97, Georgia General Assembly, 2011-2012 Regular Session.

 

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