ATLANTA (June 2, 2009) – Governor Sonny Perdue recently signed into law Sen. Gloria Butler’s (D-Stone Mountain) legislation to strengthen revenues for public transit. The measure legalizes the consumption of food and beverages in Georgia’s rapid rail stations and intermodal bus stations at the discretion of each transit system.
“Because the bill decriminalizes the consumption of food and beverage, transit stations can choose to set up concessions to sell the products,” said Butler. “This will significantly help MARTA and other transit systems around Georgia bring in additional revenues during these difficult economic times.”
Allowing food and beverages to be sold in transit stations such as MARTA provides the opportunity to raise additional funds for maintenance and operation costs. This year, MARTA is expecting an 8 percent decrease in sales tax revenues and a $1.2 billion decline in sales tax revenues over the next decade.
“This is a great bill for MARTA as it will open up tremendous future revenue opportunities,” added Dr. Beverly Scott, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of MARTA. “I want to thank Sen. Butler for her leadership with the passage of this legislation and for getting the job done.”
MARTA is the only major transit authority in the nation that does not receive state funding for operations. According to the Federal Transit Administration, the authority is near the top of the list in cost efficiency and effectiveness rankings among national transit authorities.
The legislation will be effective July 1, 2009. For more information on the bill, please visit www.senate.ga.gov and do a legislative search for SB 89.
PHOTO (From Left): MARTA Assistant General Manager of Communications and External Affairs Ryland McClendon, SB 89 author Sen. Gloria Butler, MARTA General Manager and CEO Dr. Beverly Scott
Sen. Gloria Butler serves as Deputy Minority Whip. She represents the 55th Senate District which includes portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. She may be reached by phone at 404.656.0075 or by e-mail at gloria.butler@senate.ga.gov.
Press Release
For Immediate Release:
June 2, 2009
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber, Director
Ravae Graham, Communications Specialist
ravae.graham@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028