ATLANTA (February 2, 2009) – A leading Georgia State Senator has ensured that any transportation special-purpose local-option sales tax (T-SPLOST) project could not be later nullified by bureaucrats. Georgia State Senator Judson Hill (R-Marietta), a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, successfully introduced an amendment to Senate Bill 39, the T-SPLOST bill, which would ensure the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) will not have any discretion to review or approve transportation projects funded by the T-SPLOST. Senator Hill wants to insure Georgians that should they choose to fund road projects through a T-SPLOST then those projects would be developed.
“My constituents in Fulton and Cobb County have waited long enough for us to create additional funding options to build needed roads and highways. For me to support the T-SPLOST measure we had to guarantee Georgians that they would not be taxed for new transportation projects which were never developed because bureaucrats independently nullified the project,” said Senator Hill. “We must guarantee that if you vote for a new transportation sales tax then those roads will be built. It is unacceptable for a non-elected government body to have sole discretion to kill any transportation project that the voters approve. If Georgians want to continue attracting new businesses and create jobs, we must solve our current and future transportation funding needs.”
Currently, GRTA is required to approve the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP represents the programming for funding and implementation of near-term projects adopted in the long-term Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). By federal law, metropolitan TIPs must be approved by the Governor or an agency the governor delegates that authority to; in Georgia’s case responsibility has been assigned to GRTA. Senator Hill’s amendment ensures that any T-SPLOST project in the metro Atlanta area can not be nullified by GRTA. Without Senator Hill’s amendment, road projects lying in his Senate district and all across Atlanta would be solely dependent upon GRTA’s final approval.
Senator Hill is working to help insure the T-SPLOST bill passes quickly through the Senate. T-SPLOST would provide for a state referendum where voters could choose to fund transportation projects in the Atlanta area through a one percent sales tax. It is estimated that T-SPLOST can generate up to $850 million in transportation funding each year for deployment in the metro Atlanta area alone. Should the bill pass in the legislature, a Constitutional Amendment question will be on the November 2010 ballot for Georgians to consider.
SB 39 passed the Transportation Committee unanimously and is now awaiting a Rules Committee vote before its consideration on the Senate floor.
Sen. Judson Hill serves as Chairman of Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee and the Republican Caucus Vice Chairman. He represents the 32nd Georgia Senate District which includes portions of Cobb and Fulton counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.0150 or by e-mail at judson.hill@senate.ga.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
February 2, 2009
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber,Director
Matt Colvin Communications Associate
matthew.colvin@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028